2018-01-14
Proverbs 10:4 NKJV
The word diligent means “to cut or sharpen.” It describes a worker who’s sharp, decisive, and keen. He or she wants to work, make a difference, and contribute to their families and to society. Life “owes” you nothing except an opportunity to succeed. And you’ll have to work for that success. One day two teens were talking when one said to the other, “I’m really worried. Dad slaves away at his job so I’ll never want for anything. He pays all my bills and sends me to college. Mom slaves every day washing, ironing, cleaning up after me, and even takes care of me when I’m sick.” Puzzled, his friend asked, “So, what’re you worried about?” He replied, “I’m worried the slaves might escape!” If you’re a parent, teach your children the virtue of diligence. And don’t just preach it – live it! You’ll know you’re succeeding when they no longer feel “entitled” to an allowance, and stop seeing you as a human ATM machine with the words “Give me!” stamped on your forehead. Your children will spend over half the waking hours of their prime adult lives working, and they need to know that it was God’s idea and not a form of punishment. Some people think work was the result of the curse in Eden, but it wasn’t. God gave Adam the job of tending the garden before sin came on the scene (See Genesis 2:15). Jesus was a carpenter (See Mark 6:3). And Paul, one of the greatest Christians in history, was a tentmaker (See Acts 18:1-3). There’s nothing dishonorable about work worth doing, and work done well.
Soul food: Exo 20:4-6; Deut 7:17-8:2; Isa 40:18-31; Col 3:5-10
2018-01-13
Proverbs 10:22 AMPC
When the famous publisher William Randolph Hearst read about a certain painting, he became very interested in acquiring it for his collection. He sent people all over the world to search for it, but they couldn’t find it anywhere. A year later, out of the blue, one of his employees came to him and told him that the painting had been found. Excited about the discovery, Hearst asked where it had been all this time. His employee said, “It was in your basement. You owned it all the time.” The problem was, Hearst had never read the ledger that had the record of everything he owned. Your Bible is a ledger filled with blessings God wants you to experience. Now, none of these blessings are greater than salvation, but it’s not the only blessing. “The blessing of the Lord – it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].” John D. Rockefeller once said he’d exchange his fortune for a chance to go back and work as a clerk in his old Cleveland, Ohio, office. Why? Because he suffered bouts of insomnia, ulcers, and depression. The blessing of God brings success – without stress! God tells you about it in His Word. He wants you to be “rich” in your relationships, in your health, in your peace of mind, in your career, and in everything that concerns you. So get to know what God has promised you, then begin praying and believing Him for it.
Soul food: Lev 21:1-23:25; Matt 6:19-34; Ps 71:17-24; Prov 2:3-5
2018-01-12
2 Corinthians 5:16 NLT
If you tend to associate only with “your own kind,” think about this: “We have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.” Jesus went miles out of His way to meet a Samaritan woman at a well. From a cultural and religious point of view, it was a bad move. First, she’d been divorced five times so she had a tarnished reputation. Second, she was a Gentile. And in those days a Jew couldn’t drink water drawn by Gentiles or eat their food. Jewish physicians couldn’t attend to non-Jewish patients. Jews actually referred to Gentiles as “unclean,” believing that by mixing with them they too would become unclean. But Jesus was all about including people, not excluding them: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 TM). Jesus touched lepers, loved foreigners, and spent so much time with partygoers that religious leaders called him a “lush, a friend of the riffraff” (Matthew 11:19 TM). Jesus didn’t label people; He loved them. And when you follow Him, He puts His finger on your prejudices and makes you deal with them. That’s because He wants to change the way you look at people, not seeing them as Jews or Gentiles, insiders or outsiders, liberals or conservatives, etc. “We have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.” Today you may come across some discarded people like the woman at the well. They may have been thrown out of church, or just turned off by the church. And you’ll have a chance to label them or love them. Honor God – and love them!
Soul food: Lev 18-20; Matt 6:9-18; Ps 71:1-16; Prov 2:1-2
2018-01-11
Colossians 3:16 NKJV
The story’s told of a couple who decided to go duck hunting together. They heard that they needed a good duck hunting dog, so they went to a kennel and got one. They heard that they needed a good shotgun, so they went to the store and bought one. Then they went hunting. At the end of the day they hadn’t got a single duck. The husband said to his wife, “Honey, we’ve got to be doing something wrong here.” His wife replied, “Well, maybe if we throw the dog up a little higher he could catch a duck this time.” When it comes to the Christian life, we try to accomplish things with tools that don’t work or don’t make sense. A dog is not the right weapon to get ducks – you need firepower to bring a duck down. Why did Paul write, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom”? Because when the word of Christ dwells richly in your heart, you’re equipped with God’s wisdom. You can’t solve a problem by using the very elements that caused it. You need God’s wisdom, and it’s found in His Word. Less than 30 percent of Christians read their Bible daily. Think about that: 70 percent of Christians look for the answer in the wrong places. When you have a problem, the first thing you should ask is, “What does God’s Word say about this?” “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130 NKJV). Instead of doing things that don’t work – turn to God’s Word.
Soul food: Lev 15-17; Matt 6:1-8; Ps 46; Prov 1:32-33
2018-01-10
John 8:36 NKJV
When you become a prisoner of war, the enemy controls all your movements and decides what each day of your life will be like. Has the enemy captured you? Perhaps you’ve tried over and over again to be free from your addiction but you are still imprisoned by it. There’s good news: “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Whether you are addicted to drugs, lust, alcohol, gambling, food, or anything else, your answer is not natural – but supernatural. Your addiction is a “symptom” of a deeper spiritual condition that Jesus the Great Physician wants to heal. At the core of every twelve-step program is this truth: It’s only by turning to a power greater than ourselves and developing a relationship with Him, that we can get free and stay free. And we know who that “power” is – Jesus! When you feel “restless, irritable, and discontent,” His presence is what brings peace and serenity. When you’re tempted to turn to your addiction to find relief, His presence fills the emptiness within you and enables you to say no. When you experience “euphoric recall” and begin to think about the best times of your addiction rather than the worst ones, His Word renews your mind and reframes your attitude, showing you the right path to take at that moment: “By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path” (Psalm 119:105 TM). Peter said, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations” (2 Peter 2:9 NKJV). Today, God wants to set you free.
Soul food: Lev 13:38-14:57; Matt 5:38-48; Ps 3; Prov 1:29-31
2018-01-09
Hebrews 11:34 NLT
The word metamorphosis means to be changed from one form into another. In Hebrews chapter eleven, we find famous people such as Moses and David. Did they have weaknesses? Yes. Did they sometimes struggle? Absolutely. But: “Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle.” Picture a caterpillar morphing into a butterfly. It starts out slow and slimy, and takes hours to crawl two or three feet. When it undergoes the process of metamorphosis, however, it becomes a beautiful butterfly that can fly long distances by simply riding the air currents. The butterfly’s wings developed as a result of struggling in the cocoon until it broke free. No fight, no flight! Getting the idea? Are you struggling with something today? Are you in a spiritual battle? It’s your struggles that develop your strength, and your battles that bring your victories. Satan doesn’t want you to know that. He hopes the battle you are in will destroy you instead of develop you, so he keeps pouring on the pressure. When Paul’s life became so hard that he thought he couldn’t stand another day of it, God told him, “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 TM). How did Paul respond? He writes: “It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take my limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size – abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become” (vv. 9-10 TM).
Soul food: Lev 11:1-13:37; Matt 5:27-37; Ps 42:6-11; Prov 1:24-28
