2018-11-17
Luke 16:10 NLT
Observe: (1) Giant-killers don’t start out as giant-killers! David was a meek musician, humble shepherd, and overlooked son. Faithfulness was his advantage – faithfulness in his talent, faithfulness with his father’s sheep, faithfulness to God. By becoming master over the small things, he became master over the large things. Faithfulness is a common characteristic of uncommon spiritual achievers. Matthew started as a tax collector; Peter as a fisherman; Elisha as a farmer; Jesus as a carpenter. Have you ever considered that Jesus spent more years as a carpenter than He did as a preacher? He was faithful in little things. God never called an inactive or nonproductive person. Every candidate had started something before they became a giant-killer. Giant-killers don’t start out as giant-killers…but giant-killers start! (2) Giant-killers know that the reward is always greater than the risk! Life rewards risk and action, but Satan will whisper words of fear and anxiety in your ears to minimize the reward and magnify the risk. Yet the truth remains, that “God is a Rewarder” of diligent seekers (See Hebrews 11:6). You must believe the promise is greater than the problem, the objective is greater than the objections, and God is greater than your giant. The belief that “God is greater” is the essence of a faith that persists in the face of fear. Fear is Satan’s weapon to paralyze you; faith is God’s weapon to mobilize you. So depend on God, challenge the giant, and join the ranks of God’s giant-killers.
Soul food: Rom 15-16; John 11:17-27; Ps 8; Prov 30:5-6
2018-11-16
1 Samuel 17:50 TLV
First Samuel chapter 17 is the backdrop for the story of David and Goliath. The shepherd slays the warrior. The boy conquers the giant. God gives David victory over his giant, to inspire us to confront our own giants. Giants can be tangible or intangible: the things we can’t overcome because, seduced by fear, we think we can’t. They can also be unattainable goals, unfinished projects, or unfulfilled dreams – the “loose ends” of life that keep us mired in mediocrity. A giant is anything or anybody keeping you from being or doing what God wants you to be or do. Giants can be internal or external, real or imagined, physical or emotional. A giant could be an attitude, a habit, a belief, a philosophy, or a memory. It could be a person who stands between you and God; between who you are and who God wants you to be; between where you are and where God wants you to go; between what you believe and what God wants you to believe. Giants have one goal – to stop your progress and prevent you from reaching your destiny. But giant-killers see victory in the shadow of defeat! They perceive every fight as a test where the challenge is to turn a negative into a positive. Conflict is accepted and resistance is expected. To them conflict is growth, and overcoming is the prerequisite to promotion. Giants can expose our hidden strengths, be a measuring stick for our growth, and feed our confidence in God. Giant-killers see opportunity in opposition, potential in problems, and victory in the shadow of defeat. And with God’s help you can become a giant-killer.
Soul food: Rom 12-14; John 11:1-16; Ps 105:1-15; Prov 30:1-4
2018-11-15
Psalm 18:39 NIV
Each of us is fighting a battle of some kind, but not all of us are winning. Those who win come in many different varieties but they all have one thing in common: a faith that refuses to quit! Nobody had more struggles in life than David, and he understood the importance of maintaining the right perspective. He said, “You armed me with strength for battle.” The grace you receive from God will always be equal to the challenges you face. Always! Did you know that Lord Nelson, England’s famous hero of the sea, suffered from seasickness all his life? Yet this man who sank Napoleon’s fleet refused to let his personal struggles rob him of his destiny. He not only learned to live with his weakness, but to conquer it every day. All of us have our battlegrounds. And while nobody pins a medal on us for winning, nothing can diminish the satisfaction of knowing we didn’t quit, or the joy of knowing we overcame by God’s strength. Whose strength? God’s! “You armed me with strength for battle.” The story’s told of a little boy who lost his right hand in an accident. When the doctor questioned him about his handicap, he replied, “I don’t have a handicap; I just don’t have a right hand!” Later the doctor discovered the boy had gone on to become one of the leading scorers on his high school basketball team. His philosophy in life was: It’s not what you’ve lost but what you have left that counts! That’s the winning attitude, and with God’s help you can develop it.
