2017-08-21
James 3:2 NIV
When you sin, God’s Spirit will convict you of your need to repent and change your ways. But until you get your glorified body in heaven, you’re always going to deal with sin. The apostle James wrote, “We all stumble in many ways.” But falling down isn’t what makes you a failure – it’s staying down! Get back up, dust yourself off, receive God’s grace, learn from the experience, and move on. The Bible says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NIV). God is not condemning you, so stop condemning yourself. A few decades ago, people used to wear a little badge with the letters GNFWMY. It meant, “God’s not finished with me yet.” And He’s not finished with you either. Sometimes we’re guilty of doing the wrong thing with the right motive. For example, in 1957 Ford Motors described the new Edsel as “the car of the decade.” Try telling that to all those drivers whose doors wouldn’t close, whose horns stuck, and whose transmissions failed! And remember the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, where the architect designed a 10-foot-deep foundation for a 179-foot-tall building? How’d you like to have that on your résumé? The fact is, the most talented people often make the biggest mistakes. Solomon wrote, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NIV). And Paul added, “I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize” (Philippians 3:12 CEV). So stop beating yourself up.
Soul food: 2 Chr 16-18; Mark 6:30-44; Ps 119:113-120; Prov 22:1-3
2017-08-20
Mark 9:34 CEV
When Jesus asked His disciples, “‘What were you arguing about along the way?’ They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer… he said, ‘If you want the place of honour, you must… serve others!” (vv. 33-35 CEV). If, after living with Jesus day and night for three years, His own disciples struggled with the concept of humility, none of us is exempt. Then Jesus taught them a lesson they’d never forget. “Jesus knew… he had come from God and would go back to God. He also knew that the Father had given him complete power. So during the meal Jesus got up, removed his outer garment, and wrapped a towel around his waist. He put some water into a large bowl. Then he began washing his disciples’ feet and drying them with the towel he was wearing” (John 13:3-5 CEV). Then He blew their minds by saying, “If your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other. I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you” (vv. 14-15 CEV). Chuck Swindoll writes: “Bending the knee to help others, or to admit weakness, is considered making yourself vulnerable to those who might take advantage of you. Too many leaders view themselves as being there to be served, except for short periods when it’s advantageous to be seen serving others – but not for too long… Not so for the followers of Christ. For them humility isn’t a religious concept, it’s a way of life.” So today practice humility!
Soul food: Jer 31:31-37; Heb 8:1-13
2017-08-19
Proverbs 23:15 NKJV
Fatherless children are 100 to 200 percent more likely to experience emotional and behavioural problems… twice as likely to use drugs and alcohol… more likely to become sexually active at an early age… and three times more likely to commit violent crime. Over 50 percent of teens who attempt suicide live in single-parent homes. Most runaways leave fatherless homes, and boys without fathers are 300 percent more likely to end up incarcerated. Seventy percent of juveniles in long-term correctional facilities grew up without a father. Fatherless daughters are 53 percent more likely to marry in their teens, and 164 percent more likely to have children outside of marriage. Fatherless daughters who marry have a 92 percent higher divorce rate, and fatherless sons are 35 percent more likely to experience marital failure. Eighty percent of teenagers admitted to psychiatric hospitals come from fatherless homes, and are 50 percent more likely to grapple with learning disabilities. They fare worse in school, and are three times more likely to drop out than kids who grew up in a home with a father. And it’s possible to be physically present, yet emotionally absent. In a recent poll, 50 percent of fathers said they feel guilty about spending too little time with their children. According to the Family Research Council, the average dad spends eight minutes a day in direct conversation with his kids. And in families where the mom works outside the home it drops to four minutes. If you find these statistics shocking, wake up and do something about it!
Soul food: 2 Chr 12-15; Mark 6:14-29; Ps 119:105-112; Prov 21:28-31
2017-08-18
Proverbs 3:1 NKJV
If you’re a dad, God expects you to be the leader in your family. That means: (1) You must want to lead. Without good leadership, the chances are your kids are headed for a life of trouble. Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr said, “If you look at the one factor that most closely correlates with crime, it’s not poverty, it’s not unemployment, it’s not education; it’s the absence of the father in the family.” (2) You must know where you’re going. Without clear direction for your own life, you can’t guide your kids. God expects you to enable your children to make wise decisions in such crucial areas of life as sex, money, relationships, marriage, and the vocations they choose. These are make-or-break issues. It’s your job to teach them both in precept and practice what those crucial life issues are, and to help them make godly decisions in each one. (3) You must “be there” for them. Let’s use this acrostic on the word DADS: Direction. Availability. Discipline. Spirituality. The most crucial component on the list is “availability.” Why? Because if you’re not available you can’t give direction, your discipline will be resented, and your spiritual leadership will be rejected. Nature abhors a vacuum, and if you don’t lead your children, someone will lead them for you. If you’re not there for them someone else will be – someone you may not like. And when that happens, the greater problem isn’t that you won’t be around; it’s that you’ll no longer be missed! In the Bible, God is called “Our Father.” So today ask Him to help you become the father your children need.
Soul food: 2 Chr 8-11; Mark 6:1-13; Ps 119:97-104; Pro 21:24-27
2017-08-17
Proverbs 1:8 NKJV
One day a man went into a barbershop and noticed a young man sweeping the floor. After talking to him, he learned that the boy had no dad in his life. “Son,” the man asked, “Who do you want to be like when you grow up?” The boy shot back, “Mister, I ain’t never met nobody I want to be like when I grow up.” Do you believe that at least one of every child’s heroes should be his or her dad? Do you genuinely want to be a hero to your children? If you do, you’ll have to make time for them, and work at being the father they need. If you don’t, they may pick the wrong heroes and end up breaking your heart. Child psychologist Wade F. Horn considered himself an expert on what made a good father. But when doctors diagnosed him with cancer and told him that he had about six years to live, he realized with a jolt that he was closer to first grade than grad school in his level of expertise as a dad. He said, “It became clear to me in a personal way that if I were to have died because of that illness, my unfinished business would not have been my clinical practice… My unfinished business would have been my two little girls, who every morning when I was recuperating, would come and give me a kiss goodbye.” Fortunately (or unfortunately) most dads will never get a wake-up call of this nature. But if you’ve been neglecting your kids, a wake-up call is exactly what you need.
Soul food: 2 Chr 5-7; Mark 5:31-43; Ps 119:89-96; Prov 21:20-23
2017-08-16
1 John 1:6 NKJV
God is responsible for your relationship with Him. The moment you put your trust in Jesus Christ His Son, you are a fully accepted family member. But you are responsible for your fellowship with God. The Bible says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Stop and think about the last time you experienced tension with one of your family members. You were still members of the same family, but your conversation became superficial and you found that you were more comfortable apart than together. When something happens between two people who are normally close, the first thing to vanish is the evidence of fellowship. And it’s the same in our walk with God. Suddenly our prayers become surface and shallow: “Lord, please bless this food.” And we begin to avoid spending time with that Person: “I just don’t have time for my devotions.” The main prerequisite for experiencing fellowship with Jesus is following Him each day and obeying His commands. When Peter and the disciples were fishing, the Lord told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. When they obeyed Him, they caught a boatload of fish. But something even greater happened that day. As Jesus drew closer, John said, “It is the Lord” (John 21:7). What followed was an intimate meal and a sweet time of fellowship with Jesus. So if you are feeling out of fellowship with Jesus today, the chances are that you’ve either stopped fellowshipping with Him or started disobeying Him. If that’s so, do something about it.
Soul food: 2 Chr 1-4; Mark 5:21-30; Ps 119:81-88; Prov 21:17-19
