2018-08-21
Isaiah 54:2 NIV
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco can move up to 6 meters in either direction at its center. All of its parts, including its concrete roadway, steel railings, and crossbeams, are connected from one welded joint to another through the vast cable system to two great towers, then down to a rock foundation beneath the Pacific. Here are two important biblical truths we learn from this: (1) You must be strong. Paul writes: “God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet” (Ephesians 6:10-15 TM). (2) You must be resilient! The Golden Gate Bridge has survived a century of earthquakes because it was built to sway – but not too far. It’s flexible and resilient – you must be too. Paul wrote: “We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 CEV).
Soul food: 2 Chr 8-11; Luke 15:1-10; Ps 119:89-96; Prov 21:20-23
2018-08-20
Philippians 1:20 NIV
Over half of all Christians now live in the Third World, often in anti-Christian environments. More Chinese take part in Sunday worship than the entirety of Western Europeans. Lebanon is 39 percent Christian; Sudan, 5 percent; Egypt, about 10 percent. Many of these saints worship at their own risk. You may be one of them. You may be the only Christian in your Iraqi university, or an Arab woman who offers prayers in silence, or a Messianic Jew who lives in Jerusalem. Or perhaps you’re in a society of religious freedom, but a community of spiritual oppression. Family members mock your beliefs. University professors belittle your convictions. Classmates snigger at your choices. Colleagues pressure you to compromise your integrity. Coworkers make it their mission to snag you in a weak moment. If that’s where you find yourself, stand up for Jesus! Paul wrote these words from his prison cell: “I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (vv. 19-21 NIV). The hymnist wrote: “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross. Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory, His armies shall He lead. Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.” Today, stand up for Jesus!
Soul food: 2 Chr 5-7; Luke 14:25-35; Ps 119:81-88; Prov 21:17-19
2018-08-19
Luke 18:21 NKJV
The rich young ruler may rank as one of the most religious people in Scripture. He kept all the commandments. But you can do nothing wrong, and still do nothing right. By definition, righteousness is doing something right. But we’ve reduced it to doing nothing wrong. We fixate on sins of commission: Don’t do this, don’t do that – and you’re okay. But that is holiness by subtraction. It’s your sins of omission – what you would have, could have, and should have done – that break the heart of your heavenly Father. If you’re a parent, you understand this. You love it when your kids don’t do something wrong, but you love it even more when they do something right. You have been saved to serve! Paul says God “created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). God has a personal plan for your life called “His Will.” But you can’t just play defense, you have to play offense. You can’t just do nothing wrong, you have to do something right. You can’t just follow the rules, you’ve been called to follow Jesus. If you feel bad for the rich young ruler it shouldn’t be because of what Jesus asked him to give up, but because of the opportunity he passed up. Imagine saying no to a three-year internship with your Creator! What Jesus asked him to give up was nothing compared to what Jesus offered him in return. Sadly, he said no. But you can say yes, and begin living the most wonderful life possible.
Soul food: John 4:4-26; John 7:37-41; Exo 17:1-7; Isa 35:1-7
2018-08-18
Luke 18:22 NKJV
Luke records: “A certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ So Jesus said to him…’You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not bear false witness,” “Honor your father and your mother.”‘ And he said, ‘All these things have I kept from my youth.’ So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich” (vv. 18-23 NKJV). This man had two problems, and Jesus put His finger on each. First, he discovered that keeping a bunch of religious rules cannot fill the emptiness in your soul; only a relationship with Christ can do that. Second, he discovered that he didn’t just own riches, his riches owned him and kept him from following Christ. He had so much potential. He could have leveraged his resources, his network, and his energy for kingdom causes, but he wanted to keep it all for himself. And the Bible captions his life in four words: “He became very sorrowful.” Here’s the score. The rich young ruler eventually became the rich old ruler. Until the day he died he’d remember the words of Jesus: “Come, follow Me.” And Jesus makes the same offer to you. If you say no, you’ll regret it at the end of your life. If you say yes, you’ll be rewarded with joy and a level of blessing you never knew was possible.
Soul food: 2 Chr 1-4; Luke 14:15-24; Ps 119:73-80; Prov 21:14-16
2018-08-17
Numbers 23:20 NKJV
The Israelites conquered the Promised Land and took possession of it, one town and one city at a time. As they approached Moab, one of its princes named Balak hired a prophet named Balaam to pronounce a curse upon the advancing Israeli armies. Standing on a mountain overlooking the camp of Israel, Balak expected curses to come pouring out of Balaam’s mouth. But instead, came blessings. When he asked Balaam why, he replied: “I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him” (vv. 20-21 NKJV). Was that because there was no “iniquity” or “wickedness” among the Israelites? No. Then how could God not see it? For the same reason He doesn’t see your faults and failings – because He has chosen to see you “in Christ” who is perfect, and whose atoning blood covers all your sins from the new birth to the new Jerusalem. When the Israelites set up camp each night, their tents formed the shape of a big cross; picture the tents of eight tribes running vertically, and four tribes running horizontally. Getting the picture? As a redeemed child of God, that’s how your Heavenly Father sees you. He looks at you – through the cross. And since the blood of Jesus paid for every sin you would ever commit, God sees you as “accepted” and “righteous” and “complete.” So the word for you today is: Because God sees you in Christ, you are irreversibly blessed.
Soul food: 1 Chr 26:20-29:30; Luke 14:1-14; Ps 119:65-72; Prov 21:10-13
2018-08-16
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT
If you were simply a “spirit-being” your spiritual potential would be unlimited. But you must constantly contend with your “soul,” which comprises your emotions, will, and intellect. And in addition, you have to cope with the needs and appetites of your physical “body.” Pray as you will, your “soulish” nature won’t suddenly wake up one morning with the desire to please God because it’s always in conflict with His will (See Romans 8:7-8). When you “walk in the flesh,” it will take you down the wrong road every time. Like a spoiled child, it must be disciplined and made subject to your regenerated spirit. Your soul, on the other hand, is constantly caught between your flesh, which says no to God, and your spirit, which says yes to Him. That’s why your soul (will, emotions, and intellect) must be reprogrammed daily by God’s Word. Paul says, “Let God transform you…by [renewing] the way you think” (Romans 12:2 NLT). Whatever you program into your computer is what you get out, right? Similarly, when you begin to think scripturally you begin to live victoriously. The real action takes place in your spirit – the part of you that was renewed and regenerated when you were born again. When God’s Spirit became intimate with your spirit it resulted in a new birth, and as you grow spiritually you begin to produce spiritual fruit (See Galatians 5:22). As that happens you start to realize you are actually a regenerated spirit living in an un-regenerated body. Knowing this will help you understand many of your struggles, and pray: “Lord, I’m completely Yours: ‘spirit and soul and body.'”
Soul food: 1 Chr 23:21-26:19; Luke 13:18-35; Ps 119:57-64; Prov 21:7-9
