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
2017-08-15
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Somebody said, “When the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Let’s face it, because of our strong personalities some of us are inclined to use a hammer when a gentler approach would do the job better. If that’s your problem, remember the three T’s: (1) Temper. When you’re upset you’re more likely to make a big deal out of a little one. So when it comes to your response and decibel level, use this rule of thumb: When the reaction is worse than the action, the problem generally increases. But when the reaction is less than the action, the problem usually decreases. (2) Timing. If you don’t get an injured person to the hospital quickly enough, their life can be lost. And if you don’t apologize when you’ve wronged someone, the relationship can be lost. Knowing when to act – and when not to – is every bit as important as taking the right action. Lady Dorothy Nevill said, “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” (3) Total picture. A man walked into a restaurant and asked the waiter, “Do you have anything to cure hiccups?” The waiter slapped him across the face. “Hey! What’s the big idea?” the man exclaimed. The waiter smiled: “Well, you don’t have hiccups anymore, do you?” The man said, “I never did. I wanted something to cure my wife. She’s out in the car!” Are you inclined to jump to conclusions? Slow yourself down and you’ll be more likely to respond appropriately.
Soul food: 1 Chr 26:20-29:30; Mark 5:11-20; Ps 119:73-80; Prov 21:14-16
2017-08-14
Psalm 119:58 NKJV
One moment of God’s favour will do more for you than a lifetime of striving. Through the favour of God, Ruth went from being a penniless widow to becoming the wife of Boaz, a wealthy man. It’s what made Esther a queen and positioned her to save the Jewish nation. As you begin to walk in God’s favour, doors of opportunity open, the right people are drawn to you, and you discover ideas, strategies, and resources in the most unexpected places. Does that mean you won’t experience opposition? No; when you’re doing anything worthwhile you must expect flak from those who aren’t privy to God’s plan for your life. It goes with the turf. But the Bible says even “the king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 21:1 NLT). Like changing the direction of a moving stream, God can change people’s hearts and give you favour with those who might otherwise reject or overlook you. Solomon writes, “When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand” (Proverbs 16:7 TM). So when people oppose or disagree with you, just concentrate on pleasing God and let Him deal with the fallout. Remember, God takes up where you leave off. He can give you blessings that, humanly speaking, you don’t deserve and qualify for. Just as the Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to fulfil His life’s mission, He will equip and enable you to fulfil His plan for your life (See Luke 4:18-19). So stop trying so hard to make things happen on your own terms, and start praying for God’s favour. He has promised it to you and He keeps His promises.
Soul food: 1 Chr 23:21-26:19; Mark 5:1-10; Ps 119:65-72; Prov 21:10-13
2017-08-13
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
The people of Israel ended up living as slaves in Babylon because they disobeyed God and decided to do their own thing. And they paid a high price for it. They lost their homes, their jobs, their freedom, and their self-respect. Has that happened to you? Well, there’s good news. God says: “The plans I have for you… are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me… I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes” (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NLT). That means God still has a plan for your life. And if you seek Him “wholeheartedly,” He will reveal it to you. You ask, “How do you know God still has a plan for me?” Because you’re still breathing! He has a plan for every single person He ever created, and it never goes out of date. Unlike the milk in your supermarket that has an expiration date after which it can’t be used, God’s plans don’t have expiration dates. Even if you’ve gone astray and missed His plan for years, that plan can still swing into operation the moment you turn your life over to Him and fall into line with His will. Now the plan may be somewhat modified from what it would have been twenty years ago if you’d paid attention, but that doesn’t stop God. He can adapt to fit anything that comes up in any life that’s ever lived, including yours.
Soul food: Eccl 11:7-12:1; Ps 39:4-13; Jas 4:14
