2021-08-15
Mark 2:3 NCV
‘Many people gathered together…Jesus was teaching them God’s message. Four people came , carrying a paralysed man. Since they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd, they dug a hole in the roof right above where he was speaking…they lowered the mat with the paralysed man on it, When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralysed man…”stand up, take your mat, and go home”‘ (Mark 2-5, 11 NCV).
If you know someone who needs a miracle today: 1) Use your faith. Even though you’re praying for someone who might have very little or even no faith of their own, God will honour your faith on their behalf. ‘When Jesus saw how much faith [the man’s friends] had, He said to the crippled man…”Get up!”‘
2) Refuse to give up. The four friends did exactly that. The crowd was a problem – so they went around it. The roof was a problem – so they broke through it. They refused to get discouraged or give up. They needed to get their friend to Jesus and nothing was going to stand in their way. If the things you’ve tried so far haven’t worked, ask God and He’ll show you another way.
3) Look for faith partners. It took four people to get the man to Jesus. Sometimes we can’t do it alone. Find someone who’ll agree with you in prayer. Jesus said, ‘I promise…when any two of you on earth agree about something you are praying for, my Father in heaven will do it for you’ (Matthew 18:19 CEV).
So keep praying and believing that God will provide a miracle.
Eze 47:1-12; Rev 21:22-22:5
2021-07-24
Psalm 115:12 NKJV
How much time do you spend worrying about things that usually never happen? Be honest! And has anything improved as a result of your worrying about it? Of course not! Paul writes: “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:5-6 NIV). He then encourages us by saying that when we do this, the peace of God will fill our hearts and minds (See Philippians 4:7).
The instant you begin to worry or feel anxious about something, take your concern to God in prayer. Release the weight of it, and totally trust Him to either show you what to do, or show you that He will take care of it Himself. Prayer is powerful against worry. When you’re feeling pressure, it’s always best to pray about it instead of fretting and talking about it.
Will this be easy to do? No, if you’ve worried all your life, then worry has become a habit. But with commitment, perseverance, and God’s help, you can conquer worry.
Here are two keys to doing it: (1) Instead of trying to get rid of your negative thoughts, which only keeps you focused on them, fill your mind with positive thoughts. Scriptural ones! (See Philippians 4:8).
(2) Take action quickly. As soon as you begin to worry, say, “No, I’m not going to worry about this because it does no good.” You may wonder, “But who’s going to take care of the problem?” God! His Word says, “The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us.”
Soul food: Acts 27-28; Luke 9:28-36; Ps 42:1-5; Prov 16:16
Psalm 115:12 NIV
Paul wrote: ‘The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’ (Philippians 4:5-6 NIV). He then encourages us by saying that when we do this, the peace of God will fill our hearts and minds: ‘God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:7 NCV).
The moment we begin to worry or feel anxious about something, we need to take our concern to God in prayer, release the weight of it, and totally trust Him to either show us what to do, or show us that He’ll take care of it Himself. Prayer is powerful against worry. When we’re feeling under pressure, it’s always best to pray and tell God about it rather than fretting about it. This isn’t always easy to do, but with commitment, perseverance, and God’s help, we can learn to let Him carry our worries.
Here are two things that’ll help: 1) Instead of trying to get rid of negative thoughts, which only keeps us focused on them, we should try to fill our minds with ‘the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true an honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected’ (Philippians 4:8 NCV). 2) Take action quickly. As soon as we begin to worry, let’s try to say, ‘No, I’m not going to worry about this because it does no good,’ and give the worry to God to deal with. His Word says, ‘The LORD remembers us and will bless us.’
Acts 27-28; Luke 9:28-36; Ps 42:1-5; Prov 16:16
2021-07-07
Psalm 119:11 NIV
Senator Bill Nelson trained for and flew on a six-day space shuttle mission aboard the Columbia just prior to the Challenger disaster. In his book Mission he explains how difficult it is to maintain a proper orbit in space. There’s no resistance in space, so an astronaut can literally turn that huge orbiter over by himself. To maintain a proper orbit, the onboard computers constantly make course and altitude corrections by firing small rockets which make minute adjustments, while larger jets burn fuel to make major adjustments. These rockets are critical, for if they don’t consistently fire at the right time, the space vehicle can veer from its orbit and go tumbling into outer space or crashing into Earth’s atmosphere.
There’s an important lesson here for each of us. Left to ourselves, we tend to veer out of our spiritual orbit into lukewarmness and indifference. Or worse – we end up in sin and rebellion. That’s when the rockets of prayer and Bible study, “fired” on a continuous and consistent basis, help us to keep our course correct, and prevent our lives from spinning out of spiritual control.
Bible study and prayer go together. You should pray before you read the Bible to ask God to help you understand it. And you should pray after you read it to ask God to help you apply what He has told you. Like a faraway lover, God’s love letter to you is the Bible, and prayer is the telephone you pick up and talk back to Him. That’s why it’s crucial to maintain your daily prayer and Bible study.
Soul food: Jer 49-50; Luke 5:27-39; Ps 122; Prov 15:10-14
2021-07-03
Matthew 7:25 NCV
Before it snows, there are some types of fir tree that retract their branches so the weight of snow they’ll have to bear will be reduced. This response is programmed into their branches. God has enabled these trees to anticipate the problem before it occurs so they can reduce the risk of breaking in a storm. We need to do the same thing in our lives. We can’t always avoid problems and crises, and there’ll be some that really do take us completely by surprise, but there are still things we can do to prepare for their arrival:
1) Get into God’s Word. When Jesus was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He defeated him using Scripture. He didn’t have to search for something that spoke into His situation; He had memorised God’s Word so He could use it immediately when the devil attacked. That doesn’t mean we need to memorise the entire Bible, but by reading it every day, becoming more familiar with God’s Word, and learning a few verses that remind us to trust Him, we can equip ourselves to stand strong as soon as a problem arises.
2) Spend time with God every day. When we set aside a regular time to pray and talk to God, we keep Him involved in our daily lives and everything that’s going on, so we can constantly get His wisdom and guidance on our situation and learn His will. Following His will may not always be easy, and doesn’t mean we’ll avoid all problems, but we can have confidence that we’re taking the best course of action. It also gives us time to be refreshed and strengthened by Him, so we’re better prepared when trouble comes.
Jer 36:27-40:16; Luke 4:31-44; Ps 102:12-17; Prov 15:3
