2026-03-19
Romans 5:20 NKJV
The Scarlet Letter is the story of a woman found in adultery and required to wear a scarlet “A” on her dress as a symbol of shame. We do the same thing, don’t we? We label people based on a mistake. Sadly, it’s just as true in some churches as it is in the culture. That isn’t how God sees us and labels us. He takes off the graveclothes of sin and covers us in the garments of salvation (see Isaiah 61:10). He gives each of us a new name, a new identity, a new destiny.
There’s a storyline in John’s gospel that’s not unlike Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. A woman was caught in the act of adultery. The religious mob was ready to stone her to death when Jesus stepped in. His defense was pure brilliance: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone” (John 8:7 NKJV). One by one, they dropped their stones and walked away. Then Jesus told her, “Go and sin no more” (v. 11 NKJV).
When you hear about someone’s failure, remember John Bradford’s famous adage: “But for the grace of God, there go I.” Live by the maxim, “Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it.” That’s how you change someone’s life. That’s what Jesus did with this woman. When the Pharisees were writing people off, He was writing them in. When everyone else showed them the door, Jesus showed them grace. Grace is the catalyst that turns guilt into gratitude. One act of grace can turn the worst moment into a defining moment in someone’s life. And you can be that agent of grace.
Soul food: Rev 19-22; Luke 19:1-21; Ps 116:1-11; Prov 8:8-9
2026-03-18
2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV
Beginning in 2007, the REVEAL research project surveyed the members of more than a thousand churches. They wanted to determine the percentage of churchgoers who are actually propelled by their faith to love God and love others with their whole hearts. Guess how many met these qualifications? Eleven percent! Nearly nine out of ten believers did not make the grade.
Think about it this way: If a school graduated only eleven percent of its students, if a hospital healed only eleven percent of its patients, if a sports team won only eleven percent of its games, if a home builder completed only eleven percent of his projects, wouldn’t changes be made? About 2.2 billion people on our planet call themselves Christians. That’s approximately one-fourth of the world’s population. If the survey is any indication, about two billion of those Christians are chugging along on a fraction of their horsepower.
What would happen if they got a tune-up or decided to step up or rise up? How much joy would be unleashed? How much wisdom would be shared? How many marriages would be saved? How many wars would be prevented? How much hunger would be eliminated? What would it take for you to be part of the eleven percent – more compassion, more conviction, more courage? What attitudes would you need to discontinue – greed, guilt, negativity, a critical spirit?
Here’s the good news: You can. With God’s help, you can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. You can be “transformed… from glory to glory.”
Soul food: Rev 15-18; Luke 18:18-43; Ps 19; Prov 8:6-7
2026-03-17
Psalm 34:4 NKJV
Father, I come boldly before Your throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace for deliverance from emotional insecurity (see Hebrews 4:16). Your Word says You will make all Your grace abound toward me so that I will always have all sufficiency in all things and abound in every good work (see 2 Corinthians 9:8). I cast down every thought of inadequacy and every imagination that rises up against what Your Word says about who I am and what I can do (see 2 Corinthians 10:5).
I resist any anxiety over the possibility of losing a social, professional, or other position or a desired relationship. I know that no one can thwart Your purpose for my life. You, O Lord, have sealed my destiny (see Isaiah 14:27). “You guard all that is mine” (Psalm 16:5 NLT).
I know, according to Your Word, that You deliberately shaped me in the womb to be Your servant. Therefore, I rest, rejoice, and trust that I am designed for my destiny and perfect for my purpose (see Isaiah 49:5). Because of Your grace, I walk neither in self-doubt nor in self-confidence because I know that apart from You, I can do absolutely nothing (see John 15:5).
Therefore, my eyes are on You alone to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ask or think according to Your power that works in me (see Ephesians 3:20). I thank You that You have heard me and delivered me from all my fears, and they no longer have any power over my life (see Psalm 34:4). In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.
Soul food: Rev 10-14; Luke 18:1-17; Ps 11; Prov 8:4-5
2026-03-16
2 Kings 6:17 NKJV
One morning in a city called Dothan, a servant of the prophet Elisha awoke and was terrified because an enemy army surrounded him and his boss. “What shall we do?” he cried. Elisha told him to chill out, for “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed for him: “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened his eyes, and he saw that they were surrounded by horses and chariots of fire – the power of God and protection of God (see vv. 15-17 NKJV). As a result, their enemies were neutralized.
What if this became your prayer as well? What if every time you were challenged or burdened, God opened your spiritual eyes to see that you too were surrounded by His power and protection? It happened to two followers of Jesus who were walking on the road to Emmaus after the crucifixion. A third man joined them. It was Jesus, walking and talking with them – but they didn’t recognize Him until He began to pray. And then they knew. Then they said, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32 NKJV).
What if you were on the road to Emmaus, commuting into work, school, or home – and Jesus was right there beside you? What if you could join the “fellowship of the burning heart” and actually experience His presence? You can. Just reach for Him, recognize Him, and respond to Him.
Soul food: Rev 5-9; Luke 17:20-37; Ps 115; Prov 8:1-3
2026-03-15
Leviticus 19:3 NKJV
When your parents grow old and become less capable of taking care of themselves, they need certain things from you, like love, kindness, patience, tenderness, sensitivity, and understanding. When you were a child, perhaps your mother picked you up at school because you didn’t like to ride the bus, and now you’re upset with her for being five minutes late.
If you are a teen or a preteen, it’s wrong to be more kind, considerate, and patient with your friends and your friends’ mothers than your own mother. Indeed, if you treated your friends like you treat your mom, you wouldn’t have many friends left. And if you treated their mom like you do your own, their mom wouldn’t let her child have anything to do with you.
When your mother gets old and needs more care, it’s payback time! “But she is always complaining,” you say. Yes, just like you did, right? “But she talks about herself and asks the same questions over and over.” As they get older, our parents experience fears they never had before, and they need you to reassure them that you will always be there for them.
One of the last things Jesus did when He was dying on the cross was to commit the care of His mother, Mary, to His close friend and disciple, John: “Then he said to the disciple, ‘She is now your mother.’ From then on, that disciple took her into his own home” (John 19:27 CEV). So, the word for you today is – take good care of your mother.
Soul food: Matt 6:11; John 6:31-40; 1 Cor 11:23-24
2026-03-14
Exodus 14:14 NIV
During World War II, the British Department of Information designed three “home publicity” posters. The first said, “Your courage, your cheerfulness, your resolution will bring us victory.” The second said, “Freedom is in peril.” The third and most famous said, “Keep calm and carry on.” The department printed 2.45 million of the third posters, but they were never publicly displayed. That motto had all but vanished from Britain’s consciousness when a bookstore-owning couple in Alnwick – Stuart and Mary Manley – discovered an original copy of the poster at the bottom of a box of old books.
With Pharaoh’s chariots bearing down on Moses from behind, and the Red Sea in front of him, he was “between a rock and a hard place.” That’s when God gave Moses these instructions: “The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:13-14 NIV). That sounds an awful lot like keep calm and carry on, doesn’t it? What would be the hardest thing to do if Egyptian chariots were charging straight at you at full speed? To be still!
When we find ourselves in this sort of situation, we want to do something – anything. We have a nervous energy that tries to solve problems as quickly as possible. But these are the tests that reveal trust. Sometimes God leads us to a place where we have nowhere to turn but to Him. Is that where you are today? Then trust God’s power, love, and faithfulness, and He will bring you safely through it.
Soul food: Rev 1-4; Luke 17:1-19; Ps 26; Prov 7:26-27
