2020-06-23
Proverbs 4:27 NLT
How easy do you find it to keep focused? Every day we’re constantly bombarded with things that can distract us from what we’re supposed to be doing. We face all kinds of interruptions, from notifications on our phones to other people asking us to do things for them. God created each of us with a purpose. He has things He wants us to do. The Bible says: ‘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). But we can easily find ourselves distracted by other things. In today’s society, we’re expected to be busy. If we’re not busy and efficient, we’re often seen as unsuccessful. But God never called us to be rushed off our feet. In fact, Jesus often took Himself away from the crowds in order to spend time alone with God. There will always be more we can do, never-ending to-do lists, and things we have to achieve, but we can’t allow busyness to take us away from time with God or from doing what He’s called us to do. Also, we can be influenced by other people. We might know what God wants us to do, but we’re worried about letting other people down so we try and incorporate their expectations and demands into our lives too. But God tells us to not be distracted by other things. In Proverbs 4, we’re told: ‘Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you…Do not turn to the right or the left’ (vv.25-27 NIV). And in Colossians, it says: ‘Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things’ (3:2 NIV). We need to be focused on what God wants us to do, not what other people want us to do.
Hosea 1-5; Luke 2:8-20; Ps 8; Prov 14:9-12
2020-06-22
Psalm 118:5 NCV
Where do you go when you’re facing a challenging situation? The psalmist turned to God. He wrote: ‘I was in trouble, so I called to the LORD.’ God’s waiting for us to turn to Him and ask for His help. He’s ready to step in and fight on our behalf. He cares about everything that’s worrying us. The Bible says: ‘Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you’ (1 Peter 5:7 NCV). Whether our problems seem big or small, He wants us to go to Him with all of them. But sometimes we can find ourselves doubting whether God really cares or listens to us because our prayers aren’t always answered in the way we think they should be. In Psalm 118, the psalmist continues by saying, ‘The LORD answered me and set me free.’ This happens for some of us, but sometimes we can find ourselves turning to God and remaining in the situation we’re in. We might never understand why God keeps us in some tough situations, but we can trust that He does hear us, and that He’s always working. He works in ways we can’t always see or understand. Sometimes God wants to teach us something in the trial. Other times He fills us with an overwhelming sense of His peace and love, which helps us to keep walking through the things we’re facing. He can also provide us with the wisdom we need to find our way through the valley. Even if there have been times when we felt God didn’t come through for us in the way we wanted Him to, we shouldn’t let those times stop us from turning to Him again. He is good, whether He removes us from the situation or brings us closer to Him through it.
2 Kings 24-25; Luke 2:1-7; Ps 144:9-15; Prov 14:5-8
2020-06-21
1 John 5:14 NIV
Sometimes we can find ourselves praying ‘just’ prayers. We say, ‘Lord, we just ask you to protect us, or provide for us…If you’d just help us in this situation, we’d be so thankful.’ It might sound humble to pray like this, but in reality it actually demonstrates a lack of faith and confidence in approaching God. The Bible says, ‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need’ (Hebrews 4:16 NIV). And in 1 John it says: ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him’ (5:14-15 NIV). We can go to God and confidently ask for what we need. We don’t need to be afraid of asking Him for help. He always listens to us. But it’s important to remember that asking confidently won’t guarantee that we get what we want. However, when God says no, it’s not because He can’t do what we’re asking. In fact, He is ‘able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). God will give us the things that will be best for us. Our earthly parents may not always be able to give us the things we need, or they may make decisions that negatively affect us. But as a redeemed child of God, we can approach our loving heavenly Father with confidence, knowing that He’ll always provide for us in the best way possible.
Acts 4:8-12; Acts 16:22-34; Matt 1:18-21
2020-06-20
Judges 16:22 NIV
After Samson revealed the secret of his strength and his hair was cut off, the Bible tells us that ‘the hair on his head began to grow again.’ The process of renewal was starting. Samson repented, God gave him back his strength, and he ended his life with an act of heroism (you can read about this in Judges 16:23-31). Sometimes we can feel like we’ve messed up so badly that God will never love us or use us again. But the story of Samson helps us to have hope. God didn’t give up on Samson, and He won’t give up on us either. He sees our potential and remembers why He made us. We were created for great things. It’s only as we move into the centre of God’s will that we discover why we were made. When we do, things will begin to fall back into place. Samson is included in the list of people who had great faith (you can find this in Hebrews 11). So why was he included when he’d made so many mistakes? God can take a person who has completely messed up and use them to accomplish great things. He uses ordinary people with weaknesses, who sometimes fail in big ways. If we’ve messed up we need to hand our lives over to God again. We need to give Him all the pieces and let Him put them together. He can give us the power to break free from the things that are holding us back and preventing Him from working in our lives. Only God knows our true potential, and we’ll never reach that on our own. We need His help and His strength. So let’s allow Him to get started today.
2 Kings 21-23; Luke 1:67-80; Ps 144:1-8; Prov 14:1-4
2020-06-19
Judges 13:7 NCV
The angel who announced Samson’s birth said he was to ‘be a Nazirite,’ which meant that he was to be dedicated to doing God’s will. But Samson was careless about his spiritual life. He prayed only when he was in trouble. He was impulsive; he did whatever he felt like doing. How often can we be like that too? We can end up refusing to follow God’s plan for our lives because our plan seems better. And we can easily fall into the habit of only praying when we need something. God can become just an afterthought and a convenience to us. We turn to Him in desperation when things get tough, but when everything’s all right we ignore Him. Only when Samson was captured by the Philistines, his eyes gouged out, and he was grinding grain at a mill like an ox, do we read that he turned to God and prayed. He said: ‘Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more’ (Judges 16:28 NIV). Why did he wait until everything fell apart before turning to God? Just imagine what Samson could have achieved if he’d turned to God right from the start. God shouldn’t be our last resort. We should be turning to Him with everything, all the time. He’s the One who can bring change to our situations, and He’s the One who loves us more than we can ever know. The psalmist said, ‘Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labour; blessings and prosperity will be yours’ (Psalm 128:1-2 NIVUK). We’d save ourselves so many problems and spare ourselves so much pain if we’d take time to invite God into the situation.
2 Kings 18:17-20:21; Luke 1:57-66; Ps 139:13-24; Prov 13:25
2020-06-18
Proverbs 1:10 NCV
We become like the people we spend the most time with; that’s why it’s so important to choose our friends wisely. The psalmist said, ‘Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers’ (Psalm 1:1 NIV). Another reason why Samson threw his potential away is that he developed unhealthy relationships and they led him astray. Are our friends keeping us from living 100% for God? Do they tear us down or build us up? When we’re with them, do we find ourselves conforming to things that we know are wrong and things we don’t feel good about doing? The book of Proverbs warns us repeatedly about surrounding ourselves with the wrong people. For example: ‘If sinners try to lead you into sin, do not follow them.’ If we’re constantly exposed to wrong attitudes and values, it will eventually take its toll on our lives. So, what kind of friends should we keep? The kind who bring out the best in us, who lift us up, who encourage us, and make us a better person. It’s really important to surround ourselves with some Christian friends who can help us in our faith and gently tell us when we’re going the wrong way. It’s also important to have a mentor figure in our lives so that we can learn and be held accountable. The psalmist said to God: ‘I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts’ (Psalm 119:63 NIV). This doesn’t mean that we should only have Christian friends, but we do need to be careful about who is influencing us and who is speaking into our lives.
2 Kings 16:1-18:16; Luke 1:39-56; Ps 139:7-12; Prov 13:24
