2017-10-08
Proverbs 18:24 NKJV
In order to have a good friend, you must first try to be a good friend. An unknown poet wrote, “I went out to find a friend, but could not find one there; I went out to be a friend, and friends were everywhere.” Friendship doesn’t require having a dynamic personality. Even shy, quiet, and reserved individuals can learn to be friendly. It’s next to impossible to have no friends, if you yourself are friendly. And the opposite is also true. Psychologists asked a group of college students to jot down the initials of the people they disliked most. Some of the students could think of only one person, while others listed as many as fourteen. But an interesting fact that came out of the research was that those who disliked the largest number of people, were themselves the most widely disliked. You’ll find that the more likeable you are, the more likely you are to like other people and be liked by them. So here are five ways to make friends: (1) Maintain eye contact. When you talk to people, look them in the eye. (2) Smile! It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, only fourteen to smile – and a smile warms hearts and encourages conversation. (3) Call people by their names. Strangers are just that, strange, but a friend is known. (4) Talk to others about their favorite topic – themselves. (5) Find an occasion to give a word of encouragement, a compliment, or show an act of kindness. When you find a person with these five traits, you’ve found someone who has a reputation for being friendly.
Soul food: Exo 17:8-16; 2 Cor 1:3-7
2017-10-07
Proverbs 18:24 NAS
With few exceptions, your success in life depends on your ability to establish and maintain relationships with the right people. According to a report by the American Management Association the overwhelming consensus of two hundred managers who participated in a survey, was that the most important skill of an executive is his or her ability to get along with people. They rated this ability as more vital than intelligence, decisiveness, knowledge, or job skills. Quite frankly, none of us makes very many true friends in life – at least, we better not! Solomon warns, “A man of too many friends comes to ruin.” Friendship requires time, energy, sacrifice, and investing yourself. And not every so-called friend will prove to be one, as Jeremiah warned King Zedekiah: “They misled you and overcame you – those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you” (Jeremiah 38:22 NIV). The wrong friend will betray you, as Judas proved with Jesus. So here’s a good rule of thumb: “Be friendly to everyone, but don’t have everyone as a friend.” Solomon said, “The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray” (Proverbs 12:26 NLT). Charles Spurgeon said, “A man is known by the company he shuns, as well as the company he keeps.” The Hebrew word for “choose” is tur, and in the Old Testament it refers to a man like a surveyor who searches out land. So if you’re wise, you’ll explore and evaluate your friendships before you enter into them. You say, “But I’m lonely.” As George Washington said, “It is better to be alone than in bad company.”
Soul food: Exo 10-12; John 1:14-28; Ps 131; Prov 26:7-9
2017-10-06
Psalm 40:1 NIV
Anything that’s built well is put together slowly and carefully. Impatience is a sign of immaturity; children can’t wait for anything. Try to understand this: Your impatience won’t move God faster. He works according to His own timetable. Paul writes, “We know that all things work…according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 KJV). Just because the door hasn’t yet opened doesn’t mean that God has changed His mind. The timing may not be right for Him to get maximum glory, and you to get maximum benefit. So what should you do while you’re waiting? Two things: (1) Pray for God’s will. And don’t permit things to come into your life that are contrary to it, especially hurry and worry. Know how to allocate your time, your energy, and your money, including whom you should and shouldn’t spend time with. God says, “I make known the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10 NIV). Before God starts anything, He has a clear picture of the end goal, and He ordains the steps that lead you to it. (2) While you’re waiting – rejoice. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17 NIV). Start thanking God today for what He’s already done, and for what He’s going to do in the future on your behalf. Because He will – He absolutely will come through for you.
Soul food: Exo 7-9; John 1:1-13; Ps 29; Prov 26:4-6
2017-10-05
Zephaniah 3:17 CEV
Some of us think so little of ourselves that we’d rather be in a bad relationship than none at all. Being around people doesn’t guarantee you won’t feel lonely. Actually, being with the wrong people guarantees you’ll end up feeling empty and used. Until you overcome your fear of being alone and wait for God to give you the right relationships, you’ll continue to feel lonely. Sometimes loneliness is more about not liking yourself than about not having people around who like you. Otherwise, why would you spend so much energy avoiding rejection instead of building healthy relationships? Perhaps you think if you don’t get involved you won’t get hurt. Or you’re afraid to open up in case people criticize you for sharing anything personal. Such anxieties just contribute to your sense of isolation. Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “What you picture in your mind, your mind will go to work to accomplish. When you change your pictures, you automatically change your performance.” So: (1) You need a true picture of how God sees you. Paul says, “Because of what Christ has done we have become gifts…God…delights in” (Ephesians 1:11 TLB). Zephaniah writes, “He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.” (2) You need a true picture of yourself. David said, “You…put me together inside my mother’s body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous!” (Psalm 139:13-14 CEV). Having these two pictures clearly in mind stops you from operating with a devalued self-image, and enables you to ask for what you need in a relationship.
Soul food: Lev 23:33-44; John 7:1-40; Zech 14:16-21
2017-10-04
1 Peter 5:7 TLB
Author John Mason writes: “I couldn’t feel at peace. Unless I had everything figured out, I became anxious, restless, nervous, worried, and grouchy…similar to a drug addict who needs a fix. The severity wasn’t the same but the symptoms were. I was a Christian and supposedly walked by faith. I trusted Jesus for salvation, but in other areas I trusted myself.” Are you living that way? Inspirational author William Ward wrote: “Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat. It’s a magnet that attracts negative conditions. Faith is a more powerful force that creates positive circumstances. Worry is wasting today’s time, and cluttering up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.” When an old man was asked what had robbed him of joy in his life, he replied, “Things that never happened.” Do you remember the things you worried about a year ago? Didn’t you expend a lot of energy on them? And didn’t most of them turn out to be fine after all? Almost 99 percent of the things we worry about don’t happen. Did you know that a dense fog covering seven city blocks one hundred feet deep, is composed of less than one glass of water? Just one glass! But it can blot out practically all vision. And a cupful of worry can do the same thing. The Bible says, “Mere mortals can’t run their own lives…men and women don’t have what it takes” (Jeremiah 10:23 TM). Stop trying to control every possible outcome. Life goes better when you decide to stand on God’s Word and trust Him to take care of you.
Soul food: Exo 4-6; Mark 16:9-20; Ps 92; Prov 26:1-3
2017-10-03
Proverbs 25:22 NKJV
It’s not enough to simply leave your enemies alone; you must demonstrate God’s love toward them. “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (vv. 21-22 NKJV). What does it mean to “heap coals of fire on his head”? Charles Swindoll explains that in ancient days, homes were heated and meals were fixed on a small portable stove, somewhat like our outside barbecue grills. Frequently, a person would run low on hot coals and need to replenish his or her supply. The container was commonly carried on the head. So as the individual passed beneath second-story windows, thoughtful people who had extra hot coals in their possession would reach out the window and place them in the container atop their head. Thanks to the thoughtful generosity of a few folks, they would arrive at the site with a pile of burning coals on their head, and a ready-made fire for cooking and keeping warm. “Heaping burning coals on someone’s head” came to be a popular expression for a spontaneous and courteous act one person would voluntarily do for another. When you treat an enemy this way, the Bible promises, “The Lord will reward you.” You have a choice. You can experience the short-term satisfaction of retaliating and get into trouble with God for doing it, or show mercy and kindness and be rewarded by God for doing it. So the word for you today is – treat your enemy with kindness.
Soul food: Exo 1-3; Mark 16:1-8; Ps 63; Prov 25:26-28
