2018-09-23
2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT
When you’re insulted, you can retaliate with a stinging comeback or see it as a growth opportunity. David said, “It is good… that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:71 NKJV). Psychologist Dr. Brenda Shoshanna says: “The person who insults us is a teacher…come to help us reduce our ego, develop patience and compassion, practice unconditional forgiveness, and teach us about life and relationships. If you don’t perceive an insult as an insult, but as a teaching or a gift, it loses its power to hurt you. On a practical level, if you’re insulted, say nothing. Give yourself time. Much harm is created by lashing back, escalating the situation, and saying things you may not mean. Recognize it’s your ego – that false sense of pride acting up – and don’t go along with it.” Paul reached a place where he actually took “pleasure in…insults.” Most of us aren’t quite there yet, but with time and practice it can happen. Speaking of Judas, one author writes: “God sometimes manipulates the actions of our enemies to make them work as friends in order to accomplish His will in our lives. He can bless you through the worst relationships, ones that are painful or negative. The time, effort, and pain we invest in them aren’t wasted because God knows how to make adversity feed destiny into your life. I can’t stop hurts from coming, or promise that everyone who sits at your table will be loyal. But the sufferings of success give us direction, build character, and in the end you find grace to re-evaluate your enemies and realize that like Judas, they are friends in disguise.”
Soul food: 1 Kings 17:1-6; 1 Kings 18:16-39; 1 Kings 19:9-18; 2 Kings 2:1-12
2018-09-10
2 Peter 3:18 KJV
There are two things that help determine personal growth: (1) Your relationships. The Bible says, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” (Amos 3:3 NLT). The company you keep will lift you, level you, or lower you. A lady wrote this letter to an advice columnist: “In my last year of school my English teacher took an essay I’d written and tore it apart in front of the class. I was humiliated – I felt dumb. That was years ago, and I’ve never forgotten it.” In a few short seconds the wrong person diminished this woman’s sense of self-worth for a lifetime. (2) Your reflections. When a Sunday school teacher asked a little girl, “Who made you?” she replied, “God made part of me.” The teacher asked, “What do you mean?” The little girl replied, “God made me little – and I growed the rest of myself.” God holds us responsible for our personal growth. The Psalmist wrote, “I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:99 NKJV). The word “meditation” means “reflective thinking.” Like a crock pot, meditation allows your thoughts to slowly simmer until they’re done. Most of us would rather act than think. But as Socrates observed, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Reflective thinking is uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. For instance, we have difficulty staying focused. We find the process dull, and we don’t particularly enjoy spending time reflecting on difficult issues. But if you don’t carve out time for reflection and meditation, you won’t mature. You won’t grow in the “grace and…knowledge” you need to succeed. It’s that simple.
Soul food: Num 29:1-6; Matt 24; Rev 11:15-19; 1 Cor 15:50-58
2018-08-28
Judges 6:26 NKJV
The story’s told of a family that wanted to have its history chronicled, so they hired a professional biographer. There was just one problem. They were worried about Uncle George, the black sheep of the family who had been executed in the electric chair for committing several murders. “No problem,” said the biographer. “I’ll simply say Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution; that he was attached to his position by the strongest ties, and that his death came as a real shock.” Seriously: When it comes to your upbringing and family tree, sometimes you can’t do better than learn from it! But by God’s grace you can do a lot about your future. Your parents may have stumbled in spiritual blindness, but you can walk in the light of God’s Word – and take your family with you. Gideon, an Old Testament hero, grew up in a family of idol-worshippers. It was a cultural thing; everybody did it. But God had plans for Gideon, so the angel of the Lord visited him one day and said, “Tear down the altar of Baal that your father has…and build an altar to the Lord your God” (vv. 25-26 NKJV). Now, that wasn’t an easy thing for Gideon to do because by nature he was a fearful person. And when he stepped out in faith to obey God, the townsfolk wanted to kill him. But because Gideon said yes to God, he ended up changing his entire family. So the word for you today is: Change in your family can begin with you. Indeed, if not you – then who?
Soul food: 2 Chr 29-31; Luke 17:20-37; Ps 119:137-144; Prov 22:11-13
2018-07-27
Isaiah 43:18 TM
Although it’s true that we all fail, here’s something worth remembering: You can fail successfully. How? By learning from your failures and growing stronger and wiser through them. Surrendering your future to your past just means you drown in remorse and hopelessness. But if you practice “failing forward,” you can experience future success. So acknowledge your failings, see yourself cleansed by the blood of Jesus, let go of your disappointment in yourself, and get up and try again. At one point in Elijah’s life, he got so depressed that he prayed he might die: “‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors'” (1 Kings 19:4 NIV). Later when he was strengthened by God’s grace, he emerged from his depression a new man with a new mission in life (See vv. 15-16 NIV). After he’d denied Christ openly, Peter was forgiven. Despite his weakness he was restored, and became the apostle who would “strengthen his fellow apostles” and build the New Testament Church (See Luke 22:31-32). It’s not a matter of how badly or how often you’ve failed – it’s a matter of what God can make you when you accept His grace, get up again, and allow Him to empower you to do better. Peter is proof that God takes us when we are weak, and speaks and acts through us in ways that bring glory to Him alone! (See 1 Corinthians 1:28). Will God sometimes correct you? Yes, He’s a good parent, but He won’t discard you. So the word for you today is – you can start again.
Soul food: 1 Tim 4-6; Luke 9:37-45; Ps 42:1-5; Prov 19:12-14
2018-06-17
2 Peter 3:18 NLT
Samuel and Susanna Wesley (John Wesley’s parents) were at evening prayer one night when Susanna didn’t say ‘amen’ to her husband’s prayer for William of Orange, then King of England. When he asked her why, she explained that her sympathy lay with the deposed James the Second. It turned into a game of ‘you do what I say’ which he couldn’t win. She wrote about what happened next: ‘He immediately kneeled down and invoked the divine vengeance upon himself and all his posterity if he ever touched me again or came to bed with me before I had begged God’s pardon, and his, for not saying amen to a prayer for the king.’ The stalemate lasted six months and was broken only when a tragic fire destroyed two-thirds of their home. People who cling to resentments, who don’t know how to handle disappointment with grace, who have long memories, who choke on the words, ‘I’m sorry,’ or who sulk and pout and whine, always finish up on the short end of the stick. Losing well is an art that requires all the grace we can muster. It means having the humility to face reality with no excuses, but with the confidence not to allow losing to define our identity or make us feel ‘less than.’ It means no excuses, no blaming, no self-pity – but no self-condemnation either. It means having the discernment to know when to quit and when to persevere. It means learning how to say ‘congratulations.’ It means letting go of an outcome we cannot change, but holding on to the will to live fully and well, and seeking to glorify God in all that we do.
Soul food: Matt 5:4; Isa 51:1-16; Ps 30; 2 Cor 1:3-7
