2018-05-23
1 Kings 3:9 NIV
Dr. John Maxwell writes: “Several years ago when I was speaking to a group of executives, someone asked me what principles I follow when hiring. ‘I have only one rule,’ I explained. ‘I never do the hiring.’ That got their attention. ‘And here’s why: I’m terrible at it.’ I went on to explain my horrible track record…’Because I’m so optimistic and have a high belief in people, I’m unrealistic. It doesn’t matter what red flags come up during an interview with a candidate, I always think, I can help this person to improve and succeed. That’s not the right attitude for an interviewer. To be successful in this area you need people who are skeptical – the kind of individuals who wouldn’t even hire their own mothers. When I quit hiring, it took my organization to a whole new level.’ When I told this room full of executives that I didn’t do any hiring anymore, I could see their first reaction was negative. But as I explained it, I could see they appreciated that I knew my own weaknesses, and they respected my honesty. Few things are worse than someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, making things up as he goes along, and pretending he has expertise when he really doesn’t have a clue.” If you have a poor track record in hiring people, delegate the job to those who are gifted at it. And if you must do it yourself, pray Solomon’s prayer: “Give your servant a discerning heart…to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
Soul food: Judg 7:1-9:33; Mark 10:23-34; Ps 93; Prov 13:7-8
2018-05-22
Psalm 107:14 NCV
God is in the business of setting people free – morally and spiritually. When the Israelites were in bondage, “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress” (v. 13 RSV). Jesus still delivers day after day, and “if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through” (John 8:36 TM). So follow these steps to freedom: (1) Cry out to the Lord. He said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13 NIV). The cry of the Israelites was a repeated heart-cry, and God still responds to cries from the heart. Deliverance starts by recognizing your total dependence on Him. Instead of trying to handle it all on your own, the Bible says, “Cast all your [care] on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 RSV). (2) Feed your soul spiritually. Jesus said, “I am the living bread…If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51 NIV). As you feed on God’s Word and share your feelings in prayer, He’ll lighten your burden and nourish your soul. He came to declare “freedom for the prisoners…to release the oppressed” (Luke 4:18 NIV). Take time to meditate on God’s Word. Reflect on it until you understand how to apply it to your life. Knowledge without application is useless. Freedom requires feeding daily on the Scriptures, and applying what you learn to your present circumstances. “Happy are those who…love the Lord’s teachings, and…think about those teachings day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2 NCV). Do it each and every day – and be set free!
Soul food: Judg 4-6; Mark 10:13-22; Ps 88:9b-18; Prov 13:4-6
2018-05-21
Exodus 3:8 NIV
For four hundred years the Israelites were enslaved by Egyptian taskmasters who oppressed them and “made their lives bitter” (Exodus 1:14 NIV). Many of us can relate to their feelings of helplessness when we think about areas in our own lives where we struggle with habits. Whether it’s food, alcohol, drugs, sex, money, or abusive relationships, we’ve all experienced a sense of powerlessness in our repeated attempts for freedom. Failure can produce chronic hopelessness, to the point where you give up trying. Broken and crushed, Israel cried out to the Lord and He responded, “I have…seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out…and I am concerned about their suffering” (Exodus 3:7 NIV). Notice how God extended compassion toward them: “So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into…a land flowing with milk and honey” (v. 8 NIV). God came down to bring them up – and He can do the same for you today. Israel’s deliverance called for the slaying of a spotless Passover lamb. They applied its blood to their doorposts and the death angel passed over them. The Bible says, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7 NIV). Jesus Christ, our sacrificial lamb, shed His blood to set us free from whatever it is that’s enslaving you. What are you struggling with today? You can be released from captivity – not by your own futile efforts – but by trusting in the God who answers the cries of His people.
