2018-04-26
Proverbs 20:4 NKJV
The sluggard sees an obstacle in every opportunity. Though he can’t hold down a job, there’s always a good excuse. The hours are too long, the pay is too little, the work is too hard, people are too demanding – take your pick. And don’t worry, if you don’t like any of those excuses the sluggard has plenty more. Have you heard the one about the lion? Solomon writes, “The lazy man says, ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!'” (Proverbs 22:13 NKJV). Thomas Edison, the epitome of a worker and the antithesis of a sluggard, said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” A sluggard is never without an excuse. It’s always too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry to work. “The lazy man will not plow because of winter.” If sluggards harmed only themselves it would be one thing, but they hurt everybody else too. “He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer” (Proverbs 18:9 NKJV). Chuck Swindoll says: “That word ‘destroys’ pulsates with liabilities. A lazy employee doesn’t simply hold an organization back; he destroys its motivation and drive. A lazy player doesn’t just weaken the team; he destroys its spirit and diminishes its will to win. A lazy pastor doesn’t merely limit a church, he destroys its enthusiasm, its passion to win souls and meet needs. Before long, everyone must do more to compensate for the sluggard’s negative influence.” So again, the word for you today is: Don’t be a sluggard!
Soul food: Acts 18-19; Mark 4:35-41; Ps 7:10-17; Prov 11:7-9
2018-04-25
Proverbs 6:9 NKJV
The sluggard never does today what he can put off until tomorrow, and he never does tomorrow what he can put off forever. His favorite work day is – tomorrow. That’s why God asks, “How long will you slumber, O sluggard?” When someone is capable of working and jobs are available, you may be talking to a sluggard if you’re continually asking, “How long are you going to take off between jobs?” Or, “When are you going to look for another job?” The story’s told of a college student who was trying to decide whether or not he should study. He grabbed a coin, flipped it, and in mid-air said, “Heads, I’m going to the movies. Tails, I’m going to watch TV. And if it stands on its edge – I’m going to study!” Incidentally, some sluggards are even too lazy to flip the coin! The sluggard is a person who’s always going to “get around to doing the job,” but never “gets around” to “getting around.” Parent, teach your children that when a job is to be started is as important as when it is to be completed. A child’s favorite response to a command is often, “In just a minute.” Don’t start buying it, or you’ll be paying forever. Teach your kids that “now” means now, and “finish” means don’t turn the TV back on until the job’s done. This is an important truth because as one leader said, “When you do what you have to do, when you have to do it, then you get to do what you want to do, when you want to do it.”
Soul food: Acts 16-17; Mark 4:30-34; Ps 7:1-9; Prov 11:3-6
2018-04-24
Proverbs 6:6 NKJV
What exactly is a sluggard? Robert Hicks says, “Feeling we’re entitled to things without being willing to do the necessary labor to obtain them makes us a society of sluggards.” There’s one thing you’ll never convince the sluggard of: that he’s a sluggard. “The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly” (Proverbs 26:16 NKJV). Even if seven wise men tell him he’s lazy, he will not admit it – no matter if he’s outnumbered seven to one. You can tell a sluggard, but you can’t tell him much. “The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor” (Proverbs 21:25 NKJV). A sluggard’s two favorite words are “one day.” You can hear him or her saying, “One day I’m going to hit it big.” Or, “One day I’m going to own my own business.” Or, “One day I’m going to…” (You fill in the blank)! He or she always has an excuse as to why they can’t work. That’s the meaning of Solomon’s statement: “The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is a highway” (Proverbs 15:19 NKJV). When the sluggard looks out the front door of life, he doesn’t see a highway of opportunity, he only sees one big briar patch. Benjamin Franklin was right when he said, “I never knew a man who was good at making excuses, who was good at anything else.” Bottom line: The sluggard would rather make an excuse than make a living. So the word for you today is: Don’t be a sluggard!
Soul food: Acts 14-15; Mark 4:21-29; Ps 16; Prov 11:1-2
2018-04-23
2 Peter 3:18 NIV
Every day you live you’ll be presented with opportunities to “grow in grace.” And you must always be open and receptive to them. A grandmother celebrating her fiftieth wedding anniversary shared the secret of her long and happy relationship: “On my wedding day I decided to make a list of ten of my husband’s faults, which for the sake of our marriage I would overlook. I never did get around to listing any. Each time he did something I didn’t like, I’d say to myself, ‘Lucky for him that’s one of the ten!'” Now there’s a very wise lady! Physical intimacy may bring us together, but growing in grace will keep us together. So when someone upsets you, instead of responding with angry words or angry silence, remind yourself that God is giving you another opportunity to “grow in grace.” And if you don’t do too well with some of the opportunities He sends, don’t worry, He will keep sending more until you get it right! Resentment is one of the most expensive luxuries you can indulge in. A deep-seated grudge eats away at your peace of mind like a deadly cancer destroying a vital organ. In fact, there are few things as sad as a person who has harbored a grudge for years. Without forgiveness, life becomes an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. One of the secrets to a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody, everything, every night before you go to bed. It’s the key to having personal peace. So start getting serious about the Bible admonition: “Grow in grace.”
Soul food: Acts 12-13; Mark 4:10-20; Ps 103:13-22; Prov 10:30-32
2018-04-22
Luke 7:44 NKJV
Luke writes: “Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ‘This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner'” (vv. 37-39 NKJV). This scene took place in the house of Simon, a religious leader who was more concerned about “right and wrong” than he was about hurting people. He may have been theologically correct, but he lacked compassion. And Jesus confronted him about it! “He turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?'” Simon saw her as a streetwalker and a loser. But not Jesus. He responded to the gift she brought and to the heart of love behind it. In determining her future potential to God’s Kingdom, He didn’t consult her sordid past or even refer to it. He saw her tears, understood her need, and shocked the religious crowd that day by saying, “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 48 NKJV). Be careful: When you’ve been in church for a while and forgotten what it’s like to be on the outside, you can become hard-hearted and fail to show the love of God to those who need it.
Soul food: Gal 5:22; 2 Pet 3:3-15; Matt 5:39; 1 Sam 25:1-42
2018-04-21
Ephesians 3:8 NKJV
One day the Pharisees caught a woman in the act of adultery. The law of Moses was clear; she must be stoned. And the Pharisees were ready to do it. This woman probably thought that Jesus, being righteous, would agree. She had no lawyer to defend her, not even a character witness! But suddenly Jesus stoops and begins to write in the sand. Some scholars think that perhaps He wrote down their sins, including times and places, etc. When He looks up, the woman’s accusers have gone. He says to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11 NKJV). That day Jesus lifted her from a position of undeniable guilt to one of unconditional pardon. She didn’t deserve it; she didn’t even know it was possible. And that’s your story too, isn’t it? One day Abraham Lincoln watched a plantation owner bidding for a slave girl. Figuring he was going to buy her and abuse her, Lincoln paid the price to set her free. “Does this mean I can go wherever I want to go?” she asked. Lincoln said, “Yes, you’re free!” With tears streaming down her face she replied, “Then, sir, I will go with you.” The word “grace” is so important Paul mentions it three times more than any other writer. Remembering the violent life he lived, he writes, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given.” The word “grace” comes from the Greek word charis, meaning “pure joy.” Although you don’t deserve it, God considers saving you to be a “pure joy.”
Soul food: Acts 10-11; Mark 4:1-9; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 10:27-29
