2018-09-06
Judges 6:16, 23 NIV
The name Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord our peace, was discovered by Gideon when God told him to lead Israel against the Midianites – a position he felt was far beyond his capacity. “How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest…and I am the least in my family” (v. 15 NIV). Here’s how the Lord responded: “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites…Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” A frightened Gideon believed God and before the battle was even fought or the victory won, by faith he saw the peace already secured. So he built an altar to Jehovah-Shalom, “the Lord is peace!” We often assume we’ll only have peace when our situation changes. Then like Gideon we learn that inward peace doesn’t depend on altering our outward circumstances; it depends on believing God is with you and experiencing His inner peace. Jesus promises: “Peace I leave with you; my peace [inner, faith-based] I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives [outward, circumstantial]. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27 NIV). However inadequate you may feel to face the challenges today, remember Christ’s words: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace…take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). Notice: Your job is to “take heart,” and trust Jehovah-Shalom to handle the rest!
Soul food: Josh 14-15; Luke 20:1-8; Ps 142; Prov 23:7-9
2018-09-05
Exodus 14:13 KJV
Let’s continue with Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord my banner. Because God fights your battles doesn’t mean you’re not involved. It’s not easy to hand control over to the Lord and let Him fight on your behalf. You may feel like you’re copping out, being irresponsible. You’re programmed to think, “Don’t just sit there – do something!” You’re like a drowning man who can’t stop grabbling for his rescuer, thereby making his job almost impossible. In essence, you become your rescuer’s worst nightmare! The hardest part about the order to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” is that most of us mistake standing still for doing nothing. Fear says, “Do something – anything!” Faith says, “Stand in faith. Let God do it!” That’s about as far from doing nothing as you can get! It’s faith at its highest. “Why do I need armor if I’m not fighting?” Paul says, “Put on the full armor of God, so… you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11 NIV). You’re to wear God’s armor – not yours. You’re to stand – not fight. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4 KJV). Our human methods get in God’s way. Natural powers are useless against spiritual forces. The grub of the dragonfly that lives at the bottom of the pond may be a finely developed, vigorous grub. But when it becomes a dragonfly, the strengths and abilities of its grub-life won’t help it to live an airborne life. Once you lived by effort, now you live by trusting in and relying on Jehovah-Nissi!
Soul food: Josh 11-13; Luke 19:41-48; Ps 111; Prov 23:4-6
2018-09-04
2 Chronicles 20:15 KJV
When Israel was threatened by the mighty forces of Amalek at Rephidim, God gave them a supernatural victory. Realizing that God was fighting the battle for them, Moses built an altar to Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord my banner. Hear His words: “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14 NKJV). “Be not afraid nor dismayed …for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” Why then do you discourage yourself into defeat, trying to win the battle in your own strength? You engage in a fruitless cycle of repentance, resolutions, struggles, defeat, and discouragement, which leads to more repenting. The only sort of spiritual conflict that’s ever successfully won, is the one God fights for you. He doesn’t expect you to win the battle, only to surrender to Him and let Him win it for you! “So am I not supposed to fight at all?” you ask. Yes, you’re to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12 KJV). Yours isn’t a battle of exhausting effort; it’s the battle of believing. “But am I not to wrestle like Jacob did?” Observe two things: First, Jacob didn’t win by wrestling, he won by being rendered too weak to continue wrestling. Paul said, “When I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Second, Jacob’s victory lay in his surrender. Are you worn out from the battle – at the end of your rope? You may be just where God wants you! Let go and trust your Jehovah-Nissi to prevail for you, because “the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Soul food: Josh 8:30-10:43; Luke 19:28-40; Ps 103:13-22; Prov 23:1-3
2018-09-03
Psalm 83:18 KJV
The Israelites called God Jehovah, a name they regarded as incommunicable and inexplicable. The name means the “self-existing One,” and the “I Am.” He was the Creator of all things; an awesome and unknowable supreme being. But God desired to be known in a personal way. So He added to the name Jehovah five revealing titles – word-portraits of Himself to help us better understand and relate to Him. Israel discovered these word-portraits during times of crisis and distress, and they will bless and encourage you during your times of need. Let’s look at each. Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will see, the Lord will provide. Abraham was about to sacrifice his son when God provided a lamb for the offering in Isaac’s place. In response, Abraham called Him Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who sees and provides. And it doesn’t just apply to Abraham. The New Testament says the Lord sees your needs and provides answers. Jesus said, “Your heavenly Father knoweth…ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:32 KJV). Like a caring, alert, observant parent who anticipates his child’s every need, God provides well-timed solutions. Before a child’s shoes wear out a good father provides new ones; his child doesn’t need to beg, bargain, and plead. “Then why don’t I have what I want?” you ask. Because God knows what you really need – you don’t! What you see as “needs” might simply be “wants” in God’s eyes. Remember – Jehovah-Jireh sees your needs and will provide them!
Soul food: Josh 5:1-8:29; Luke 19:11-27; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 22:27-29
2018-09-02
Romans 8:31 KJV
In his family’s eyes, David would never be more than a shepherd (See 1 Samuel 16:11-12). But in God’s eyes, he was Israel’s next king. It’s amazing how people categorize us the moment we’re born. Somebody says you “look exactly like so-and-so,” or convinces you that you’re “just an average student,” or a “plain Jane.” And before you know it, you end up believing their assessments and opinions. Evidently some folks considered Timothy too young to be a leader. That’s why Paul wrote and told him, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young” (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV). Our list of other people’s perceived shortcomings can be harsh and unforgiving. It includes things like being poor, uneducated, physically or mentally challenged, or ethnically different. It even takes into account the foolish mistakes they made years ago. Ask yourself, would you like to be measured with that yardstick? Didn’t think so! When Adam Clarke, one of England’s most prolific eighteenth century preachers, was young, his father told Adam’s teacher he didn’t think his son would do well in school. The teacher replied, “He looks very bright to me.” Adam heard those words – and they changed his life by letting him out of the box his father put him in. Clarke lived to be seventy-two, became a famous Methodist minister, and gave the world one of its greatest Bible commentaries. So get rid of your labels and life-limiting thoughts, and start dreaming. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” When God is in your corner, you can rise to the top like cream!
Soul food: Phil 2:5-11; Rev 19:11-16; Acts 3:1-16; Matt 1:18-21
2018-09-01
Genesis 32:25 NKJV
When you try to run from God, you keep running into Him at every turn. It happened to Jacob. He ran from his brother Esau’s anger, and when things got too hot in his father-in-law’s house, he ran from there too. Finally, when he could run no more, he ran into God at a place called Peniel. And it was there that his name was changed from Jacob the deceiver, to Israel, which means “a prince with God.” The Bible says: “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’ So He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed'” (vv. 24-28 NKJV). When God dislocated Jacob’s hip, in essence He was telling him, “Your running days are over, and your limp will be a constant reminder of your total dependence on Me.” We all need a “Jacob experience.” Oswald Chambers said when God wants to use a man, “He hammers him and hurts him, and with mighty blows converts him.” Everything Jacob needed, he found when he ran into the arms of God. The same is true for you.
Soul food: Josh 1-4; Luke 19:1-10; Ps 84; Prov 22:24-26
