2017-09-11
Exodus 34:23 NAS
God said, “Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord…For I will drive out nations before you…enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land” (vv. 23-24 NAS). Three times a year the men of Israel were to go on a spiritual retreat and seek God’s guidance. And God promised to protect their families and their possessions while they were gone, and even to “enlarge [their] borders.” So if you’re a husband who wants God to protect your family and bless your endeavours, you must take the time to submit your thoughts, actions, and decisions to His leadership. You’ll never function successfully as the head of your family until you’re under the headship of Christ. The best thing you can do in leading your home and building a great marriage is to ask the question, “What is the mind of Christ in this matter?” (See 1 Corinthians 2:16). And then follow it. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have your wife’s full attention and cooperation. Why? Because she’s no longer arguing with you and your opinions. Now you’ve brought Christ and His Word into the equation. It may take time for your wife to trust your leadership and respect your thinking, but as she sees you walk with God and practice His principles, she’ll come to trust you and feel secure. When a woman says to her husband, “I need you to hold me,” she’s not necessarily talking about physical intimacy. She’s talking about her God-given need for security. She needs a husband she can love and trust. And God can make you such a husband.
Soul food: Neh 1-4; Mark 11:27-33; Ps 78:32-39; Prov 23:29-35
2017-09-10
1 Corinthians 11:3 NAS
Paul writes, “I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.” There is an order to how God operates. Just as Christ was submitted to God, husbands are supposed to be submitted to Christ, and wives are supposed to be submitted to godly husbands. Note the words, “the man is the head of the woman” – not all women. This arrangement doesn’t apply in the workplace or in other relationships. When we fail to honour God’s structure, Satan can enter our homes just as he entered the first home in Eden. “Submission” is an unpopular word today. But when we understand it from a biblical perspective, we see that it’s a positive force to accomplish good, not a negative force to subject women to an inferior status. The Greek word for submission, “hupotasso”, means to willingly place oneself under the authority of another. It doesn’t involve coercion, but rather a willingness to take who and what God made you, and submit it to the authority of another. In the husband’s case, to God, and in the wife’s case, to God and to her husband. Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25 NIV). When a husband loves his wife that way, and gives himself to her, she will gladly submit to his leadership in the home. It’s her husband’s love and protection that releases her into the fullness of her God-given potential.
Soul food: Dan 6:1-24; Acts 12:1-19
2017-09-09
Genesis 3:6 NKJV
In Genesis, before Eve was created God warned Adam not to eat the forbidden fruit, and it was his responsibility to communicate that to his wife. Clearly, he didn’t do a very good job. As a result he lost his job and they ended up losing their home. Notice, the Devil first approached Eve with the idea of disobeying God. “When the woman saw that the tree was good…She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Question: Where was Adam when Eve was being deceived? “With her.” So here’s an important lesson: When a man fails to listen to God and obey Him, he can’t be the leader his wife and family need. He literally opens the door to Satan and allows him to come in and cause chaos in the family. When Satan was trying to sell Eve a bill of goods, Adam stood silently by instead of speaking up and saying, “That’s not right. Unless we follow the path God has laid out for us, we’ll lose everything.” The issue in marriage isn’t about who’s the boss; it’s about honouring the structure God created so everyone in the family can walk in His blessing. The Bible says Satan comes to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). But when a husband is truly submitted to Christ, he can protect his family. So if you’re a husband, you need to step up to the plate. And if you’re a wife, you need to encourage your husband to walk with God and let him know that it’s an honour and privilege to follow such a man.
Soul food: Col 3-4; Philemon; Mark 11:12-26; Ps 78:17-31; Prov 23:26-28
2017-09-08
Ephesians 1:11 NLT
The Bible says, “The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right” (Psalm 84:11 NLT). Sometimes we pray for a certain thing, believing it’s good for us. But God, who has a plan for your life, knows what would be “good” and what wouldn’t be. Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, said if God had answered all her prayers when she was young, she’d have married the wrong man – several times. Two teardrops were floating down the river of life. One asked the other, “Who are you?” The second replied, “I’m the teardrop from the girl who loved a man and lost him. Who are you?” The first teardrop replied, “I am the teardrop of the girl who got him.” That’s the way life goes, isn’t it? We cry over what we don’t have, not realizing we might have cried twice as hard if God had given it to us. The expression “walking by faith” means trusting the plan God has already worked out, and will reveal to you on a need-to-know basis. Paul said, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11 NKJV). Clearly his contentment didn’t come from his surroundings, since he spent all but seven years of his ministry in prison. So where did it come from? The knowledge that God “makes everything work out according to his plan.” Does that mean Paul understood every detail of God’s plan? No, but when he didn’t understand the plan, he trusted the Planner! And that’s where Paul’s peace, joy, and contentment came from. The same goes for you.
Soul food: Col 1-2; Mark 11:1-11; Ps 78:9-16; Prov 23:22-25
2017-09-07
Acts 2:8 NIV
On the day the church was birthed, we read: “All of [the apostles] were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?’…Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?'” (vv. 4-8, 12 NIV). The question “What does this mean?” indicates that God loves and uses all kinds of people – gypsies and cowboys, bikers and academics, single moms and well-heeled executives. It also tells us that when we’re filled with God’s Spirit, He has equipped each of us to reach a specific kind of person. So: (1) Who do you find it easy to talk to? Teenagers? Drug addicts? The elderly? You may be tongue-tied around children but eloquent with executives. No problem; that’s how God designed you. (2) Who do you feel the most compassion for? God doesn’t burden each of us equally. “He fashions [our] hearts individually” (Psalm 33:15 NKJV). What makes your heart break and your pulse race? When you see the homeless, or victims of the sex trade? The newly-bereaved or the divorced? Paul says, “[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others” (2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT). So, discover who you are called to reach.
Soul food: Josh 22-24; Mark 10:35-52; Ps 78:1-8; Prov 23:19-21
2017-09-06
Proverbs 12:15 NIV
When you “don’t know what you don’t know,” you’re vulnerable to making mistakes. You may know a lot, but you don’t know all there is to know. So you should always seek and be open to good input. Professional golfers play with a caddy. And the caddy is more than just a carrier of clubs; he or she is there for support and valuable advice. Tommy Bolt was one of the greatest golfers of all time. But he had a major flaw: a terrible temper. One year when he was playing in a tournament in Southern California, he was still angry because of a bad round he’d had the day before. So he told his caddy only to say, “Yes, Mr. Bolt,” or “No, Mr. Bolt,” if he was asked a question. Otherwise he was to keep quiet. Bolt hit his first tee shot and it appeared to come to rest behind a tree. When he reached the spot, he asked his caddy, “Do you think I should hit a five-iron?” The caddy, obeying orders, simply replied, “No, Mr. Bolt.” Bolt hit the five-iron anyway, and made an unbelievable shot that landed on the green a few feet from the hole. He turned to his caddy and proudly said, “What do you think about that shot?” As the caddy picked up the bag and headed toward the green, he simply said, “That wasn’t your ball, Mr. Bolt.” If you don’t want to finish up making mistakes you will regret, be open to advice – and follow it. The Bible says, “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”
Soul food: Josh 19:24-21:45; Mark 10:23-34; Ps 27; Prov 23:16-18
