2020-02-25
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NIV
Jesus told His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41 NKJV). What did He mean by that? He meant that without the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, which He’d just told them they’d soon receive, they weren’t equal to the challenges they were about to face. It wasn’t a matter of His doubting their devotion and willingness to serve Him; He just knew they couldn’t do it by themselves. And you can’t either. So the sooner you quit trying, the better off you’ll be! God isn’t looking for educated, sophisticated, well-meaning flesh, or any other kind of “flesh,” for that matter. He will only bless you when you acknowledge your total dependence on Him. That means praying and leaning on Him before you start, and continuing to pray and lean on Him until you reach the finish line. It also means that if God doesn’t send you and you insist on going, or if He tells you to do something and you try to accomplish it in your own strength, you’ll surely fail. And what’s more, He will allow you to keep failing until you reach the place where you can say like Paul: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent.” It’s when we reach the end of our resources that God’s power kicks in. So the word for you today is: Instead of leaning on your own strength and resources, depend wholly and solely on God.
Soul food: Gen 4-6; Matt 17:14-27; Ps 40:9-17; Prov 6:6-8
2020-02-18
2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV
Second, admit your own inadequacy. The only people God can’t help are those who don’t think they need His help. King Jehoshaphat said, “We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Often our eyes are on everything and everyone – except God – the One who can solve our problems. Your circumstances are like a mattress: If you’re on top you can rest easy, but if you’re underneath you can suffocate. Keep your eyes on the Lord and you’ll win out over your circumstances. Remember, it’s “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6 NIV). You can’t live the Christian life in your own strength because you have a power shortage. You need the power that comes from letting God’s Spirit live through you. Try to imagine a glove. On its own, it is limp and powerless. But once a hand fills that glove it becomes useful and effective. Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8 NKJV). Jesus often spoke of the Holy Spirit as “the Helper,” so when you don’t know what to do, stand on His promise: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name…will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26 NKJV). If you fight in your own strength, you’ll lose. But when you draw on the power of God’s Spirit that’s within you, you’ll win.
Soul food: Rom 12-14; Matt 15:1-14; Ps 5; Prov 5:1-2
2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV
If we want to win our battles, we need to make sure we have a humble attitude. So we need to admit our own inadequacy. It might seem a little strange to be focused on our weaknesses when we’re facing a battle, but if we don’t think we need God’s help then He can’t help us. He doesn’t force anything on us, but responds when we come humbly to Him. King Jehoshaphat said, ‘We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.’ Often our eyes are on everything and everyone – except God, the One who can solve our problems. We need to keep our eyes on God if we want to win our battles. God says it’s ‘not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’ (Zechariah 4:6 NIV). We can’t live the Christian life in our own strength because we designed to need God’s strength. We need the power that comes from letting God’s Spirit live through us. Jesus said, ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’ (Acts 1:8 NKJV). Jesus often spoke of the Holy Spirit as ‘the Helper’, so when we don’t know what to do, we need to stand on His promise: ‘The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name…will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you’ (John 14:26 NKJV). We need to acknowledge that we need help; we can’t do everything on our own. If we fight in our own strength, we’ll lose. But when we rely on the power of God’s Spirit that’s within us, we’ll win.
Rom 12-14; Matt 15:1-14; Ps 5; Prov 5:1-2
2020-01-03
Isaiah 1:19 NKJV
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria became tired of his responsibilities as king, the pressures of international politics, and the mundane worldliness of court life. He made an application to Prior Richard at a local monastery to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in prayer and meditation. Prior Richard responded, “Your Majesty, do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That it will be hard, since you have been a king?” Henry said, “I understand. The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” Prior Richard said, “Then I will tell you what to do. Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” After Henry died, this statement was written in his honor: “The king learned to rule by being obedient.” Today, and every day, you have these decisions to make: (1) Live by your own impulses, or live according to the instructions God has given you in His Word. (2) Go according to your own best thinking, or submit yourself to the rule and the leading of the Holy Spirit who lives within you. When you think about it, the answer is clear! Obeying God leads to peace, progress, protection, and promotion. His Word says, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” Note the words “willing and obedient.” Obedience is an act of your will, not a reflex of your emotions. So this year – do what God says, for He has “good” things in mind for you.
Soul food: 1 Cor 5-8; Matt 4:1-11; Ps 90:7-12; Prov 1:5-7
2019-12-27
Romans 5:3 NIV
Isn’t it interesting how as we get older, we tend to become more patient, even though we have less time left? Why is that? Perspective! Our problems haven’t changed that much, but our perspective has. Things that once upset us don’t anymore, because we’ve lived long enough to know “His grace is sufficient” (See 2 Corinthians 12:9). Once you realize that it’s no big deal – and most things aren’t – you can say, “Been there, done that!” Instead of fretting and complaining, which doesn’t work and steals our joy, we’ve learned to sing: “Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.” Like Joseph, you can look back to times in life you thought you’d never get through, and stuff you thought you’d never survive, and say, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20 NKJV). Yes, perspective produces patience: “We can rejoice…when we run into problems and trials, for we know…they are good for us – they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character…and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady…when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:3-5 TLB). So let God develop your patience.
Soul food: 1 Cor 12-14; Matt 2:13-23; Ps 139:13-24; Prov 31:28-29
