2017-10-02
Ezekiel 40:4 NKJV
If you train yourself to listen carefully to what someone is saying, they will generally tell you who and what they are before you get into a relationship with them. Prevention is better than cure! But more times than not, when someone begins to warn us of their weaknesses and what to expect, we jump in with our motivational “Oh no, that can’t be true” thoughts, and encourage them to move forward with us. We need to learn the priceless art of listening without interrupting. If you do, you’ll save yourself years of tears, secret disappointments, and negative experiences. Rather than using your optimism and persuasive style to coerce somebody into accepting your goals and objectives, you need to know when a person can’t become something just because you want them to or believe they can. They can’t run on your fuel! Your character and maturity won’t make up for their lack of it. Without your awareness of this principle, these high-maintenance relationships can weary you and drain your strength for years. In private or professional relationships, if you have to keep motivating to get started, you’ll have to keep motivating to maintain. On the other hand, if you look, listen, pray, and observe, you can decide whether it’s worth the effort to engage in the relationship in the first place. And if you ask God, He will guide you in this: His Word says, “Look with your eyes…hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here…that I might show them to you.”
Soul food: 1 Cor 15-16; Mark 15:33-47; Ps 51; Prov 25:23-25
2017-10-01
John 15:2 NLT
Jesus said the vine dresser “cuts off every branch…that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes [cuts back] the branches that do bear fruit so they…produce even more.” Notice two things: (1) God cuts some things off. “What kind of things?” Things you’re comfortable with but that stand in the way of your progress. Things He hasn’t chosen for you. Things that will bring you trouble. Things that refuse to change. Things that have served their purpose. (2) God cuts some things back. A fruit tree that’s just been pruned certainly doesn’t look its best. And when God starts cutting back certain things in your life in order to redirect your energies, for a while you may not look so good either. Sometimes this means letting go of things you thought would always be there, or reprioritizing your life, or making do with less for a while, or not being able to explain to your loved ones why you’re going through the pruning process. But life-giving sap flowing into a barren branch with no potential for fruitfulness is a waste! And so is time, attention, and energy taken from first things and given to second and third things. Understand this: God knows what needs to be cut off in your life, and He knows what needs to be cut back. And although you may not understand what He’s doing, pray: “Send whoever You will and take away whoever You will. I’ll praise You when they come and I’ll praise You when they go, because Your approval is my reward and Your purpose is my reason to live.”
Soul food: Eph 5:21-33; S of S 2:1-7; Prov 5:15-19
2017-09-30
Psalm 27:1 NIV
What hope or help does the atheist or agnostic have? None! Writer and editorialist W. O. Saunders said in American Magazine: “I’d like to introduce you to one of the loneliest and unhappiest individuals on earth…the man who doesn’t believe in God. I can introduce you to such a man because I myself am one, and in introducing myself you shall have an introduction to the agnostic or sceptic in your own neighbourhood, for he is everywhere in the land. You’ll be surprised to know that the agnostic envies your faith in God, your settled belief in a heaven after life, and your blessed assurance that you’ll meet with your loved ones in an afterlife where there’ll be neither sadness nor pain. He’d give anything to be able to embrace that faith and be comforted by it, but for him there is only the grave and the persistence of matter. After the grave all he can see is the disintegration of the protoplasm and psychoplasm of which my body and personality are composed, but in this materialist view, I find neither ecstasy nor happiness…He may put on a brave front but he isn’t happy…He sometimes yearns for a staff on which to lean. He, too, carries a cross. For him, this earth is but a tricky raft adrift in the unfathomable waters of eternity with no horizon in sight. His heart aches for every precious life upon the raft – drifting, drifting, drifting, whither no one knows.” But when you put your trust in Christ, you can say with confidence, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?”
