2021-07-10
Luke 5:3 NKJV
Lesson one: Invite Jesus into your boat. That’s the starting point! Always! Nothing has greater influence on your personal success than whether or not you have Jesus Christ in your life. By himself, Peter fished all night and caught nothing. But when he brought Jesus on board, he caught more fish than he had ever caught before. Now, Jesus never performed a miracle without a purpose. He always used His miracles to illustrate principles. So this incident teaches you what to do when you’ve failed, or when your best is not good enough.
For Peter, his boat represented his livelihood. When you’re a fisherman, your boat is your business! It’s significant that Peter invited Jesus into his business, and Jesus used it as a platform for his ministry.
Are you willing to do what Peter did? If you are, the Lord will bless your business. Indeed, He’ll bless anything you give Him. If you give Him all your life, He will bless all of it. But if you give Him just part of it, He will bless just that one part.
And here’s another thought: Having Jesus in your boat eliminates the fear of failure and reduces your worries about the results. When Peter made Jesus his fishing partner, the results were incredible. But don’t miss the sequence. First, Peter used his boat for Jesus’ purposes. Then Jesus blessed Peter’s boat and used it to take care of all Peter’s needs.
Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT). Did you get that? “Everything you need.”
Soul food: Acts 1:1-3:10; Luke 6:27-36; Ps 109:1-15; Prov 15:22
2021-07-09
2 Chronicles 31:21 NCV
Sometimes we can think that to be successful for God, we have to become a church leader and work for Him in that way. But that’s not true. We’re not all called into that work, and we can be successful in God’s eyes even when we’re in the secular world. Money, fame and power make us successful in the world, and achieving those things is not necessarily wrong. It all depends on our attitude and our motives.
We need to make sure we’re working for God’s glory rather than our own. And that’s exactly what Hezekiah did. In the world’s eyes he would have been seen as successful; he’d become the king of Judah by the age of 25. The Bible says that: ‘In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered’ (2 Chronicles 31:21 NIV).
There are three keys to his success here. First, he was obedient to the law. We can see how important that is when God spoke to Joshua about the same thing: ‘Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:7 NIV). But then we also have to seek God, especially to make sure we’re still doing His will. And then we must work wholeheartedly for Him. ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters’ (Colossians 3:23 NIV). These things will help us to be successful in God’s eyes, not the world’s.
Joel 1-3; Luke 6:17-26; Ps 79; Prov 15:18-21
Spreuke 3:5 NLV
In 1987 het die Minnesota Twins-bofbalster, Kirby Puckett, sy kinderdroom gesien waar word toe hy sy span na ‘n Wêreldreeks-kampioenskap gelei het. Greg Gagne, die Twins se kortstop, het die toneel in die klubhuis na hulle oorwinning beskryf. Hy het vertel van die omhelsings, die gejuig, die gelag en die oorhandiging van die trofee. Die herinnering wat hom egter altyd sou bybly, het hy gesê, het tien minute in die feesvieringe plaasgevind toe hy vir Kirby Puckett stil op ‘n stoel, weg van almal, sien sit het. Gagne het sy weg deur die media, die spelers en die afrigters gedruk, langs Puckett gaan sit en hom gevra waaraan hy dink. Met ‘n diep hartseer in sy oë, het Puckett geantwoord: ‘As dit al is waaroor die lewe gaan, is die lewe maar bra leeg.’
Kan jy jouself daarmee vereenselwig? Jy mag dalk ‘n wonderlike werk, ‘n uitstekende salaris, ‘n mooi huis, ‘n wonderlike familie, goeie gesondheid en selfs ‘n lae gholf-voorgee hê – maar geen ware vrede nie. Indien dit die geval is, is jy nie alleen nie. Daar is baie mense in die wêreld wat net soos jy voel.
Koning Salomo was regoor die wêreld beroemd. In sy tyd het hy meer geld as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett en Donald Trump saam gehad. Tog het hy geskryf: ‘Ek het daarna nagedink oor alles wat ek bereik het, oor al die moeite wat ek gedoen het. En ek het besef hoe sinloos dit alles is…’ (Prediker 2:11 NLV). Tot watter gevolgtrekking het Salomo gekom? ‘Vertrou op die Here met alles wat jy het. Moenie staatmaak op jou eie insigte nie. Vra na die wil van God in alles wat jy doen. Hy sal die regte pad vir jou wys’ (Spreuke 3:5-6 NLV).
Sielskos: Joël 1-3; Luk 6:17-26; Ps 79; Spr 15:18-21
Proverbs 3:5 NKJV
In 1987 the Minnesota Twins baseball star Kirby Puckett saw a childhood dream come true when he led his team to a World Series Championship. Greg Gagne, the Twins’ shortstop, described the scene in the clubhouse after their win. He related the hugging, the shouting, the laughing, the obligatory dousing of champagne over the players’ heads, and the presentation of the trophy. But the memory that would stick with him forever, he said, took place ten minutes into the celebration when he noticed the normally ebullient Puckett sitting silently on a stool away from everyone else. Gagne wove his way through the media, players, and coaches, sat down beside Puckett and asked him what he was thinking about. With deep sadness in his eyes, Puckett said, “If this is all there is to it, life is pretty empty.”
Can you relate? You may have a great job, an excellent salary, a fine house, a wonderful family, good health, and even a low golf handicap – but no real peace. If so, you’re not alone. There are multitudes of people out there just like you.
King Solomon’s fame spread throughout the world. In his day he had more money than Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Donald Trump combined. Yet he wrote, “When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NIV). What answer did Solomon come up with? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).
Soul food: Joel 1-3; Luke 6:17-26; Ps 79; Prov 15:18-21
2021-07-08
Proverbs 12:23 NLT
When we see the people around us hurting or struggling with something, we may feel like we’ve got the answers or the right advice for them. But if we don’t have the right approach, we can end up making things worse. Good ideas and advice are wasted when we try and force them on other people. Proverbs 12:23 says: ‘The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge’ (NLT). If our desire to help comes from wanting to show off how much we know, we’re doing it for the wrong reason.
If we’re not sure it’s from God, then we need to ask for wisdom about whether to say it all. But if God is leading us to say something, we should pray for wisdom about the right time and the right way to say it. ‘A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.’
Timing is really important when we’re giving advice. If people aren’t ready to receive it, then it won’t help. Sometimes it’s obvious to us when someone isn’t ready to listen; other times we may misjudge the situation. We can always ask God to open their minds to what we feel we need to say. But our efforts at helping someone to change may fail, unless we approach them in love and humility. If we don’t approach them in the right way, they may respond with a ‘who-are-you-to-tell-me’ attitude.
The Bible says: ‘Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones’ (Proverbs 16:24 NIV). We shouldn’t approach people in a judgmental, critical or harsh way. We need to be sharing kind, encouraging and supportive words if we want to be taking the right approach in helping others.
Jer 51-52; Luke 6:1-16; Ps 137; Prov 15:15-17
