2022-03-08
Philippians 2:13 CEV
The engine in a car is its power source, and it’s activated when you put the car in gear. Only then do you have the momentum you need to get where you need to go. One of the dangers in seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit is that we can reduce it down to an ‘experience’, rather than ‘putting it in gear’ to achieve great things for God.
In the New Testament, when someone was filled with the Holy Spirit, things happened! People turned to Christ. Healings took place. Lives were turned around. They didn’t just celebrate in church. Celebration was everywhere. In Scripture, the first picture we have of God is of Him in His creative role. He creates us in His image, breathes life into us, then tells us, ‘Go out and become productive’ (see Genesis 1:28).
If we’re praying for someone to come along, give us all the answers, and change our circumstances, it won’t happen. We’re not helpless onlookers. What God has placed inside us will change what’s outside us – but we have to put it to work. What’s within us is greater than all the difficulties we’ve been through, the situations we’re in now, or the obstacles that lie ahead in our paths.
When everything around us is saying no and something within us is saying yes, that’s ‘God…working in you to make you willing and able to obey him’. The ‘willing’ is our part; the ‘able’ is His part. When we get those two things working in sync, we’ll see amazing change in our lives.
Exo 28-29; Luke 14:15-24; Ps 106:1-23; Pro 7:1-2
2022-03-07
2 Corinthians 12:15 NLT
Helping people brings great fulfilment. When we spend our day serving others, we can draw joy from the fact that we’re demonstrating God’s love. And even if we’ve so far spent a lot of our lives being selfish and forgetting others, it’s not too late to have a change of heart. Even Charles Dickens’ Scrooge discovered you can turn your life around and make a difference for others.
That’s what Alfred Nobel did. He was shocked when he saw his obituary in a newspaper. His brother had died, but the editor mistakenly named Alfred and printed an uncomplimentary statement about his life because the explosives his company produced and profited from had killed many people. So Nobel vowed to spend the rest of his life promoting peace and acknowledging contributions to humanity. That’s how the Nobel Prizes came into being!
When we get outside of oursleves and make a contribution to others, we really begin to live. Unselfishness is its own reward; it’s not dependent on the response of others. This is the principle that guided the apostle Paul: ‘I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me’ (v.15 NLT).
Of all the qualities we can wish for and pursue, unselfishness seems to make the biggest difference towards cultivating other virtues. It goes against human nature, so being unselfish and servant-hearted can be a struggle at first. But if we can learn to think unselfishly and become givers, it becomes easier to develop other virtues, such as gratitude, love, respect, patience, and discipline.
Exo 25-27; Luke 14:1-14; Ps 136:13-26; Pro 6:32-35
2022-03-06
Judges 16:28 NLT
In prison Samson prayed: ‘LORD… please strengthen me just one more time… Then Samson put his hands on the two centre pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands… the temple crashed down… So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime’ (vv. 28-30 NLT). Samson ended up in this prison because of Delilah. The Bible says, ‘She pressed him daily’ (v. 16 KJV).
Satan is persistent, and he waits to catch us in unguarded moments. That’s why there are certain doors in life we should never open. If we give in to a temptation for one single day, we can end up struggling with it for a lifetime.
There’s a poster that says: ‘Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.’
The good news is, Samson remembered God! And it’s a wonderful day when we remember God and reach again for Him. Samson ‘killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime’ (v.30 NLT). His greatest victory was recorded in the final chapter of his life. In fact, he’s named among the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter eleven. Regardless of where we are today, whether we’re feeling like a failure, or broken and burnt out, we must turn to God. He’ll help us turn things around. It’s never too late for God to make a difference.