Soul food: Lev 16; Lev 23:26-32; Heb 9:1-14; Heb 13:11-16
2017-09-29
Isaiah 64:8 NLT
Ever watch a lump of clay being transformed into something beautiful? The clay can’t change itself; the power to do that lies in the hands of the potter. Isaiah says, “We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand.” That means you don’t have to live the rest of your life with your phobias and hang-ups; God can change you. Even if you’ve been a worrier all your life, you don’t have to worry for the rest of your life. So what if you were born in poverty or prejudice? You don’t have to die that way. Where did you get the idea that you can’t change? What’s the source of comments such as “It’s just my nature to worry,” or “I’ll always be pessimistic; I’m just that way,” or “I come from a family of alcoholics and addicts so I’ll never be free”? Would you make the same statement about your physical body? “It’s just my nature to have a broken leg. I can’t do anything about it.” Of course not. If your body malfunctions, you seek help. Shouldn’t you do the same with your sinful appetites, sour attitudes, and selfish tirades? What the world sees as trash, God sees as treasure. And like the potter, He can take you, mould you, and make you into a vessel of honour (See 2 Timothy 2:21). All you have to do is place your life in His hands. We sing, “Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay.” When you stop trying to change yourself and surrender to God, true and lasting change takes place.
Soul food: 1 Cor 12-14; Mark 15:21-32; Ps 60; Prov 25:21-22
2017-09-28
James 1:22 NIV
When Nehemiah first saw the ruins of Jerusalem, he wept. Then he rolled up his sleeves and went to work. In the face of overwhelming odds and relentless opposition, he rebuilt the walls in just fifty-two days. How? Because it was his vision and his passion! Question: Are you afraid to say, “Lord, I’ll do anything You want me to do,” in case He sends you somewhere you don’t want to go, or asks you to do something you don’t feel ready or qualified to do? You’ve got it wrong! The Bible says God’s will is “good, and acceptable, and perfect” (Romans 12:2 KJV). Now, while God’s will is “good,” it’s not necessarily easy. But He will give you a passion for it. When Jeremiah tried to stop speaking about the Lord, he said God’s Word became “like a fire shut up in my bones” (Jeremiah 20:9 NAS). A God-given vision sets your heart on fire. You begin to see things you never saw before and get excited about them. You may have failed in the past, but God can take your chapters of failure and write a story of success. But it won’t happen if you’re just sitting on the side-lines. The Bible says, “Do not merely listen to the word…Do what it says.” You’ll get a passion for God’s will once you start doing it! And when it happens, you will say, “This is what I was made for.” When you have a compelling reason for doing something, and you know God is watching and smiling on you, it makes all the difference in the world. So the word for you today is: Be passionate, proactive, and persistent!
Soul food: 1 Cor 10-11; Mark 15:12-20; Ps 68:19-35; Prov 25:17-20
2017-09-27
Isaiah 26:3 KJV
Here is a prayer for peace: “Lord, Your Word says, ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.’ Your Word says, ‘The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace’ (Ps 29:11 NIV). Your Word says, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you…Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’ (John 14:27 NIV). Your Word says, ‘The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:7 NIV). Today I need this peace which transcends understanding to settle my nerves and calm my mind. Instead of thinking about my fears and worries, help me to focus on Your goodness, Your faithfulness, Your healing power, Your overflowing resources, and Your forgiving heart. Take up residence within me and fill me with Your peace. Show me what’s robbing me of it. I really want to know, Father, so I can be specific in what I need to confess, what I need to commit to, and what I need to change. I open myself to You now. Teach me the secret of lasting peace. I thank You now for whatever it will take to help me receive the peace You have so generously offered to me. Your Word says, ‘Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts’ (Colossians 3:15 NIV). Today I want to be ruled by Your peace instead of my fears and worries. So I give all my concerns to You, trusting You to work them out for my good and Your glory. In Jesus’ Name I pray: Amen.”
Soul food: 1 Cor 7-9; Mark 15:1-11; Ps 68:1-18; Prov 25:13-16
