SELWYN HUGHES
Every Day with Jesus
Times of Reflection 366 Day Perpetual Calendar
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17/6/08 14:06:49
Turning the tables 1 Corinthians 6:12–20 ‘“Everything is permissible for me”– but I will not be mastered by anything.’ (v.12)
1 January
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e need to turn the tables on the things that are mastering us and, through the power and grace which God gives us, gain ‘divine mastery’ over them. Paul tells us that he would not be mastered by anything other than the Son of God. Those who are not mastered by Jesus Christ will be mastered by material things, circumstances, the world, disappointments, and a whole host of other matters.
17/6/08 14:06:50
The terrible twins Psalm 27:1–14 ‘The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?’ (v.1)
2 January
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he mastery about which we are thinking is divine mastery, not self-mastery. Selfmastery can fail, divine mastery cannot. Permit me to ask you: What masters you? Is it fear and worry? Many are mastered by these terrible twins. Take heart. God’s power is more than a match for every situation provided, of course, that you avail yourself of it. ‘Do not fret,’ we are instructed in Psalm 37:8, ‘it leads only to evil.’
17/6/08 14:06:51
‘Sand in the machinery’ Job 3:20–26 ‘What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.’ (v.25)
3 January
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he fear of the LORD’, Scripture tells us, ‘is the beginning of wisdom’ (Psa. 111:10). Elsewhere we read, ‘I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground’ (Matt. 25:25). Both verses are profoundly true: there is a fear that leads to wisdom and there is a fear that leads to paralysis – it causes us to bury our talents. ‘Fear’, it has been said, ‘is sand in the machinery of life.’
17/6/08 14:06:52
Worry – a form of atheism Luke 12:22–34 ‘… do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.’ (v.22)
4 January
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y dictionary defines worry as ‘a period spent in over-anxious concern’. It is not wrong to be concerned about issues that trouble us, but when those concerns paralyse us then we live foolishly. The point to grasp about worry is that it does not change anything, except you. One medical doctor has remarked, ‘Worry is a form of atheism.’ When we worry we are really thinking, ‘God doesn’t care. He won’t do anything.’
17/6/08 14:06:53
Steps to deliverance John 5:1–15 ‘When Jesus saw him lying there … he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”’ (v.6)
5 January
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hen I say to you that with God’s help you can master fear and worry I mean that. Admit to yourself that you are fearful or worried. Ask yourself: Do I really want to give up the thing of which I am afraid? Surrender the thing you fear to God. Remind yourself that every fear, every trouble has been defeated by the One you follow – Jesus Christ. Don’t consent to worry, instead connect with Christ and all will be well.
17/6/08 14:06:54
One day at a time Matthew 6:25–34 ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.’ (v.34)
6 January
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he thing that is causing you fear or worry is not as bad as the fear itself. The person who fights with fear fights three things: the real problem, the imaginary problem created by the fear, and the fear itself. And the worst of these is the fear. Direct your attention to Christ. Whatever gains your attention gains you. Finally, learn to meet today, today. Don’t bring forward the troubles of tomorrow into today.
17/6/08 14:06:56
Passive – active Isaiah 30:12–18 ‘… in quietness and trust is your strength …’ (v.15)
7 January
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epeat these words often: ‘In quietness and trust is my strength.’ Allow the healing quiet of the Lord to bathe your restless mind in His peace. When you have handed over your fears and worries to God then, so that your heart does not become a vacuum, fill it with concern for others. The two heartbeats of life are giving and receiving. You receive from God and you give to others. Passive, active. You take in and you give out.
17/6/08 14:06:57