2021-05-06
Matthew 25:21 NIV
When we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, we’ll have an opportunity to hear the word ‘good’: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ Note, He doesn’t say well thought, or well intentioned, but well done! We’ll be rewarded for what we do. On that day, God will take a look at your actions, not your opinions or intentions.
Goodness should be on our minds the whole time. The Bible says, ‘Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright?’ (Proverbs 20:11 NIV). We know what we’re really like on the inside, but the only version of us that others see is from the outside.
One Christian leader wrote: ‘Talk is cheap. No matter how much you claim to be a good person, the only public measuring stick is your actions. You may think that by being good you’re not doing a lot of good. But never underestimate the power of even one person to exert tremendous influence by simply doing the right thing, at the right place, and at the right time.’
Mother Teresa avoided the limelight. She saw herself as a servant, not a star. Her greatest desire wasn’t to be famous, but to be faithful. And as a result, she ended up touching the lives of so many people, even though her only thought was to help the next hurting person. Among her favourite Scriptures were these words given to us by Christ: ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these…of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:40 NIV). So today, seek to do good.
Num 25-26; Mark 7:1-13; Ps 37:32-40; Prov 11:7-8
2021-05-05
Romans 12:21 NCV
In the busyness of life, it can be easy for us to forget why God saved us, what He’s called each of us to do, and how we’re supposed to live. So today, let’s take a few minutes to read some gentle reminders from His Word: ‘Your love must be real. Hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honour than you want for yourselves. Do not be lazy but work hard, serving the Lord with all your heart. Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times. Share with God’s people who need help…Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them. Be happy with those who are happy, and be sad with those who are sad. Live in peace with each other. Do not be proud, but make friends with those who seem unimportant. Do not think how smart you are. If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do your best to live in peace with everyone…do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger…But you should do this: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.” Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good’ (v. 9-21 NCV).
Num 22-24; Mark 6:45-56; Ps 37:25-31; Prov 11:5-6
2021-05-04
Ecclesiastes 10:12 NIV
Aesop, the author of fables, said, ‘No act of kindness, no matter how small, ever is wasted.’ Being kind doesn’t mean tolerating something that’s wrong, or refusing to confront a problem because we don’t want to challenge something and upset the status quo. There are times when we must confront something or someone, but it should always be done in a gracious way. A calm attitude will go a lot further than a harsh comment or an ugly tone of voice. We can make our point with a kind spirit, and even a sense of humour.
When we confront a problem with anger, sarcasm, or self-righteousness, we can end up putting others on the defensive, creating an atmosphere of resentment and bad tempers on both sides. That makes it difficult to get our point across effectively and listen to what the other person has to say. But approaching the issue with kindness and gentleness helps to keep the discussion calm and gives space for others to share their point of view without feeling judged or personally attacked.
The Bible says: ‘Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.’ Being gracious can be as simple as saying ‘Let’s find a way to work through this problem together,’ instead of ‘You need to sort this out.’ Being gracious means focusing on the problem rather than the people involved. Being gracious doesn’t mean we’re being weak. When we’re gracious we’re following God’s example: ‘The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love’ (Psalm 145:8 NIV). Let’s aim to be ‘slow to anger’ and quick to be gracious.
Num 19-21; Mark 6:30-44; Ps 37:16-24; Prov 11:4
2021-05-03
1 Corinthians 9:26 MSG
Long-distance runners don’t just focus on speed, but on endurance. They pace themselves so that as they approach the finish line, they’re not completely spent, but have a bit of effort in reserve to make a last push to win. The Message paraphrases Paul’s words: ‘I’m running hard for the finish line…giving it everything I’ve got…I’m not going to get caught…telling everyone else…then missing out myself’ (vv. 26-27 MSG).
For long-distance runners, giving up isn’t an option, despite the difficulties and disappointments along the way. And when we set out to fulfil our God-given purpose in life, we need to give it everything we’ve got, right to the end. We need to go for it, not forgetting that Jesus said, ‘Great gifts mean great responsibilities’ (Luke 12:48 MSG).
