2020-07-05
Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV
When we find ourselves facing challenges and tough times, we can end up asking God, ‘Why?’. We wonder what we’ve done to bring about these difficulties, and we can wonder why God isn’t taking the struggles away. But the truth is, we don’t go through tough times because we’re being punished, we go through them because suffering is in the world. Until Jesus comes again, we’re all going to have to go through times of trouble. The Bible says we shouldn’t be surprised that we’re facing struggles. ‘Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you’ (1 Peter 4:12 NIV). Instead of asking, ‘Why?’ we need to ask God, ‘What do You want me to learn from this experience?’ And instead of asking God to improve our circumstances, we need to ask Him to use our circumstances to improve us. Tough times are great opportunities for us to learn more about ourselves, and more about God. They show us how much we trust God, and how much we rely on our own strength. Moses instructed the Israelites to ‘Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness…to humble and test you.’ We might not enjoy time in the wilderness, but God can use that time to shape us and grow us. He doesn’t delight in our suffering, but He delights in our development. Paul wrote: ‘God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished’ (Philippians 1:6 NCV). Every challenge we face, large or small, is equipping us for the future God has in mind for us.
Jas 5:16-18; 1 Kings 18; 2 Kings 2:1-12
2020-07-04
Micah 7:8 NLT
Some sporting events have ‘half-time’. This is a time to step back and rest, evaluate how things have been going and decide what adjustments need to be made for the rest of the game. It can refresh those who were losing in the first half. If we’re in a place where we feel we’ve fallen, we need to take some time to rest and figure out how we can make adjustments in our lives. Maybe we’ve made mistakes, experienced disappointments and failures. Maybe life has thrown tough situations our way. But we’re still here. There’s hope because God’s able to restore and redeem everything in our lives. It’s not too late for us to follow God’s plan for our lives. God looks at our future while the enemy tries to keep us focused on our past. God will never define us by our past, whereas the enemy will try to control and confine us by using it against us. With God’s help, we can rise up from the place we’re in, and live out our future with God. He says: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?’ (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV). When Israel was in a state of desolation and despair, the prophet Micah spoke: ‘Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.’ While these words were spoken about the nation, they can also encourage us. There will be times when we’ll fall and feel like we’re in darkness, but we’ll rise again and experience God’s light in our lives. The enemy wants to keep us chained to our past. God wants to restore us and help us step into our future with Him.
Jer 25-27; Luke 5:1-11; Ps 102:18-28; Prov 15:4-7
2020-07-03
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT
Are you full of dreams and enthusiasm to do whatever God’s called you to do? Or are you doubting yourself, thinking you’re too young to do anything important for God’s kingdom? In the Bible, Timothy became an apostle at a young age. Some people thought that being in leadership at such an early age wasn’t a good thing. But Paul didn’t agree. He told Timothy: ‘Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity…focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received…Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress’ (vv.11-15 NLT). We need to start believing in ourselves because God believes in us. He’s got plans and purposes for each of us. The Bible says: ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). And He’s willing to equip us to be able to do them. Just because we’re not as old or experienced as other people, doesn’t mean we should disqualify ourselves from using our God-given gifts to advance the kingdom. We’re not too young to make an impact, even if that’s what other people are telling us. It’s true that we need to take time to develop our gifts, grow in faith, and become more mature as Christians, but God can work in us while He’s working through us. We don’t have to wait until we’re a certain age or standard to make a difference for Him.
Jer 22-24; Luke 4:31-44; Ps 102:12-17; Prov 15:3
2020-07-02
Judges 11:35 NIV
It’s easy for us to stick to our principles, standards, and values when things are going well and we’re not facing tough or tempting circumstances. But we can easily give in when someone or something tempts us. Sometimes we make vows to God when we’re in a hard time. We say, ‘If you do this for me, I’ll do whatever you ask’, but how often do we receive our answer to prayer and fail to follow through on what we promised? When Jephthah was called to help Israel defeat the Ammonites, he prayed: ‘If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering’ (Judges 11:30-31 NIV). God came through and answered Jephthah’s prayer. But when Jephthah returned home, it was his daughter who came out to greet him, which meant she would have to be sacrificed. The Bible tells us that he was devastated but said, ‘I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.’ While this is a very extreme example of standing by what we’ve said (we shouldn’t promise to sacrifice or kill people, or to do anything else that goes against God’s commandments), we can take the principle on board. When we’ve promised God that we’ll do a certain thing, or stop doing something, we need to follow through. When we’re clear on how God wants us to live, we need to live that way, even when other people try to persuade us to live their way. Jephthah ended up becoming the judge of Israel for six years, which is another example of people keeping their word (have a read of Judges 11:8-10 and 12:7). We need to be sticking to our principles, even when it’s challenging.
Jer 18-21; Luke 4:14-30; Ps 102:1-11; Prov 14:35-15:2
2020-07-01
1 Corinthians 1:29 NIV
God says: ‘I am the LORD. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another’ (Isaiah 42:8 NCV). Everything we do should give glory to God. But that can sometimes be challenging for us. We can be tempted to think that we deserve the credit and glory for the things we’ve done, especially when we’ve put a lot of effort into them. Paul writes that ‘No one may boast before him.’ We can’t boast about our salvation; it’s all by God’s grace. The Bible says: ‘You have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it’ (Ephesians 2:8-9 NCV). We also can’t boast about what we do for God before we go to heaven, because it’s God who has called us and equipped us to be able to do it. God’s given us the gifts, skills, and strength to do the things we do, and therefore we need to give all the glory to Him. We’re not wired to be humble, so we need to learn how to lay down our desire for approval and glory, and instead hand it all over to God. When we remember to give God the credit for our success, He’ll keep using and blessing us. The Bible says: ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above’ (James 1:17 NKJV). Every good thing we enjoy today, and every good thing tomorrow, is a gift from God. We need to be thanking God for those gifts, and giving Him the glory as provider in our lives.
Jer 14-17; Luke 4:1-13; Ps 98; Prov 14:34
2020-06-30
Matthew 14:29 ESV
Comfort zones can be challenging to leave. We like things as they are; we don’t want change. It can feel risky to do something different. The Bible tells us that ‘Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.’ He took a risk and left his comfort zone. Will we do the same? Here are some questions to help us think about it: 1) What’s my boat? Our boat is whatever gives us our sense of security. It’s what we’re tempted to put our trust in when life gets stormy. If we’re not sure what our boat is, we can ask ourselves, ‘What would cause me fear if I had to leave it behind and step into something new?’ 2) What’s keeping me from getting out of my boat? The thing that often stops us is fear. That might be fear of people, fear of failure, fear of criticism, or fear of not having enough. In order to grow, we have to step out into new territory, and each time we do that, we’ll experience fear. But each time we get out of our boat, we become a little more able to do it the next time, and we begin to realise that fear doesn’t have the power to control us. 3) What will I lose by staying in my boat? If we stay in our comfort zones, we won’t reach our full potential and we won’t be able to achieve everything that God has called us to do. It might feel like a risk, but if we don’t take the risk then we might spend our lives wondering what would have happened if we’d stepped out of the boat.
Jer 10-13; Luke 3:21-38; Ps 95; Prov 14:29-33
