2020-07-08
Psalm 37:7 NKJV
When you’re in a doctor’s waiting room there are things you shouldn’t do – like try to treat other patients, or have them treat you. Or ask the receptionist for a stethoscope or a blood pressure cuff. And it wouldn’t be wise to ask the person sitting next to you, “What prescriptions are you taking? Perhaps I could try them.” It’s called a waiting room because you’re supposed to wait. But we don’t like to wait. We weave through traffic looking for a faster lane. We drum our fingers on the countertop while the microwave heats our coffee: “Come on, come on.” We don’t like to wait for anything, including God. Over and over in Scripture when it speaks about our relationship with God, the word “wait” keeps showing up. And here’s what we fail to understand: While we are waiting, God is working. Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work” (John 5:17 NIV). The sign on God’s waiting room reads “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). You can be still because He is active, and you can rest because He is busy. To wait, biblically speaking, is not to assume the worst, or worry, or fret, or make demands, or take control. Waiting is not inactivity. Waiting is sustained effort to stay focused on God through prayer and faith. To wait is to “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him…not fret.” God is the Great Physician. You are in His waiting room. He knows what ails you better than you do, and He has a prescription to fix it. So trust Him, and wait.
Soul food: Jer 33:1-36:26; Luke 6:1-16; Ps 137; Prov 15:15-17
2020-07-03
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT
Are you full of dreams and enthusiasm to do whatever God’s called you to do? Or are you doubting yourself, thinking you’re too young to do anything important for God’s kingdom? In the Bible, Timothy became an apostle at a young age. Some people thought that being in leadership at such an early age wasn’t a good thing. But Paul didn’t agree. He told Timothy: ‘Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity…focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received…Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress’ (vv.11-15 NLT). We need to start believing in ourselves because God believes in us. He’s got plans and purposes for each of us. The Bible says: ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). And He’s willing to equip us to be able to do them. Just because we’re not as old or experienced as other people, doesn’t mean we should disqualify ourselves from using our God-given gifts to advance the kingdom. We’re not too young to make an impact, even if that’s what other people are telling us. It’s true that we need to take time to develop our gifts, grow in faith, and become more mature as Christians, but God can work in us while He’s working through us. We don’t have to wait until we’re a certain age or standard to make a difference for Him.
Jer 22-24; Luke 4:31-44; Ps 102:12-17; Prov 15:3
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT
By the time he was eighteen, Timothy was an apostle. And it seems some folks in church thought his promotion to leadership at such an early age wasn’t a good thing. But Paul did. He told Timothy: “Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity…focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received…Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress” (vv. 11-15 NLT). Who says you’re too young to make an impact? Not God. And not history. Victor Hugo wrote his first tragedy at age fifteen. Raphael painted his masterpieces before he died at age thirty-seven. Tennyson wrote his first volume of poetry at eighteen. Paschal wrote his great works between the ages of sixteen and thirty-seven. Joan of Arc did all her work and was burned at the stake at nineteen. Romulus founded Rome at twenty. Calvin joined the Reformation at age twenty-one and wrote his famous Institutes at age twenty-seven. Alexander The Great had conquered the known world by the time he was twenty-three. Isaac Newton was twenty-four when he introduced the law of gravity. Believe in yourself, for God does. Develop your gifts, and ask God to bless them. Maximize every opportunity to the fullest, and you will make the world a better place.
Soul food: Jer 22-24; Luke 4:31-44; Ps 102:12-17; Prov 15:3
2020-07-02
Judges 11:35 NIV
For months Eric Liddell trained with his heart set on winning the 100-meter race in the 1924 Olympics. Most sportswriters predicted he would win. At the games, however, Liddell learned that the 100-meter race was scheduled to be run on a Sunday. This posed a major problem for him, because he didn’t believe he could honour God by running on the Lord’s Day. He bowed out of the race, and his fans were stunned. Some who had praised him in the past, now called him a fool. He came under intense pressure to change his mind, but he stood firm. Then a runner dropped out of the 400-meter race, which was scheduled on a weekday, and Liddell was offered the opportunity to fill the slot. This was not really “his race.” The distance was four times as long as the one he’d diligently trained for. Even so, he crossed the finish line as victor and set a new record of 47.6 seconds in the process. He earned an Olympic gold medal and made an uncompromising stand for his faith, and his story was told in the Academy Award-winning movie Chariots of Fire. But Eric Liddell has an even greater claim to fame. He went on to become a missionary in China, where he died in a P.O.W. camp in 1945. He’s like Jephthah, who said, “I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it” (NKJV). The lesson that comes through loud and clear from this man’s life is – stand by your convictions, and God will honour you.
Soul food: Jer 18-21; Luke 4:14-30; Ps 102:1-11; Prov 14:35-15:2
2020-06-25
1 Peter 2:2 NIV
Studying the Bible every day is essential to our spiritual growth, but we can often prioritise other things and reduce our time studying the Bible to a few minutes each day. The Bible should be like food to us. We need to consume it so that we can grow stronger and more mature in our faith. The Bible says, ‘man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD’ (Deuteronomy 8:3 NIV). Peter uses the analogy of babies and milk, saying, ‘crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.’ Babies desire and demand milk on a regular basis. In the same way, we should be desiring God’s Word. But so often we can find ourselves not reading the Bible. Maybe it’s because we don’t understand it, because we have other things we’d rather do, or we’re just too busy. But we need to be determined to feed on God’s Word each day. If we’re struggling, we can start with the basics. Paul said to the Corinthians: ‘I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready’ (1 Corinthians 3:2 NIV). If we’re not ready to get stuck into deep theological Bible studies, let’s start small. We can aim to read the Bible for ten minutes a day, choosing a passage we’re familiar with, and then researching it. We can look online for commentaries, listen to teaching on the topic, and ask the Holy Spirit to show us what it means. Then we can grow in our faith and become more like Jesus.
Hosea 11-14; Luke 2:34-40; Ps 21; Prov 14:17-20
