2018-07-26
Proverbs 11:3 NIV
The second quality you must exhibit in dealing with others is: Credibility. When people trust you they’ll listen to you. In the early stages of the relationship, they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt as long as your credentials are good. But in order to maintain their trust, you must demonstrate credibility [reliability, integrity, sincerity]. It’s been said that the mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, but the great teacher demonstrates. Ultimately, each of us should strive to be the message. In the first six months of a relationship we focus on a person’s communication ability in order to make judgments about him or her. For example, when we have a new boss who speaks well and casts a compelling vision, we buy in. When we connect well with a new neighbor or coworker, we feel we may have a new friend. When we meet the person we end up marrying, we think everything will always be wonderful. And for most people the honeymoon is wonderful. But after the honeymoon comes the marriage! Sometimes that too is wonderful, and sometimes it’s not. What makes the difference? Credibility! Here’s how it works in relationships: During the first six months communication overrides credibility. After six months credibility overrides communication. When a person is credible, the longer the time, the better it gets. But for someone who lacks credibility, the longer the time, the worse it gets. Credibility is like money: With it, you’re solvent; without it, you’re bankrupt. The truth is: With the passage of time the way you live far outweighs the words you use.
Soul food: 1 Tim 1-3; Luke 9:28-36; Ps 1; Prov 19: 9-11
2018-07-25
Judges 7:17 NIV
On the eve of his spectacular victory over the Midianites, Gideon told his army of three hundred men, “Watch me…Follow my lead…do exactly as I do.” What would happen if you said that to the people who know you? Would you have to qualify that statement by saying, “Follow me in business, but not my family life”? Or, “Follow my professional advice, but not my personal lifestyle”? To earn respect and be worthy of following, you need two qualities that really matter. The first is conviction: Conviction is a set-in-concrete belief that you live by and refuse to compromise on. A pragmatist adjusts his or her beliefs and actions to things like the bottom line, or not making waves, or being liked and accepted. A man or woman of conviction won’t do that. Early one morning, Scottish philosopher and religious skeptic David Hume was observed hurrying to hear evangelist George Whitefield. When asked if he really believed what the great evangelist preached, Hume replied, “Certainly not! But he does, and I want to hear a man who truly believes what he says!” Author Larry Phillips said: “There’s a noticeable difference between steel and tin – especially when hit. Genuine heartfelt convictions simply come across as ‘words of steel.’ There’s a determined resolve in the tone…We need to be reminded that we can’t fake convictions! [People] will always discern the difference between words of steel and the sound of tin – no matter how hard the tin is hit!” People know the difference between your core values and your intellectual concepts. If you don’t have a deep conviction about what you’re saying, why should they?
Soul food: Hab 1-3; Luke 9:18-27; Ps 65; Prov 19:5-8
2018-07-24
Amos 5:5-6 NIV
Bethel is where Jacob had his life-changing dream, and made a vow to God. Gilgal is where the Israelites camped after God miraculously parted the Jordan River and they stepped into the Promised Land for the first time. Beersheba is where Isaac dug a well and built an altar. All three places held special significance: They were sacred landmarks in Israel’s spiritual journey. So why would God tell them not to seek Him there? The answer is simple: You won’t find God in the past. His name is not The Great I Was, it’s The Great I Am. The Psalmist said, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NIV). When we cling too tightly to what God did last, we often miss what God wants to do for us next. He is at work right here, right now. He is always doing something new. So go ahead and build altars and mark holy moments to the past, but the purpose of altars is to remind us of God’s faithfulness in the past so we can have faith to believe Him for the future. When we stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory, we start dying. To be fully alive is to be fully present. It mandates leaving the past in the past. That’s why Paul wrote, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV). So the word for you today is: Press on!
