2025-03-09
John 17:18 NIV
Jesus prayed in John 17:15-18: “I have given them your word… My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (NIV).
Where did Jesus dispatch His disciples? Into the world. He didn’t say, “Try to avoid the world. Just hang out with Christian people in the church, and keep your distance from people who use bad language and are bad people.” He says being sent as a representative of God into your job, your neighbourhood, your circumstances, and your situations is why you’re on this planet. He says, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21 NIV). We’re not called to avoid the world, but to engage it.
You say, “But I don’t feel comfortable around such people.” Then ask God to make you more like Jesus, who was known as “a friend of sinners” (See Luke 7:34). Jesus told His disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16 NIV). It takes two things for a sheep to operate among wolves: courage and wisdom. It also takes total commitment.
Albert Schweitzer gave up his standing as a superb theologian and world-class musician to serve the poorest people on another continent. Whatever God has called you to do, it will involve loving people and giving yourself to them.
Soul food: Ps 51; Mark 8:34-38
2025-03-08
James 4:8 NKJV
We say we trust God but often fear that He won’t come through for us when we need Him most. So, we falsely assume that if we keep thinking about the problem and worrying about it enough, somehow we can take care of it on our own – just in case God doesn’t show up and do something according to our timetable. This brings us closer to our problems, but not to the One who can solve them. But when we choose to believe that God is in control of our lives and is going to handle whatever situation we are in, we move closer to Him and our problems don’t seem so worrisome at all.
It works like this: The closer you get to the problem, the smaller God seems, and the closer you get to God, the smaller your problem seems. The Bible says, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 AMPC). Trusting God will keep you from reasoning and trying to figure out things you don’t have answers for yet. Instead of listening to that nagging voice inside that says, “What are you going to do?” draw closer to God and say, “I’m going to trust God to show me what to do.”
David declared, “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart… how good it is to be near God!” (Psalm 73:26, 28 NLT). Where is God when you need Him most? Right beside you!
Soul food: Exo 39-40; Luke 15:11-32; Ps 135; Prov 7:21-23
2025-03-07
Ezekiel 37:1-2 KJV
God told Ezekiel to declare His word to a valley full of bones, and they became a mighty army. These bones were dead, dry, and in disarray. That may describe where you are today. Your hopes are dead, your soul is dry, your life in disarray. What’s the answer?
(1) You need God to shake things up in your life. “There was a… shaking, and the bones came together” (v. 7). If it feels like things are being shaken up in your personal life, your home life, and your work life, rejoice; it means God has great plans for you.
(2) You need God to speak to you through His Word. “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord” (v. 4). God’s Word turned this bunch of bones into a mighty army that could conquer, win, and fulfill His purposes. And God’s Word will do the same for you. Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32 KJV). So, get into God’s Word, and get God’s Word into you.
(3) You need God to breathe His Holy Spirit on you. “O breath, [of God]… breathe upon these… that they may live… and they… stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army” (Ezekiel 37:9-10 KJV). When you’re empowered by His Spirit, you will exceed your own expectations and do great things for God.
Ezekiel couldn’t see the potential in those bones until God showed it to him. So, no matter what others say, God sees potential in you and that’s why He is shaking you up.
Soul food: Exo 36-38; Luke 15:1-10; Ps 27; Prov 7:10-20
2025-03-06
1 Kings 18:19 NKJV
The greatest chapter in the story of Elijah’s life took place on Mount Carmel. That’s when he called down fire from heaven, defeated the prophets of Baal, and turned the hearts of the Israelites back to God. The word “Carmel” means “fruitful ground.” But before Elijah could get to Mount Carmel, he had to go through two places:
First, God led him to the brook called Cherith. The word “Cherith” means “to make covenant with.” It was here that Elijah discovered that God is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God who can sustain you through the hardest of times. It was here during a drought and famine that ravens brought food to him each day and he drank from the refreshing waters of the brook. But the Bible says, “After a while… the brook dried up” (1 Kings 17:7 NKJV). Now, when God allows your brook to dry up, it’s in order to drive you back to your true source, which is Himself, that you may get further instructions.
Second, God led him to a widow in Zarephath. The word “Zarephath” means “to refine as in a melting pot.” Gold is not pure in its original form. It must be refined, and this is accomplished by heating it to the boiling point. The heat separates the raw substance from its impurities, which surface and are skimmed off. And God will do the same for you by using the heat of trials to separate the gold from the dross in your life. He knows the experiences you need to reach Mount Carmel, the place of fruitfulness, so trust Him. He knows what He is doing.
Soul food: Exo 33-35; Luke 14:25-35; Ps 112; Prov 7:6-9
2025-03-05
Isaiah 55:8 NLT
A part of us feels as if something is spiritually wrong with us when we experience uncertainty. But that is precisely what Jesus promised us when we are born of the Spirit and start following Him. “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit” (John 3:8 NLT).
When it comes to being led by God’s Spirit, the operative phrase is “You can’t explain how.” Even when you have given your best thinking to the problem, the Bible says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine” (Isaiah 55:8 NLT). So, when you follow God, anything can happen. You never know who you will meet, where you will go, or what you will do. And the sooner you come to terms with that spiritual reality, the more you will enjoy the journey. To do otherwise is to end up with a self-absorbed spirituality that leaves you feeling empty.
Instead of following the Spirit, you’re inviting the Spirit to follow you. Instead of serving God’s purposes, you want Him to serve your purposes. While this may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference.
Here are your choices: (1) Follow the path of certainty, which keeps you in control but robs you of the adventure God has in mind. (2) Accept the uncertainty of the “how” and “when” that comes from following God, and stand on this promise: “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23 NKJV).
Soul food: Exo 30-32; Luke 14:15-24; Ps 106:24-48; Prov 7:3-5
2025-03-04
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
Charles Weigle was an itinerant evangelist who enjoyed traveling and preaching, despite the rigors of the road. His wife, however, grew disillusioned with her frequently absent husband. One day Charles returned home to find this note: “Charlie, I’ve been a fool. I’ve done without a lot of things… from here on out, I’m getting all I can out of what the world owes me. I know you will continue to be a fool for Jesus, but for me, it’s goodbye!”
He was stunned, and depression swept over him like a tidal wave. One day, sitting on the porch of his cottage, he contemplated suicide. A voice within him whispered, “Your ministry is finished. No one cares.” But another voice pierced through the gloom: “Charlie, I haven’t forgotten you; I care for you.” Instantly Charles was on his knees, rededicating his life to Christ.
Later he wrote the words of one of the most beloved of all gospel songs: “I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus, since I found in Him a friend so strong and true; I would tell you how He changed my life completely, He did something that no other friend could do. No one ever cared for me like Jesus, there’s no other friend so kind as He; no one else could take the sin and darkness from me, o how much He cared for me.”
Have the responsibilities you carry brought you to a breaking point? Is the heartache more than you can bear? The word for you today is – “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”
Soul food: Exo 28-29; Luke 14:1-14; Ps 106:1-23; Prov 7:1-2
