2021-07-05
Ecclesiastes 10:12 NIV
There are three things that can cause us to be easily hurt or hurt other people without intending to: 1) We speak out of our own hurt. German poet Hermann Hesse wrote: ‘If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.’ It helps to remember that people often lash out in response to what’s happening inside themselves.
2) When we’re hurting, we get touchy. Imagine that you ignore a splinter in your finger, and it gets infected. Someone brushes up against it, and in pain you shout, ‘You hurt me!’ However, the real problem is the splinter that you didn’t deal with in the first place. Hurting people overreact, over-exaggerate, and overprotect. They also over-influence. Often it’s the person with the most pain who can be the most hurtful. If we’re on the receiving end of a hurtful comment, we should try not to retaliate, and instead speak and act with grace: ‘A gentle answer will calm a person’s anger, but an unkind answer will cause more anger’ (Proverbs 15:1 NCV).
3) Getting over our hurt takes time. Quick fixes don’t work. The kindest thing we can do when someone’s hurting is to demonstrate God’s love by showing them that we care about them, and, if they’re willing, to help them work through their issues and get beyond the pain. Good things can come from bad situations. It might mean we have to deal with some difficult issues, but in the process, we might discover some treasures we didn’t know existed, and end up with a great relationship.
Jer 41-44; Luke 5:1-11; Ps 102:18-28; Prov 15:4-7
2021-07-04
Colossians 4:6 NLT
If we tend to say the wrong things, there’s a scriptural solution for us: ‘Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone’ (v.6 NLT). To speak effectively, we need to be ‘gracious’ when dealing with others. And while honesty is always the best policy, it doesn’t mean we can say whatever we want. One of the most important skills we can develop is the ability to deal with others tactfully and with sensitivity when we find ourselves in a difficult situation.
We might think that being brutally honest is sometimes the best course of action, but extending grace to someone and being truthful aren’t mutually exclusive. We can and should learn to tell the truth tactfully. The Bible says, ‘For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’ (John 1:17 NIV).
Jesus didn’t let courtesy and kindness prevent Him from telling the truth, but He never did it in a mean-spirited way. Sometimes we can claim to be ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15), when the truth is that anger, frustration, disappointment, and retaliation are what’s truly in our hearts.
So what’s the answer? Before we speak, we should take a moment to review the words in our mind, and try to evaluate their impact. Then we should choose to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. If we’re feeling prompted to change what we say or how we say it, or even to not say anything just yet, then we should follow what the Spirit is saying to us. Doing that will help us develop the discipline to cut out tactless remarks from our conversations.
Isa 53:2-12; Acts 8:26-40
2021-07-03
Matthew 7:25 NCV
Before it snows, there are some types of fir tree that retract their branches so the weight of snow they’ll have to bear will be reduced. This response is programmed into their branches. God has enabled these trees to anticipate the problem before it occurs so they can reduce the risk of breaking in a storm. We need to do the same thing in our lives. We can’t always avoid problems and crises, and there’ll be some that really do take us completely by surprise, but there are still things we can do to prepare for their arrival:
1) Get into God’s Word. When Jesus was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He defeated him using Scripture. He didn’t have to search for something that spoke into His situation; He had memorised God’s Word so He could use it immediately when the devil attacked. That doesn’t mean we need to memorise the entire Bible, but by reading it every day, becoming more familiar with God’s Word, and learning a few verses that remind us to trust Him, we can equip ourselves to stand strong as soon as a problem arises.
2) Spend time with God every day. When we set aside a regular time to pray and talk to God, we keep Him involved in our daily lives and everything that’s going on, so we can constantly get His wisdom and guidance on our situation and learn His will. Following His will may not always be easy, and doesn’t mean we’ll avoid all problems, but we can have confidence that we’re taking the best course of action. It also gives us time to be refreshed and strengthened by Him, so we’re better prepared when trouble comes.
Jer 36:27-40:16; Luke 4:31-44; Ps 102:12-17; Prov 15:3
2021-07-02
John 15:4 NKJV
A branch doesn’t bear fruit by trying, working, or straining. It bears fruit by simply ‘abiding’. But what does this mean? How do we abide in Jesus? Let’s illustrate it this way: when you put a tea bag in a cup of hot water, something happens. As the tea bag abides in the water, the tea begins to flavour the water until it takes on the taste of the tea. And the longer the tea bag abides in the water, the stronger the colour and flavour of the tea.
That’s what happens when you abide in Christ and He abides in you. The longer you abide in Him and the deeper you go with Him, the more His presence will begin to permeate your life. The branch doesn’t make the fruit; it bears the fruit. It’s the vine that produces the fruit. And Jesus said, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing’ (v.5 NKJV). Without the vine, the strongest branch is as defenceless as the weakest branch.
So what does it mean to abide in Christ? 1) Studying His Word. ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you’ (v.7 NKJV). As you study God’s Word, His Spirit changes you. 2) Obeying His will. ‘If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love’ (v.10 NKJV). The closer you get to God, the more you’ll want to do what He says. And when you follow His guidance, you’ll see what amazing things He can do in your life.
Jer 33:1-36:26; Luke 4:14-30; Ps 102:1-11; Prov 14:35-15:2
2021-07-01
John 15:4 NIV
Jesus said: ‘My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch…that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me…If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit’ (v.1-5 NIV).
God wants to produce the fruits of the Spirit in our lives and make us more Christlike in character, and this is how He does it: First, He’ll show us the habits, relationships, and activities that make it impossible for us to bear spiritual fruit, and then begin to cut them off. But He can only do that if we let Him. Second, He’ll reveal to us the things that drain us spiritually and keep us from bearing more fruit. And His favourite pruning knife is His Word, which is ‘sharper than any double-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).
As we read God’s Word, He cuts away the bad so that it doesn’t obstruct the good. Then He prunes the good so that it doesn’t obstruct the best. This also explains why He allows difficult times to come into our lives. One pastor put it this way: ‘Trials may simply be pruning shears in the hands of the divine Gardener – tools He uses to cut away dead wood, fruitless branches, and sap-sucking shoots so that we might bear more fruit.’
Jer 31-32; Luke 4:1-13; Ps 98; Prov 14:34
2021-06-30
2 Timothy 2:5 TLB
We can be so eager to stay in everyone’s good books and gain their approval that we’ll constantly drop everything to do what they want. Having a desire to help people is great, but when we can’t say no or don’t set boundaries, we can quickly become burnt out. One Bible teacher wrote: ‘Once when I was complaining about my heavy schedule, I heard God’s Spirit say, “You’re the one who makes the schedule; if you don’t like it, do something about it!”‘
It’s easy to blame other people for putting pressure on us, or the devil for whispering lies such as ‘if you don’t help this time, it proves you’re a bad person’, but there are times when we need to take responsibility for our decisions and actions. We might resent people who pressure us into helping them, but still keep doing what they want in order to keep their good opinion, which feeds our silent anger. Paul told Timothy, ‘Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work…as an athlete…follows the rules or is disqualified’ (v.5 TLB).
We need to remember that Jesus is our example, and He had regular times of rest and renewal. The answer lies in 1) seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance for our lives, 2) learning to put God’s plan first, 3) realising we have needs too, and 4) not expecting everybody to understand or be happy when we set boundaries. The Bible says, ‘A friend loves at all times’ (Proverbs 17:17 NIV) – not just when we comply with their wishes. To fulfil God’s will for our lives, we need to learn to set boundaries.
Jer 28-30; Luke 3:21-38; Ps 95; Prov 14:29-33
