2020-06-17
Judges 16:17 NIV
Samson had incredible potential, but he threw it away. Why? Over the next few days we’ll look at some of the reasons. Firstly, he failed to control his impulses. He deliberately ignored God’s principles, and his life became a cycle of failures. He never learned; he kept making the same mistakes over and over again. Samson put his desire for spending time with a woman called Delilah above what he knew was right. Delilah kept asking him about the source of his strength, and each time she got a little closer to the truth. In the end, she had asked so many times that Samson gave in and revealed his secret: ‘With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything’ (Judges 16:16-17 NIV). Sometimes we say things like ‘It can’t hurt…just this once.’ We don’t plan to fail, but little by little, we head down the wrong path, and we don’t always learn from our mistakes. We might feel like we’re weak and that we can’t ever break free of our temptations, but the Bible teaches us that God ‘gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak’ (Isaiah 40:29 NIV). We can feel controlled by our desires and temptations, but actually we have a choice. We can choose to live God’s way. The Bible teaches that God ‘will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear…he will…provide a way out so that you can endure it’ (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). When Samson finally faced the truth, God broke his cycle of failure, gave him the power to do what he should do, and made him victorious. And God will do the same for us when we turn to Him.
2 Kings 13-15; Luke 1:26-38; Ps 139:1-6; Prov 13:21-23
2020-06-16
Matthew 25:45 NIV
Throughout the Bible, we see God’s heart for the poor and needy. The Bible says: ‘When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them’ (Isaiah 41:17 NLT). And God doesn’t want us to abandon them either. He calls us to provide for those who don’t have enough. It’s important for us to pray for those in need, but it’s also important for us to provide for them practically. James said: ‘Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?’ (James 2:15-16 NIV). By providing for people in a practical way, we can show God’s love to them. The Bible says: ‘If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?’ (1 John 3:17 NIV). It’s not always possible for us to provide for people, but if we can do something practical to help them then we should. Jesus teaches that when we help others, we’re actually helping Him. He said: ‘Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ So if we choose to ignore the needs of others and refuse to provide for them, then we’re refusing to provide for Jesus. Whenever we see someone in need, we should be asking God to show us what we can do to help them.
2 Kings 10-12; Luke 1:11-25; Ps 73:17-28; Prov 13:20
2020-06-15
Genesis 27:19 NIV
Ever found yourself in competition with a friend or family member? In the Bible, we read about the brothers Esau and Jacob. Their parents had favourites. Isaac preferred the eldest son, Esau, while Rebekah preferred her second child Jacob. This favouritism may have been what started the competition between the brothers. Or maybe Jacob simply didn’t like being the youngest. In those days, the eldest received a special blessing and had rights that the younger son didn’t get. Jacob, along with his mother Rebekah, decided to plot against Esau and tricked Isaac into blessing him instead. The Bible tells us that ‘Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn”‘ (you can read the full story in Genesis 27). The competition in this family didn’t stop there. Jacob later married two sisters: Leah and Rachel. He loved Rachel more and Leah resented her for that. Leah could have children while Rachel couldn’t, which caused Rachel to resent Leah. Both competed against each other. Leah tried to win Jacob’s love while Rachel tried to have children to keep up with Leah. When competition and comparison takes root, we lose focus of who God has created us to be and things He’s planned for us to do. It can lead to messy situations and a breakdown in relationships. Maybe there isn’t someone who we’re directly competing with, but there are posts on social media which make us feel inadequate and we try and change our behaviour to keep up with others. Maybe we only feel good about ourselves when we’re achieving more than other people. Instead of competing and comparing, we need to be confident in our identity as children of God, and focus on doing the things He’s called us to do.
2 Kings 7-9; Luke 1:1-10; Ps 73:1-16; Prov 13:17-19
2020-06-14
1 Timothy 4:8 NIV
The Bible says, ‘physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.’ But that doesn’t mean that taking care of our bodies isn’t important. It means we must stay in balance. We need to take the time to make sure we’re both spiritually and physically healthy. If we neglect our physical health, we can find ourselves in a position where we struggle to do the things God’s called us to do. God can heal us, but He also wants us to take responsibility for looking after our health. God created each of us, and we need to look after the things He’s created. But we also need to make sure that looking after our physical health doesn’t become an obsession. The verse in 1 Timothy says that ‘physical training is of some value’, but it’s not the most important thing. We need to be focused on our spiritual health. That means building a relationship with God, fulfilling our purposes, and becoming more like Jesus. In the same way that we can train and strengthen our physical bodies, we can train to become godly. We can work to produce the fruits of the Spirit (you can find a list of these in Galatians 5:22-23). The Bible tells us that our bodies are ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV). We need to make sure that our bodies are physically a good home for the Spirit, but also that our hearts are a good home too. If our hearts are full of ungodly things, we’re not providing a good home for the Spirit. So let’s regularly assess whether we’re healthy and then make any necessary lifestyle changes.
Rev 19:11-16; Acts 3:1-16; Phil 2:5-11
2020-06-13
2 Peter 1:3 NIV
Ever felt stressed out because you don’t think you have what it takes to live like Jesus? Maybe you’ve felt under pressure because, however hard you try, you don’t feel good enough for God? The good news is that God’s already ‘given us everything we need for a godly life.’ Everything we might possibly need to be able to live God’s way, we already have access to. These are things like wisdom, strength, peace, courage, and love. He equips us to be able to do the things He’s called us to. The Holy Spirit lives within us to guide, instruct, and transform us. The Bible says: ‘Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?’ (1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV). We just need to listen to the Spirit’s promptings rather than doing the things we want to do. God hasn’t left us to do everything on our own. He cares about each of us, and provides us with what we need. Paul encouraged the church in Philippi by saying: ‘My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:19 NIV). And that can encourage us too. It’s worth remembering that God’s given us ‘everything we need’, not ‘everything we want’. There will be things we pray for that we don’t get. They might not actually be good for us, even though we think they would be. So when we’re worried that we can’t live God’s way or we’re frustrated because God’s not giving us the things we want, let’s remember that God sees the bigger picture and He’s already provided everything we need.
2 Kings 4:18-6:33; Mark 16; Ps 80:12-19; Prov 13:13-16
2020-06-12
1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
We can all fall into the trap of people-pleasing. We want other people to like us and to approve of what we do. But the trouble with people-pleasing is that we begin to measure our value by the approval and recognition we receive. And if we don’t get any, we can feel like we’re not worth anything. But our true worth comes from God, not anyone else. Jesus said: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows’ (Matthew 10:29-31 NIV). God doesn’t want us to live trapped by other people’s opinions. When we live by other people’s expectations of us, we give them control over our lives. God wants us to live for Him. Paul said: ‘Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ’ (Galatians 1:10 NIV). We need to think about our motive for doing things. Are we trying to please people or live for Christ? Are we serving to gain recognition in the world, or to follow the call of God? Paul wrote, ‘whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’ When we feel hurt because our work and serving is going unnoticed, we need to remember that God sees everything we do. The Bible says: ‘God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them’ (Hebrews 6:10 NIV).
2 Kings 1:1-4:17; Mark 15:33-47; Ps 80:1-11; Prov 13:11-12
