2018-06-02
Daniel 3:1 NIV
It’s safe to say that anyone who builds a ninety-foot-tall statue to themselves is probably compensating for something. This statue was the epitome of pride. We all have a little Nebuchadnezzar in us. We’d never build a ninety-foot-tall statue of ourselves, but we get upset when people don’t bow to our wishes. We’d never throw someone into a fiery furnace, but our anger heats up when we don’t get our own way. We seek worship in more subtle ways. We exaggerate on our résumé, put down others behind their back, and tell white lies to hide the gray areas of our lives. If you don’t find your identity and security in what Christ has accomplished for you on the cross, you’ll hide your insecurities behind your hypocrisy. You’ll try to fight your own battles, create your own opportunities, and establish your own reputation. Two Scriptures define the fall of King Saul: (1) “Then Saul built an altar to the Lord” (1 Samuel 14:35 NLT). (2) “Saul…set up a monument to himself” (1 Samuel 15:12 NLT). And Samuel saw right through the smoke screen: “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel?” (1 Samuel 15:17 NLT). You know who builds monuments to themselves? Those who think little of themselves! And the more insecure a person is, the more monuments they need to build. There’s a fine line between “Thy kingdom come” and “My kingdom come.” If you cross that line, your relationship with God is self-serving. You aren’t serving Him, you are using Him. You aren’t building altars to God; you’re building monuments to yourself. And that’s idolatry.
Soul food: Amos 1:1-5:17; Mark 13:12-23; Ps 82; Prov 14:5-8
2018-06-01
Daniel 2:49 NIV
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew if they refused to bow down to the ninety-foot-tall statue of King Nebuchadnezzar, they would be executed. But they made a defining decision to stand up for what was right, rather than bow down to what was wrong. Most of us could have come up with a dozen rationalizations: “I’m bowing down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside,” or “I’ll ask for forgiveness right after I get back up,” or “What good am I to God if I’m dead?” But it’s our rationalizations that often annul His revelations. When we compromise our integrity, we don’t leave room for divine intervention. When we take matters into our own hands, we take God out of the equation. When we try to manipulate a situation, we miss out on the miracle. If Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had compromised their integrity and bowed to the statue, they may still have been delivered from the fiery furnace – but it would have been by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, not God. And it would have been from, not through. They would have forfeited their testimony by failing the test. And while they would have saved their lives, they would have sacrificed their integrity. It was their integrity that triggered the miracle. It was their integrity that allowed God to show up and show off. Their integrity paid off: “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon” (Daniel 3:30 NIV). Bottom line: When you do the right thing, God will do the right thing by you!
Soul food: Lam 3:40-5:22; Mark 13:1-11; Ps 113; Prov 14:1-4
2018-05-31
Acts 27:20 NIV
There are times when God seems inaccessible. When you pray, you feel abandoned in your present circumstances. And not just abandoned, but terrified and even hopeless. Paul understood that feeling. He’d longed for an opportunity to preach in Rome, and was on his way there when a hurricane destroyed his ship. Paul not only foresaw the loss of the ship, its crew and cargo, but “our own lives also” (v. 10 NIV). He tried to warn the crew of the impending tragedy, but his words were disregarded by those in charge. In short, Paul and 276 others were placed in a life-threatening position by the willful disregard of others, and there was nothing he could do about it. Feeling a sense of despair, he and his believing companions declared, “We finally gave up all hope of being saved!” Then after fourteen days lost at sea – when the hurricane was fiercest – God sent an angel. “Do not be afraid, Paul…God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you” (v. 24 NIV). When it looked like Paul’s consuming desire to preach in Rome would be thwarted, God faithfully piloted them through the storm to the exact destination He’d planned for them. Paul would go to Rome and declare God’s Word before Caesar! Are you caught in a storm? Whatever trial you’re facing today, know this one thing: You can trust God to carry you through it. He determines “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10), so you will come out of this stronger and wiser.
