2020-12-08
John 20:21 NLT
Jesus instructed the disciples to go out and share His message of love hope and peace, saying: ‘As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’ It’s an instruction for each one of us, too – we all have a responsibility to share the gospel message. But sometimes we can forget or lose sight of the fact that we’re representing Jesus, so here are a few things for us to hold on to:
1) We were sent to serve, not be served. ‘For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20:28 NLT). When we’re the last to be served in a restaurant, we can get impatient and angry. We might think we deserve better treatment. But in God’s kingdom the power is at the bottom, and it’s from there that Christ governs and conquers. We can’t represent Jesus well unless we’re willing to replace our pride with humility and be ready to help and serve others, whoever they are.
2) We were sent to do God’s will, not our own. Jesus said, ‘I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me’ (John 6:38 ESV). It’s great to have aims and ambitions, but when we think or talk about them, we should always add, ‘If it’s God’s will.’ Choosing to pursue the wrong goal (which is one that isn’t God’s will) puts us on the wrong path and in the wrong place. John said, ‘The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever’ (1 John 2:17 NIV). When we miss God’s will, we miss the purpose that we were created for.
Jos 16:1-19:23; John 17:13-26; Ps 148:1-6; Prov 29:11-15
2020-12-07
Numbers 13:30 NCV
When God calls us to accomplish a task or take on an assignment from Him, we might think it’s beyond us. It could be totally different from anything we’ve done before, or the obstacles we have to face to reach our goal might seem so big, we can worry that we don’t have the capability to do what God’s asking. We let our weaknesses and insecurities dictate the course of our lives, when all the time, God is looking for ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
We can think we’re unqualified to get involved in church, or in the community, or in helping others. Chances are, on our own we don’t feel capable. If they’re being honest, very few people actually do. But Paul points out that God said: ‘My power works best in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT).
When Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan to check out the opposition, ten of them reported, ‘We have no chance, the giants are too big’ (take a look at Numbers 13:28). But the other two saw things from God’s perspective, and said, ‘We should certainly go up and take the land for ourselves. We can certainly do it.’
God sees you as able to complete the task He’s assigned you, not because you’re powerful, but because He is. With Him on your side you can rise up with confidence, knowing you are able to overcome. God sees you as a winner, and an overcomer who can accomplish great things because of the talents and power He has placed inside you. God chose you and has a plan for you, and He’ll equip you to do everything He asks of you.
Jos 14-15; John 17:1-12; Ps 147:12-20; Prov 29:6-10
2020-12-06
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
When someone criticises us or hurts us, even if it was unintentional, their words can stick with us for a long time. We might even think we’ve forgotten, and then years later, we’ll suddenly remember them. Over time, we might find that a lot of the sting has gone out of the words, but often the memory and the pain is just as fresh as it was on the day we heard them. The enemy can use those memories to discourage us and get us to condemn ourselves.
But ‘God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,’ so we can confidently stand our ground and remind the enemy that Jesus has already defeated him through His death and resurrection.
If the criticism or hurtful remarks were unjustified, we need to hold on to the truth of how God sees us. Ephesians 6:14 says: ‘Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness’ (NLT).
But what about if the criticism was justified at the time? Sometimes, it’s not what was said, but the way it was said, that makes it hurt. We’ve all made our fair share of mistakes, but God sees us ‘in Christ’, and accepts us just as we are, because we’re covered by Jesus’ righteousness. We also need to remember that God’s transforming us little by little, day by day, so we’re not the same person we were when the criticism was made. We’re works-in-progress, and God won’t give up on us. The old voices of the past don’t define our future or the way God sees us, and we shouldn’t let them define the way we think about ourselves either.
Ecc 11:7-12:1; Ps 39:4-13; 2 Tim 4:6-8
2020-12-05
Galatians 5:26 MSG
When we think about being in competition with others, we’ll often think of trying to be better than someone else – maybe things like getting more likes and comments on our social media posts, better exam results, or a higher paid job. But there’s another type of competition that we can find ourselves in.
Does any of this sound familiar? ‘You think you’ve had a rough week? I’ve had all of these things go wrong…!’ ‘If you want to know what a bad day looks like, try going through the day I’ve just had!’ It’s easy for us to get sucked into this type of competition, where we try to prove that our problems are worse than everyone else’s, but it isn’t the way God wants us to react.
The Message paraphrases Galatians 5 like this: ‘Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.’ (v.25-26 MSG).
There are times when we should share that we’re having problems, but if we’re just saying it to compete with others, we need to check ourselves. When someone shares that they’re having a tough time, let’s try to take our focus off ourselves for a few minutes, and offer encouragement and understanding. Sometimes they might just need someone to listen to them and reassure them that with God’s help, they can handle it.
Jos 11-13; John 16:19-33; Ps 147:1-11; Prov 29:1-5
2020-12-04
Exodus 18:19 NCV
In Exodus 18 we read: ‘Moses solved disagreements among the people, and the people stood around him from morning until night…Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “You are not doing this right…This is too much work for you; you can’t do it by yourself…I will give you some advice. I want God to be with you…Choose some capable men…Make these men officers over the people…Let these officers solve the disagreements…They can bring the hard cases to you, but they can decide the simple cases themselves. That will make it easier for you, because they will share the work with you”‘ (v.13-23 NCV).
The advice from Jethro (Moses’ father -in-law) in this passage highlights another example of what a good mentor should do. 1) He took an interest in Moses’ work, and understood the challenges Moses faced. Jethro had seen the number of people Moses had to deal with, and asked him questions about what he was doing (take a look at v.14-15).
2) He cared about Moses’ welfare and his relationship with God. Jethro was concerned that Moses would burn himself out, but also wanted Moses to continue following God’s will.
3) He was honest with Moses, and offered a practical solution to his problem. Jethro wasn’t afraid to tell Moses that he was handling things the wrong way, and gave him advice to help him improve the way he worked.
4) He taught Moses a valuable skill. Jethro encouraged Moses to delegate (a skill that people often find difficult).
When we’re looking for a mentor, we need to look for someone who we can trust, who takes an interest in us, and who’s willing to be honest and offer advice and teaching. Above all, a mentor should care about us and our relationship with God, and encourage us to be the best we can be.
Jos 8:30-10:43; John 16:12-18; Ps 2; Prov 28:25-28
2020-12-03
2 Timothy 2:2 NLT
Churches can have amazing spaces to worship in, contemporary websites and social media feeds, and all kinds of technology to support their mission, but it’s the people that really bring God’s Word to life. ‘We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us’ (2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV), which means it’s important that we’re constantly looking for ways to improve ourselves so we can be the best examples of God’s ambassadors that it’s possible for us to be. One of the ways we can do this is by finding a mentor.
A mentor is someone who teaches us, supports us, holds us accountable, helps us to see where we need to improve, and encourages us to grow. The apostle Paul set us a great example of what to look for in a mentor.
1) He was a good role-model. He said: ‘Follow my example, as I follow the example for Christ’ (1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV). He put his teaching and advice into practice in his own life. We should be wary of someone who expects us to follow their advice without following it through for themselves.
2) He wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable. Paul wrote: ‘I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling’ (1 Corinthians 2:3 NIV). We should look for a mentor who isn’t afraid to be open and honest about their own flaws and weaknesses – we can learn a lot from the way they handle them.
3) He could see the potential in people. Paul recognised and encouraged Timothy’s gift for teaching: ‘Teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on.’ We need a mentor who can draw out our potential and encourage us to use our gifts for God’s kingdom.
Jos 5:1-8:29; John 16:1-11; Ps 130; Prov 28:21-24
