2018-03-15
Philippians 4:6 CEV
The Bible says, “With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then…God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel” (vv. 6-7 CEV). When you pray more, you worry less. That means you have a choice: Either pray about it or worry about it. In prayer you give the problem to God, therefore you experience more peace of mind. Does that mean you won’t worry about the problem at all? No. It means you’ll worry about it less. While your goal is to give it completely to God and not worry about it at all, you’ll only get there step by step. God’s not asking you to exist in a state of denial. “Don’t worry – be happy!” fails to appreciate the seriousness of the concerns you have. God doesn’t expect you to suddenly stop caring. Instead He offers an alternative to the pointless and exhausting habit of worry: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Does that mean a thirty-second prayer will rid you of all anxiety? No. It means start your day with prayer, and continue praying off and on throughout the day. Pray as you drive. Pray at work. Pray before your lunch break. Pray when you get that difficult phone call. Pray when you’re disappointed by something. Pray when surprises come. Pray when you triumph. Pray in the midst of painful news. Pray without ceasing – literally. Your heavenly Father, being deeply touched by your struggles, loves it when you come to Him asking for help. He’s right there, ready to step in. Just invite Him to do it.
Soul food: 2 Kings 11-12; Matt 23:29-24:2; Ps 135; Prov 7:21-23
2018-03-14
Mark 14:6 NIV
Most of us are good actors, but it’s difficult to fake a reaction. And when the woman broke the alabaster jar, the reaction of the disciples is telling. “Why this waste?” They thought she was pouring her perfume down the drain by pouring it at Jesus’ feet. They called it a waste, but He called it “a beautiful thing.” Then He went on to say, “Wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (v. 9 NIV). Can you imagine what this one statement did for her self-image? It had probably been years since she’d heard a kind word or a compliment. Those words could be paraphrased, “You may not believe in yourself, but I believe in you.” No one can spot potential like Jesus. That’s because He’s the One who gave it to us in the first place. And that’s why God will never give up on you. It’s not in His nature (See Philippians 1:6). His “goodness and mercy will follow [you] all the days of [your] life” (Psalm 23:6). All you have to do is turn around. This woman was desperate enough to crash the party, and Jesus responds to desperate people. How desperate are you? Desperate enough to make a move, make a change, make a sacrifice? Desperate enough to pray through the night? Read through the Bible? Reconcile the conflict? Plead with a friend who is a lost cause? Give your life savings to a kingdom cause? The path of least resistance won’t get you to where you need to be. But if you go out of your way for God, God will go out of His way for you.
Soul food: 2 Kings 9-10; Matt 23:15-28; Ps 28; Prov 7:14-20
2018-03-13
Mark 14:5 NIV
It’s possible the alabaster jar of perfume represented every penny of this woman’s life savings. The value is evidenced by the fact that two gospel writers find it noteworthy enough to give us a written estimate: three hundred denarii – the equivalent of an entire year’s salary. Let’s get down to brass tacks. For most of us, the alabaster jar of perfume is money. It’s our nest egg. It’s our paycheck. It’s our retirement fund. And the question is this: Are you willing to give it all away? We’re not suggesting you should not pay your bills or plan for your future or take care of your family. But if God prompted you to give it all away, would you be willing to break your alabaster jar and pour it all at the feet of Jesus? During his lifetime, John Wesley gave away approximately thirty thousand pounds. Adjusted for inflation, that’s more than $1,764,705.88 in today’s dollars. Wesley made a covenant with God in 1731 to limit his income to twenty-eight pounds a year. But the first year he made only thirty pounds, so he gave just two pounds. The next year his income doubled, and because he managed to continue living on twenty-eight pounds, he gave away thirty-two pounds. He never had more than one hundred pounds in his possession because he was afraid of storing up earthly treasure. He believed God’s blessing should result in raising our standard of giving, not our standard of living. Even when his income rose to thousands of pounds, he lived simply and gave away all surplus money. He died with a few coins in his pocket, but a storehouse of treasure in heaven. Think about it!
