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
2018-11-19
1 Samuel 17:37 NLT
David prevailed because he understood the power of past successes. He told King Saul, “The Lord who rescued me from the…lion and the bear will rescue me from [the giant].” Observe: (1) Giant-killers build on past successes. A series of successes builds your momentum and allows you to find the mix of “God-confidence” and “self-confidence” necessary to make you unstoppable. Second Samuel 3:1 says, “Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker” (NKJV). David understood that every time you put a win on the board, or an enemy under your feet, your confidence in God and yourself grows. So replay your past victories and trust the God who did it before to do it again. (2) Giant-killers create their own style. David couldn’t wear Saul’s armor – and you can’t operate in someone else’s gift. You have your own weapon, your own armor, and your own style. You are uniquely equipped to conquer your giant. David conquered Goliath with a slingshot. Moses parted the Red Sea with a shepherd’s staff. Paul conquered disease and demonic oppression with a handkerchief. For Simon Peter, power over sickness was released through his shadow, and many times, Jesus simply “spoke the word.” Resist the urge to “wear Saul’s armor” and quietly wear the wardrobe that God has given you. Stay in your gifting. Stay in your anointing. Stay in your assignment. This winning combination of building on past successes and creating your own style leaves you exuding confidence and creativity, two of a giant-killer’s secret weapons.
Soul food: Ecc 1-4; John 11:28-37; Ps 50; Prov 30:7-10
2018-11-18
1 Samuel 17:40 NLT
In David’s day they fought “by representation.” One man would fight for the nation as a whole, and the country of the losing warrior became subservient to the country of the conquering warrior. The upside is obvious, isn’t it? Everybody didn’t have to die! So David versus Goliath was really Israel against the Philistines. It was a one-on-one contest: winner take all. We’re familiar with David’s victory over the giant with faith, a stone, and a slingshot. Yet Scripture tells us he picked up not one, but “five smooth stones.” Why? It wasn’t a lack of faith – he knew that Goliath had four brothers. Observe: (1) Giant-killers realize that their giant represents greater issues. A giant never stands alone; behind him lie his causes. Overeating, addiction, abuse, and anger are all driven and supported by other issues. Somewhere behind the obvious giant are his supportive brothers – pain, guilt, loss, and shame. David was prepared with five stones – one for Goliath and one for each of his four brothers. What lies behind your giant? With God’s help you can conquer both the giant and his support team. (2) Giant-killers are not overwhelmed by the challenges. Never allow your fears to overwhelm your faith. The Bible says that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV). Fear will feed on the failures of the past, but you can’t allow yesterday’s failure to overwhelm today’s faith. So take your failings; list them on a piece of paper and boldly print at the top of the page: “Things I don’t need to try again! Lesson learned.”
Soul food: Dan 1:3-21; Dan 3:7-30; Dan 5:10-12; Dan 9:1-19