Soul food: Lam 1:1-3:39; Mark 12:28-44; Ps 108; Prov 13:24-25
2018-05-30
Hebrews 6:1 NLT
We all get the same 168 hours in our week. But if the only time you devote to your spiritual growth is the time you spend in church on Sunday morning, you’ll never move beyond spiritual infancy. Think about it. An infant can’t feed itself; it chooses candy over carrots; it constantly falls down and has to be picked up; it keeps wandering off and getting into trouble; it’s basically self-centered and needs to be disciplined and trained. Are you getting the picture? The new birth is exciting, but it’s supposed to be your launching pad, not your crib. The Bible says, “Let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.” Note the words “Let us.” That means it’s up to you! At some point you’ve got to say to yourself, “Starting today I’m going to do what it takes to grow up spiritually and discover God’s plan for my life.” One day at the end of World War I, General Louis Lyautey asked his gardener to plant a particular type of tree on his estate. The gardener informed him that the tree, being unusually slow to grow, would take nearly a century to reach maturity. “In that case,” the general replied, “there’s no time to lose. Plant it this afternoon!” Here’s a fail-safe plan for growing into spiritual maturity: “They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (Psalm 1:2-3 NLT).
Soul food: Gal 4-6; Mark 12:13-27; Ps 101; Prov 13:20-23
2018-05-29
Acts 1:3 NKJV
Evidence of Christ’s resurrection has been examined more carefully than evidence of any other fact in history! It has been weighed and considered by some of the greatest scholars, among them Simon Greenleaf, who held first the Royall, and then the Dane professorships of law at Harvard University from 1833 to 1848. He helped bring Harvard Law School to prominence, and is viewed as one of the greatest authorities on legal evidence in the history of the world. When Greenleaf turned his mind to the resurrection and examined it in light of all the laws of evidence, he concluded that it was a reality, that it was a historical event, and that anyone who honestly examined the evidence would be convinced this was the case. And it was for Dr. Frank Morison, a British lawyer/engineer who set out to write a book repudiating the resurrection of Christ. He did, in fact, write his book – but it wasn’t the book he intended to write! As he examined the evidence, this skeptical lawyer found it so overwhelming that he was forced to accept it, and became a believer. The book he wrote, Who Moved the Stone? details evidence of the resurrection, and the opening chapter is entitled “The Book That Refused to Be Written.” A Union general in the Civil War, attorney Lew Wallace, also set out to write a book disproving the deity of Christ and His resurrection – and ended up defending it in his famous book Ben-Hur, described as “the most influential book of the nineteenth century.” Christ arose! Your redeemed loved ones will too, and you can spend eternity with them in God’s presence.
Soul food: Gal 1-3; Mark 12:1-12; Ps 128; Prov 13:17-19
2018-05-28
Galatians 6:2 NLT
Dr. Raymond Vath said, “We must do for others what they cannot do for themselves, but we must not do for them what they will not do for themselves. The problem is finding the wisdom to know the difference.” You can be too helpful! By doing for somebody what they can do for themselves, you undermine their self-reliance and create an unhealthy dependence. So instead of rushing in and taking over: (1) Show them manageable action steps. By helping them take charge of their life you’re arming them against despair and powerlessness. And by validating their efforts you’re helping them to rebuild their fragile confidence. A word of caution, however: When the crisis involves irreversible loss like divorce or death, the work of simply getting through one day at a time is action enough. (2) Give them hope. In the depth of crisis there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel – a sense that the suffering will go on endlessly. Growth and improvement can’t happen without hope. Hope provides energy, and brings relief based on the conviction that things will improve. God promises, “I will bless you with a future filled with hope – a future of success, not…suffering” (Jeremiah 29:11 CEV). (3) Be sure to follow up. Crises are seldom resolved quickly. Although life may eventually take on some semblance of normalcy, there may be episodes of relapse into sadness, helplessness, or loneliness. Your words may bring comfort, but your ongoing attentiveness will help the hurting person maintain faith and progress in their journey to healing.
Soul food: Judg 19:16-21:25; Mark 11:27-33; Ps 45; Prov 13:13-16