1 Sam 21:1-6; Hosea 6:4-6; Matt 12:1-14
2022-03-05
Genesis 32:30 NIV
The Bible says, ‘Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip’ (v.30-31 NIV). Without God’s protective hand on our lives, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Even if we think God can’t use us, or we think we’ve done all we can, God hasn’t finished with us. Even when other people doubt our abilities to carry out what God’s called us to do (and even when we doubt ourselves), God doesn’t cast us aside. He always has more for us and can use us. After God finished wrestling with him, Jacob said, ‘My life was spared.’ There was so much more to come, more that Jacob could accomplish for God.
The Bible says, ‘God… creates new things out of nothing’ (Romans 4:17 NLT). He wants to set things in place in our lives that weren’t there before. Good things! But notice something very important: ‘Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak’ (Genesis 32:24 NIV).
When God needs to deal with us on important issues, He does it one-to-one, not as part of a crowd. In fact, being in a crowd can prevent us hearing His voice. Being alone with God can feel nerve-wracking because our egos and protective facades we’ve built up get stripped away. We might want to stay with the crowd at first, but they can’t calm the restlessness we feel when our spirits respond to God’s call. We needn’t be afraid of God’s calling us to be alone with Him. It’s just the start of His next chapter for our lives.
Exo 22-24; Luke 13:18-35; Ps 136:1-12; Pro 6:30-31
2022-03-04
Proverbs 14:30 NCV;
The Bible says, ‘Peace of mind means a healthy body but jealousy will rot your bones.’ If we allow jealousy to hold a place in our lives, it’ll eventually take over and consume us. It eats away at us and steals our joy. It invades our thoughts until we only see the things somebody else has that we want, leading to resentment and conflict. It stops us celebrating with others and sharing in their happiness when they achieve something. So we need to recognise jealousy as soon as it appears.
Here’s a quick checklist to help: 1) Do you find it hard to compliment others on their achievements? 2) Do you ever feel a sliver of happiness because something bad has happened to someone else? 3) When you hear something complimentary about another person, do you feel the need to say, ‘Yes, but…’ and then point out something negative about them? 4) Do you keep comparing yourself to other people? 5) Do you pay a lot of attention to what other people are doing, buying, wearing, and who they mix with? 6) Do you trust the people you love, or are you always checking up on them?
So how do we conquer jealousy? First, we need to acknowledge there’s a problem. Second, we need to tell God how we’re feeling and ask for His help. And third, we should pray for the person who is the target of our jealousy. It’ll feel awkward at first, but as we keep doing it, God will change our hearts and replace jealousy with love. When we’re secure in who we are before God, we don’t have to be jealous of anybody.
Exo 19-21; Luke 13:1-17; Ps 77; Pro 6:29
2022-03-03
Psalm 3:3 NKJV
When Elijah was at his lowest point, God told him these three important things: 1) Spend more time with God. ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD’ (1 Kings 19:11 NKJV). That was where God spoke to him in ‘a still small voice’ (v.12 NKJV). The word ‘still’ teaches us that instead of always working for God, we need to spend time with Him. If we don’t, we’ll run on empty and end up getting nowhere. When David was feeling overwhelmed, he wrote: ‘Many are saying about me, “God won’t rescue him.” But, LORD, you are my shield, my wonderful God who gives me courage. I will pray to the LORD and he will answer me’ (Psalm 3:2-4 NCV).
2) Don’t try to do everything yourself. That’s a fast track to becoming overwhelmed. Just because God’s given us a task to do, it doesn’t necessarily mean we have to work alone at it. Sometimes it means working as part of a team and getting it done through them. Elijah wasn’t alone. God told him, ‘I have seven thousand people left in Israel who have never bowed to Baal’ (1 Kings 19:18 NCV). God will bring people to help us when we need them.
3) Realise your assignment isn’t over. God showed Elijah there were still kings to anoint, battles to win, and a successor to prepare (see v.16). When we’re at breaking point, He doesn’t get angry with us. In fact, His Word says, ‘He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the dimly burning flame. He will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair’ (Isaiah 42:3 TLB). We can always draw on His strength.
Exo 16-18; Luke 12:49-59; Ps 70; Pro 6:26-28
