2021-10-28
Isaiah 30:21 CEV
Someone quipped, “When Columbus set out, he didn’t know where he was going. When he arrived, he didn’t know where he was. And when he returned home, he didn’t know where he’d been.” We all need help knowing what direction to go; whether or not to relocate, take a certain job, commit to a relationship, etc. Good news! God will direct you, and when you make a wrong turn he will redirect you.
Here are three ways in which He does it: (1) Through wise counsel. Others have sat where you’re sitting: “Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7 NRS). Is your business floundering? Talk to a successful entrepreneur. Are you experiencing a midlife crisis? Before doing something you’ll regret, ask for help. Solomon said, “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice” (Proverbs 12:15 NIV).
(2) Through prayer and listening for His voice. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27 NIV). And Isaiah writes, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, ‘This is the road! Now follow it.'” That’s the kind of assurance you need. So, “Instead of worrying, pray” (Philippians 4:6 MSG).
(3) Through Scripture: Paul says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16 NKJV). One author observes: “The Bible is to God, what a surgical glove is to a surgeon. He reaches through it to touch deep within you.” But that means reading it, personalizing it, and acting on it.
Soul food: Ezra 9-10; John 7:1-13; Ps 104:1-18; Prov 24:26-27
2021-10-18
Psalm 119:143 NLT
God blesses us with skilled doctors who know how to diagnose illnesses and prescribe medication that bring health and healing. But what about when it’s our souls that need healing? In those times, we should to turn to God to nourish us and bring the restoration we need. The psalmist wrote: ‘As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands. Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live…Those who love your instructions have great peace’ (vv. 143-144, 165 NLT).
When there’s a chemical imbalance in our bodies, it might need to be treated with medication, an altered diet, or a lifestyle change. But when our souls are starved to the point of breaking, they need to be treated with God’s Word. We’re not talking about skimming through a few verses and rushing off into the day. Butterflies cover a lot of ground, but only bees gather honey. Sometimes we have to stay with a particular Scripture until we extract the ‘honey’; to live with and meditate on it till it takes root and starts to grow within us (see Psalm 119:48).
It takes time to change ingrained character traits. God may work on one area of our lives for several weeks, or even months. He won’t give up on us. New habits and ways of thinking need time to be established. We must recognise this and allow God to reveal and reinforce new truths. Just because we’ve read a certain scriptural truth doesn’t mean it will produce instant change. It must be applied every day, and that takes time and meditation.
2 Pet 1-3; John 4:27-38; Ps 87; Prov 24:1-4
2021-10-17
2 Chronicles 15:15 NIV
Prolonged starvation can have a profound effect on your health. You lose your ability to think clearly. Your vision gets blurry. Your strength wanes, and you stop being productive. And if you go long enough without nourishment, the chances are, you’ll end up in the hospital being fed through a tube.
Guess what? It’s the same with your spiritual life. Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NIV). So knowing that, how come we don’t spend time reading the Bible? We know it’s essential to our spiritual, mental and emotional health. Yet we fail to do it or do it inconsistently. Why?
(1) Because we’re not motivated. We haven’t experienced the joy that comes from personally discovering great truths from God’s Word. We grow complacent and settle for having our spiritual food handed to us by other people. But when you get serious about studying the Bible for yourself, you’ll never again be satisfied with second-hand knowledge.
(2) Because we don’t know how. We hear a great sermon and think, “Why didn’t I see that?” Because most pastors spend hours studying the Scriptures – we don’t!
(3) Because we get lazy. Bible study requires self discipline. It takes time, effort, concentration and persistence. Most great truths don’t lie on the surface; you have to dig for them. In the Old Testament when Israel “sought God eagerly…he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.” And God will do that for you too!
Soul food: Est 4:9-5:3; Heb 4:7-16
2021-09-25
Ephesians 3:17 NLT
Did your parents fail to make you feel loved? Did your partner desert you? Were you physically, sexually, mentally or emotionally abused? These are painful experiences. And recognizing their source is crucial, especially when it’s a root of rejection. You can resort to all kinds of tactics from people-pleasing to work-a-holism to make yourself feel better, but without a root system of healthy self-esteem, nothing works. Flawed roots produce flawed fruit: feelings of inferiority, worthlessness, anger, inability to trust, and fear of intimacy.
How do you change those fruits? By addressing the root of the problem. How do you do that? “He will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong” (vv. 16-17 NLT).
The assurance of God’s love can bring healing to your emotions – and He doesn’t just “replant” you, He “re-parents” you. That means you no longer have to draw your security and self-worth from your family of origin, for: “Now are we the sons of God” (1 John 3:2). But remember, it’s a process.
Strong roots require three things: (1) Time to grow. Becoming confident in your identity as God’s child is like breaking in new shoes. You must walk in them till they become comfortable. (2) Protection from things that can kill. Surround yourself with people who build you up instead of tearing you down; people “who share the same precious faith” (See 2 Peter 1:1). (3) Spiritual nourishment. Learn to pray and feed yourself regularly from God’s Word (See Job 23:12).
Soul food: 1 Sam 4-7; Luke 23:13-25; Ps 52; Prov 21:17
2021-09-24
Hebrews 5:4 NCV
When it comes to knowing what our purpose is, we have two options. 1) Guesswork. If we only rely on our own knowledge and feelings to find our purpose, we’re likely to get it wrong somewhere. We’d probably end up choosing the purpose we think we’d like, rather than the purpose that’s actually right for us. We can’t see the whole picture.
So we need: 2) Revelation. In the Bible, we read: ‘To be a high priest is an honour, but no one chooses himself for the work. He must be called by God as Aaron was.’ We can apply a similar thought to our own calling – it’s not our choice, but God’s. And we can actually draw comfort from this, because it means that when God has called us to do a certain thing, we can be confident that He’ll provide the resources, wisdom, connections and strategy we need to fulfil it.
We can also find guidance in His Word. In the Bible, we can discover insights into why we exist, how life works, how best to live our lives, what to avoid, and what to expect in the future. There are a lot of self-help books out there, and while many of them contain good advice, none of them are God’s personal message to His children. The Message paraphrases Paul’s words: ‘God’s wisdom…goes deep into the interior of his purposes…It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest – what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us’ (1 Corinthians 2:7 MSG).
Each one of us has been created to fulfil a certain unique purpose in life. And to discover it, we need to turn to God and His Word, not the world’s wisdom.
1 Sam 1-3; Luke 23:1-12; Ps 34; Prov 21:14-16
