2020-07-17
Proverbs 20:5 NIV
The people who knew Simon knew he was impulsive and tended to say the wrong things. But Jesus saw something else in him; that’s why He renamed him Peter – a name which implied that he was a stone suitable for a foundation. Jesus said, ‘You are Peter…upon this rock I will build my church, and…hell will not conquer it’ (Matthew 16:18 NLT). And Peter did become a respected leader and founder of the church. Jesus was able and willing to look beyond the surface and see what was on the inside. We’re all made in God’s likeness (take a look at Genesis 1:27). This means that we all have amazing potential, but sometimes it takes ‘one who has insight’ to see that potential and draw it out. Sometimes the way people act isn’t actually a true reflection of their character. But we can often end up judging and labelling people based on what we see, rather than using our insight to see the gold that lies deeper. We need to pray that we’d have spiritual insight so that we can see the hopes and fears behind the way people act. If we want to act like Jesus, then we need to be willing to see the potential in each person, even the people who really frustrate us. We don’t need to try to fix everyone and bring the gold out, God’s the One to do that. He refines each of us to remove the impurities and let the gold appear. Job said: ‘God knows the way that I take, and when he has tested me, I will come out like gold’ (Job 23:10 NCV). Let’s try to see people through Jesus’ eyes and recognise what His transforming power can do.
Acts 3:11-5:42; Luke 8:1-15; Ps 133; Prov 16:2
2020-07-16
1 Corinthians 7:8 NIV
If we’re single, we might experience people questioning why we’re not in a relationship. This can be frustrating, especially if we’re struggling with our singleness. But the truth is, there’s nothing wrong with being single. It’s better to be single than to marry the wrong person. The Bible teaches that the single life is not only a good life, but it’s a gifted life. Paul wrote: ‘Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.’ When we’re upset that we’re still single, we can struggle to see that it’s good for us to be unmarried. But what Paul’s saying is that when we’re single, we can be solely focused on pleasing God and following His call. Being married means we need to take another person’s thoughts, opinions, and callings into consideration before we make decisions. Being single means we can just listen to God’s voice for our lives. This doesn’t mean being single makes us more spiritual than if we were married. But some people have been chosen by God to remain single. Paul was one of them. Paul spent many years in prison, where he wrote the epistles. His God-given assignment in life was suited to singleness. None of us should ever be ashamed or embarrassed because we’re single. Maybe we’re called to be single, like Paul was. Or maybe we’re called to be single for a season, because God has a job for us that needs our full attention. Whatever the reason, if we’re struggling with being single, or we’re tired of people wondering why we’re not married yet, let’s remember Paul’s words and hand those feelings over to God.
Acts 1:1-3:10; Luke 7:36-50; Ps 123; Prov 16:1
2020-07-15
John 8:44 NIV
When Jesus was talking about the enemy, He said: ‘When he lies, he speaks his native language.’ And there are three ways he lies to us: 1) Doubts. The enemy wants to discourage us and to make us feel like giving up. He knows that if he can get us to doubt God and doubt ourselves then we’ll be ineffective in the kingdom. But when we say that we’re not good enough or that nothing will ever change, we’re letting Satan think he’s winning. 2) Shock. If we’re not expecting Satan’s attack, we can become alarmed and think, ‘I must not be making progress. Why else would I still be fighting the same old battles?’ Satan doesn’t give up without a fight, and his attack is proof that we haven’t been conquered. Often he attacks us when we’re being effective for God, so we can actually see the attack as confirmation that we’re doing good things for the kingdom. 3) Feelings. Satan tries to convince us that we don’t deserve to be forgiven. He’ll tell us that because we don’t feel forgiven, we’re not. But remember, he’s a liar. We need to stand our ground. God promises to forgive us when we confess our sins, and He doesn’t then hold our sins against us. Satan will bring to our minds all the things God’s already forgiven us for and set us free from, and that can cause us to experience some of the thoughts and emotions we used to have. When the enemy is lying to us, we need to remember God’s truth written in His Word. Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:31-32 NIV).
