2019-12-25
Galatians 4:4 NLT
God doesn’t consult us to make sure His plans line up with our timetable. God sets the schedule; sometimes we have to run to keep up, and other times we have to slow down in order to get in step with Him. Mary planned to marry Joseph, then have a child, but God had a different plan. The child had to be without inherited sin, so He needed a perfect father; therefore, the Holy Spirit was called on to do the job. Humanly speaking, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Mary became pregnant before she got married, and Joseph wasn’t the father. Besides being ostracized, the law said she could be stoned to death. How did she respond? Amazingly: “Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word'” (Luke 1:38 NKJV). God has a set plan, and He is always working toward it. The trouble is, we are only working with limited information, so we become impatient and upset when He doesn’t answer our prayers when we think He should, or in the way we think He should. It’s said that George Muller, evangelist and founder of the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, England, once waited on the dock for a special chair to be delivered; he had a bad back and needed the chair for his ocean voyage. When departure time came and it still hadn’t arrived, his friends offered to buy him one. But Muller said, “Either God will provide or He will give me the grace to do without.” Then, just like a Hollywood ending, the chair arrived right on time! Trust God – He knows what He’s doing!
Soul food: Isa 9:1-7; Matt 1:18-25; Micah 5:2-5a
2019-11-23
John 14:26 NKJV
Jesus said, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” So the Holy Spirit has these two functions: (1) He teaches you how to walk with God. (2) He reminds you to do it each day. As redeemed children of God, we constantly need to be taught how to walk with Him, and to be reminded of the blessings that await us when we do and the trouble we get into when we don’t. If you’ve raised kids, you know the routine. They have to be taught their ABCs so they can read and write; then they have to be reminded until they master it. They have to be taught to walk, and falling down hundreds of times is just part of growing up. The Bible says, “A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16 NKJV). Just as you don’t tell your child, “Forget it, you’re never going to learn to walk,” your heavenly Father doesn’t give up on you either. Your child had to be taught personal hygiene and cleanliness. Likewise, the Holy Spirit will remind you of the importance of reading God’s Word each day. Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3 NKJV). And the psalmist wrote, “How can a young man [and an older one too] cleanse his way? By taking heed…to Your word” (Psalm 119:9 NKJV). If you’re wise, you’ll start each day by praying, “Holy Spirit, teach me what I need to know, and remind me of it throughout this day.”
Soul food: 2 Chr 35-36; John 13:18-30; Ps 114; Prov 27:20-22
2019-11-22
Galatians 5:16 NLT
Dr. Charles Stanley says: “During a photographic trip my group had been traveling up a trail for almost three hours, and I began to have a funny feeling that we were going in the wrong direction. I asked the guide about it and he assured me everything was fine. Not wanting to be presumptuous, I kept walking. After a few minutes, I noticed that my sense of uneasiness persisted; in fact, it was growing stronger. I pulled out my compass and looked at the map. Sure enough, we were headed away from our intended destination. It took us close to an hour and a half to return to where we’d taken the incorrect turn. Sadly, this meant by the time we got to the site, our window for taking photographs was cut short. The event helped me realize two valuable lessons. First, when we sense an internal witness encouraging us to take a certain course of action, we should listen. Second, when you and I choose people to guide us, we must be certain they know the path ahead better than we do. Have you ever felt something alerting you to pay attention or pulling you in a particular direction? Perhaps you were listening to a sermon and you sensed God telling you to follow Him in obedience. Or maybe you walked into a restaurant and were filled with dread, as if you should leave quickly. If you’re a believer, most likely these feelings were the promptings of the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart, warning you about danger, and encouraging you to submit to God’s purposes.” Today, “Let the Holy Spirit guide [you].”
Soul food: 2 Chr 32-34; John 13:1-17; Ps 95; Prov 27:17-19
2019-10-02
Matthew 6:7 NLT
Here’s what Jesus taught about prayer: “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.” Then He gave us two specific instructions. First: “Shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private” (v. 6 NLT). Second: “Your Father knows exactly what you need…before you ask him” (v. 8 NLT). Heartfelt prayer isn’t meant for human ears. In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases it this way: “Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play.” In heartfelt prayer the Holy Spirit brings to the surface things you’ve carefully hidden from others, and even yourself. Like a mirror, He confronts you with the truth and demands that you confess “the hidden things of dishonesty” (2 Corinthians 4:2). Once you’ve done that you can leave God’s presence cleansed, corrected, confident, and clear as to His will. Nothing fuels heartfelt prayer like real need. It causes both the prominent and obscure to acknowledge, “Lord, without you I can do nothing. Indeed anything I could accomplish without you would mean nothing!” This is the place of naked prayer. Hannah was there when she cried to God for a child. She was so passionate that Eli the high priest thought she was drunk (See 1 Samuel 1:13). But God heard her cry. That day, Samuel was conceived in her heart, and shortly thereafter he was conceived in her womb. So don’t leave the place of prayer until you conceive, until the embryo of God’s purpose for your life starts to take form within you, and your vision is born.
Soul food: Eph 4:17-6:24; John 1:14-28; Ps 29; Prov 22:26-29
2019-08-28
Galatians 4:19 NIV
When you become a Christian you discover that part of you wants to walk “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4), while another part wants to walk “after the flesh” (Romans 8:5). And you would, if it weren’t for God’s Spirit who lives in your divided house and “groans” when you do certain things, challenging you with God’s Word (See John 16:7-14). The truth is, your new heart is still living in your old body. One author writes: “When I first came to Christ I thought others had mastered a level of holiness that always eluded me. So I attacked my carnality with passion! I didn’t realize that everything that’s born needs time to grow. I was expecting an immediate, all-inclusive metamorphosis that would make me the kind of person God could really love. I now realize His love isn’t doled out on a merit system: If you do well, He loves you, and if you don’t, He doesn’t.” God doesn’t want do-it-yourself righteousness. The Bible says, “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Paul writes, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” God alone knows the process it will take for the Christ who saved you to be formed in you! We each travel our own paths at our own pace, but our goal is the same: to bear a greater resemblance to our heavenly Father. And getting us there is God’s job – so let Him do it. Your job is to keep walking with Him day by day as He does it.
Soul food: Ezek 14:1-16:52; Matt 21:33-46; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 19:12-16
