2017-10-14
Psalm 119:165 KJV
Are you easily upset? Even over little things? Spend more time praying and reading your Bible. The following article turned up in a newspaper: “A lady took my seat in church. She’s very nice…a good friend, in fact. I can sit anyplace; no big deal. My seat’s on the right as you enter the sanctuary. I can rest my arm on the end. It’s a good seat, but I wouldn’t raise a fuss about a seat…never hold a grudge. Actually, it was three months ago she took it and I really don’t know why. I’ve never done anything to her…never taken her seat. I suppose I’ll have to come an hour early to get my seat. She took it because it’s one of the best seats in the house. She’d no business taking it…and I’m not going to church two hours early to get what’s rightfully mine. This is the way social injustices begin: abusive people taking other people’s seats. It’s the way seeds of revolution are sown. A person can only stand so much. Where’s it all going to end? If somebody doesn’t stand up and be counted, nobody’s seat will be safe. People will sit anywhere they please, and next time they’ll take my parking place. World order will be in a shambles!” We smile, but it’s amazing how quickly we get bent out of shape when our little routine is disrupted. Do you know why the Christian life is described as “the high calling” (Philippians 3:14 KJV)? Because it means taking the high road and serving others, rather than taking the low road and putting ourselves first.
Soul food: Exo 28-29; John 3:9-21; Ps 100; Prov 26:27-28
2017-10-13
Hebrews 4:12 CEV
As you read the Bible, God will give you strength and guidance for your life that you simply can’t get any other way. Eliphaz said to Job the patriarch: “He bruises, but he binds up; he wounds, but his hands make whole” (Job 5:18 NKJV). That’s what God does to you as you read the Scriptures. “His Word can cut through our spirits.” Others see what we do, but when we get alone with God and open the Scriptures, He reveals to us what we are. He brings to the surface long-standing and unresolved issues, and helps us to deal with them. He confronts us over our stubborn habits and shows us how to conquer them. He pinpoints our selfish and unloving attitudes, giving us a chance to repent and change our ways. The old Quakers had a saying: “Sin will keep you from your Bible, and your Bible will keep you from sin.” You say, “But when I get up in the morning, I’m so busy that I don’t have time to read the Bible.” Then read it when you come home at night! You say, “By the time I get home from work at night, I’m exhausted and can’t concentrate on anything!” You must rearrange your priorities. If you spend hours watching television, surely you can spend some time each day reading your Bible. The truth is that we make time for the things that we want, that we value, and that we enjoy. So ask God to give you a greater appetite for His Word. Then read your Bible, and watch your appetite for it grow!
Soul food: Exo 25-27; John 3:1-8; Ps 89:38-52; Prov 26:23-26
2017-10-12
Philippians 4:8 NLT
In order to change your life, you must first change your thinking. And that’s not easy when you’ve spent your life thinking a certain way. Minister and columnist Dr. Frank Crane said, “Our best friends and our worst enemies are our thoughts.” King Solomon put it this way: “As [a man] thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7 NAS). To change your thinking, you must do it – one thought at a time. That calls for discipline and determination. But it’s worth it. If you wanted to compete in a marathon you wouldn’t go on an all-candy diet, would you? The fuel you put into something determines its performance. Yet we disregard this basic piece of wisdom: What you feed everything else is nothing compared to what you feed your mind! Here’s a truth that will transform you: Think excellent thoughts! What enters your mind repeatedly, occupies it, shapes it, controls it, and in the end expresses itself in what you do and who you become. Your mind will absorb and reflect whatever it’s exposed to. The events you attend, the relationships you build, the materials you read or don’t read, the music you listen to, the media images you’re exposed to, the conversations you engage in, and the thoughts you entertain all shape your mind, and eventually your character and your destiny. So what should you do? Start each day by praying: “Lord, I want the kind of mind Your Word describes. One that’s filled with excellent, admirable, honorable, praiseworthy thoughts” (See Philippians 4:8). Can you imagine what your life would be like if you constantly prayed that way and programmed your thinking accordingly?
