2020-06-08
2 Thessalonians 3:15 NIV
What should we do when a friend or family member seems to go the opposite way from what God says is right? Here are a few tips for when we find ourselves in that situation: 1) Speak up with love. It’s important that we do speak up rather than just ignore what’s happening. However, we need to speak with love. The Bible says we should be ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15 NIV). If we condemn people, we can push them away. We need to remind them that God loves them and that His commands are given to us from a place of love. When we obey Him, we’ll experience the best things in our lives. 2) Don’t abandon them. Sometimes it’s right for us to walk away from a friendship, especially if it’s harming us to stay in it, but in other circumstances we need to stick with people and help them come back to God. The Bible says: ‘Do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.’ We shouldn’t turn against them, but continue to love them as God does. 3) Pray for them. It can be easy for us to fall into the trap of trying to fix people and their situations. But that can cause us to feel stressed and overwhelmed. The best thing we can do is to pray for the person. This hands the situation over to God and reduces the burden we place on ourselves. We can’t control other people, or fix their problems, but we can invite God to come and do the things we can’t. He can turn people’s lives around and bring them back to Him.
Rev 5-9; Mark 14:53-65; Ps 48; Prov 13:2-3
2020-06-07
Proverbs 13:20 NCV
Finally, we need to develop relationally. God’s plan for our lives requires us to connect with the right people – and disconnect from the wrong ones. Sitting beside Jesus at the Last Supper were John, who loved Him, and Judas, who betrayed Him. We can have people around us who love and support us, but also people who bring us down and go behind our backs. We need to be aware of who is influencing us and who is speaking into our lives. The Bible says: ‘Spend time with the wise and you will become wise.’ The relationships we choose to invest in have a direct effect on how we live and how we develop in our faith. So here’s a great prayer to pray: ‘Lord, I pray for the people You’ve brought into my life and placed on my heart. Please bless the healthy relationships, and give me wisdom to handle the difficult ones in a way that pleases and honours You. If there are friendships I need to walk away from, show me what to do and give me the grace and courage to do it. If there are relationships that are draining and distracting me from Your plan and purpose, I trust You to bring them to an end or change them for the better. And when I’m the one who needs to change, show me, and work in my life by Your amazing power. I need Your wisdom to recognise the friends I should choose. Help me to avoid relationships that lead me away from the path You’ve laid out for me. Send people into my life who are godly and wise, and help us to bless and encourage each other. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.’
Rev 7:13-17; Ps 23; Luke 15:1-7
2020-06-03
Galatians 5:13 NKJV
Before He went to the cross, the Bible says that “Jesus…took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:3-5 NIV). Then He said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you…Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (vv. 15-17 NIV). What a lesson! Love can’t be manifested in isolation. It can’t be done sitting alone in front of a TV or PC. To quote the singer Michael W. Smith: “Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away.” Note, Jesus “showed them the full extent of his love” (See v. 1 NIV). How? By donning a servant’s towel. And where can you do that? Anywhere! How about tomorrow at the office, the warehouse, or the job site? Your workplace can become a sacred place where God’s presence blesses the mundane, day-to-day routine, because the love of God within you wears a servant’s towel. “Let me make those copies for you…I’ll cover your calls while you run to school to bring your son his lunch box…you look like you’re going through a rough time, and I’m a pretty good listener. I may not have all the answers, but I know Someone who does.” Paul bottom-lines it: “Through love serve one another.” So go out of your way to serve someone today.
Soul food: 1 Kings 16:1-18:15; Mark 14:1-11; Ps 4; Prov 12:25
2020-05-26
Philippians 2:10 NCV
If something or someone is worthy, it means that they deserve respect and praise. And Jesus is worthy of our respect and praise. It’s great when we talk to God like a friend, and share all our concerns; it’s what He wants us to do. But we also need to remember that He deserves our respect. We should be in awe of Jesus and what He has done for us. The Bible says, ‘every knee will bow to the name of Jesus – everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’ (vv.10-11 NCV). Jesus is worthy of every single person on this earth bowing down to Him. The book of Revelation shows us how the heavenly creatures worship God. All day and all night they worship Him, and call Him holy. The elders fall down before God’s throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being’ (Revelation 4:11 NIVUK). When we think about how worthy God is, are we giving Him enough of our time and praise? Do we struggle to fit a few minutes of prayer into our busy lives, and only give Him praise at church? Or are we constantly worshipping Him and declaring His holiness? The Bible says, ‘let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name’ (Hebrews 13:15 NIV). He is worthy of more than a few rushed moments of prayer and a quick read of a Bible verse. He is worthy of our constant praise, our devotion, and our love.
1 Kings 3-5; Mark 11:27-33; Ps 128; Prov 12:10-11
2019-10-15
Ephesians 4:15 NIV
Before you confront someone over an issue, stop and examine your motives. Is your goal to help or humiliate them? Jesus was in the business of lifting and restoring people, and you should be in that business too. Ask yourself, would you approach things differently if you weren’t so personally involved? Are you confronting this person to make yourself look better? Cutting someone else down in order to lift yourself up is the lowest form of ego gratification. Poet Kahlil Gibran said, “To belittle, you have to be little.” Don’t do it! It’s a sign of insecurity. Remember Nehemiah’s response to those who tried to discourage him from rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls? “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3). Don’t allow your critics to break your stride. Don’t give more credence to the sentiments of a critic than you would to the encouragement of a friend. Before you put somebody else’s life under the microscope, stop and examine your own. Are you grappling with the same issue, or one just as bad? Have you succeeded where you’re accusing somebody else of failing? In other words, have you earned the right to be heard? Paul writes, “Speaking the truth in love we will grow…in every respect.” Could it be that the situation you’re dealing with right now is an opportunity to measure your own maturity and make it a spiritual growth experience?
Soul food: 2 Pet 1-3; John 4:27-38; Ps 87; Prov 24:1-4