Joel 1-3; Luke 7:24-35; Ps 118:19-29; Prov 15:33
2020-07-14
Genesis 32:24 NIV
In Genesis 32, we read about Jacob’s encounter with an angel. The Bible says: ‘A man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man’ (vv.24-25 NIV). Jacob was a self-made man with an independent attitude. We can be like that too. We can be tempted to think that we don’t need anyone, even God. But we need God and we should be depending on Him each day. By putting Jacob’s hip out of joint, the angel was making Jacob unable to do everything himself. We’re told that ‘the sun rose as he was leaving that place, and Jacob was limping because of his leg’ (Genesis 32:31 NCV). Now he would need to depend on God when he faced troubles and battles. Ever felt like you’ve been wrestling with God? Maybe you’re struggling to surrender control to Him or maybe you’re wrestling over something He’s told you to do. But God will wrestle with us until we stop making excuses and face the truth. God’s got great plans for each of us. What He has in mind is greater than anything we could ever plan or imagine. He doesn’t want us to waste our lives and miss opportunities to become all that He intends us to be. We need to stop and realise that God knows more than we do. We need to humble ourselves and admit that we need Him. The Bible says: ‘”God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God’ (James 4:6-7 NIVUK). So let’s submit to God and allow Him to be in control of our lives.
Jer 51-52; Luke 7:11-23; Ps 118:10-18; Prov 15:31-32
2020-07-13
Psalm 84:6 NLT
We’ll all have to walk through valleys in our lives. These are times when things seem hard and we face struggles. Some of these valleys will last a short while, others can last for so long that we wonder if we’ll ever make it to the other side. When we’re in the valley, we might experience emotions such as sadness, discouragement, and anger. It’s okay for us to grieve, cry, and express our emotions. We don’t have to pretend that everything is fine, especially not to God. In fact, the Bible tells us that God’s with us in the valley, so He knows exactly what we’re going through and what we’re feeling. The psalmist said: ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me’ (Psalm 23:4 NIV). It can be tempting to give up when we’ve been in the valley for a long time. But we will walk out of the valley and experience God’s goodness again. The Bible says, ‘When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs…They will continue to grow stronger’ (Psalm 84:6-7 NLT). In this verse, ‘they’ is referring to people whose strength is in God. So if we’re trusting in God, we can know that our valley will become a place of refreshment. And we’ll grow stronger because of our time in the valley. The valley’s teaches us to rely on God and trust in Him. God says that He ‘will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope’ (Hosea 2:15 NIV). Achor means trouble. While we might have to walk through a valley of trouble for a while, God can use it to bring us into a place of hope.
Jer 49-50; Luke 7:1-10; Ps 118:1-9; Prov 15:27-30
2020-07-12
Philippians 4:7 NLT
The word worry comes from a Greek word meaning ‘to divide the mind.’ Our mind becomes divided between the things we fear and the promises of God. We know we should trust God but we fear what might happen in our futures. But worry doesn’t get us anywhere. Jesus said: ‘Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?’ (Matthew 6:27 NIV). All worrying does is take away our strength and peace of mind. So how can we stop worrying? The Bible has a two-part answer: God’s part, and our part. Our part includes prayer and gratitude: ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done’ (Philippians 4:6 NLT). In order to worry less we must pray more, and also remember to say thank you to God. Before we go to Him for the next thing, let’s take time to thank Him for what He’s already done for us. Too often we can forget what God’s just done in our lives because we’re too focused on worrying about the next thing. So what’s God’s part? He takes the worry we bring to Him and exchanges it for His perfect peace. The Bible says: ‘You will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.’ The Bible doesn’t say we might experience God’s peace, it says we ‘will’. It’s a promise and a definite. He’s offering His peace to us right now. We need to make sure we’re doing our part by praying and thanking Him, and then we’ll have a peaceful state of mind.
Heb 11:7; Gen 6:9-22; Gen 8:18-22; Matt 24:36-44
