2025-01-18
Luke 15:25 NKJV
The parable of the prodigal son is about two boys and their father’s love for each. The younger one dishonoured his father and ended up in a pigpen. When he returned home, he had lost everything – except his father’s love. So no matter who you are or what you have done – God loves you and wants you in His family.
Jesus made an amazing statement: “When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (v. 20 NKJV). Ancient Hebrew culture thought running was an undignified act for older men. Men wore long flowing robes, and had to pull them up around their waist to run, exposing their undergarments. But the father didn’t care about what people thought; he cared about his wayward son. Unfortunately, his older brother didn’t feel that way.
Do you understand why a lot of younger brothers are still out in the pigpen and don’t want to enter the church? Because they’re afraid older brothers will hit them with the mean hand of judgment instead of touching them with the welcoming hand of love. The older brother desires punishment, but the father provides pardon. The older brother requires guilt, but the father gives grace. The older brother wants revenge, but the father wants reconciliation.
Here is the good news: No matter how low you have fallen, know that as soon as you return, you will discover your heavenly Father facing you, extending open arms and a loving heart toward you.
Soul food: Isa 63-66; Luke 4:14-30; Ps 89:15-37; Prov 2:21-22
2025-01-17
Luke 18:13 NKJV
Jesus said: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other” (vv. 10-14 NKJV).
The difference between these two men is that the Pharisee was guilty of sins of the spirit, and the tax collector was guilty of the sins of the flesh. Pride shut the door of heaven to the Pharisee, and humility opened the door of heaven to the tax collector. The Pharisee said he was innocent but went home guilty. The tax collector acknowledged he was guilty and went home innocent.
Notice, he doesn’t use the usual word for mercy. The word used here dates back to the Hebrew word kippur, which means “atonement,” as in Yom Kippur, which means “the Day of Atonement.” The word atonement means “to cover.” What the tax collector said was, “God, I’m admitting what you already know is true about me. I am a sinful man with a sinful heart. God, will you cover me?” That’s all God needed to hear from him to save him – and that’s all God needs to hear from you too.
Soul food: Isa 58-62; Luke 4:1-13; Ps 89:1-14; Prov 2:20
2025-01-16
Philippians 3:8 NLT
The experiences you had before you committed your life to Christ, including things you regret, can be redeemed, and put to good use. Before Paul met Christ on the Damascus road, his life had been dedicated to the study of Old Testament law. “I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault” (vv. 5-6 NLT).
Looking back, Paul may have considered his years of study as a Pharisee to be wasted. But God had prepared him to show the Jews how Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures he knew so well. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that God doesn’t begin working in our lives until the day we come to know Christ as Saviour. Scripture says that He “foreknew” us, meaning He chose and prepared us long before we ever met Him (See Romans 8:29-30).
David says that God wrote out all the days of his life before they ever came to pass (See Psalm 139:16 NKJV), and that’s true for you. God is at work in your life in ways you’re unaware of. Even when you’re unable to notice Him at work, He is always active in you, causing His good pleasure. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 NKJV). Faith changes the question “Is God at work?” into a declarative statement of faith: “God is at work!”
Soul food: Isa 53-57; Luke 3:21-38; Ps 84; Prov 2:16-19
2025-01-15
2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul reveals four ways in which Satan works like a master counterfeiter.
First, he supplies a counterfeit Saviour: “For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” So though there are cults that preach Jesus, they do not preach the Christ of Christianity.
Second, Satan presents counterfeit servants: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ… So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (vv. 13, 15 ESV).
Third, Satan brings counterfeit saints: Paul identifies these false brethren as those who seem like your brother or sister on the outside but are secretly your enemy on the inside (See Galatians 2:4).
Further, Satan offers us a counterfeit salvation: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8 ESV).
It’s not necessarily that Christians pretend to be children of the devil, but instead that the ungodly frequently appear to be righteous. God can distinguish a sinner from a saint, and you’re going to discover both inside the church just as you will outside it. And that’s a good thing because constant exposure to Bible preaching is what changes people. Jesus never claimed that the church was perfect, and neither should we.
Our awareness of these truths shouldn’t make us self-righteous and judgmental. Rather, it should make us paramedics of God’s grace and mercy and cause us to be more fully committed to Christ.
Soul food: Isa 49-52; Luke 3:11-20; Ps 81; Prov 2:11-15
2025-01-14
1 John 4:18 AMPC
When you were young and said a bad word, your parents may have threatened to wash your mouth out with soap. Well, if fear is a dirty word, then faith in God’s unconditional love for you is like soap! Too many put the cart before the horse. We believe that God accepts us based on the degree of our love for Him rather than on the degree of His love for us. The Bible says, “We love Him because He first loved us” (v. 19 NKJV). God’s love for you is not based upon your performance but Christ’s performance on your behalf. When you put your trust in Christ, God sees you “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17) from that moment forward.
Do you want to know how God sees you at this moment and every other moment? “As He [Jesus] is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17 NKJV). Does that mean you can disobey God and get away with it? Not a chance! “For whom the Lord loves He chastens…Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:6, 11 NKJV).
But God’s correction is not rejection! It’s proof of His unconditional, unlimited, unwavering, undeserved, and unearned love for you. God doesn’t love you more on those days when you’re victorious and less on those days when you’re defeated. His love for you doesn’t vary or vacillate. Knowing that truth will boost your faith and take your fear down a notch!
Soul food: Isa 45-48; Luke 3:1-10; Ps 79; Prov 2:9-10
2025-01-13
2 Peter 1:3 NLT
Following God means finishing what He has called you to do. Not everyone who starts out well finishes well. Occasionally we’re shocked and saddened to learn that a leader has been brought down by a moral or a financial problem. Paul writes, “Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you” (Colossians 4:14 KJV). Later, he writes, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10 KJV).
There are three forces arrayed against you, and they never let up: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world will try to pour you into its mold, your fleshly nature will try to drag you down, and the devil will use every trick in the book to defeat you. Paul was aware of these three forces when he said, “My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24 NLT).
So, make up your mind to complete the assignment God has given you and enjoy every minute of it. How can you finish strong? “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises” (2 Peter 1:3-5 NLT).
Soul food: Isa 42-44; Luke 2:41-52; Ps 74:12-23; Prov 2:7-8