Soul food: Judg 1-3; Mark 10:1-12; Ps 88:1-9a; Prov 13:1-3
2018-05-20
Proverbs 31:11 NKJV
If you want a happy marriage, here are two things you must always keep in mind: (1) Never demean your mate in public. When you do, you demean yourself. Solomon writes, “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her…She does him good…all the days of her life” (vv. 10-12 NKJV). Somebody said, “Before you criticize your mate’s taste, stop and remember they picked you!” The fact is we all have habits, struggles, weaknesses, fantasies, childhood memories, unspoken needs, and longings hidden deep inside. Our yearning for someone to trust is profound and unchanging. That’s why God designed marriage to be a safe haven in a dangerous world. If you can’t trust your mate – who can you trust? (2) Always have shared dreams and goals. Today couples are divorcing at an alarmingly high rate between the seventeenth and twenty-fifth year of marriage. Do you know why? That’s usually when the last child graduates from high school or college and leaves home. Now there’s just the two of you. And when you’ve spent all your time focusing on your kids and neglecting one another, you can wake up one day and feel like you’re living with a stranger. So how do you avoid that? By having lifetime goals and dreams you’re both working toward. Remember, you’re more than just parents – you’re people – and God has a plan for your lives as a couple. If you haven’t discovered it yet, talk about it, then pray together and ask God to reveal it to you. That’s a prayer He’ll answer!
Soul food: Lev 23:15-22; acts 2:1-18
2018-05-19
Romans 8:28 NIV
Novelist A. J. Cronin had been practicing as a physician for almost ten years when he developed a gastric ulcer that required complete rest. So he went to a farm in the Scottish Highlands to recuperate. He says, “The first few days of leisure were pleasant enough, but soon the enforced idleness of Fyne Farm became insufferable…I’d often, in the back of my mind, nursed the vague illusion that I might write. I had actually thought out the theme of a novel – the tragic record of a man’s egotism and bitter pride…Upstairs in my cold, clean bedroom was a scrubbed deal table and a very hard chair. Next morning I found myself in this chair facing a new exercise book open on the table, slowly becoming aware that, short of Latin prescriptions, I’d never composed a significant phrase in my entire life. It was a discouraging thought, as I picked up my pen. Never mind, I began.” Even though Cronin struggled to write five hundred words a day and ended up throwing his first draft on the farm’s trash heap, he finished Hatter’s Castle. The book was dramatized, translated into twenty-two languages, and sold some five million copies. The world had lost a physician, but gained a novelist. When God gives you a dream, sometimes the circumstances required to fulfill it won’t be to your liking. In Joseph’s case it involved betrayal and false imprisonment. But that’s what it took to get him to the throne of Egypt. So ask God today, “What are You saying, or trying to show me, in the middle of this situation?”
Soul food: Ruth 1-4; Mark 9:38-50; Ps 18:30-50; Prov 12:25-28
2018-05-18
Genesis 22:16-17 NKJV
God said to Abraham, “Because you…have not withheld…your only son…I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven.” Isaac was the lifelong dream of a barren woman named Sarah and an impotent man named Abraham. But the more God blesses you, the harder it is to keep that blessing from becoming an idol in your life. Money may be the best example. The more money you make, the harder it is to trust Almighty God and the easier it is to trust the almighty dollar. Isn’t it ironic that “In God we trust” is printed on the dollar – the thing we often find most difficult to trust God with? If you’re financially blessed, it is a gift from God (See Deuteronomy 8:18). But God doesn’t financially bless us so that we can use it selfishly. He blesses us more, so that we can be more of a blessing to others (See Genesis 12:2). The truth is, what you’re willing to walk away from determines what God is willing to entrust to you. He wants you to come to the place where you find your identity in Whose you are, rather than in who you are. You can base your identify on a thousand things – the degrees you’ve earned, the positions you hold, the salary you make, etc. But if you base your identity on anything temporal, your identity is in a house of cards. There’s only one solid foundation: Jesus Christ. So, what’s getting between you and God? What feeds your ego? Where do you find your security outside of Christ? That’s what you need to put on the altar today.
Soul food: Obad; Mal 1-4; Mark 9:30-37; Ps 18:1-29; Prov 12:23-24
