2018-09-30
James 1:14 CEV
James writes: “Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others. We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead. Don’t be fooled, my dear friends” (vv. 13-16 CEV). When you keep sinning and violating your values, you can reach a place where it’s hard to live comfortably in your own skin. Any appetite that’s overindulged can quickly become an addiction. What you wanted yesterday, you find yourself needing today. Then before you know it, you give yourself over to the thing that’s controlling your life because it’s the only way you can find temporary escape. Stop and ask: (1) “What about my life’s purpose?” What about the person God called you to be? Seeing the joy others have is a constant reminder of the joy you’ve lost, and what you’re missing out on. (2) “What happens when trouble hits my life or my family?” In such moments you wonder, “Is this happening because of me?” A thousand voices may tell you it’s not your fault, but deep down you are never sure. The only way to find real peace is to get right with God. And you can. Here’s His offer: “Turn to the Lord! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near. Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the Lord our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins” (Isaiah 55:6-7 CEV).
Soul food: Heb 11:7; Gen 6:9-22; Gen 8:18-22
2018-09-29
Exodus 3:4 NKJV
Moses had all the potential in the world at forty, but felt like a lost cause at eighty. Instead of doing God’s will God’s way, he tried to expedite God’s will and delayed it for four decades! At some point in our lives most of us feel like life has passed us by. Our dream seems like a lost cause. That crisis presents us with a choice: Throw in the towel, or throw our hat back in the ring. Many of us give up on our dreams because we feel like God has given up on us. But we serve a God of restoration (See Joel 2:25). The life of Moses proves that no matter how many wrong turns we’ve taken, it’s God’s grace that gets us back onto the parade route. Moses thought his past had disqualified him, but God leveraged it to prepare him for his date with destiny. No one knew the protocol of the palace like the Prince of Egypt. After all, he grew up in it. And after tending sheep for forty years he knew the ways of the wilderness – the wildlife, the watering holes, the weather patterns. Moses got it wrong before he got it right, and you may too. And here’s the good news: God can use your past failures to fertilize your character and equip you with the strength and wisdom needed to do what He put you on this earth do to. The saying is true: “It’s wonderful what God can do with a broken life when you give Him all the pieces.”
Soul food: 1 Cor 1-3; Luke 23:35-43; Ps 54; Prov 25:1-3
2018-09-28
Luke 6:38 KJV
Many of us want to give to people we love and causes we believe in. But fear stops us. We’re afraid that if we give, we might not have enough left for ourselves. So instead of sowing, we hoard our seed and miss the harvest God promised us. Why? Because on some deeper level we wonder if God would actually bless someone like us. Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.” If a bank promised that kind of return on your investment you’d beat a path to their door, right? But banks can fail and bankers can’t always be trusted, whereas God has never broken a promise! Here’s an important Bible truth: When you open your hand to God, He opens His hand to you. And God has a bigger hand! But as well as learning how to give, you must learn how to receive. Jesus said, “Good measure… will be poured into your lap” (NIV). When God gives back to you, He often does it through people. All kinds of people! So don’t let pride or prejudice stop you from receiving from others, because God wants to give them a harvest on the seeds they sow into your life. Don’t circumvent the harvest – yours or theirs. Never hesitate to give to a true servant of God. “Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper” (2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV). When God moves you to sow a seed, it’s because He has a harvest for you to reap. Don’t miss it!
Soul food: Zech 12-14; Luke 23:26-34; Ps 52; Prov 24:32-34
2018-09-27
1 John 5:4 NLT
The Bible says, “Every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” To live victoriously you must do these three things: (1) Restrict the Devil from moving in your life. Jesus said: “I promise you that God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth, but he will not allow anything you don’t allow. I promise that when any two of you on earth agree about something you are praying for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you” (Matthew 18:18-20 CEV). Satan doesn’t want you to know you have the God-given power to restrict his movements in your life, but you do. Use it! (2) Dare to believe and reach for what God has promised you. Paul says, “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV). A seed is anything you plant for a desired result, and a harvest is anything you decide to receive back from God. And both require an act of faith. Not only is God your source of supply, He’s unlimited, impartial, and generous. (3) Wake up the dreamer within you. The Bible says, “Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28-29 NIV). Your season of life and your gender are no problem for God. Just ask Him to rekindle your faith and refocus your vision. Choose to live victoriously!
Soul food: Zech 9-11; Luke 23:13-25; Ps 34; Prov 24:29-31
2018-09-26
Matthew 16:18 KJV
You cannot sit on the side-lines, because God has called you to the front lines. Sometimes that means taking a stand for what is right. Jesus said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Note, gates are defensive measures. That means we have been called to attack the powers of hell. In 1517 a monk named Martin Luther picked a fight with the religious establishment. He challenged the status quo by attacking the selling of indulgences (licenses to sin). He posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and ignited the Protestant Reformation. Luther probably didn’t know that he was making history. But small acts of faith and courage have a domino effect. When we do what is right regardless of the circumstances or consequences, we set the table for God to turn the tables. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, Luther was summoned by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and put on trial for his beliefs. Instead of recanting, Luther mustered the moral courage to take a stand: “My conscience is taken captive by God’s Word, I cannot and will not recant anything. For to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” So, who do you need to stand up for? The homeless? The fatherless? The voiceless? Don’t let the problem overwhelm you. Don’t let what you cannot do, keep you from doing what you can.
Soul food: Zech 5-8; Luke 23:1-12; Ps 39; Prov 24:26-28
2018-09-25
Psalm 40:2 NLT
When an earthquake struck Haiti, an aid worker trapped under a collapsed hotel prayed, “Lord, I haven’t been in touch with You lately. Now I need You more than ever.” He writes: “I heard a sound. ‘Who’s there?’ I shouted. ‘Jim,’ a man replied. He and five others were trapped too. ‘Would you like to pray with me?’ I asked. ‘Yes,’ he answered. So I said, ‘Lord, we’re asking You for a miracle. Please rescue us.’ I was drifting off to sleep when rhythmic thumping woke me. Helicopters! We waited, but nobody came. I felt drained. No food and water for twenty-four hours and I needed a doctor…I closed my eyes, sure I’d never open them again…A voice shouted and I jolted awake…a survivor had contacted a rescue team through a small hole…An hour passed, then two…I banged on the wall. No response. ‘I’m going to die here, and there’s nothing I can do.’ Then this thought came to my mind: Worship Me. I began singing: ‘Great is Thy faithfulness; morning by morning new mercies I see.’ I sang: ‘Be still my soul.’ Praise songs…to the One who knew exactly where I was. I felt God’s presence…and heard Him whisper, ‘Trust me with everything’…and I let it all go. ‘Your will be done, Lord’…Hours later a team of rescuers came down the elevator shaft, hoisted me to safety, and took me to the hospital. My wife was waiting. ‘I thought you were dead,’ she said. ‘Me too,’ I whispered. And I would have been if it hadn’t been for what I had with me in that dark place – like my faith that’s more alive than ever.”
Soul food: Lev 23:33-44; John 7:1-40; Zech 14:16-21
