2019-07-30
Acts 4:31 NASB
Are you in an intimidating situation? If so, notice four things the disciples did when they felt threatened by the religious authorities of their day. (1) They brought God into the picture. “Lord, behold their threatenings” (v. 29). Have you talked to the Lord about it? If it’s not big enough to be a prayer, it’s too small to be a burden! God should be the first person you discuss it with, not the last. Prayer is the door through which He enters your situation, so be sure you invite Him in. (2) They prayed for greater faith. “Grant…thy servants…boldness” (v. 29). It’s unrealistic to think all your questions will be answered and all your fears will disappear. Faith and fear will always be at work in your life. To be an overcomer, you must learn to starve your fear and feed your faith on God’s Word (See Romans 10:17). (3) They expected God to intervene. “Stretch out your hand” (Acts 4:30 NIV). Don’t just sit in the seat of “do-nothing” and expect God to move. Go on the offensive. When the disciples were in a storm the Bible says, “About four o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water!” (Matthew 14:25 TLB). Jesus works the night shift! He’s available any time you call. (4) They were filled with the Holy Spirit. “When they had prayed…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4:31 NAS). There’s the key! They were strengthened and energized by God’s power – you can be too.
Soul food: Deut 18-21; Matt 13:10-23; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 16:32
2019-07-29
Genesis 1:31 AMP
You can’t deal with anything effectively until you first accept it for what it is – including yourself! Dictionary definitions for “accept” include: (1) to receive willingly; (2) to view as right; (3) to agree with. First, acceptance involves your will. You can choose to accept yourself or not; it’s up to you. Second, when something is acceptable it’s viewed as being “right.” We tend to reject ourselves because we see only what’s wrong with us, rarely what’s right. Often this attitude was instilled in us early in life by those who focused on our weaknesses instead of our strengths, and we still carry their opinions with us. Third, the word “accept” means “to agree with.” If you’re having a problem accepting yourself, you need to get into agreement with God’s Word. He says you’re “righteous,” so start saying the same thing (See 2 Corinthians 5:21). That can take a while to sink in, but over time it will take root within you. The Bible says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). To walk with God you must agree with Him. He says He loves you and accepts you “in Christ,” so start to agree with Him and stop putting yourself down. When God made us, He said, “It was very good” and He hasn’t changed His mind. But be patient – He’s not through with His creative work in your life. And He wants you to see yourself as He sees you and learn to love yourself while you’re still “under construction.”
Soul food: Deut 14-17; Matt 13:1-9; Ps 78:32-39; Prov 16:31
2019-07-28
Matthew 25:21 NIV
You don’t get to choose the moment of your arrival and departure here on earth, but you get to choose what your legacy will be, what you will be remembered for. At five, he wrote an advanced concerto for the harpsichord. Before he was ten he published several violin sonatas and was playing the best of Handel and Bach from memory. Soon after his twelfth birthday he composed and conducted his first opera. He was awarded an honorary appointment as concertmaster with the Salzburg Symphony Orchestra, and within a few years was hailed as the pride of Salzburg. When he died at age thirty-five he had written forty-eight symphonies; forty-seven arias, duets, and quartets, with orchestral accompaniment; and more than a dozen operas. He’s credited with some 600 original compositions in all. Even so, Mozart lived most of his life in poverty and died in obscurity. His sick widow seemed indifferent about his death. A few friends made it to the church for his funeral, but a storm prohibited their going to the graveside for his burial. So the location of his grave became virtually impossible to identify. No shrine marks his resting place. Today, what is Mozart remembered for? What is his legacy? Not the life he lived, but the music he gave the world that still enriches our lives. When your life’s sole focus is self-interest, you won’t be missed when you are gone, or missed for the right reasons. So find a cause greater than yourself, one that will outlive you, and pour yourself into it. Don’t just leave a will, leave a legacy that fulfills God’s will.