Soul food: Exo 22-24; John 2:12-25; Ps 89:15-37; Prov 26:20-22
2017-10-11
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). So don’t get involved in anything that doesn’t require you to use your faith. The key to momentum is always having something to look forward to and believe God for. You either venture, or you vegetate. Jesus deliberately sent His disciples into a storm. Why? To develop their faith, and show them that with Him on board you can get through anything! God will keep exposing you to difficult situations because He knows it’s the only way your faith will grow. Nineteenth-century American preacher and abolitionist Phillips Brooks wrote, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your power, pray for power equal to your tasks.” You don’t tap into God’s resources until you attempt something that seems humanly impossible. That’s when you discover: “I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power” (Philippians 4:13 TLB). All progress involves risk. In baseball you can’t steal second base while your foot’s still on first base. And progress involves overcoming fear. One day when David was tending his sheep, “there came a lion” (1 Samuel 17:34). But in God’s strength he defeated it – plus a bear, and later a giant called Goliath. That lion was just an opportunity in disguise. If David had wavered or run away, he’d have missed his chance to become king of Israel. So when a lion of fear comes into your life, recognize it for what it is: an opportunity from God to rise up in faith and conquer it.
Soul food: Exo 19-21; John 2:1-11; Ps 89:1-14; Prov 26:17-19
2017-10-10
Proverbs 27:6 CEV
Here are two “superglue” qualities that can permanently cement any friendship: honesty and loyalty. The Bible says, “You can trust a friend who corrects you, but kisses from an enemy are nothing but lies.” A real friend may upset you by telling you the truth, but he or she will tell you the truth nonetheless. They may not always tell you what you want to hear, but if they truly love you, they’ll tell you what you need to hear. In the short run it may hurt, but in the long run it will help you. When you want to measure a relationship to determine whether it qualifies as a genuine friendship, here are two questions you should ask the other person: (1) Can I trust you enough to be totally honest with me? (2) Can I trust you enough to be totally honest with you? Only a true friendship expects and can survive such mutual honesty. The other quality involved in keeping a friend is loyalty. “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24 NKJV). The word stick refers to how skin sticks to the bone. It’s a poignant picture of just how closely knit one friend should be to another. Loyalty is the one thing a person should never have to question about his or her friend. A true friend will always be your defense attorney before he or she becomes your judge. There’s no such thing as “a fair-weather friend.” You don’t need friends in fair weather; you need them when the weather gets nasty. A fair-weather friend is no friend at all.
Soul food: Exo 16-18; John 1:43-51; Ps 110; Prov 26:13-16
2017-10-09
Proverbs 13:20 NIV
The story’s told of a farmer who was being pestered every day by a flock of crows in his cornfield. Deciding he’d had enough, he loaded his shotgun and crawled unseen along the fence-row, determined to blow those pesky crows out of the sky. Turns out this farmer had a very sociable parrot that indiscriminately made friends with everybody, and seeing the flock of crows he flew over and joined them in an effort to be friendly. The farmer saw the crows but didn’t see his parrot, so he took careful aim, fired, then jumped up and ran over to see how many crows he had shot. Lo and behold, there was his parrot lying on the ground with a broken wing and a chipped beak, but still alive. The farmer tenderly picked him up and brought him home, where his children ran out to meet him. Seeing the injured parrot, they tearfully asked, “Daddy, what happened?” But before he could answer, the parrot spoke up: “That’s what you get for hanging out with the wrong crowd.” You can never be at the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, if you’re with the wrong crowd. And as a parent, you need to teach this to your children. Monitor their Internet use, and warn them about predators who deliberately prowl online looking for “friends.” You say, “But I can’t even turn on a computer!” If you love your child, you’ll learn! Web-based horror stories of children being hurt and led astray are multiplying daily. If this sounds strong and urgent – that’s because it is!
Soul food: Exo 13-15; John 1:29-42; Ps 23; Prov 26:10-12
