2018-05-11
Genesis 3:12 NIV
The story of Adam and Eve’s failure teaches us two important lessons about God: (1) He won’t accept your excuses. (2) He won’t let you blame other people. He insists that you take responsibility for yourself. And until you do, He can’t bless you like He desires. That means you must make a choice to stop living in the dumpster of past mistakes – your own, and other people’s. You must focus on where you’re going and what you’d like to see happen, rather than having your eyes glued to the rearview mirror, looking back at what was done and who did it. It’s time to take back your power! How? (a) Declare “time-out” when it comes to blaming. (b) Define what success would look like for you and specify what you want to see happen. (c) Delegate “who’ll do what” in order to make it happen, and reward the people who help you toward a brighter future. (d) Realize that deliverable goals are goals that are attainable. Relationships in trouble desperately need good news, so develop some achievable goals that give everyone something to celebrate. It doesn’t have to be the ultimate goals that’ll win the war, but small successes that indicate you’re winning some battles. This game plan gives power back to the individual who needs to see progress. It distracts you from blame-fixing and gives you guidelines for what’s productive. It takes the power away from dwelling in the past, where none of us has the ability to undo what was done no matter who is to blame. And it’s a constructive effort, as opposed to one that’s destructive.
Soul food: Deut 22-24; Mark 7:24-37; Ps 44:1-8; Prov 12:7-9
2018-05-10
Matthew 25:32 NLT
Jesus describes the judgment day in these words: “All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me'” (vv. 32-36 NLT). How will Jesus separate the sheep from the goats? And how will you know which one you are? Jesus says those on the right – the sheep – will be those who fed Him when He was hungry, brought Him water when He was thirsty, gave Him lodging when He was lonely, clothing when He was naked, and comfort when He was sick or imprisoned. The sign of the saved is their concern for those in need. Compassion doesn’t save them – or us. Salvation is the work of Christ. But compassion is the consequence of salvation. The sheep will react with a sincere question: When? When did we feed, visit, clothe, or comfort you? Then Jesus will answer, “Every time you showed compassion – you did it to me!” Try to keep that in mind as you go through this day.
Soul food: Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11; Eph 4:7-10
2018-05-09
James 3:6 NIV
On a windy day in March 1997, a father and son visited Valley Forge National Historic Park, where George Washington stationed the Revolutionary Army during the difficult winter of 1777-1778. The man and his son had something much less historic in mind: They wanted to launch a model rocket. At first they tried using electric ignition wires to light the fuse, but to no avail. So they tried lighting the fuse with a common sparkler, the kind frequently seen at annual holiday celebrations. That’s when trouble began. Sparks ignited a grass fire and the winds quickly spread the blaze, burning a field where Revolutionary War soldiers had trained, and coming within a half-mile of George Washington’s headquarters. The value of what they put at risk was incalculable. It took thirty units from twelve fire departments over an hour to bring the blaze under control. In the end some thirty acres were charred, and the man with the sparkler was charged with destruction of government property and improper use of fireworks. The Bible says, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body” (vv. 5-6 NIV). “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep…the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3 NKJV). “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil” (1 Peter 3:10 NKJV). “The lips of the godly speak helpful words” (See Proverbs 10:21). So make sure your words help, not hurt; build up, not tear down. In other words, be careful what you say!
Soul food: Deut 18-21; Mark 7:14-23; Ps 37:32-40; Prov 12:4-6
2018-05-08
Romans 8:33 NCV
Paul writes: “Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one, because God is the One who makes them right. Who can say God’s people are guilty? No one, because Christ Jesus died, but he was also raised from the dead, and now he is on God’s right side, appealing to God for us” (vv. 33-34 NCV). The accusations of Satan splutter and fall like a deflated balloon. Then why, pray tell, do we still hear them? Why do we, as Christians, still feel guilt? Not all guilt is bad. God uses appropriate doses of guilt to awaken us to sin. We know guilt is God-given when it causes “indignation…alarm…longing…concern…readiness to see justice done” (2 Corinthians 7:11 NIV). God’s guilt brings enough regret to change us. Satan’s guilt, on the other hand, brings enough regret to enslave us. Don’t let him lock his shackles on you! Remember: “Your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). When God looks at you, He sees Jesus first. In the Chinese language the word for righteousness is a combination of two characters: the figure of a lamb and a person. The lamb is on top, covering the person. Whenever God looks down at you, this is what He sees: the perfect Lamb of God covering you. Only once in Scripture is it recorded that Jesus wrote something. And He wrote it on the ground, saying to an accused sinner He’d just forgiven, “You are free from condemnation. Go, and sin no more” (See John 8:10-11). So the word for you today is: Trust your advocate, and not your accuser!
Soul food: Deut 14-17; Mark 7:1-13; Ps 37:25-31; Prov 12:1-3
2018-05-07
Revelation 12:10 NLT
The apostle John wrote: “I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens…’For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth – the one who accuses them before our God day and night'” (v. 10 NLT). Satan has only one aim: “To steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). He’ll steal your peace, kill your dreams, and destroy your future. And he has deputized a horde of silver-tongued demons to help him. He enlists people to peddle his poison. Friends dredge up your past. Preachers proclaim all guilt and no grace. And some parents distribute it twenty-four hours a day. Long into adulthood you still hear their voices: “Why can’t you grow up?” “When are you going to make me proud?” So what’s the answer? Jesus! He’s “in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us” (Romans 8:34 TM). Let that sink in for a moment. In the presence of God, in defiance of Satan, Jesus Christ rises to your defense. He takes on the role of a priest. “And since we have a great priest over God’s house, let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience” (Hebrews 10:21-22 NCV). A clean conscience. A clean record. A clean heart. Free from accusation – free from condemnation. Not just from our past mistakes, but from our future ones. “Since he will live forever, he will always be there to remind God that he has paid for [our] sins with his blood” (Hebrews 7:25 TLB). So don’t listen to your accuser – trust your advocate!
Soul food: Deut 11-13; Mark 6:45-56; Ps 37:16-24; Prov 11:30-31
2018-05-06
Isaiah 30:29 NKJV
Why does the Bible say, “It is good to sing praises to our God” (Psalm 147:1 NKJV)? Because when you express the promises of God’s Word in song, your faith is strengthened. The Great Depression of the 1930s hit a businessman named J. C. Penney particularly hard, endangering his very health. Anxious and desperate because of his huge financial losses, Penney sank so low he felt he had nothing left to live for. Even his family and friends shunned him. In the hospital one night, he grew so demoralized that he expected to die before morning! Then he heard singing coming from the hospital chapel. The words of the song were: “Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you. Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you.” Entering the chapel, he listened to the song, the Scripture reading, and the prayer. He wrote: “Suddenly – something happened. I can’t explain it. I can only call it a miracle. I felt as if I’d been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into warm, brilliant sunlight.” From that day on, J. C. Penney was never again plagued with worry. He described those moments in the chapel as “the most dramatic and glorious twenty minutes of my life.” And when he died at ninety-five, he left behind 1,660 department stores bearing his name. When nothing else works, the praises of God set to music can lift you out of a spiritual funk. That’s why the Bible says, “It is good to sing praises to our God.” Try it and see for yourself. It works!
Soul food: Gal 5:22; Luke 6:27-36; Exo 23:1-9; Rom 12:14-21
