2020-12-14
Proverbs 1:5 NIV
Solomon, who is often referred to as the wisest man who ever lived, apart from Christ, said, ‘Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.’ If we want to achieve all our God-given potential, we must make personal growth one of our highest priorities.
When water stays still for a long time, it becomes stagnant. And when we stop growing and stay in one place, we can stagnate too. Let’s take a moment to think about what happens when we allow ourselves to stand still and stagnate.
1) We lose our creativity. As we learn and discover new things, it opens up new connections. When we stop growing, we’re relying on old knowledge and old ideas, which makes it difficult for us to come up with fresh, innovative ideas.
2) We lose our influence. Friends, family or colleagues who used to seek out and value our opinion might stop coming to us for help and advice. As we saw in the first point, when we stop learning and growing, we lose a lot of our ability to bring new, creative ideas and solutions, so people will start to look elsewhere for advice.
3) We can’t reach our full potential. We might wonder why we’re stuck stacking chairs or making the coffee when we want to be leading a Bible study group or leading worship. Sometimes God will keep us in one place for a reason, but we also need to ask ourselves if it’s because we’re not putting in the effort to learn and grow the skills we need.
With God’s help, we’re capable of doing so much for His kingdom. But if we stop growing, God can’t give us the more skilful tasks He’d planned for us.
Neh 1-4; John 19:17-30; Ps 105:16-22; Prov 30:10-14
2020-12-13
Job 8:7 NLT
Phil Cooke writes: ‘Growth is what we do with knowledge. Growth is where we take our knowledge, how we apply it, and how we use it in our everyday lives. Leadership expert John Maxwell taught me long ago to change my orientation from goals to growth. When he said those words, it was a revelation. I’d always learned that goals were important, and I tried and tried to use a system of reaching goals, but I’d always struggled with it. I could see that goals motivated lots of people…but reaching goals always left me empty and unsatisfied. But when John showed me how to focus my attention on growth, everything suddenly fell into place. The process taught me that goals are great, but when we reach a goal, we’re finished. But with growth, it’s a never-ending process – always learning, always moving forward, always achieving…I want to learn and grow until my last breath… Why do some succeed and others seem to stagnate? Why do some move to higher levels of achievement while others stay at the same place for years at a time? Many people blame the system, the company, or their boss. They blame society, their upbringing, or their past. But a lifetime plan for growth can break through barriers and overcome nearly any obstacle.’
There’s nothing wrong with having a goal in life, but let’s make growth a priority so we can keep learning and keep reaching for more. Job 8:7 says: ‘Though you started with little, you will end with much.’ Let’s try to make this our attitude towards knowledge and learning, so we can grow and achieve more for God’s kingdom.
Eze 37:1-14; Matt 27:50-53; 1 Thes 4:13-18
2020-12-12
Philippians 2:13 NIVUK
When it comes to doing what pleases God, there are two obstacles we need to overcome – the ‘want to’ and the ‘able to’. Giving up our own plans and embracing God’s doesn’t come easily to us. Our old nature wants what it wants, not what God wants. And even when God’s will is clear, and we want what He wants, we don’t always have the ability or the confidence to do it. That’s where God steps in by working in us to give us the ‘want to’ and the ‘ability to’. The willingness and the capability come from Him, not from us.
So if God’s already working in us, why do we struggle so much to know His will and to follow His plan for our lives? The problem is that our old natures are self-centred and tend to resist God’s will. So what can we do to overcome our old natures?
1) Surrender yourself to God. ‘Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice’ (Romans 12:1 NIV).
2) Renew your mind. ‘Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will’ (Romans 12:2 NIV). In the original Greek, ‘renewal’ means to be ‘inwardly renovated’ by aligning your thoughts with God’s – to intentionally think like He thinks.
In other words, God initiates the ‘want to’ and the ‘ability to’, and we cooperate by aligning our minds with His. When that happens, we can be confident ‘that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion’ (Philippians 1:6 NIV).
