2022-09-08
James 3:18 NKJV
Satan knows that God’s Word can only be received by a heart and mind that are at peace, so he will do everything he can to keep you upset. He loves it when you get into an argument just before church and spend the entire service feeling bad. That’s why you must do whatever it takes to keep your peace. There is power in peace! If the devil can’t get you upset, he has no power over you. He only “gains” control when you “lose it.” He keeps you upset in order to steal your peace, confuse you, and make you run in circles. Don’t let him do it!
Next time you get worked up about some issue, stop and ask yourself, “What’s the Enemy trying to do here? If I give in to these emotions, what will the result be?” When you’re stressed out, you lose your joy. And when you lose your joy, you lose your strength, because “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10 KJV). So it’s essential that you exercise self-control and try to keep your peace.
James writes, “The wisdom that is from above is… peaceable” (James 3:17 NKJV). In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases this Scripture: “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterised by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings… You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other” (vv. 17-18 MSG). Now getting along with others can be hard work, but it’s worth it to have peace.
Soul food: Ezek 14:1-16:52; Mark 11:1-11; Ps 112; Prov 20:1-4
2022-05-04
1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
Did you know there’s a natural mindset and a spiritual mindset? If we want to live in a way that really honours and reflects God, we need to develop our spiritual mindset. The Bible says: ‘The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God… and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit… But we have the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:14, 16 NIV).
As we tune our lives to the pitch of God’s Word and consciously submit ourselves to His will every day, He’ll plant His thoughts in our minds. And that’s a massive advantage! For example, someone criticises you and your feelings get hurt. In that moment God speaks to you and says, ‘Yes, your feelings are hurt, but we can deal with that together. I love you, and the way I see you isn’t at risk. The person who criticised you might see a flaw, but you don’t have to pretend to be perfect or try to please others. I’ll help you use this experience as a chance to grow!’
Even though there are elements of pain in these kinds of thoughts, with God’s perspective they energise us rather than trapping us and bringing us down. They’re true, they give us something to stand firm on, and we realise that if we can keep our minds centred on them, the right feelings and actions are more likely to flow from them. We’ll start to live out the promise, ‘You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!’ (Isaiah 26:3 NLT). Instead of focusing on our critics, we should focus on God, on our spiritual growth, and on what we can learn from the experience.
Num 3:1-4:33; Matt 5:27-37; Ps 2; Pro 10:30-32
2022-04-04
Joshua 1:9 NKJV
God knew the battles Joshua would have to fight in order to conquer the promised land, so He told Joshua three times: ‘Be strong and of good courage.’ Whenever we move forwards, at some point we’ll come up against obstacles that block our path. It can be so disheartening to feel we’ve been making good progress, only to be stopped in our tracks. But rather than seeing obstacles as enemies (even if that’s how they feel), let’s try to think of them as resources that we can use to our advantage.
Every obstacle we face reveals our strengths and weaknesses. They also shape us and make us wiser and more confident when we overcome them. The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: ‘Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.’
Whenever we leave our comfort zones and step out in faith to follow God, we’ll be tested. But we’ll also discover opportunities to reach heights we thought were beyond us and go further than others who had more talent but settled for the easier option. In The Message paraphrase, Paul tells us: ‘Every detail works to your advantage… So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace’ (2 Corinthians 4:15-17 MSG).
Let’s not give up when we face obstacles and problems, and instead tackle them with courage and God’s help.
Lev 1-4; Luke 21:25-38; Ps 18:30-50; Pro 9:7
Joshua 1:9 NKJV
Knowing the battles he would have to fight in order to conquer the promised land, God told Joshua this, no less than three times: “Be strong and of good courage.” Anytime you move forward, obstacles will block your path. Count on it! H. G. Wells asked, “What on earth would a man do with himself, if something did not stand in his way?” What did he mean? That adversity is your friend – even when it feels like your enemy. Every obstacle you face reveals your strengths and weaknesses. It also shapes you and makes you wiser and more confident.
Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.”
Anytime you leave your comfort zone and step out in faith to follow God, you will be tested. But you will also reach heights you thought were beyond you and go further than others who had greater talent but settled for the status quo.
Paul tells us: “Every detail works to your advantage… So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace” (2 Corinthians 4:15-17 MSG). Courage can be defined as simply “not giving up.”
Soul food: Lev 1-4; Luke 21:25-38; Ps 18:30-50; Pro 9:7
2022-03-20
Philippians 3:13-14 NIVUK
The more someone has hurt us, the harder it is to forgive them. But we must choose forgiveness, because whatever we refuse to forgive and let go of, we carry with us like a weight. Sometimes we may even need to forgive ourselves for something we’ve done.
Whatever our particular hurt, the solution isn’t feeding it by feeling sorry for ourselves, or denying it by pretending it never happened. We have to face the hurt, then forgive and let it go, or we’ll continue to hurt ourselves. Someone once said that choosing not to forgive somebody is like eating poison and expecting the other person to die. In order to move forward, we have to let go and be at peace with the past.
Paul put many Christians to death before he met Christ. He could easily have allowed that memory to destroy him and rob him of his destiny. But he refused to let it. Instead he wrote: ‘Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 3:13-14 NIVUK). Paul hadn’t forgotten his past, but knowing that God had forgiven him, he wasn’t going to let his past hold him back.
Mark 11:25 says: ‘If you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins’ (NIV). Starting today, choose forgiveness.
Lev 24:17-22; Deut 15:7-11; Matt 5:38-48
