2020-03-20
Psalm 119:165 NLT
When we know we’re doing something we shouldn’t, we can feel uncomfortable and guilty. We lose our peace of mind. And the longer we disobey God, the less peace we feel. This happened to Jonah. God had told Him to go to Nineveh and tell them that He wasn’t happy with the way they were living. But Jonah decided to head to Tarshish on a boat instead. It might have made Jonah feel better initially, but a storm soon started and His peace was taken away. Eventually he said: ‘Throw me into the sea…and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault’ (Jonah 1:12 NLT). Even though Jonah was doing what he wanted to do, he wasn’t at peace because he knew that he should be doing what God wanted him to do. Also his actions caused other people to lose their peace too. The storm came because of his disobedience, and it caused the sailors to be afraid. If we’re not doing what’s right, we can not only cause problems for ourselves, but we can have a negative impact on those around us. If we want to experience peace, we need to be following God’s call on our lives. The Bible says: ‘Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.’ When we know what God wants us to do, and we obey Him, we experience ‘great peace’. This peace also comes from keeping our eyes fixed on God, no matter what our situation. In Isaiah we’re told, ‘You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!’ (Isaiah 26:3 NLT). When we’re completely surrendered to God, and focused on Him, we will experience His perfect peace.
Job 8-10; Matt 24:15-25; Ps 116:12-19; Prov 8:10-13
2020-03-19
Jeremiah 23:16 NIV
In Jeremiah 23, we hear how angry God is about false prophets. There were prophets in Jerusalem who were saying things ‘from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.’ They were saying things which they wanted to be true, rather than spreading God’s truth. In fact, they were telling the people that God wouldn’t mind if they did wrong things. ‘They keep saying to those who despise my word, “Don’t worry! The LORD says you will have peace!” And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, “No harm will come your way!”‘ (v.17 NLT). When people are speaking God’s Word into our lives, whether that’s through prophecy and words of wisdom, or through teaching at church, in books, blogs, and devotionals, we need to test what we’re hearing to see if it lines up with God’s Word. The Bible says: ‘Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God’ (1 John 4:1 NIV). It doesn’t mean we need to become sceptical about everything we hear and read, but it does mean that we need to know the Bible well so that we can determine when people are speaking God’s truth, and when they’re simply speaking what they would like to be true. When people give us words of wisdom, we need to be asking ‘Is this from God?’ rather than just accepting whatever they say and acting on it. The Bible says: ‘Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good’ (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 NIV). We also shouldn’t just be listening and reading things which make us feel better. We should be challenged by God’s Word, and let those who are sharing His truth speak into our lives.
Job 5-7; Matt 24:1-14; Ps 116:1-11; Prov 8:8-9
2020-03-18
Isaiah 50:4 NIV
Isaiah writes: ‘The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.’ It’s never wise to say everything we’re thinking, because sometimes our thoughts can be negative, hurtful, and unhelpful. There’s a time for us to share our thoughts, and a time for us to keep quiet. The more mature we become, the more we’ll realise that sometimes the best thing is to not say anything. We need to ask God for ‘a well-instructed tongue’, just like Isaiah had. Throughout the Bible, we’re reminded of the importance of keeping our speech under control. For example, ‘Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin’ (Proverbs 13:3 NIV); ‘Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity’ (Proverbs 21:23 NIV), and ‘Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless’ (James 1:26 NIV). There are two occasions in particular when our tongue can get us into trouble: 1) When we’re angry. Emotional outbursts usually result in harmful comments we don’t mean and will regret later. 2) When we’re tired. Exhaustion can make us impatient and less able to keep control over our thoughts and speech. Thoughtless comments can slip out. We should always wait until our judgement is clear and we can think things through before we speak. Paul said, ‘Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone’ (Colossians 4:6 NIV). Salt flavours, preserves, cleanses, and heals. And that’s what our words should do too.
Job 1-4; Matt 23:23-39; Ps 19; Prov 8:6-7
2020-03-17
Exodus 20:10 NIV
Anyone who likes to exercise knows that it’s important to take rest days to let our bodies recover. And the same principle can apply to other parts of our lives too. We need to take rest days in order to recover and refuel. Even God took a rest day. ‘By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work’ (Genesis 2:2 NIV). If we fail to take rest days, we can end up burned out and unable to serve God or even do the normal everyday activities in our lives. When we have a lot to do at work, home, or church, it can be tempting to keep working until it’s all done. But we’ll ultimately work better and be healthier if we take regular rest days. That’s why the Bible says, ‘The seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work.’ Rest days also give us an opportunity to reconnect with God. When everything else in our lives quietens down for a while, it’s easier for us to focus on God and listen to His voice. It’s on these days that we can ‘be still and know that [He is] God’ (Psalm 46:10 NCV). Rest days remind us that we’re humans who can’t do everything. They help us to rely on God to provide, rather than relying on our own strength. Sometimes we can feel like resting is inconvenient but God never intended for it to be a burden for us. Jesus said: ‘The Sabbath day was made to help people; they were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day’ (Mark 2:27 NCV). God knew we would need rest days, so let’s take them.
1 Thes 1-5; Matt 23:13-22; Ps 11; Prov 8:4-5
2020-03-16
1 John 2:6 NCV
The world throws a lot of information our way about being attractive. Magazines try to tell us how we should look, social media posts can lead us to compare our physical appearance with other people’s, and companies market their products to us by making us believe we’ll become more attractive if we use them. But as Christians, we’re called to be attractive in a different way. When people look at us, they should be attracted to know Jesus. Our words, attitudes, actions, and reactions either drive people away from Jesus or attract them to Him. God gradually transforms us to become like Jesus. The Bible says: ‘We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV). Isaiah said of Jesus: ‘The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord’ (vv.2-3 NLT). When we become Christians, the Spirit that rested on Jesus rests on us too. That means we have wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of God, and a delight to obey Him. As we grow in these things, and the fruits of the Spirit (take a look at Galatians 5:22-23), we become more like Jesus. And we show others how amazing He is. Sometimes people will come to know Jesus because of the words that we say and the stories we tell. But other times, people watch our lifestyles and find them attractive. They want what we have. So, are we living in a way that attracts others to God?
Gen 50; Haggai 1-2; Matt 23:1-12; Ps 115; Prov 8:1-3
2020-03-15
Hebrews 12:1 NIV
Ever had to run while wearing a heavy rucksack? When we carry anything heavy it makes running really challenging. It slows us down and can cause us to stumble. It’s the same in our lives. When we carry heavy burdens around with us, we’re weighed down and can stumble in our Christian journey. But the Bible says: ‘Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’ So how can we throw off our burdens? Firstly, we need to acknowledge the things that are weighing us down. Sometimes it’s easy to identify our burdens. Maybe it’s a family issue, stress at work or university, a sin which we can’t break free from, or a hurt from the past. Other times we can feel weighed down without realising why. God can show us the things we need to work through. The psalmist prayed: ‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me’ (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV). And we can pray the same too. Secondly, we need to work through our burdens. Not everything we’re carrying can easily be thrown off. Some things need to be dug out of our lives and processed before we can let them go. God’s gentle with us, and will help us work through our problems step by step. Finally, we need to get into the habit of handing all our problems over to God. The Bible says: ‘Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you’ (Psalm 55:22 NIV). Every time we discover something that’s weighing us down, we need to give it to God and keep running.
Matt 5:4; Isa 51:1-16; Ps 30; 2 Cor 1:3-7