Soul food: Lev 24:17-22; Deut 15:7-11; Matt 5:38-48
2019-07-27
1 Corinthians 7:39 TM
The Bible teaches us that the basis for a good marriage isn’t just sharing the same bed every night, but the same values and goals every day. Without those, it will be like talking to each other in a foreign language. Now, you won’t always agree, and you must accept that. But if you want to reach the same destination you’ve got to follow the same road map. Like building a house, you need to work from an agreed-upon set of blueprints. After a while you discover that physical intimacy alone isn’t enough. That might get you through the night, but it takes genuine friendship and shared faith in God to get you through the years. We’re talking about husbands and wives who communicate without saying a word because the same purposes and principles govern their lives. And when problems arise, as they invariably do, they seek solutions from the same source – God. When life fell apart for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they came before God together because they had both had a relationship with Him. After all, how can you correct the problem if one of you doesn’t think there is a problem? True intimacy comes when the sex is over and the commitment is stronger than ever. It allows you to be with someone without always needing to impress them. One author puts it like this: “When we know we’re loved because of who we are, we become healthier in mind and more intimate in expression. We’re freed from the fear of rejection and loosed from the anxiety of having to perform.”
Soul food: Deut 11-13; Matt 12:38-50; Ps 78:17-31; Prov 16:26-30
2019-07-26
John 5:6 NIV
Jesus asked a sick man an unusual question: “Do you want to get well?” For thirty-eight years this man’s condition had immobilized him, bought him the sympathy of others, and perhaps given him a reason to say, “I’m not responsible.” But all of us are responsible for two things: our attitudes and our choices. The fact is we’ve all been hurt in some way. But if you’re still focused on it twenty years later you’re not a victim by circumstance, but by choice. What exactly is a victim by choice? Someone who thinks negative attention is better than no attention at all! Jesus said, “If you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins” (Mark 11:25 NCV). Those words presuppose someone has hurt you. They also hold you responsible for your reaction to that person. Jesus taught that if you don’t forgive, you can’t receive forgiveness yourself when you need it. Whatever others may have taken from you in the past, if you remain bitter they’ll take more from you in the future. Maybe you’re thinking, “If only they’d come back and ask for forgiveness.” Is that what you’re waiting for? Don’t waste your time! The key to happiness is in your hands, not theirs. And that key is forgiveness. Are you waiting for someone to say, “I forgive you” before you can forgive yourself? What if they never do? Here’s the formula for freedom: (1) Apologize if you need to. (2) Make amends if you can. (3) Forgive yourself. (4) Move on. Do you want to get well? These are the steps.
Soul food: Deut 8-10; Matt 12:22-37; Ps 78:9-16; Prov 16:25
2019-07-25
Romans 15:13 NIV
First, how is your relationship with God right now? Do you doubt His promises, His call on your life, your ability to hear from Him, His pleasure in you, or whether you can do enough to keep Him happy? If so, this Scripture is custom-designed for you: “May the God of hope fill you with…joy and peace as you trust in him.” Notice, when you stop trusting God and start trusting in your own efforts, you lose your joy and peace. Have you lost yours today? If you want them back, you must get out of doubt and back into faith! Second, how is your relationship with yourself right now? One Christian author writes: “For years the only relationship I had with myself was one of doubt. I doubted my decisions, my appearance, whether I was saying or doing the right thing…whether I was in any way pleasing God, or anybody else. I knew I wasn’t pleased with myself, so how could God or anybody else be pleased with me? Those years of misery are behind me, because now I know God’s grace covers me like a blanket. I know it’s through Jesus alone that I’m made righteous and acceptable to God. What a joy! I was so bound by legalistic religion that I’ll always have to be on guard against it. But now I know how to recognize its symptoms.” Paul writes, “Stand fast then, and do not…submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off]” (Galatians 5:1 AMP). Stop doubting your salvation, or yourself, or God!
Soul food: Deut 5-7; Matt 12:15-21; Ps 78:1-8; Prov 16:23-24
