2022-05-13
Numbers 1:1 NIV
Would you like to be a leader one day? Whether it’s part of our job, pastoring a church, mentoring someone younger or less experienced, or taking the lead in a group project, at some point we might feel God calling us to step up to leadership. Today, let’s think about some of the qualities that make a good leader so we can pray and build on them for the future. Moses is a biblical example of a good leader.
1) He understood the importance of planning. He spent forty days praying and fasting on a mountain, refusing to leave until he understood what God wanted him to do. Then he came back and shared it with the people so they could get a glimpse of the vision.
2) He was patient. The Israelites spent a lot of their time in the desert complaining and grumbling about their situation, the food, and Moses himself. But instead of getting angry with them, Moses was patient with them, and talked to God about their complaints. (He wasn’t perfect though – after they complained about a lack of water, in frustration he called them ‘rebels’ and disobeyed God’s command to speak to the rock (see Numbers 20:2-12)
3) He turned to God for wisdom. There are many times in the Old Testament that tell of Moses taking a concern or a problem to God and turning to Him when help was needed. And God shared His wisdom with Moses and gave him solutions.
4) He was humble. We know this from Numbers 12:3: ‘Moses was very humble – more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth’ (NLT). He knew his own strength alone wasn’t enough for the calling God had for him, so he leaned on God’s strength and stayed close to Him.
Num 22-24; Matt 9:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Pro 11:12-13
2022-05-12
2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
On a cold day, have you ever tried breathing on your hands to restore warmth and life? That’s like what happens when you meditate on God’s Word, because ‘all Scripture is God-breathed’. Imagine you were at a party where people have been blowing up balloons. With the right equipment, it would be possible for a scientist to work out which balloon was yours because your DNA (the genetic code that makes you unique) is contained in your breath. If we apply that idea to reading the Bible, it gives us a better understanding of how vital it is to our spiritual lives.
John tells us ‘the Word was God’ (John 1:1 NKJV), so whenever we take in God’s Word, we’re also taking in His attributes. That’s why the devil will try to keep us so busy that we don’t have time to read the Bible. The truth is, there are many things we struggle with that could be helped or removed completely from our lives if we developed a real hunger for God’s Word.
Job said, ‘I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food’ (Job 23:12 NKJV). Jeremiah, who was so dejected that he became known as ‘the weeping prophet’, said, ‘Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart’ (Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV). Jesus experienced every test and trial; He even faced down the devil himself, declaring ‘The Scriptures say, “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”‘ (Matthew 4:4 NLT).
Today, let’s get God’s Word into us – it’s His breath; it’s His DNA.
Num 19-21; Matt 8:18-34; Ps 44:9-16; Pro 11:10-11
2022-05-11
Matthew 25:21 NKJV
In Scripture, to be faithful means to be steady, stable, dependable, and consistent. Do these attributes describe you? They should, because faithfulness is very important to God. ‘A faithful person will be richly blessed’ (Proverbs 28:20 NIV). Jesus said, ‘Many are called, but few chosen’ (Matthew 20:16 NKJV). Why is that? Because talent might open the door and get us the job, but it’s our character and faithfulness that will keep us there.
When it comes to faithfulness, God will test us in two ways: 1) Our faithfulness in someone else’s vision. ‘If you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?’ (Luke 16:12 NLT). If we’re critical, caustic, complaining, competitive, or constantly comparing ourselves with others, we won’t be fit and ready for what God has in mind for us. Faithfulness calls for serving with love and humility.
2) Our faithfulness in small things. ‘The master said, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities… To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given… But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away”‘ (Matthew 25:23, 29 NLT). God wants to know He can trust us, and we prove it by how well we serve others and by our faithfulness in small things.
These are biblical principles that don’t just work in spiritual things, but in everyday life too! So today, take a few moments to prayerfully ask yourself the question, ‘Am I faithful?’ When you are, be ready for God to do some amazing things with you!
Num 16-18; Matt 8:1-17; Ps 44:1-8; Pro 11:9
2022-05-10
Philippians 3:14 NIVUK
Paul wrote: ‘I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you’ (v.14-15 NIVUK). Paul’s description paints a picture of a Christian aiming for a goal or a target. In Paul’s day, a target would have been hit by an arrow.
If you’ve ever tried hitting a target with an arrow, you’ll know this: 1) Your aim must be unbroken by distractions. When you have the bullseye in your sight, something as insignificant as taking a breath at the wrong moment can make you miss the mark you’re aiming for. So Paul’s saying: ‘Forget what’s behind you and around you and stay focused on winning the prize.’ He isn’t referring to your salvation. Jesus already purchased that and gives it to you freely by His grace. Paul’s talking about fulfilling your God-given destiny and getting the reward that waits beyond it.
2) Your arrow has to have the right amount of power behind it. Otherwise, it’ll start to drop off before it even reaches the target. In life, your power comes from the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ (Acts 1:8 NKJV).
So today, aim for the target that God’s set out for you!
Num 14-15; Matt 7:15-29; Ps 37:32-40; Pro 11:7-8
2022-05-09
Hebrews 11:21 NKJV
The Bible says, ‘Jacob, when he was dying… worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff.’ Imagine that each time Jacob had an experience with God, he took a knife and cut a mark into his staff as a reminder of what happened, starting at the bottom and working right up to the top. One mark might symbolise the night he wrestled with God and his name was changed to Israel (see Genesis 32:28). Another might represent the night God showed him a vision of a ladder reaching up to heaven with angels on it. Jacob’s staff represented a lifetime of experiences with God. So it’s not surprising that as he was dying, he worshipped God while leaning on his staff.
Now think about the story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4. Her son suddenly became ill and died, so Elisha sent his servant Gehazi ahead with his staff to let the woman know he was coming. But when Gehazi placed the prophet’s staff on the dead boy, nothing happened. It was only when Elisha arrived that the child was restored (see 2 Kings 4:32-35).
The truth is, you can’t lean on anyone’s ‘staff’ but your own. You can’t stand on anyone else’s experience with God but your own. When it’s time to face challenges, you can only lean on the faith you’ve developed during your personal journey with God. That’s why it’s so important for us to be faithful and consistent in our spiritual journeys.
By leaning on his staff when he was dying, Jacob declared, ‘My God who preserved, protected, and prospered me up till now will take me the rest of the way.’ And when we lean on our faith in God, we can be certain He’ll be with us for the whole journey.
Num 11-13; Matt 7:1-14; Ps 37:25-31; Pro 11:5-6
2022-05-08
2 Chronicles 25:2 NIV
The enemy of passion is indifference. That’s when we go through the motions, but our focus is broken by other things. It’s not that we’ve said no to God; it’s that we haven’t said a definite and passionate yes to Him. In the Old Testament, King Amaziah ‘did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.’
Passion doesn’t disappear overnight. It happens when we neglect and take things for granted. We might think lack of passion doesn’t matter too much, but Jeremiah warns about ‘a curse on anyone who is lax (negligent, slack, slipshod) in doing the LORD’s work!’ (Jeremiah 48:10 NIV).
The Bible tells us one source for a loss of passion: ‘This people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes’ (Acts 28:27 NIV). The word ‘calloused’ refers to hard, dead skin that slowly builds up on the soles of your feet until you can’t walk properly or without pain. Jesus told the first and last two churches in Revelation: 1) ‘I hold this against you: you have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first’ (Revelation 2:4-5 NIVUK). 2) ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth’ (Revelation 3:15-16 NIV). So with those verses in mind, let’s resolve to be passionate about God’s plans!
Jonah 1:10-2:10; Matt 12:38-42
