2020-12-20
Romans 15:13 NCV
God has promised that we can have a sense of peace and joy in every circumstance we face. Jesus said, ‘I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete’ (John 15:11 NIV). So how can we hold on to joy and peace and not lose them?
Paul tells us, ‘I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit’.
The word ‘trust’ in that verse can also be translated as ‘believe’. So the key to keeping hold of our joy and peace, even through tough times, is to keep trusting God and believing He’ll come through for us. It’s okay for us to have questions, and to wonder how or when God’s going to move, but if we start doubting His love and goodness, or thinking He can’t or won’t help us, we’ll also start to lose our hope.
One thing to remember during these times is that we don’t necessarily need massive amounts of faith to see God move. Jesus said: ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you’ (Matthew 17:20 NIV). God can take our tiny bit of faith and turn it into something that breaks through the biggest obstacles.
When we feel ourselves slipping into a place of doubt, let’s move back into a place of trust, joy and peace by thinking of all the things He’s done for us through our mustard seed-sized faith.
Jonah 2; Luke 11:29-32
2020-12-19
Matthew 14:22 NIV
When ‘Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side’, He knew there was a storm brewing, but He sent them into the middle of it because He wanted them to learn, grow, and stretch their faith.
The Bible tells us: ‘Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him…they were terrified. “It’s a ghost” they said…But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid!”‘ (vv. 25-27 NIV). There are three important lessons for us in this story:
1) Serving God doesn’t mean we’ll avoid life’s storms, but it protects us when we’re in them. Jesus promised, ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 NIV).
2) What we see as another problem heading our way might actually be the Lord coming towards us. The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost, when in reality He was their deliverer.
3) Jesus might not show up when we want Him to, but He’ll always show up on time. The disciples had been in the storm for hours before Jesus appeared. And when He appeared, He said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ Before Jesus dealt with what was troubling them on the outside, He calmed them down on the inside. That’s how He works.
First He changes us, then He changes our circumstances. This helps us to grow in faith, so we’re better equipped to handle the next storm that blows into our lives.
Micah 5-7; John 21:1-14; Ps 12; Prov 31:1-5
2020-12-18
James 1:19 NIV
Good listening helps us to build relationships, but becoming a good listener requires some effort on our part. Here are a few suggestions to help us improve our listening:
1) Listen without interrupting. We need to resist the temptation to jump in and finish a sentence, or to turn the conversation around to make it about ourselves and our feelings and experiences.
2) Listen to understand. As someone is speaking, we should try to understand their point of view, feelings, needs, and way of thinking. Good listening is hearing what they actually think, mean or feel, not what we imagine they do. If we’re not sure that we’re understanding correctly, rather than guessing, we should ask, ‘Do you mean…? Are you feeling…?’ We mustn’t assume things, and we shouldn’t be afraid of asking someone to clarify or repeat what they’ve said to us.
3) Listen without judging. We need to avoid jumping to conclusions. If someone says something that doesn’t quite add up, we need to keep listening. Proverbs 18:13 says: ‘To answer before listening – that is folly and shame’ (Proverbs 18:13 NKJV). When we hear more details, it might make sense.
4) Listen without correcting, arguing or devaluing. Jumping in and saying things like, ‘That’s not what happened,’ or, ‘If you hadn’t…’ or, ‘You’re just being too sensitive,’ can put people on their guard and stop real communication.
5) Validate the speaker. We should make an effort to accept their perceptions and feelings as the valid expressions of a valued person. They may have misunderstood a situation, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong to feel the way they do. If we try to understand their perspective, we’ll gain insight into why they feel that way.
Micah 1-4; John 20:19-31; Ps 67; Prov 30:29-33
2020-12-17
John 11:41 NCV
Before raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus prayed, ‘Father, I thank you that you heard me.’ What’s interesting about this prayer is that Jesus said it before Lazarus came back to life. It’s a powerful demonstration to us of the faith and trust we should have in God. Jesus knew God would answer His prayer before He witnessed the result.
How often do we need to see the answer to our prayers before we’ll believe that God listened to us and thank Him for responding? After we’ve prayed, the devil wants us to wonder whether or not God actually heard. He wants us to feel that doubt. But when we know God has heard our prayers, we have confidence. Worry and doubt is replaced with peace.
Here are a few Scriptures to think about: ‘When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord’ (James 1:6-7 NIV). ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him’ (1 John 5:14-15 NIV). ‘If anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them…whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours’ (Mark 11:23-24 NIV).
Today, let’s begin to thank God for hearing our prayers, and trust that He’ll answer them in the way that’s best for us.
Neh 11-13; John 20:10-18; Ps 57; Prov 30:24-28
2020-12-16
Ephesians 4:31 NLT
The words ‘get rid of all bitterness’ might make us think of a doctor thoroughly cleaning a wound to prevent infection. Another translation, ‘Looking carefully…lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble’ (Hebrews 12:15 NKJV), commands us to be vigilant in case a tiny seed of bitterness takes root inside us and causes problems.
Bitterness has many sources: someone who has hurt us; a nasty relationship breakup; the careless words of a friend who’s not even aware of their effect; a work colleague who doesn’t appreciate what we do.
The way to get rid of bitterness is for us to forgive, before the problem becomes embedded in our emotions and starts feeding off our memories. The Message paraphrases Paul’s words: ‘Make a clean break…Forgive one another as quickly…as…Christ forgave you’ (Ephesians 4:31-32 MSG). Harbouring bitterness won’t change the other person, but it will change us – and not for the better. What happens is this: Satan enters the picture and persuades us that it’s okay to harbour resentment, usually by convincing us that we’re just protecting ourselves from getting hurt again. We justify our position, and get comfortable living with resentment and bitterness.
When we don’t tackle these feelings, they can turn into a grudge, where we refuse to let go of the hurt and desire revenge instead of forgiveness. But that doesn’t have to happen to us, because there’s no negative emotion so deeply rooted in us that God’s grace can’t reach down and remove it.
So let’s draw close to God and ask Him to help us forgive, and exchange our revenge for His justice.
Neh 8-10; John 20:1-9; Ps 105:37-45; Prov 30:20-23
2020-12-15
Psalm 119:104 NLT
‘Only the LORD gives wisdom; he gives knowledge and understanding’ (Proverbs 2:6 NCV). True understanding is a gift that only God can give, and He gives it to us through His Word. The psalmist wrote, ‘Your commandments give me understanding.’ The Bible helps us to gain understanding and to begin to interpret life the way God does. In a letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, ‘Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this’ (2 Timothy 2:7 NIV).
As we immerse ourselves in Scripture, God speaks to us. He’s saying, ‘This is how I see it, and this is how I want you to see it.’ He gives us His insight into the situation. And we can use that insight to help us in everyday life.
There are a lot of self-help books out there, which are designed to help us improve all kinds of areas of our lives. They’re often written by experts in a particular field, and some of them contain very good advice. But when we turn to the Bible, we’re getting direct access to God’s authority and wisdom. There’s so much to discover in the Bible – we can find wisdom and advice about money, relationships, work, prayer, what to do when we feel worried or fearful, and how to deal with bad habits and sins. Psalm 119:9 says, ‘How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word’ (NIV).
Whatever we’re facing in our lives, let’s resolve to make God and His Word the first place we turn to for advice and wisdom to handle the situations we find ourselves in.
Neh 5-7; John 19:31-42; Ps 105:23-36; Prov 30:15-19