Soul food: 2 Kings 7-8; Matt 23:1-14; Ps 27; Prov 7:10-13
2018-03-12
Luke 7:37 NIV
The Bible says, “A woman who had lived a sinful life…brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping…poured perfume on them” (vv. 37-38 NIV). This perfume was pure nard, a perennial herb that is harvested in the Himalayas. Half a litre of it! And the jar itself, made of translucent gemstones, was probably a family heirloom. It might even have been her dowry. Plain and simple, it was her most precious possession. How ironic, yet how appropriate that the perfume used in her profession as a prostitute would become the token of her profession of faith when she poured out every last drop at the feet of Jesus. Breaking that bottle was her way of breaking with the past. No more masking the stench of sin with the sweet scent of perfume. No more secrets. No more shame. She walked out of the dark shadow of sin into the light of the world. There comes a moment when you have to come clean with God. A moment when you need to unveil your secrets, struggles, and sins. A moment when you need to fall full weight on the grace of God. Why do we act as though our sin disqualifies us from the grace of God? That is the only thing that qualifies us! Anything else is a self-righteous attempt to earn God’s grace. You cannot trust God’s grace 99 percent. It’s all or nothing. When we try to save ourselves, we forfeit the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ alone, by grace through faith (See Ephesians 2:8-9).
Soul food: 2 Kings 4:18-6:33; Matt 22:34-46; Ps 112; Prov 7:6-9
2018-03-11
Psalm 51:6 NKJV
The Bible says, ‘…Nor was any deceit in [Christ’s] mouth’ (Isaiah 53:9 NIV). And if God has His way with us, none will be found in ours either. God doesn’t seek to minimise our deception, but to eliminate it altogether. He is blunt about dishonesty. ‘No one who is dishonest will live in my house…’ (Psalms 101:7 NCV). Paul lists the types of people who will not inherit the kingdom of God – those who sin sexually, worship idols, get drunk, rob people, and – lie about others (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). ‘You mean my fibbing and flattering stir the same heavenly anger as adultery and aggravated assault?’ Apparently so. God views fudging on income tax in the same way as He views kneeling before idols. ‘The Lord hates those who tell lies but is pleased with those who keep their promises’ (Proverbs 12:22 NCV). Why the tough stance? Because dishonesty is absolutely contrary to the character of God (Hebrews 6:18). It’s not that God won’t lie, or has chosen not to lie, but that He cannot lie. A dog can’t fly, a bird can’t bark, and God can’t lie. When He makes a covenant, He keeps it. When He makes a statement, He means it. When He proclaims the truth, we can believe it. Even, ‘If we are not faithful, [God] remains faithful, because He cannot be false to Himself’ (2 Timothy 2:13 GNT). With God, the truth is not a gray area, it’s black and white. So if you’re serious about walking with Him and pleasing Him, you must commit to ‘the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.’
Soul food: Exo 20:17; 2 Kings 5:1-27; Ecc 5:10; Luke 12:13-34
2018-03-10
Acts 6:4 NKJV
In Disciplines of a Godly Man, pastor and author R. Kent Hughes says: “Jay Sidlow Baxter once shared a page from his own personal diary with a group of pastors who had inquired about the discipline of prayer. He began telling how…he entered the ministry determined he would be a real man of prayer. However, it wasn’t long before his increasing responsibilities, administrative duties, and the subtle subterfuges of pastoral life began to crowd prayer out. Moreover, he began to get used to it, making excuses for himself. Then one morning it all came to a head as he stood over his work-strewn desk and looked at his watch. The voice of the Spirit was calling him to pray. At the same time another velvety voice was telling him to be practical and get his letters answered, and that he ought to face the fact that he wasn’t one of the ‘spiritual sort’ – only a few people could be like that. ‘That last remark,’ says Baxter, ‘hurt like a dagger blade. I couldn’t bear to think it was true.’ He was horrified by his ability to rationalize away the very ground of his ministerial vitality and power.” Understand this: Minutes invested in prayer will give you a greater return than hours spent in ceaseless activity. The New Testament apostles understood that. As the church grew bigger and they became busier, they made a life-changing decision: “We will give ourselves continually to prayer and…the word.” As a result the church grew and multiplied. So make prayer a priority!
Soul food: 2 Kings 1:1-4:17; Matt 22:15-33; Ps 106:24-48; Prov 7:3-5
