2026-05-06
Joshua 14:12-13 NKJV
When Moses sent Caleb to spy out the Promised Land, Caleb saw something that troubled him: the town of Hebron. Abraham buried his wife there. He was buried there. So were Isaac and Jacob. Hebron was a sacred site. Now it was inhabited by their enemies, and it bothered Caleb. It was more than he could take, so he asked Moses for Hebron. He didn’t ask for Jerusalem, perched on Mount Moriah; or the Valley of Eschol, where grapes grew as large as plums; or Jericho, where the Jordan River flowed. He wanted Hebron, whose soil had known the visitation of angels and whose earth entombed the holiest family. “Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb.” Caleb wanted to do something great for God. He lived with a higher call. Perhaps the reason your problems feel so great is that your call is too small.
Max Lucado tells of a doctor friend who makes regular medical trips to a remote jungle clinic to treat the disadvantaged. He’s a retired surgeon with ample income. He could spend every day of his life in ease and luxury. But he focuses on supporting the health clinic for his own good: “I need a cause that is greater than cable TV and Cadillacs,” he said. “If I focus on my comfort, nothing can satisfy me. But when I focus on the concerns of God, I am a happy man.”
Do you have a holy cause? A faith worth preserving? A mission worth living for? Ask God to give you a “Hebron” to claim for His glory.
Soul food: Deut 14-17; Matt 8:1-17; Ps 37:32-40; Prov 12:4-6
2026-05-05
Genesis 4:3 NKJV
There is a little phrase repeated 436 times in the Bible: “It came to pass.” Whatever trial you are going through today, remind yourself, “It came to pass – not stay.” If the fulfillment of the vision God gave you seems to be taking longer than you thought, remind yourself “it will come to pass!”
In his biography, God in My Corner, the two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman tells a story about an elderly woman who was asked her favourite Scripture verse. She replied: “And it came to pass.” She explained why: “I know that whenever a trial comes, it doesn’t come to stay; it comes – to pass.”
And the Scripture on the flipside of this coin reads: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6 NIV). In other words, He will bring it to pass! Either way, God always finishes what He starts. “The vision is yet for an appointed time… Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come [to pass]” (Habakkuk 2:3 NKJV).
Battling an illness that threatened his life, and enemies who wanted to take his throne, David turned to the Lord for help. And God didn’t disappoint him. Read these two Scriptures and stand on them: “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NLT). “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!” (Psalm 30:11-12 NLT).
Soul food: Deut 11-13; Matt 7:15-29; Ps 37:25-31; Prov 12:1-3
2026-05-03
Acts 20:27 NKJV
More than a hundred years ago, William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, spoke prophetically when he said, “The chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.” That’s as true now as it was then.
Paul exhorted the leaders of the Ephesian church to declare, “The whole counsel of God.” He said: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears” (vv. 28-31 NKJV).
On the eve of his execution, Paul handed off the baton to his successor Timothy with these words: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables… be watchful… fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:2-5 NKJV).
Soul food: Gen 1:1-2:3; John 1:1-18
2026-05-02
James 3:6 NLT
The Bible says, “A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And… the tongue is a flame of fire” (vv. 5-6 NLT). People living in hot climates know the danger of ravaging bushfires driven by desert winds and can readily identify with these words: “See how great a forest a little fire kindles!” (v. 5 NKJV). A single spark from a match has started many massive fires. Spreading faster and farther than we might ever imagine, that kind of fire destroys homes and businesses worth millions of dollars, leaving a scorched landscape and devastated lives.
Similarly, how many reputations have been ruined by a careless word? The impact of our words spreads far and fast, especially in our digital age. A word tweeted anywhere can be retweeted all over the world in seconds. Like a fire, that word can get out of control and do irreparable damage. Hence James wrote: “No man can tame the tongue” (v. 8 NKJV).
But God can. “The fruit of the Spirit is… self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV). The Holy Spirit can take a tongue that peddles gossip and turn it into one that brings glory to God. He can take a tongue that spews bitterness and turn it into one that speaks blessing.
Gossip is saying something behind someone’s back that you would never say to that person’s face. Flattery is saying something to someone’s face that you would never say behind the person’s back. And both are wrong. So, let’s join the Psalmist in praying: “May these words of my mouth… be pleasing in your sight, Lord” (Psalm 19:14 NIV).
Soul food: Deut 5-7; Matt 6:19-34; Ps 37:8-15; Prov 11:27-29
2026-05-01
James 3:2 NLT
The Bible says: “If we could control our tongues, we… could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth” (vv. 2-3 NLT). If you’ve ever bridled a horse, you know the bridle that slips over the horse’s head and behind its ears has a “bit,” a metal bar that goes in its mouth and lies on top of its tongue. When the rider wants the horse to stop, he pulls back on the reins and the bit presses down on its tongue. The rider who controls the horse’s tongue can actually control the horse’s whole body – steer it to the right or left, and bring it to a stop with a simple pull of the reins.
Likewise, your tongue needs to come under the control of the Holy Spirit. A horse can’t bridle itself; the one who masters it puts on the bridle. Try as you might, you can’t control your tongue through your own efforts. Haven’t you said things you wish you could take back? Haven’t you caused trouble for yourself and others by some of the things you’ve said? And haven’t you said things that, in hindsight, you can’t believe actually came out of your mouth?
The trouble is that what you say does not originate in your mouth but in your heart: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34 NKJV). So having a Spirit-controlled tongue is the result of being Spirit-filled and having a heart committed to doing God’s will in every circumstance.
Soul food: Deut 3-4; Matt 6:1-18; Ps 37:1-7; Prov 11:24-26
2026-04-30
Matthew 18:21 NIV
There is a saying in baseball: “Three strikes and you’re out.” We tend to play life the same way. We give people two or three chances, but no more. But God never gives up on us. It’s not in His nature. When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother, Jesus set the gold standard. Peter answered his own question by saying, “Seven times.” But Jesus ups the ante to seventy times seven (see v. 22 NLT).
Then He ups the ante even more with a story of a master who forgave his servant a ten-thousand-talent debt. Let’s do a currency exchange. One talent totaled 180 months’ wages – that’s fifteen years! And that’s just one talent. So a 10,000-talent debt totaled 150,000 years of wages. Using today’s average life expectancy, it would have taken his servant 2,232 lifetimes to pay off the debt. Of course, the average life expectancy in the first century was less than half of what it is now, so it would have taken twice as many lifetimes to pay off the debt.
But instead of years, let’s put this debt into dollars. Using a minimum wage of $7.25, let’s take a nine-to-five job, Monday through Friday. That’s an annual income of $15,080. That might not seem like much, but when you multiply it by 150,000 years, it totals $2,262,000,000. (Three commas means billions.)
Now here’s the thing: by virtue of what Christ accomplished on the cross, your sin debt – past, present, and future – is paid in full. That’s a truth you can be confident in and stand on.
Soul food: Deut 1-2; Matt 5:38-48; Ps 2; Prov 11:22-23