Soul food: Nah 1-3; Luke 9:1-17; Ps 14; Prov 19:1-4
2018-07-23
1 Kings 19:21 NIV
Elisha’s ministry begins with this Scripture: “He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people …Then he set out to follow Elijah.” He couldn’t go back to his old way of life because he had destroyed the time machine that would take him back. It was the end of Elisha the farmer, and the beginning of Elisha the prophet. It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to lose weight, get into graduate school, write a book, start a business or a ministry, or get out of debt. The first step is always the longest step and the hardest. You can’t just take a step forward into the future; you also have to eliminate the possibility of moving backward into the past. That’s how you go after goals. That’s how you break addictions. That’s how you reconcile relationships. To begin a new chapter, you must end an old chapter. Elisha didn’t need to burn his plowing equipment to follow Elijah, but it made a statement. More specifically, it was a statement of faith. There was no turning back. Nine times out of ten, failure is resorting to Plan B when Plan A gets too risky, too costly, or too difficult. That’s why most people are living their Plan B. They haven’t burned their bridges to the past. Plan A people don’t have a Plan B. It’s Plan A or bust. They would rather crash and burn going after their God-ordained dreams, than succeed at something else. The word for you today is: Burn your bridges to the past and move forward.
Soul food: 2 Pet 1-3; Luke 8:40-56; Ps 146; Prov 18:23-24
2018-07-22
Ephesians 5:33 NIV
A woman went away on a long weekend retreat. Halfway through the final Monday morning session she suddenly jumped to her feet and left the room. Concerned, a friend followed her to see what had made her leave the meeting so abruptly. She found the woman hanging up a telephone in the lobby. “Is everything all right?” she asked urgently. “Oh, yes,” the woman responded sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to alarm you, but I suddenly remembered that it’s Monday morning trash day.” Her friend replied, “Trash day? Isn’t your husband at home?” “Yes,” replied the woman, “but it takes two of us to put out the trash. I can’t carry it, and he can’t remember it!” The secret of a good marriage lies in learning how to live and work together. And here are ten suggestions to help you accomplish that goal: (1) Agree to pray together daily. (2) Find something good to say about each other every day. (3) Don’t forget to snuggle. (4) Think of yourselves as a team – not just a couple. (5) Respect your differences. (6) Eat at least one meal together each day. (7) Submit your disagreements to God. (8) Develop a strong sense of humor. (9) Identify “your special place,” and “your special song.” (10) Reminisce together. Ironically, the number one reason given for divorce today is “incompatibility.” Well, guess what? You are supposed to be different! When two people with different gifts decide to love one another and listen to one another, their differences can become a source of strength rather than a source of weakness. Marriage: It takes two!
Soul food: Matt 5:9v; Rom 12:17-21; James 3:17-18; Matt 26:51-52
2018-07-21
2 Timothy 1:10 NLT
It’s no surprise that God has a heart for hurting parents. After all, God Himself is a father. What parental emotion has He not felt? Are you separated from your child? So was God. Is someone mistreating your child? They mocked and bullied His. Is someone taking advantage of your child? He, the Son of God, was set up by false testimony and betrayed by a greedy follower. Are you forced to watch while your child suffers? God watched His Son on the cross. Do you find yourself wanting to spare your child from all the hurt in the world? God did. But because of His great love for us, “He did not spare his own Son but gave him for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things” (Romans 8:32 NCV). Note the words “all things.” There’s nothing God can’t do in answer to prayer! Perhaps you’ve prayed but your child has died. No pain compares to that of losing a child. Maybe you’ve said, “Jesus resurrected Jairus’ child, why didn’t He save mine?” God understands your question. He buried a child too. And He hates death more than you do. That’s why He “broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality.” For those who trust Christ, death is nothing more than a transition to heaven. Your child may not be in your arms today, but your child is safely in His. After losing his son at birth, David looked forward with hope and said, “I shall go to him” (2 Samuel 12:23 NKJV). And so will you.
Soul food: 2 Sam 22:31-24:25; Luke 8:26-39; Ps 140; Prov 18:21-22
