2021-05-23
Acts 4:13 NIV
Being ‘under the influence’ of something means to be controlled by something or someone other than yourself. Our family and friends, the books we read, and the social media accounts we follow all have an influence on us and help shape who we are today. It works like this: the people who speak into our lives influence our thinking, our thinking influences our actions, our actions influence our character, and our character determines our destiny.
We can be influenced by others without being aware of their power over us – hopefully they’re having a good influence on us, but they could be having a bad influence – so it’s important that we’re mindful of who and what we’re surrounding ourselves with.
The best influencer we can have is Jesus. We need to allow Him to speak into our hearts and minds by reading the Bible and spending time in prayer. The more time we spend with Him, the more we’ll become like Him.
When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they were transformed to the extent that some people thought they were drunk. But Peter said: ‘These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people”‘ (Acts 2:15-17 NIV). Two chapters later, we read this: ‘When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus’ (v.13 NIVUK).
And the Holy Spirit, who is simply the influence of Christ, can transform our lives too.
Acts 1:4-8; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Cor 12:1-13
2021-05-11
2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
Winston Churchill is attributed with saying, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Take a look at society today; the conditions that preceded the fall of many great civilizations are in place. You ask, “Can our nation be saved?”
Yes! God told Abraham if he could find as few as ten righteous people in the land, He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah from judgment. And a righteous minority can still save our nation. How? Through prayer! God said: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves…pray…seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven…forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Notice four important conditions mentioned in this Scripture: (a) “If my people, who are called by my name.” The future of our nation doesn’t rest in the hands of bankers, talking heads on TV, and politicians; it rests squarely in the hands of God’s redeemed people. (b) “Will humble themselves…pray and seek my face.” God, who needs nobody’s authorization or approval to act, promises to move when His people turn to Him and seek His face in prayer. (c) “And turn from their wicked ways.” Instead of complaining about what’s wrong with society, God commands His people to examine their own hearts to see what’s wrong and make it right. And when they do, He promises to: (d) “Hear from heaven…forgive their sin and…heal their land.”
The truth is, it’s up to us, not them! It’s not too late. Our nation can still be turned around if we’ll pray and seek God with all our hearts.
Soul food: Num 34-36; Mark 8:14-26; Ps 57; Prov 11:14
2021-05-07
1 Timothy 2:1 NIV
We can complicate prayer, but really, it’s simply communicating with God. And communication can be spoken or silent. We can even communicate in song. Many of the psalms are just prayers set to music. Prayer is connecting with God. Whether it’s confessing a sin, praising His name, pursuing His will, interceding for a friend, or sharing our own needs and worries, our prayers must be God-centred, never self-centred.
Sincere prayer comes from a heart that longs for God to reveal what He desires. That means we need to allow enough time for listening and waiting for God to speak to us. Prayer should be our first priority. Paul instructs Timothy: ‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made’ (v. 1 NIV). Note the words, ‘First of all’. Before we slide out of bed, before we take a shower, before we do anything else, we should talk to God.
Every afternoon at three o’clock, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. In the middle of the day, they interrupted their schedule to gather for one purpose: prayer. So when our days are rolling along at their own pace and in their own direction, let’s interrupt them with prayer. If our days are building towards a crisis, we should deliberately stop to pray. When we feel anxious or overwhelmed, step away for a few moments of solitude to tell God and ask for His guidance. When we feel anger, impatience, or negativity creeping up, we need to pause for an attitude adjustment prompted by prayer. Don’t wait – pray immediately.
Let’s make prayer our first priority in all things and at all times. Through prayer, let’s involve God in everything that happens in our day.
Num 27-29; Mark 7:14-23; Ps 44:1-8; Prov 11:9
2021-04-22
Jonah 2:10 NKJV
Some folks question the story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and living to tell about it. Here are two reasons you should believe it:
First, because Jesus did. “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 NKJV).
But here’s a second reason for believing the story. In 1891 off the Falkland Islands, two fishing boats encountered a huge sperm whale. The first boat shot harpoons into it, while the other boat came around to do the same thing from the other side. The whale’s tail hit it and knocked it over. There were two men on that boat. One drowned, and the other was not found. Two days later, a few other boats found the same sperm whale and killed it. They brought the whale to the shore and slit it open, and guess what they found? The second man. He was unconscious but still alive, and after care, resumed his life.
Dr. Tony Evans comments: “The miracle is not that a fish swallowed a man, because that has happened before. The miracle is that the fish paid attention to the Lord.” You say, “What has any of this got to do with me?” Simply this; when you turn to God for help and He speaks to you, supernatural things begin to happen on your behalf. Jesus said, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24 NKJV).
Soul food: Jam 1-2; Mark 3:20-35; Ps 7:1-9; Prov 10:16
2021-04-18
Psalm 55:22 AMPC
After preaching about taking our worries to God in prayer, a lady approached the great preacher G. Campbell Morgan and said, “I don’t bother God with little things; I only take the big ones to Him.” Morgan replied, “My dear lady, everything we take to God is little.”
The Bible says, “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you.” God knows you’re not built to carry the weight of worry, so He invites you to give it to Him today. Anything that’s big enough to be a source of anxiety should be turned into a prayer.
Peter writes: “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully” (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). Note the word “casting.” That’s the opposite of “carrying!” The moment you recognize that a worry is beginning to weigh you down, “cast” it on the Lord, knowing “He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
Now if He was a distant God who didn’t care about you, you would have reason to worry. Or if He was a weak God who couldn’t do anything about it, you would have reason to worry. The truth is, it’s as you give your worries to God that you discover how big He really is. The songwriter Joseph Scriven put it this way: “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Soul food: 2 Ki 6:8-23; Matt 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36
