August 2020 week 4

Monday

Be yourself

“Saul had David put his clothes on (…) But he said to Saul: I cannot walk with this armor, I am not accustomed to it. And he got rid of it”. 1 Samuel 17.38-39

Don’t let people lock you in a box, don’t play any part. If you let yourself be imprisoned, you will be nothing more than a caricature of yourself.

You’ll always find people to tell you who you need to be. But never forget that you are the best person to know what God really expects of you. And the best way to find out is to be yourself!

You will never be fully fulfilled if you are not yourself. Being yourself will make you more efficient, more efficient. And you will be a blessing for others, both for your local church and for the kingdom of God.

Attention! It’s not just about doing what you want to do; but it’s more about not being pressured by the pressures that those around you would like to put on you.

Are you still sacrificing yourself for others? Of course, it is perfectly biblical to help one’s neighbor, but remember that you also have legitimate needs to meet. Like everyone else, you need affection, rest, care… Overzealously, too many Christians have repressed their needs and fallen into a form of imbalance that sometimes verges on mortification.

It is true that the Bible calls us to renounce ourselves and to put the needs of others on the same level as our own. But if we are constantly giving up our legitimate needs, an imbalance will soon set in.

Don’t try to compare yourself to others! The Holy Ghost will never anoined an actor. Be true and transparent before God in order to develop an authentic life. This life stems from an intimate relationship with the Lord. Such closeness to God will allow him to carry out his plan of action for you.

Remember: only truth frees! By being a hypocrite, you are only bonding yourself and you will not be able to free those around you. For, unfortunately, if they have in front of them people who play a role, they will not be able to benefit from the reality of life that God would like to pour into them.

Tuesday

Fully grasp the love of Christ

You will thus be able to understand, with all those who belong to God, how wide, long, elevated and deep the love of Christ is. Yes, you will be able to know this love that surpasses all that one can know of it, and you will thus be filled with all the fullness of God. “Ephesians 3.18-19

You can grasp the love of Christ with your mind. It is spiritual knowledge, not intellectual knowledge, that allows you to understand the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God. You can grasp the love of Christ with your Holy spirit; you will then be filled with all the fullness of God.

You can be so filled with God that there is no place in your heart for doubt, fear, anger or any other feeling that does not come from him.

Wednesday

Harvest is not done without work

He then said to his disciples: The harvest to be made is great, but there are few workers for it. So ask the owner of the harvest to send more workers to do it. Matthew 9.37-38.

 

In the Bible, the word “harvest” can refer to many things. It relates to souls, finances, opportunities, blessings, and more. For there to be a harvest, God asks that people cooperate and work with him.

If you didn’t grow up on a farm, you may not understand all that the harvest entails. When Christians hear the word “harvest,” they think they can lie down and wait for God to give them all the blessings without any effort on their part. Everyone who grew up on a farm knows that you can’t harvest while resting.

How can we work for the harvest? It is to enrich God that we become workers in the harvest. God counts his riches not in dollars or gold, but in souls.

Thursday

Don’t look back

Before he destroyed Sodom, God sent two angels to save Lot and his family. Their instructions were clear: “do not look behind you and do not stop in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest you succumb” Genesis 19: 17 “.

But “Lot’s wife looked back and became a statue of salt” (v.26). Jesus recalls this episode in a few words: “remember the wife of Loth”. Here are two lessons to be learned:

1) Don’t look back by regretting your life before. What was sinned in the past is still sinful today. “but every man is tempted, because his own lust attracts him and seduces him; then lust, when she conceived, bearing forth sin; and sin, which has come to an end, engenders death.” James 1.14-15

 

2) Do not regret your mistakes . The two genders of Loth had ignored the messages of the angels and the supplications of their father-in-law, so they stayed back. Maybe that’s why his wife turned around, but it was fatal, and it’s still fatal now. Don’t feel the regrets of the past. Let’s not dwell on the wounds inflicted by others. Take your eyes off the mirror and look the road in front of you. God reserves great things for you; that is the reason for your struggle in life. Jesus compares Satan to a “thief” (see John 10: 10). He has already stolen too many things from you; do not let him steal anything from you.

Friday

The benefits of praise

My soul, bless the Lord! Let all that is in me bless his holy name! My soul, bless the Lord, and forget none of his blessings. It is he who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases; he who delivers your life from the pit, who crowds you with goodness and mercy. He is the one who fills your old age with wealth, and makes you rejuvenate like the eagle. Psalm 103.1-5

David speaks here to his soul. In fact, he tells her not to be lazy, ungrateful, or indifferent. “bless the Lord for all his blessings.” Then he quotes a list of six particular benefits. He is the one who:

1. Forgive all your iniquities
2. Heal all your diseases
3. Save your life from the pit
4. The crown of goodness and mercy
5. Who is satisfied with your old age
6. Who makes you rejuvenate like the eagle

Surely, if we seize these six unalterable blessings and graces of the Lord, we will have to act with our soul as David did. We will have to say to him, “bless the Lord, O my soul, let all that is in me bless his holy name.”

If that is not what we do, it is obvious that we are forgetting its benefits. One of the best ways to never forget them is to incite our soul to bless the Lord at all times.