Soul food: Rom 9:17-11:36; John 10:22-42; Ps 83:9-18; Prov 29:23-27
2018-11-14
Psalm 139:15 TM
The Psalmist wrote: “You know me inside and out…you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit…Like an open book…all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day” (vv. 14-16 TM). God has already determined your child’s potential; now it’s up to you to help him or her discover and develop it. You’ll see it in their temperament, their gifts, and their interests. Resist the temptation to treat all your children the same way; they’re different! Cain was a farmer and his brother Abel was a shepherd. Jacob and Esau were twins, yet they couldn’t have been more different. And how about the Prodigal Son who left home and became a “party animal,” while his older brother stayed home and became self-righteous and judgmental? You must love each of your children unconditionally, but develop them individually. Who are they? What do they like? What do they succeed at? How do they handle change? How do they behave when they’re alone? Start listening to what your children value, what they fear, and what they need. Make sure they’re anchored spiritually in God’s Word. Don’t force them to go the way you wish you’d gone. Help them discover their own identity, and become their biggest backer. If that means putting your own dreams on hold for a while, do it. You’ll never regret it. Your children are your future; your very essence will live on in them. And one more thing: The trees we grow today produce the fruit we eat tomorrow. So pray and ask God to help you understand your child.
Soul food: Rom 7:1-9:16; John 10:11-21; Ps 83:1-8; Prov 29:19-22
2018-11-13
Lamentations 3:40 NIV
When you pray, “Lord, make me a better person,” in what specific areas do you want to change, grow, and mature? In order to get real with God, you must answer these twelve questions carefully and prayerfully: (1) Am I honest and above reproach in all my financial dealings? That includes giving God a tithe of your income. (2) Do I put myself in sexually inappropriate situations, or expose myself to harmful material? (3) Do I spend enough time with my family, and would they say that I do? (4) Do I tell the truth even when it brings me hurt or criticism? (5) Do I find it easy to say, “I was wrong. I’m genuinely sorry,” or do I hold grudges? (6) Am I knowingly compromising any area of my life, or refusing to face the consequences of my actions? (7) Have I formed habits that are detrimental to my health, my job, my family, or my walk with Christ? (8) Am I proud, selfish, or arrogant? (9) Have I taken credit for things that others did and should have been rewarded for? (10) Have I failed to confess something to someone who should know of my wrongdoing? (11) Have I been insensitive or abusive to my loved ones? And if I have, what am I willing to do about it? (12) Am I spending enough time in prayer and in the Scriptures? “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” The word for you today is: Get real with God!
Soul food: Rom 3:21-6:23; John 10:1-10; Ps 133; Prov 29:15-18
2018-11-12
Genesis 40:15 NKJV
Joseph had lived an exemplary life. He had made a fortune for his employer and had resisted the sexual advances of his boss’s wife and stayed true to God. But what was his reward? A prison sentence with no hope of parole. Since when does the high road lead over a cliff? Ever since the entry of evil into the world. And as long as Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV), he will wreak havoc among God’s people. He will lock preachers like Paul in prisons. He will exile pastors like John on remote islands. He will afflict the friends of Jesus, like Lazarus, with diseases. But his strategies always backfire. The imprisoned Paul wrote the Epistles. The banished John saw heaven. The cemetery of Lazarus became a stage upon which Christ performed one of His greatest miracles. The prison in which they placed Joseph became his stepping-stone to the palace for which God had destined him. Looking back, he could say, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20 NKJV). So look for God’s purposes in the reversals of your life, and you’ll begin to see them as stepping-stones to blessing. “The Lord shall not turn back until He has executed and accomplished the thoughts and intents of His mind” (Jeremiah 30:24 AMPC). God will use the circumstances you are in today to strengthen you, draw you closer to Himself, and accomplish His will for your life.
Soul food: Rom 1:1-3:20; John 9:24-41; Ps 99; Prov 29:11-14