Col 3-4; Philemon; John 19:1-16; Ps 105:8-15; Prov 30:5-9
2020-12-11
John 13:1 NIV
We can spend hours every day on social media. In fact, social media is one of the greatest tools the church has ever had for reaching the world with the gospel. But it’s important that we think about how and why we’re connecting with others. So today, let’s have a check-up on how we’re using social media.
1) Are we looking for popularity? Do we just want to have the highest number of followers? Jesus said: ‘What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?’ (Luke 9:25 NIV). We might find ourselves posting things that aren’t a true reflection of our characters, or what we believe, just because we’ll get a lot of likes. But when we do this, we’re rejecting the unique person God created us to be. Let’s make sure we’re chasing truth, even if that’s the more unpopular thing.
2) Are we boasting about our achievements? There’s nothing wrong with feeling pleased with what we’ve accomplished, but we need to be aware that we’re not taking it too far and boasting. ‘If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 1:31 NLT).
3) Are we reflecting God? Are we using social media in a way that would please God? That doesn’t mean we should only post Bible verses. But we should always try to be aware of God’s voice and be ambassadors for Christ in whatever we’re doing. Everything Jesus did came from His love for others. ‘Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.’ Before posting anything, we should ask ourselves if it’s coming from a place of love for others.
Col 1-2; John 18:25-40; Ps 105:1-7; Prov 30:1-4
2020-12-10
Luke 6:31 MSG
Imagine you’d gone to a top-rated, 5-star restaurant as a special treat, and ordered their most expensive steak. You’re really looking forward to your meal, but when it’s brought to you, there’s the tiniest piece of steak on the plate, just enough for one bite. So you complain, but the server explains that although it’s a small portion, it’s the best steak available anywhere in the world – it’s the quality, not the quantity, that matters. You probably wouldn’t be happy about that.
Sometimes, quality is more important than quantity, but there are some areas of our lives where both are equally important. One of those areas is in our relationships with others. We might think that it doesn’t matter how much time we give to our friends and loved ones as long as it’s quality time. But we can’t grow a friendship if we’re not prepared to invest time and effort into it. The Message paraphrases Luke 6:31 like this: ‘Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!’ (MSG).
We need to think about how we would like our friends to treat us. Would we feel happy and valued if they chose to spend only a small amount of time with us once in a while? Our time is valuable to us, so when we choose to spend it with a friend or loved one, we’re showing how much we value them. If we’re only willing to give them a few minutes, what sort of message are we sending them? They might think their friendship isn’t all that important to us.
When it comes to building relationships, let’s make the decision to choose both quality and quantity, and show our friends and loved ones how much they mean to us.
Jos 22-24; John 18:12-24; Ps 150; Prov 29:22-27
2020-12-09
2 Corinthians 9:11 NCV
When a friend needs encouragement, we’re in a great place to give it to them. Paul wrote: ‘He will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely.’ As God inspires us to follow His call and achieve all kinds of things for His kingdom, we should also be willing to pour inspiration on to others who need it. Here’s some advice for times when we’re called to encourage and inspire someone:
1) Assure them of God’s love, and yours. When people are nervous or unsure, it helps to remind them of how much God loves them, and how much you care for them too. Reassure them that it will never be withdrawn because of their appearance, achievements, or actions. Let them know they’re loved for who they are, and that their worth in God’s eyes is never in doubt.
2) Help them to discover their potential. ‘We have different gifts, according to the grace given us’ (Romans 12:6 NIV). Find out what they love to do, and help them discover their gifts and skills. Encourage them to take a step out of their comfort zone so they can stretch and grow their skills.
3) Don’t try to make them something they’re not. God gives each person their own unique personality and calling. Celebrate what makes them individual, and support the person they are, not the person you think they ought to be.
4) Help them build godly values. Encourage them to get into God’s Word every day. ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work’ (2 Timothy 3:17 NIV). Let’s come alongside others and inspire them to do ‘every good work’.
Jos 19:24-21:45; John 18:1-11; Ps 148:7-14; Prov 29:16-21
