2018-11-25
Malachi 3:10 NIV
God is a meticulous planner. For example, He scheduled a banquet called “the marriage supper of the Lamb” two thousand years in advance (See Revelation 19:9). He instructed Noah to build the ark “450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high” (Genesis 6:15 NLT). He gave Moses the specific colors and fabrics He wanted used in constructing the tabernacle (See Exodus 26). And look how precisely He orders the seasons and positions the stars. Can you imagine such a God having no plan for your finances – the product of your work life? Surely not! In Scripture He says: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…Test me in this…see if I will not…open…heaven and pour out so much blessing…you will not have room enough for it.” The original word for “whole” is “unbroken”; that means before taxes and other deductions. Why? Because He wants to be first in your life in everything – including your finances. God also told His people, “You have robbed Me…In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8 NKJV). Stop and think about the word “offer.” When you sell a house you decide whether or not to accept the “offer” the buyer is making. And in this Scripture God is saying, “Until you give Me what’s rightfully mine (the tithe), why should I accept any other ‘offering’?” Tithing isn’t just about money; it’s about faith and obedience. When you tithe your income, you can expect God to pour out His blessing on you as He promised. You can live under an open heaven; the choice is yours. God says, “Test me in this.” Put God to the test and see what happens!
Soul food: Luke 1:26-56; Luke 2; Luke 2:41-52; Luke 8:19-21
2018-11-24
Luke 17:26 NKJV
If you had a doctor whose diagnosis was wrong as often as the predictions of some Bible prophecy experts, would you trust him or take the medication he prescribed? One “expert” sold millions of books in which he predicted the rapture of the church would take place by 1988. Then without apology or explanation, wrote a second book pointing us to the year 2007. Another television preacher offered “rapture deadlines” starting in 1975. He said that the Soviet flag would probably fly over Independence Hall in Philadelphia by 1976. Then he fixed the date of the rapture at 1992. Undaunted, his next book changed the year to 2012. (Interestingly, he also refers to Nostradamus, the 16th century occult seer, as “a great Bible student.”) The Bible tells us to avoid “foolish…speculations” (2 Timothy 2:23 NAS). Why? Because they make us look “foolish” in the eyes of the world! Who’s going to listen to a church that repeatedly sets wrong dates, when Jesus Himself told us not to set dates at all? “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate…drank…married…until the day…Noah entered the ark; and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27 NKJV). God didn’t give Noah a date, He gave him a job. And the end didn’t come until the job was done. Jesus said, “But the exact day and hour? No one knows…Only the Father” (Matthew 24:36 TM). The whole world has yet to be reached with the gospel, so instead of “date setting,” let’s roll up our sleeves and get busy.
Soul food: Gen 7-9; John 12:37-50; Ps 102:18-28; Prov 30:24-28
2018-11-23
Job 23:9 NIV
Sometimes you will not sense God’s presence. Those are difficult times. In the midst of trouble, Job said, “If I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him” (vv. 8-9 NIV). Job felt far from God. Yet in spite of his inability to feel God, he resolved, “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (v. 10 NIV). Difficult days demand decisions of faith. David said, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you” (Psalm 56:3 NIV). When you can’t understand the ways of God, trust in the unchanging and loving character of God. Go through your Bible and make a list of the character qualities of God, and keep them on hand for tough days. One author writes: “My list reads like this: ‘He is still sovereign. He still knows my name. Angels still respond to His call. The hearts of rulers still yield at His bidding. The death of Jesus still saves souls. The spirit of God still indwells saints. Heaven is still only heartbeats away. The grave is still temporary housing. God is still faithful. He is not caught off guard. He uses everything for His glory and my ultimate good. He uses tragedy to accomplish His will, and His will is right, holy, and perfect. Sorrow may come with the night, but joy comes with the morning.'” In changing times, stand confidently on the unchanging character of God.
Soul food: Gen 4-6; John 12:20-36; Ps 102:12-17; Prov 30:21-23
2018-11-22
Psalm 84:11 NKJV
In a sense, it’s impossible to “sacrifice” anything for God. If you get back more than you gave up, have you sacrificed anything at all? The eternal reward always outweighs the temporal sacrifice. On Judgment Day, our only regret will be whatever we didn’t give back to God. It may seem counterintuitive, but the key to self-fulfillment is self-denial. The selfish part of us has an allergic reaction to the word deny. It’s tough to do when we live in the lap of luxury. We don’t just tolerate indulgence in our culture, we celebrate it. But the fundamental problem with indulgence is that – enough is never enough. The more we indulge ourselves in food or sex or the amenities of wealth, the less we will enjoy them. We have bought into the consumerist lie that more is more. We mistakenly think the more we give, the less we’ll have. But our logic is backward. You ultimately lose what you keep, and you ultimately keep whatever you lose for the cause of Christ. Author Mark Batterson writes: “The more you give away, the more you will enjoy what you have. If you give God the tithe, you’ll enjoy the 90 percent you keep 10 percent more. You’ll also discover that God can do more with 90 percent than you can with 100 percent…One of our life goals as a family is to reverse tithe and live off 10 percent while giving away 90 percent. When we get there, I’m confident we’ll enjoy the 10 percent we keep 90 percent more. It’s the sliding scale of joy.”
Soul food: Gen 1-3; John 12:12-19; Ps 102:1-11; Prov 30:18-20
2018-11-21
Acts 16:14 NLT
Lydia wasn’t a preacher, she was a successful businesswoman won to Christ under Paul’s ministry. As a result, her home became the first church building named in Scripture where believers met. Get rid of the idea that only preachers speak for God. Out of 168 hours in each week, preachers generally get to speak to people only one hour. Who’s going to speak for God the other 167 hours? India has over a billion people, and there’s an interesting story of how the gospel first reached the Telugu region. It wasn’t through a preacher, but a civil engineer called John Clough, who offered to go to a newly established mission and help them. The missionary board had misgivings because he hadn’t been to a seminary, but they admired his zeal so they authorized the trip. During a great famine, Clough supervised the digging of the Buckingham Canal. His position enabled him to hire thousands of hungry people, which meant they could earn wages and buy food. But something even more important happened. As a result, God opened the hearts of multitudes to receive His Word for the first time and today the church is thriving in India. God says, “Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass” (Isaiah 46:10 NLT). God already has a plan; what He’s looking for are workers willing to help fulfill it. And you can be one of them.
Soul food: Ecc 9-12; John 12:1-11; Ps 76; Prov 30:15-17
2018-11-20
Exodus 18:23 NIV
Why do we insist on doing everything ourselves? Three reasons: (1) We’re afraid others won’t do the job as well as we do – but how else are they going to learn? (2) We’re afraid they will outshine us. The Bible says, “In honour preferring one another” (Romans 12:10). (3) We think God expects us personally to do it all. Moses’ father-in-law told him: “Listen now to me and I will give you some advice…You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him…But select capable men from all the people…and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied” (Exodus 18:19-23 NIV). So evaluate what only you can do, and delegate what others can do. If the job’s too big for you, take it as a sign that God is telling you, “Don’t try it alone!” That doesn’t mean dump the work on just anybody. If you pair the wrong person with a job that makes no sense to them, disaster will ensue. You must: (1) find the right person; (2) give them the right job; (3) trust them to do the right thing. Do those three things and you’ll live long enough to enjoy the fruits of your success.
Soul food: Ecc 5-8; John 11:38-57; Ps 81; Prov 30:11-14
