2020-10-29
Colossians 3:2 AMP
There are so many things that happen in the world that can easily affect our mind and emotions. We need to learn that, with God, we have the power to rise above them. With God’s Spirit living in us, we have so much more control over our outlook than we often recognise. There will always be things in our lives that we don’t feel great about. It’s impossible for everything around us to make us happy. However, contentment is separate to our in-the-moment feelings of happiness.
In our Christian lives, contentment means accepting what God has given you and praising Him through it, and that comes down to a choice. 1 Timothy 6:6 tells us that ‘godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it’ (NIV). Paul is reminding us there that the things around us don’t need to dictate whether we’re content in God or not. What we have around us in this world is temporary, but God’s love and care is forever.
Colossians 3:1-2 carries the instruction to ‘set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things’ (NIV). By doing that, we can find stability. Jesus never changes, so when our hearts are set on Him, our unreliable emotions filter out, and our certainty in God can help us choose to praise God for everything that He is.
This brings us back to the idea of adoration that we thought about yesterday. Spending time focusing on who God is, putting aside what’s going on around us, and even what we think God is or isn’t doing in this moment, will help us set our hearts and minds on His personality, and lead us to choose contentment.
Ezra 1-2; John 7:14-24; Ps 104:24-35; Prov 24:28
2019-11-01
Acts 26:17 NKJV
Paul’s ministry began when he met Jesus on the Damascus Road. In that humbling encounter, the Lord said to him: “Rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and…things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light” (vv. 16-18 NKJV). Before Paul could be successful in his calling and minister effectively, he had to be delivered from the fear of people. That included those who knew him well, and those he had yet to meet who didn’t know him at all. He had to be detoxed from the need for people’s approval. In essence, God was saying to Paul, “You’re just the mailman. Some days people will like what you deliver, other days they won’t. You have to deliver the mail anyway. So I’m setting you free from the fear of their rejection and the need for their acceptance.” Has God called you to do a particular job? Are you afraid you’ll make mistakes? Count on it – you will! Are you worried you’ll be criticized? It comes with the turf! People will disappoint you in 101 different ways, but if you’re determined to do the will of God, pray, “Lord, deliver me from people pleasing, so I can share with them what You’ve given to me.” Then get on with the job!
Soul food: 1 Chr 17:1-20; Heb 11:4-12:3; Ps 18:20-29; Prov 4:18
2019-10-09
Proverbs 24:16 NIV
On the night of December 9, 1914, Edison Industries was destroyed by fire. The loss exceeded two million dollars, along with the majority of Thomas Edison’s work. He was insured only for $238 because the buildings were constructed of concrete, which was thought to make a building fireproof. At sixty-seven years of age, the great inventor watched his life’s work go up in flames. The next morning after firefighters had finally brought the inferno under control, he surveyed his charred dreams and crushed hopes. As he looked at the scene, he said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.” Three weeks after the fire, Edison produced one of his greatest inventions: the first phonograph. Try to imagine the world of music and entertainment without it! The Bible says, “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” With God on your side you can begin again because the power to do it resides within you. It’s the same power that raised Christ from the dead (See Romans 8:11). Paul prayed for believers at Ephesus: “That out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16 NIV). Where is your strength? “In your inner being.” He continues: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). So the word for you today is – you can start again.
Soul food: Lev 16; Lev 23:26-32; Heb 9:1-14; Heb 13:11-16
2017-07-24
2 Samuel 23:16 NKJV
David knew how to develop other leaders. He didn’t “use” people to get what he wanted. He recognized their talent, gave them opportunities to serve, then rewarded and honoured them. And as a result they were willing to lay down their lives for him. In 2 Samuel 23 we read: “David said with longing, ‘Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem’…So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well…and brought it to David” (vv. 15-16 NKJV). It’s impossible to learn leadership without actually leading. After all, leadership is action. As leaders our natural tendency is to give others tasks to perform rather than leadership functions to fulfil. But if we don’t delegate leadership – with authority as well as accountability – our people will never gain the experience they need to lead well. If you’re a leader answer this question honestly: Are you providing your people with leadership experiences? “But what if they fail?” you ask. Count on it – they will! But if you’ve picked people with genuine leadership ability, they will learn from it. Dr. John Maxwell writes: “As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to think of myself as a lid lifter. That’s my main function as a team leader. If I can lift the leadership lids for the members of my team, then I’m doing my job. The more barriers I remove for my people, the more likely they are to rise up to their potential.” David developed leaders who became known as “mighty men,” and you must invest in others too.
Soul food: 1 Tim 1-3; Mat 27:27-32; Ps 42:1-5; Prov 19:12-14
