2017-10-31
Psalm 89:16 NKJV
Yes, segments of our culture have grown hostile to the Christian faith. But the popularity of faith-based films has caught Hollywood by surprise during the last few years. Meanwhile, popular Bible teachers get as much traction on social media as secular celebrities like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. The amount of Christian content on YouTube is staggering. Let’s stay informed and engaged with the culture around us so we can answer their questions. And let’s keep in mind that Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18 KJV). God is still on the throne. The last book of the Bible reminds us that when it’s time for Jesus to come back, He will return victorious. All His enemies will bow down and acknowledge His lordship. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV). God has called you to walk in supernatural peace, love, and joy. As His redeemed child, you are the citizen of a different kingdom: God’s kingdom on earth. Do you want to know how it all ends? “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15 NKJV). Do you want to know your destiny? Picture the excitement of fans whose team just won the soccer World Cup or the Super Bowl – that’s us!
Soul food: Deut 18:9-18; Dan 2; Isa 47:5-15; Acts 16:16-34
2017-10-30
Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV
When Nehemiah wrote, “The joy of the Lord is your strength,” God’s people were rebuilding Jerusalem after returning from seventy years of captivity in Babylon. They were surrounded, outnumbered, and threatened each day by hostile nations. Similarly, there’s bad news today. But there’s also good news. (1) We are in a church-planting boom. Church expert Ed Stetzer says new churches are actually being planted in the United States more quickly than old ones are dying – and research shows that 60 to 80 percent of people who join new churches are from unchurched backgrounds. This is true in other nations too. That means more people are being reached with the gospel today than when dead religious churches talked about evangelism but failed to do it. (2) Latin America is experiencing a political and spiritual awakening. Political change in Venezuela is one more indication that leftist governments are losing power. Similar movements against corruption are occurring in Argentina, Brazil, and other Latin American countries – at a time when evangelical churches are growing at unprecedented rates. (3) The Bible is still the most popular book ever. It’s also the best-selling and most widely distributed book. Nearly four billion copies were printed and sold globally in the last five decades – far exceeding any other book. Don’t let the bad news steal your joy. If you have become negative and fearful because of what’s going on in the world, push your rejoice button and reset your spiritual life. God is moving, and all who trust in Him have something to celebrate.
Soul food: Isa 34-37; John 6:52-59; Ps 9; Prov 28:13-16
2017-10-29
John 15:11 NKJV
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” If you think things are bad today, consider the world Jesus and His disciples lived and ministered in. The Roman Empire ruled over every nation, including Israel. Taxes were through the roof. Freedom of speech and religion was so restricted that you could be imprisoned or killed for being a Christian. Immorality and perversion were not only tolerated, but promoted. Eventually Christ’s disciples would be put to death for their faith. Yet He promised them that His joy would “remain in them,” and that their joy would be “full.” So don’t let what’s going on in the world around you today dictate your attitude as a redeemed child of God. Yes, there’s bad news. But there’s also good news. For the next few days let’s look at some of it. (1) Muslims are coming to Christ faster than ever before. In his book A Wind in the House of Islam, author David Garrison says that something unprecedented is stirring in the Muslim world. “We are living in the midst of the greatest turning of Muslims to Christ in history.” He cites evidence of powerful Christian movements that have started among Muslims since the year 2000. (2) The gospel is transforming China. A few years ago, The Telegraph reported that Christianity is growing so fast in China that it will most likely be considered a Christian nation by 2030. Given China’s economic power, this has huge implications. So rejoice, and don’t let the bad news steal your joy.
Soul food: 2 Ki 6:8-23; Matt 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36
2017-10-28
Isaiah 52:11 NKJV
One day a man was getting his windshield washed at a filling station. When the attendant finished, the man said, “That’s a terrible job. Redo my windshield – it’s as dirty as when you started.” So the attendant wiped it again. The man looked it over and in frustration said, “That window hasn’t changed a bit.” The man’s wife was sitting next to him in the car fuming. She reached over, pulled off his glasses, wiped them, and gave them back to him. The attendant had been doing his job correctly. The man himself was the problem all along. Spiritually speaking, the glasses you’re looking through determine what you see, and how you see it. When you look through the lens of jealousy and envy, you become resentful of the blessings of others. When you look through the lens of judgmentalism, you speak and act without mercy and grace. When you look through the lens of fear and unbelief, you limit God and forfeit what He can do for you. When you look through the lens of selfishness, you put yourself first and your loved ones suffer. When you look through the lens of negativity and cynicism, people begin to avoid you because you’re not enjoyable to be around. “Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.” Just as your glasses need to be wiped clean from the contamination around you, so do your heart and mind. How does this happen? Jesus said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3 KJV). Through prayer and daily Bible reading, your perspective on life is kept right.
Soul food: Isa 30-33; John 6:35-51; Ps 104:24-35; Prov 28:9-12
2017-10-27
Acts 9:15 NIV
Saul of Tarsus was the last person on earth you’d ever have expected to become a Christian, much less the author of half the New Testament. Describing his life before he met Christ, he wrote, “I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13 NKJV). So when God called Ananias to go and pray for Saul, he wasn’t too keen on the idea: “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:13-15 NIV). Ananias knew what Saul had done to the church. What he was about to learn, however, is that God was at work in Saul’s heart. Within a few short years God would use Paul to touch the world, but first He used Ananias to touch Paul. Has God given you a similar assignment? Has He given you a Saul? If so, don’t give up on him or her. When other people write them off, give them another chance. Ananias didn’t know about Paul’s encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road. God can go where you can’t, and get through to a person when you’re unable to reach them. Always remember: God never sends you where He hasn’t already been. So by the time you reach your Saul, who knows what you’ll find?
Soul food: Isa 26-29; John 6:25-34; Ps 104:1-23; Prov 28:5-8
1 Corinthians 13:11 CEV
People with strong faith can make you feel “less than,” when you compare yourself to them. One Bible teacher writes: “I admired those faith heroes whose flowery testimonies hung around the ceiling, like steam gathering in a shower. They seemed so changed, so sure, so stable. I thought God’s love was doled out according to a merit system. If I did well today, He loved me. If I failed, He didn’t. What a roller coaster! I didn’t realize everything that’s born needs time to grow and develop into maturity. I was expecting an immediate, powerful, all-inclusive metamorphosis that would transform me into perfection.” Do you feel that way, as if there is something wrong with you because you never seem to measure up? If so, read this: “When we were children, we…reasoned as children …But when we grew up, we quit our childish ways.” You start as a spiritual infant, then you become a spiritual child, then you become a spiritual adolescent, and eventually you become a spiritual adult. But you never “arrive.” And quick-fix, do-it-yourself righteousness will just make you try to impress others with a false sense of holiness. It will stop you from being honest before God and make you think you should be farther along than you are for your spiritual age. Do you remember when you were a child and you dressed up in your mom’s high heels or your dad’s work boots? No matter how much you wanted to fit into them, you couldn’t. That didn’t mean there was something wrong with you; it just meant you were exactly where you should have been for your age.
Soul food: Gen 13-16; John 11:45-57; Ps 118:10-18; Prov 31:10-13
