2021-10-18
Psalm 119:143 NLT
Thank God for skilled doctors who know how to diagnose illnesses and prescribe medications that bring health and healing. But here’s something for you to think about: what if many of our stress-related illnesses could be more successfully treated with meditation than medication? 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 your body it may need to be treated with medication, an altered diet, and daily exercise. But when your soul is starved to the point of dysfunction, it needs to be treated with God’s Word. We’re not talking about skimming through a few verses and rushing out into your day. Butterflies cover a lot of ground, but only bees gather honey! Sometimes you have to stay with a particular Scripture until you extract the honey; to “live with” and “meditate” on it till it takes root and starts to grow within you (see Psalm 119:48).
It takes time to change ingrained character traits. God may work on one area of your life for several weeks, or months. New habits and ways of thinking need time to be established. You must recognize this and allow God to reveal and reinforce new truth in your life. Don’t fool yourself into thinking because you read a certain scriptural truth it will produce instant change. It must be applied daily, and that takes time and meditation.
Soul food: 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
2021-10-16
Psalm 107:9 NKJV
When you’re sick, one of the first questions a doctor asks in order to diagnose your problem is, “How’s your appetite?” That’s because when you lose your desire for food, something’s wrong in your body. And the same principle applies to your spiritual health.
One of the characteristics of the great men and women in Scripture is that they hungered for God in prayer and disciplined themselves to study and understand His Word. What made evangelist George Mueller so successful? During his lifetime he read through the Bible some two hundred times – and more than half of those were on his knees, praying over Scripture while studying it.
When you know God that well, you’ll pray specifically and get specific answers. The truth is that you were born with a God-shaped blank inside you, and nobody but God can fill it. Greater success won’t. More money won’t. Another relationship won’t. Living in a palace and being a king won’t.
That’s why King David wrote: “Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word…Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law…My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times…Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:12-24 NIV).
The Word of God is “soul food,” so if you’ve been feeding your body and neglecting your soul – rearrange your priorities today.
Soul food: 2 Sam 22:31-24:25; John 4:13-26; Ps 32; Prov 23:29-35
2021-10-15
1 Samuel 3:9 NKJV
As a boy working in the temple, Samuel didn’t recognize God’s voice when He spoke to him. But later as a prophet, his ear was the portal through which God spoke to an entire nation. Learning to recognize God’s voice isn’t a skill that’s acquired overnight because He speaks to us at different times, in different ways, and in different settings.
Recognizing God’s voice: (1) Calls for spiritual maturity. Jesus said, “The sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:4 NKJV). Note, he said His sheep, not His lambs, know His voice. Baby sheep follow adult sheep until their senses are trained. That means there’s grace for the immature. So, if your spiritual ears aren’t developed yet, God will work with you till they are.
(2) Means not being limited by your previous experiences. When God spoke to Moses, a mountain shook, whereas He spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice. Don’t limit God, and don’t try to figure Him out. He can speak to you through your Bible, through those qualified to teach His Word, through a song, through a painful situation, and through your thoughts and desires when you’re submitted to Him. The key is to stay close to God and keep your receiver tuned.
(4) Means being obedient: David said, “I take joy in doing your will” (Psalm 40:8 NLT). When it comes to recognizing God’s voice, is your response, “When I get around to it? If I can fit you in”? “I’ll think about it”? Read this: “If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures” (Job 36:11 NKJV).
Soul food: 2 Sam 20:1-22:30; John 4:1-12; Ps 100; Prov 23:22-28
2021-10-14
Matthew 23:12 NLT
Paul had one of the greatest ministries the world has ever known, yet he said of himself, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15 KJV). When people told Paul how great he was, he stayed humble by remembering what he used to be. If you believe God has called you, your response should be to bow down in humility before Him.
When the Angel of the Lord told an aging Zacharias he would father a son named John the Baptist, Zacharias hit the floor and didn’t move, to the point where people wondered if he was dead. Ezekiel had a book in the Bible named after him. That’s heady stuff! Yet when God called him, he collapsed on the floor and God had to tell him to get up, saying, “Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee” (Ezekiel 2:1 KJV). When John the Revelator saw Jesus standing in the midst of the seven churches, he wrote, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead” (Revelation 1:17 KJV).
Can you see a pattern emerging here? Paul writes, “Walk…with…lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering” (Ephesians 4:1-2 NKJV). Think about the phrase “walking with God.” Whose company are you in? God’s! Can you think of a higher calling? And the higher your calling, the lower you must become in your own estimation. Humility doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself; it means thinking of yourself less. Jesus summed it up like this: “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Today, practice humility.
Soul food: 2 Sam 17:14-19:43; John 3:22-36; Ps 89:38-52; Prov 23:19-21
2021-10-13
Deuteronomy 1:38 NIV
When it comes to being an exhorter, observe two things: (1) Exhortation is a neglected gift. No ministry is more needed in the church today, as that of encouragement. It’s so easy to find discouragement and so difficult to find encouragement. Even in the church. Most churches have what’s called a “cold water committee.” They’re always ready to tell you why something won’t work and point out how some program went wrong. They seem to talk louder and longer than the encouragers, which leads to the next point.
(2) Exhortation is a needed gift. No matter how well things may be going, or how well someone looks on the outside, every one of us can use some encouragement. In fact, encouragement is so important that the whole church is to be involved in it. “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV).
Church is a place where people should be picked up, not knocked down. We need to encourage people when they don’t need it, instead of waiting until they do. If you wait too long your encouragement may be too late. Don’t wait until something good happens to speak an encouraging word; make it a regular practice. “But I don’t know what to say,” you protest. Ask God for wisdom and you’ll get it. “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary” (Isaiah 50:4 NIV).
Soul food: 2 Sam 14:21-17:13; John 3:1-21; Ps 89:15-37; Prov 23:15-18
