2018-04-16
1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
There are two “whatever” verses in Scripture. Both include the phrase “whatever you do.” (1) “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23 NIV). Your goal in life should be to love what you work at, and work at what you love. But that isn’t reality at every stage of life. Sometimes you’re called to do a good job for a not-so-good company, boss, or salary. Thank God you have a job that supplies your needs; there are unemployed people who would switch places with you. (2) “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” How do you eat and drink for the glory of God? Paul is using our daily rituals to make an all-encompassing point. Even the most mundane of activities is absolutely miraculous. You take approximately twenty-three thousand breaths every day, but when was the last time you thanked God for one of them? We tend to thank God for things that take our breath away. And that’s fine. But maybe we should thank Him for every other breath too! The purpose driven life is described in these words from the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” It can’t be said any simpler, or any better. We exist for one reason and one reason alone: to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. And you’re called to do that in whatever circumstance you find yourself. Any way. Anywhere. Any how. Whatever. Wherever.
Soul food: Joel 1-3; Mark 3:1-6; Ps 56; Prov 10:14-16
2018-04-15
Isaiah 6:3 NKJV
The distinction between sacred and secular is a false dichotomy. All things were created by God and for God – no exceptions. Every note of music, every color on the palette, every flavor that tingles the taste buds. Arnold Sommerfeld, the German physicist and pianist, observed that a single hydrogen atom which emits one hundred frequencies, is more musical than a grand piano which emits only eighty-seven frequencies. So every single atom is a unique expression of worship. According to composer Leonard Bernstein, the best translation of Genesis 1:3 is not “And God said.” He believed a better translation is “And God sang.” The Almighty sang every atom into existence, and every atom echoes that original melody in three-part harmony by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Super-sensitive sound instruments have discovered that earthworms make faint staccato sounds, while whale songs can travel thousands of miles under water. Lewis Thomas put it this way: “If we had better hearing and could discern the descants of seabirds, the rhythmic timpani of schools of mullets, and even the distant harmonies of flies hanging over meadows in the sun, the combined sound might lift us off our feet.” And some day they will. Glorified eardrums will hear this Scripture fulfilled: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!'” (Revelation 5:13 NIV). Today make it your goal to glorify God in all that you do.
Soul food: Gal 5:22; Luke 2:8-20; Prov 3:13-18; Ps 119:161-168
2018-04-14
2 Thessalonians 1:12 NIV
Bach composed 256 cantatas. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring may be his most famous. Nearly four centuries later, it’s still one of the most popular soundtracks as the bride walks down the aisle to meet her groom. The reason his music touches your soul is because it came from his soul. But did you know his cantatas didn’t originate as music, and that they were prayers before they were songs? Before he started scoring a sheet of music he would scrawl JJ – Jesu, Juya – at the very top. It means “Jesus, help me.” Then at the bottom of every composition he inscribed three letters: SDG. They stand for Soli Deo Gloria – “to the glory of God alone.” His life was a unique translation of that singular motive. So is yours. No one can glorify God like you, or for you, because your life is an original score. Soli Deo Gloria is living for an audience of one; it’s doing the right thing for the right reason. It’s living for the applause of the nail-scarred hands. It’s declaring that Jesus Christ is your all in all. Just Jesus. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Paul bottom-lines it: “We constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God” (vv. 11-12 NIV).
Soul food: Jer 51-52; Mark 2:23-28; Ps 50:16-23; Prov 10:11-13
2018-04-13
Zechariah 8:23 NKJV
The prophet Zechariah writes, “Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord…saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'” (vv. 22-23 NKJV). When people see God at work in your life, they’ll be drawn to you. It happened to a short-order cook named Nicholas Herman. Dissatisfied with his life, he worried constantly about whether or not he was even saved. Then one day as he studied a tree, he was struck by the truth in Psalm 1:3: that the secret to growing spiritually lies in being rooted and grounded in God. So he decided to make his life an experiment in what he termed “the habitual, silent, secret conversation of the soul with God.” Today he’s better known as Brother Lawrence, the name his friends gave him. Chances are, you’ve heard of him and his writings. Although he spent his life in obscurity working in a monastery kitchen, how he interacted with God caused people from around the world to long to know God like he did. His friends said he “found God everywhere…as much while repairing shoes as…praying with the community.” And after he died they compiled a book of his letters and conversations called The Practice of the Presence of God. It’s one of the most widely read books of the last four centuries. Jesus said, “If I am lifted up…will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32 NKJV). The more you cultivate the presence of God in your life, the more others will be attracted to Him. So, let others see God in you!
Soul food: Jer 49-50; Mark 2:18-22; Ps 50:1-15; Prov 10:8-10
2018-04-12
Matthew 25:32 NKJV
The Bible says: “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom'” (vv. 32-34 NKJV). But here’s what happens to those on the left hand: “He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me'” (v. 41 NKJV). What determines His choice? How does He separate people? Is it based on the fact that one group was highly moral while the other was loose-living? Is it based on the fact that one group was doctrinally correct while the other went astray theologically? No. Jesus said the destiny of all present will be based on one thing: showing compassion to those in need. You object: “We are saved by faith alone!” Yes. But as Martin Luther pointed out, “The faith that saves us is never alone!” The Bible says that faith without works is dead (See James 2:26). Jesus said that this was the standard by which we’ll be evaluated and rewarded: “I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:36 NKJV). Then He personalized it in these words: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (v. 40 NKJV). That means you must open your heart and respond to the needs around you.
Soul food: Jer 45-48; Mark 2:13-17; Ps 25:16-22; Prov 10:4-7
2018-04-11
Psalm 5:12 NIV
When you ask someone for a favor, you’re generally asking for something they don’t owe you. The Bible says of God: “You bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor.” This word “righteous” doesn’t mean flawless, otherwise none of us would qualify! It means to be clothed in “the righteousness of God,” thereby making us acceptable before God and qualifying us for His favor (2 Corinthians 5:21). And that’s a truth you need to grasp and hold on to! Why? Because when you have God’s favor, people start favoring you too – often for reasons they themselves can’t explain! The favor of God made it possible for people in the Bible who otherwise wouldn’t have amounted to much, to do great things. God called a teenager named Esther to save the Jewish people. So she stepped out in faith, approached the king uninvited, even though it violated protocol, and “obtained favor in his sight” (Esther 5:2 AMPC). God made a way for her to do the job He’d given her. Without the favor of God, Ruth, a Gentile, wouldn’t have been accepted by the Jews. But because God had a plan for her life and her heart was open to Him, she ended up marrying Boaz, “a man of great wealth” (Ruth 2:1 NKJV). And from that union descended King David, and ultimately our blessed Lord Jesus. What favor! The Bible says, “A good man will obtain favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 12:2 NAS). And a single moment of God’s favor will do more for you than a lifetime of striving. So pray for the favor of God today – and start looking for it!
Soul food: Jer 41-44; Mark 2:1-12; Ps 25:8-15; Prov 10:1-3
