2019-03-23
Psalm 73:26 NIV
As you drive toward your destiny, you’re sure to hit potholes along the way, or take some wrong turns, or forget to check your gas gauge and run out of fuel. The truth is, the only way to avoid failure is not to leave your driveway! In the words of author William Saroyan: “Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure.” The real issue in life isn’t whether or not you’re going to fail, but whether you’re going to learn from your experience and turn it into the wisdom needed to succeed. In a survey of successful people, not one of them viewed their mistakes as failures. They considered them “learning experiences,” or “tuition paid,” or “opportunities for growth.” That’s the winning attitude! Henry Ward Beecher said: “It’s defeat that turns bone to flint…gristle into muscle…and makes men invincible. Do not then be afraid of defeat. You are never so near victory as when you’re defeated in a good cause.” So the next time you fail at something, stop and ask yourself, “What have I learned? Am I grateful for this experience? How can I turn it into success? Where do I go from here? Who else has failed like this, and how can they help me? How can my experience help others? Did I actually fail, or just fall short of an unrealistically high goal? Where did I succeed as well as fail?” Then go one step further, and ask God for greater insight. If you do, you’ll grow stronger and wiser because of what you’ve been through (See James 1:5).
Soul food: Job 38-39; Luke 19:28-36; Ps 38:13-22; Prov 8:24-26
2019-03-22
Joshua 1:5 NIV
Standing on the threshold of the Promised Land, Joshua realized there were seven nations and forty kings to be conquered before he could possess it. So God told him, “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life…I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When you’re in God’s will the forces and resources of heaven are behind you, and that means you’ll ultimately win. It doesn’t mean you won’t have to fight, but it means you’ll win! The movie Ben Hur won more Academy Awards than any other movie in history. Charlton Heston, who played the hero in this movie, had to drive a chariot for his role. He was supposed to win the climactic chariot race, but there was a problem: He was having trouble learning to drive the chariot. He walked over to his director, William Wyler, and said, “Mr. Wyler, I can barely stay on the chariot. I can’t win this race.” Wyler looked at Heston and said, “Son, your job is to stay on the chariot; my job is to make sure you win.” Every time you head to the office, or walk into a pressure-packed meeting, or job interview, trust God. When you make that dreaded doctor’s appointment, or confront a friend who has done you wrong, trust God. Stay on the chariot. Don’t quit on God and don’t stop trusting in Him. Your job is to obey; His job is to make sure you win. And when you do your part, you can be sure that He will do His.
Soul food: Job 35-37; Luke 19:20-27; Ps 38:1-12; Prov 8:22-23
2019-03-21
Ephesians 4:27 NAS
The Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (vv. 26-27 NAS). The word translated “opportunity” is the Greek word topos, the same term from which we get the English noun topography. It means territory or ground. And anger gives ground to the Devil. Bitterness invites him to occupy a space in your heart. And when you do, he will move in and stink up the place with things like gossip, slander, temper – any time you see these, you have given ground to Satan. What should you do? Evict him. Don’t give him the time of day. In the name of Jesus tell him to pack his bags and hit the road. Begin the process of forgiveness. Keep no list of wrongs. Pray for your antagonists rather than plot against them. Hate the wrong without hating the wrongdoers. Turn your attention away from what they did to you and begin to dwell on what Jesus did for you. Outrageous as it may seem, He died for them too. And if He thinks they are worth forgiving, then they are. Does that make forgiveness easy? No. It comes in fits and starts, has good days and bad. Some days when you think your old wound has healed and you’ve gotten over it, someone will knock the scab off it and the pain will return. This is okay. When it comes to forgiveness all of us are beginners. As long as you are trying to forgive, you are forgiving. It’s only when you no longer try that you give ground to the Devil.
Soul food: Job 32-34; Luke 19:11-19; Ps 55:12-23; Prov 8:19-21
2019-03-20
Luke 6:38 CEV
Jesus said, “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults…That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging” (Matthew 7:1-2 TM). Think about it. Do you really want to live your life judging and being judged? One Christian author puts it this way: “We were created to be in community…[Not] treat each other with a spirit of judgment…There’s something in us that permits us to vie for a better impression of ourselves by belittling someone else. It rages through the teenage years, and should end when we ‘grow up,’ but instead it mutates…We judge each other’s relationships when our own are crumbling …or their parenting skills when our own are hanging by a thread…Someone who never exercises is ‘lazy’…Someone who hides their feelings is ‘cold’…we judge who has what job, who’s busier, who has more stress, who has it ‘rougher.’ Someone tells us bad news and we secretly rejoice that it’s not us…someone shares good news and we call them arrogant. But no one wins because we’re all on the same team.” Instead of judging and criticizing, Paul says, “When we have the opportunity to help…we should do it” (Galatians 6:10 NCV). So: (a) Look for a way to bless somebody who is not in a position to reciprocate. (b) Identify someone you can encourage today. (c) Go out of your way to make someone feel special. Jesus said: “If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return…The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.”
Soul food: Job 29-31; Luke 19:1-10; Ps 55:1-11; Prov 8:17-18
2019-03-19
Psalm 18:6 NLT
There are times in life when the best thing you can do is cry out to God from the depths of your being. Don’t worry about looking undignified, or having people think you have no faith. The psalmist said, “In my distress I cried out to the Lord…[and] He heard me.” Every parent knows that cry. It’s different; it’s not a temper tantrum or a whine for attention, it’s a cry of distress. And though it comes in the dead of night, before you know it your feet hit the floor and you’re at your child’s side holding them, changing them, feeding them, and comforting them. That’s how God feels about you. When you get so low that you’re reaching up just to touch bottom, cry out to God! David said: “He reached down…and drew me out of my great trials. He rescued me…On the day…I was weakest, they attacked. But the Lord held me steady. He led me to a place of safety, for he delights in me” (vv. 16-19 TLB). David discovered that God was his “high tower” (v. 2). In Bible times a high tower was a place of safety where the enemy couldn’t get to you. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (NKJV). It represents a place of security in God where you’re lifted above the threat and the circumstances. It’s where you regain your perspective; a place where you can look ahead and know this trial will soon be over. Go ahead, cry out to God and He will answer you.
Soul food: Job 24-28; Luke 18:31-43; Ps 13; Prov 8:14-16
2019-03-18
Mark 14:36 NIV
Because surrender is so closely connected to our wills, often a price is attached. You can feel devoted to God, yet when it comes time to act you discover that your surrender is only skin-deep. Anticipating this, Jesus often identified the particular area where surrender was needed in a person’s life. To the woman caught in adultery He said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11 NKJV). That means you must surrender your sexual drives and desires to God. Many times surrender will involve money, because money is all about trust and control. To a rich businessman who wanted to follow Him, Jesus said, “Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor” (Mark 10:21 TLB). But the man was unwilling to do it. Often surrender will involve an act of self-disclosure about a grudge, attitude, habit, or sin. When you’re with a trusted friend, God may prompt you to talk about a matter in which you have struggled or even failed. Don’t be surprised when your immediate response is “No way!” Other times you may be with someone and feel the need to confront them about something, and it makes you uncomfortable. So here’s the question: Will you surrender, when surrender means doing something uncomfortable? If it were comfortable, it wouldn’t be surrender! The supreme example of surrender is Christ in Gethsemane, praying, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NIV). It was the hardest prayer He ever prayed, and the one that launched Him into His destiny. Amazingly, the prayer that brings God’s power – is the prayer of surrender.
Soul food: Job 21-23; Luke 18:18-30; Ps 116:12-19; Prov 8:10-13