It’s one thing to be successful in the task assigned to us; it’s another thing to handle the pressures that go along with it. ‘Jesus…finished this race…Because he never lost sight of where he was headed…he could put up with anything’ (Hebrews 12:2 MSG). Having something great to look forward to enables us to endure the struggles we’ll face along the way. And God will expose us to opposition and criticism to strengthen our characters; that way when greater blessings and responsibilities come, we’ll be able to handle them.
But we need to have a passion to cross the finish line, and must ask ourselves: ‘Am I willing to pay the price?’ When the pressure is on, are we willing to stand up like Nehemiah when he rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls and tell our opponents: ‘My work is too important to stop’ (Nehemiah 6:3 CEV)? If we can answer ‘yes,’ let’s fix our eyes on the goal and run to the finish line.
Num 16-18; Mark 6:14-29; Ps 37:8-15; Prov 11:3
2021-05-02
Psalm 56:9-11 CEV
We all enjoy getting approval from others, but we don’t need it in order to have self-worth. And in fact, people pleasing can cause us to lose self-worth. We can turn ourselves inside out for others, and just when we think we’ve succeeded, they change their minds. Besides robbing us of our peace of mind, people pleasing makes it impossible for us to follow God’s direction – we end up following someone else’s will rather than His.
Breaking the habit of people pleasing isn’t easy. It requires us to face what we fear and ask God for the courage to follow through. David said, ‘I know…you are with me….I…am not afraid. No one can harm me.’
When it comes to people pleasing, there are two things we need to remember: 1) Breaking the cycle means risking rejection by saying no when others expect to hear yes. When people are used to meek, compliant responses, they’ll react negatively until they get used to our new attitude. This will feel intimidating at first, but it’s the first step to freedom from the pressure of always trying to earn people’s approval.
2) We might have to explain to others that in the past we looked for their approval because we felt insecure, but that’s no longer the case. The important thing is to act now!
Breaking any habit involves temporary discomfort, but the only other option is to spend life feeling trapped. We can choose to suffer short term on the way to freedom, or long term by continuing to struggle to please others. Today, make the choice to break free from people pleasing.
2 Ki 5:1-27; Matt 6:19-34; Acts 5:1-11
2021-05-01
Proverbs 29:25 NLT
To ensure victory in battle, King Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel the prophet to come and offer a sacrifice to God. But as the day wore on and the people in his army grew impatient, Saul offered the sacrifice himself. When Samuel demanded to know why, ‘Saul answered, “I saw the soldiers leaving me…so I forced myself to offer the whole burnt offering.” Samuel said, “You acted foolishly…The LORD would have made your kingdom continue in Israel always, but now your kingdom will not continue”‘ (1 Samuel 13:11-14 NCV). Saul ended up losing everything because he was trying to please people rather than doing what God had commanded.
Speaking truthfully might not be easy or comfortable, but the Bible tells us to do it anyway, like Samuel did. That doesn’t mean we should be rude or insensitive, but we mustn’t let others intimidate us either. Just because somebody doesn’t want to hear the truth doesn’t take away our responsibility to speak it.
Have you ever felt uneasy about something that somebody asked you to do? One of the ways God leads us is through a sense of inner peace. Isaiah says you’ll be ‘led forth in peace’ (Isaiah 55:12 NIV). And Paul wrote, ‘Pursue what makes for peace’ (Romans 14:19 ESV). When something doesn’t feel right, and we don’t feel at peace about it, we must speak up. We shouldn’t let other people’s demands steal our peace.
Jesus told His disciples, ‘If a home or town refuses to welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake its dust off your feet’ (Matthew 10:14 NCV). When somebody else’s reaction threatens to stop us from doing what we know is right, it’s time to shake it off and move on.
Num 14-15; Mark 6:1-13; Ps 37:1-7; Prov 11:1-2
