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
2026-04-29
2 Corinthians 1:9 NLT
Several men went on a mission trip to Haiti where they met a nineteen-year-old young man who loved Christ deeply. So they invited him to visit them in America and paid for his trip. The young Haitian felt as if he were in another world. He’d never slept between sheets, had three meals a day, used indoor plumbing, or tasted a hamburger. When it was time to return to Haiti, they asked him for his impressions of what he’d experienced, and he replied: “I have really enjoyed my time here with you. But I am also very glad to be going home. You have so much in America that I’m beginning to lose my grip on my day-to-day dependency on Christ.”
Paul spoke of a time of trouble in Asia in which he was “crushed and overwhelmed” (2 Corinthians 1:8 NLT). Then he wrote: “As a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God” (v. 9 NLT). And God wants to bring you to that place also. Yes, He wants you to use the gifts and resources He has provided, but His desire is that you rely completely on Him. Only then can He provide everything He desires to give you, because then you will be open, ready, and mature enough to receive it.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear [reverence, respect, obey] the Lord” (Proverbs 3:5-7 NLT).
Soul food: Acts 27-28; Matt 5:27-37; Ps 35; Prov 11:19-21
2026-04-28
Proverbs 27:4 KJV
Unlike jealousy, which is the fear of being displaced, envy is ill-will toward those who possess something you want. Jealousy says, “I’m afraid you are going to take what I have.” Envy says, “I want what you have, and I resent you for having it!” Envy is one of the most frequently concealed emotions. You may be more likely to admit to an uncontrollable temper, a phobia, or any other negative emotion than to acknowledge that you are envious.
Envy inevitably leads to resenting and criticizing the person you envy. And once you allow envy and resentment to enter your heart, they act like free radicals producing an emotional cancer. Eventually they will manifest themselves in some destructive way, whether it is in the form of taking mood-altering substances, overeating, shopping excessively, lashing out, being sarcastic, or physically harming others.
If you harbor envy toward someone, it’s time to deal with it. David wrote: “You desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:6-7 NIV). If you covet what someone else has, ask yourself, “Am I willing to pay the price they paid to obtain it?”
The world has a saying: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Everything – except salvation – has a price tag. So, whether you want to be thin, rich, educated, or whatever, stop envying the success of others, and ask God to help you succeed in the assignment He has given you for your life.
Soul food: Acts 24-26; Matt 5:21-26; Ps 94:12-23; Prov 11:16-18
2026-04-27
1 Samuel 3:10-11 NKJV
If you are serious about having a truly interactive relationship with the Lord in which you speak to one another and hear from one another, you will need to spend quality, uninterrupted time opening your heart to Him. When Samuel finally prayed, “Speak, for Your servant hears,” the Bible says, “Then the Lord said to Samuel.” All too often, our prayer is “Listen, God, for Your servant is speaking.”
Listening to God can involve a variety of practices: reading His Word, spending time in solitude and silence, and hearing from God just like a seasoned friend you trust. Here’s an example: “As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.’ And he went on. ‘But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God'” (1 Samuel 9:27 NKJV).
One of the most effective ways of hearing from God is through meditating on His Word. You say, “But I don’t know how to meditate.” If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. In both worry and meditation, your thoughts and focus are given to a certain thing. When you meditate on God’s Word, you’re focusing your thoughts on the right thing! God told Joshua: “This Book…shall not depart from your mouth [speak it regularly], but you shall mediate [focus] in it day and night, that you may observe to do [act on it] according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8 NKJV).
Soul food: Acts 22-23; Matt 5:13-20; Ps 94:1-11; Prov 11:14-15
