2019-07-24
Psalm 119:166 NKJV
In his book Traveling Hopefully, Stan Mooneyham writes: “I will go, when – I will give, after – I will obey, but first – one can always find reasons for delay, and sometimes they may even seem to be valid reasons. A close friend of mine and I were called to preach about the same time, and we went to university together. I was out mutilating homiletics in rural Oklahoma churches during those four years of study, but my friend insisted he wouldn’t preach his first sermon until he had received his PhD. That was over thirty years ago. I am still mutilating homiletics, but my friend isn’t preaching at all. He never did. Preparation is important, but doing is a vitally important part of preparation. In the Old Testament we hear much about offerings of ‘first fruits.’ God’s portion came right off the top. Nowadays we are more likely to be known by and for our ‘lastfruits.’ Near the hold button on the hotline to heaven, these classic words would be appropriate: ‘If not I, who? If not here, where? If not now, when?’ Are you waiting for the ‘perfect moment’ to come before you step out in faith and obey what God has told you to do? Obey God. Now! It’s not enough to say you believe God’s Word, you must obey it. It’s not enough to accumulate Bible knowledge, you must apply the knowledge God has given you to your daily living.” James writes, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves …a doer… will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22, 25 NKJV). The blessing comes by “doing.”
Soul food: Deut 3-4; Matt 12:1-14; Ps 46; Prov 16:20-22
2019-07-23
John 15:12 NLT
Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (v. 11 NLT). What are these “things” that you must do to have His joy in life? Jesus tells us in the next verse: “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” You say, “That’s a truly challenging commandment!” Yes, and you’ll have to do a lot of growing and maturing in order to keep it. But to enjoy the life Jesus wants you to have, you must commit yourself to doing it! God created all kinds of people with different temperaments and personalities, so clearly He loves variety. When God made the first person He said, “It was good.” So not only are there varieties of people, but there’s “good” in everybody and you’re supposed to look for it. Much of our unhappiness in life is caused by people not being what we want them to be or doing what we want them to do. What’s the answer? How can you enjoy each day if you’re going to have to deal with annoying people? By making up your mind to love them. You don’t have to like their ways, but you have to love them in spite of their ways. But when you think about it, that’s how God treats you, right? Here’s a key to loving annoying people: Annoying people are usually annoyed about something in their life. When you treat the source of their pain, they’ll begin to feel better and treat you better.
Soul food: Deut 1-2; Matt 11:20-30; Ps 42:6-11; Prov 16:17-19
2019-07-22
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV
Gratitude doesn’t come naturally to us, but grumbling does. No one had more cause to grumble than Joseph. Abandoned, enslaved, betrayed, and estranged. Those are the chapter titles for his life story. Yet when he talks about it you won’t hear a tinge of bitterness. Instead, you’ll hear the opposite. In naming his two sons, he makes them living, breathing, lifelong testimonies of his gratitude to God. “Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, ‘God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.’ Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, ‘God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief'” (Genesis 41:51-52 NLT). Notice two things. First, Joseph looked at the past and gave God thanks for what He had brought him through. And you need to do that too. Whether it’s stuff others did to you, or stuff you did to them, God’s grace brought you through it. There’s only one good reason to bring up the past, and that’s to remember how God guided, protected, and blessed you in it. Second, Joseph looked at the present. “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.” Do you remember a time when you thought you wouldn’t make it? And when others thought you wouldn’t make it, too? Look what the Lord has done in your life! In spite of the obstacles and the opposition He has blessed and taken care of you. Turn off the complaining faucet and turn on the thanksgiving faucet. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God…for you.”
Soul food: Acts 27-28; Matt 11:10-19; Ps 42:1-5; Prov 16:16
2019-07-21
2 Kings 3:8 NIV
The Israelites discovered that for them, the way into the Promised Land was through the wilderness. One Bible teacher refers to it as “God’s killing field.” He says: “In the wilderness experiences of life, the things that cause you to stumble in your walk with God are permitted to die. There He weeds out those who want only a superficial relationship from those who long to know Him intimately. It’s where you learn to stand in faith and to cast all your cares on Him, because there’s nowhere else to turn. It’s where God says, ‘I finally have you where I want you.’ Sometimes He will lead you into the wilderness abruptly. This is especially so when He’s been trying to get your attention and talk to you about a calling He’s placed on your life, and until now you haven’t had time to listen. Suddenly you realize that God is the only One who can get you through the situation you’re in. He permits you to be stripped of pride so you can be clothed with humility; stripped of self-sufficiency so you can be brought to the place of total dependence on Him.” If you’re going through a wilderness experience, don’t think God is punishing you or that He has forsaken you. He’s just allowing some things to die so that other things can be born in you and grow into fruitfulness. Be encouraged; you will come through this! By God’s grace you’ll get to your destination. The truth is, the only way to reach the destination God has planned for you is through the wilderness.
Soul food: 1 Sam 5:1-6:16; Rev 11:15-19
2019-07-20
Nehemiah 6:3 NIV
When it came to rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah discovered that not everyone around him wanted him to succeed. To stop the work, his enemies used two things – threats and rumors. Nevertheless he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in less than two months. How did he do it? He stayed focused on what mattered and refused to be distracted. “They were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: ‘I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?’ Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer” (Nehemiah 6:2-4 NIV). In the parlance of today, they emailed him. They tagged him with tweets. They left messages on his mobile device. Over and over they tried to distract and detour him with dialogue. But he refused to fight. His voicemail greeting sounded something like this: “You have reached the home of Nehemiah. I’m not here. I’m carrying on a great project right now. If this is Sanballat, Tobiah, or Geshem, you’re wasting your time. If it’s anybody else, please leave a message after the beep.” When you decide what your life’s priorities are, they will help you decide everything else. They will help you keep your eye on the ball. When life seems to be against you, ask yourself, “What are my biggest priorities for this day? For this week?” Settle those in your mind and be laser-beam focused on them as you pursue the assignment God has given you.
Soul food: Acts 24-26; Matt 11:1-9; Ps 1; Prov 16:10-15
2019-07-19
Proverbs 4:25 NIV
Years ago an airliner crashed into the Florida Everglades. On its approach to the Miami airport, the light indicator for proper deployment of the landing gear failed. They flew circles over the swamps of the Everglades while the cockpit crew checked to see if the gear truly had not deployed, or if the bulb in the signal light was defective. When the flight engineer tried to remove the signal light assembly it wouldn’t budge, so the other members of the crew joined in and tried to help him. As they struggled with the light assembly, none of them noticed that the aircraft was losing altitude. As a result the plane flew right into the swamp, killing 101 people on board. All was lost because the crew fiddled with a six-dollar lightbulb and took their eyes off what mattered most. In life you’ll be tempted to choose what seems urgent over what seems important. As you try to keep your eye on the ball, this dilemma will constantly threaten your focus: “How do I choose what is best over what is merely good? Or the long-term perspective over the short-term one?” You must not lose focus; your task is too important. Solomon bottom-lines it: “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left” (Proverbs 4:25-27 NIV).
Soul food: Acts 22-23; Matt 10:32-42; Ps 65; Prov 16:8-9
