2020-05-03
Ecclesiastes 8:1 MSG
When we ask God to give us wisdom, what sort of changes can happen in our lives? Firstly, we become prepared for the future. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. The Bible says: ‘Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring’ (Proverbs 27:1 NIV). But when we have wisdom, we’re able to face the future without fear, because we know that God’s with us and will help us. Wisdom also gives us a better understanding of the possible consequences of our actions. Secondly, wisdom helps us to move in the right direction. God’s wisdom helps us to make decisions, and keeps us walking on the right path. If we lack wisdom, we can find ourselves walking down the wrong paths and stalling when we reach a crossroads. God says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls’ (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV). If we ask God for wisdom, He’ll show us which way to go. Thirdly, God’s wisdom helps us to deal with difficult situations and challenging people. Having wisdom changes how we handle things. In The Message, Ecclesiastes 8:1 says: ‘Wisdom puts light in the eyes, and gives gentleness to words and manners.’ Wisdom changes our responses to others. We become more gentle, which helps us to deal well with frustrations. In Proverbs 29, we’re told: ‘Foolish people lose their tempers, but wise people control theirs’ (v.11 NCV). Having wisdom helps us to understand people and their situations. We can see the other side of the story, and we can react in a calm, controlled way.
Matt 5:9; Rom 12:17-21; Jam 3:17-18; Prov 16:7
2020-04-20
Philippians 4:13 AMPC
The Bible says, “Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring” (Proverbs 27:1 NLT). The truth is, when you wake up every morning you have no idea what will happen to you that day. You hope for a trouble-free day where your expectations and wishes will be fulfilled – but you know from experience this isn’t always the case. We live in a real world with real problems. Your enemy the Devil is real, and he works in every possible way to bring discouragement, fear, and failure. Knowing this, the psalmist wrote: “If you make the Lord your refuge…no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go…The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation'” (Psalm 91:9-16 NLT). No matter what comes your way, you must trust that when it arrives God will give you the grace to handle it. Remember, Satan loves to attack those who are in line for God’s blessing. That’s why Paul wrote, “[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me.]” Inner strength is better than outer strength. Why? Because as long as you remain strong inwardly, you can handle anything that comes against you outwardly and keep moving forward. So today – be ready.
Soul food: Lev 26-27; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 10:13
2020-03-13
Isaiah 54:2 NCV
Often we create boundaries around ourselves, and then stay inside them. These boundaries can come from our own insecurities because we believe that there are things we can’t do. Other times these boundaries come from times we’ve stepped out and failed. Fear can cause us to box ourselves in to what feels comfortable and manageable. It’s true that we’re not called to do everything. But God often calls us to think bigger. When an army sent by the king of Syria arrived to capture Elisha, Elisha’s servant panicked. He saw how big the army was. But ‘Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see”‘ (2 Kings 6:17 NIV). The servant could only see what was physically in front of him, but Elisha prayed that he would see the bigger picture. ‘Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha’ (v.17 NIV). God’s army was surrounding them. Sometimes we limit ourselves because we forget God’s with us and has the resources we need. God wants us to see past the limitations we’ve placed on ourselves and instead focus on our calling and His provision. Through the prophet Isaiah, God told the Israelites to: ‘Make your tent bigger; stretch it out and make it wider. Do not hold back.’ The Israelites were in exile at this point, and they probably thought their future didn’t look great. But God was telling them to see past the limitations they had placed on their future, and to prepare for the amazing things He was going to do. However much we’ve limited ourselves, we can choose to think bigger and expect God to do great things in and through us.
Gen 44-46; Matt 22:23-33; Ps 24; Prov 7:24-25
2020-02-17
2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV
With God’s help, King Jehoshaphat overcame not just one army, but three! And his victory teaches us how we can win life’s battles. First, identify the enemy. Many of us have no clue who the real enemy is. We think it’s the person who is interested in taking our job, our spouse, or our money. But many times the enemy is our own attitude! It’s not so much what’s happening that gets us down, it’s our response to the situation. Before you can win on a personal level, you must identify the enemy. Note how Jehoshaphat reacted when he heard “a vast army” was coming against him. He was “alarmed” (vv. 2-3 NIV). It’s a fairly typical human response. We see a big problem, panic, and become fearful about what’s going to happen to us. And in truth, fear isn’t all bad unless we deal with it in the wrong way. We can use it to motivate us to conquer the problem and drive us closer to God. It’s when we get discouraged, give up, get angry, and start asking, “Why me, Lord?” that fear defeats us. If you’re in a situation that’s filling you with fear and anxiety today, remember – God doesn’t respond to need; He responds to faith. So stake your faith on His unshakeable Word and stand on His promise: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV). Unshakeable trust in God’s Word is what brings His help.
Soul food: Rom 9:17-11:36; Matt 14:22-36; Ps 149; Prov 4:25-27
2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV
With God’s help, King Jehoshaphat overcame not just one army, but three. And his victory teaches us how we can win life’s battles too. Firstly we need to identify the enemy. It can be quite challenging to work out what or who the real enemy we’re facing is. Sometimes it’s other people coming against us, sometimes it’s spiritual attack, but many times the real enemy is actually our own attitude. It’s not so much what’s happening that gets us down, it’s our response to the situation. When Jehoshaphat heard ‘a vast army’ was coming against him, he was ‘alarmed’ (vv.2-3 NIV). It’s a fairly typical human response. We see a big problem, panic, and become fearful about what’s going to happen to us. Fear isn’t always a bad things, unless we deal with it in the wrong way. We can use it to motivate us to conquer the problem and drive us closer to God. It’s when we get discouraged, give up, get angry, and start asking, ‘Why me, God?’ that fear defeats us. If we’re facing a situation that’s filling us with fear and anxiety, we need to remember that God responds to faith. Let’s have faith in His unshakeable Word and stand on His promise: ‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’ (Isaiah 41:10 NIV). He will never leave us to face our battles alone. He can help us identify our enemies, when our vision has become clouded by fear and uncertainty. And when we have unshakeable trust in God’s Word, we have the strength to deal with the battle we’re facing.
Rom 9:17-11:36; Matt 14:22-36; Ps 149; Prov 4:25-27
