2026-03-07
1 Corinthians 10:11 NLT
Egypt represents our days in bondage to sin. Then Jesus liberated us and gave us a new life. Our Promised Land isn’t a physical territory; it’s a spiritual reality. It’s not real estate, but a real state of heart and mind. It’s a life in which “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37 NKJV); A life in which “we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV). A life in which we are “exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation (2 Corinthians 7:4 NKJV); we are “anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV); we are “praying always” (Ephesians 6:18 KJV); and a life in which we “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17 NKJV).
Max Lucado wrote: [In Canaan]… “we win more often than we lose, forgive as quickly as we are offended, and give as abundantly as we receive. We serve out of our giftedness and delight in our assignments. We may stumble, but we do not collapse. We may struggle, but we defy despair. We boast only in Christ, trust only in God, lean wholly on his power. We enjoy abundant fruit and increasing faith.” Canaan symbolizes the victory we can have today, and God invites us to enter it. There is only one condition; we must turn our backs on wilderness living.”
Paul wrote: “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV).
Soul food: 2 Ki 10-12; Luke 14:15-24; Ps 106:1-23; Prov 7:1-2
2026-03-06
James 2:10 NKJV
Paul writes, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV). Why did Paul say we are saved through grace alone? Because trying to obtain salvation by keeping the law sets you up for failure. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
You say, “That’s an impossible standard!” You’re right! The law is like an X-ray machine; it can reveal what’s under the surface and identify the problem, but it can’t fix it. The law is also like a mirror. It can tell you that you need to apply makeup, or shave, or comb your hair, but it can’t do these things for you. In other words, the law can show you your problem but can’t solve it.
But what the law could not do, Christ did on the cross (See Romans 8:3). When Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30 KJV), all your sins from the cradle to the grave were atoned for. And when you put your trust in Him, you are saved for time and eternity. Some people acknowledge that you are made right with God by grace, through putting your trust in Christ. But, they believe you maintain your salvation by keeping the works of the law.
The problem is, even on your best day, you cannot live up to all the demands of a perfect God. The hymnist wrote, “Trusting as the moments fly, trusting as the days go by; trusting Him whate’er befall, trusting Jesus, that is all!”
Soul food: 2 Ki 7-9; Luke 14:1-14; Ps 136:13-26; Prov 6:32-35
2026-03-05
1 Samuel 17:54 NKJV
Each time David saw Goliath’s armor hanging in his tent, it was a sacred reminder of God’s faithfulness to him and of God’s power that was available to him. The word remember recurs almost 250 times in Scripture. And there is a reason why. We tend to remember what we should forget and forget what we should remember. That’s why God is always telling us to build altars or make memorials.
Jacob built an altar at Bethel, where God gave him a life-changing dream (See Genesis 28:18-22). The Israelites took twelve stones from the river Jordan and used them to build a miracle altar in Gilgal, reminding them of how God miraculously parted the waters for them (See Joshua 4:20-24). Samuel built a victory altar at Mizpah called “Ebenezer” after God answered his prayer and marshaled the forces of nature to supernaturally defeat the Philistines (See 1 Samuel 7:12).
Without sacred reminders, we could forget the spiritual lessons we have learned along the way. The Bible records the literal weight of Goliath’s armor: 125 pounds, 15 ounces. Every time David took down his tent and pitched it somewhere else, the armor went with him. Why? Because it doubled as a daily reminder of God’s faithfulness to him. It was also a great confidence builder. Whatever the future held, David knew that with God’s help he could handle it.
There are two lessons here: First, if God did it for David, He will do it for you. Second, if God did it before, He can do it again.
Soul food: 2 Ki 4:18-6:33; Luke 13:18-35; Ps 136:1-12;Prov 6:30-31
2026-03-04
1 Samuel 17:38 NKJV
The Bible says: “Saul clothed David with his armor… and David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.’ So David took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook… and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine'” (vv. 38-40 NKJV).
David had to make a choice; one that would determine his destiny. He could go into battle as Saul – wearing Saul’s armor, flaunting Saul’s sword, clutching Saul’s shield. Or he could engage in battle as David – a shepherd with a slingshot. David chose not to wear Saul’s armor or wield Saul’s sword for one excellent reason; he wasn’t Saul. David decided to be himself – the David God called, anointed, and equipped for the task.
There comes a time in all our lives when we need to be brave enough to remove Saul’s armor. And it takes the most uncommon form of courage, the courage to be yourself. We all begin as originals, but too many of us finish up as imitators of someone else. Instead of honouring our uniqueness, and the uniqueness of others, we are too frequently intimidated by it. We abandon our uniqueness because we want to fit in.
In one of his best-known essays, “Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that… imitation is suicide. He must take himself for better, for worse.” That is what David did, and God gave him great victory. And that is what God wants you to do.
Soul food: 2 Ki 1:1-4:17; Luke 13:1-17; Ps 77; Prov 6:29
2026-03-03
Exodus 18:18 NIV
The Bible says: “The people… stood around him from morning till evening… Moses’ father-in-law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone'” (vv. 13, 17-18 NIV).
You may have noticed on the back of tractor-trailer rigs a sign that communicates their load limit. Highways have weigh stations to make sure these trucks aren’t carrying too much weight. If a tractor-trailer with a huge engine has load limits, then it makes sense that we do too. Moses had exceeded his load limit. Eating on the run, running from one end of the camp of Israel to the other, scheduling meetings, hitting deadlines, and seeing everyone who asked was too much. On the inside he was dying. He had two options: collapse, or share the load.
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, told him to evaluate what only he could do, and delegate the rest. Anytime you are staring at a job that looks larger than you can handle alone, understand that God is telling you, “Don’t try it alone.” But Jethro didn’t tell Moses to ditch the work and throw it on just anybody. That’s a formula for disaster. To delegate successfully, you have to do these three things:
(1) Get the right people.
(2) Give them the right task.
(3) Trust them to do it right; don’t micromanage them.
So, the word for you today is – do what only you can do, delegate the rest to others, and trust God for success!
Soul food: 1 Ki 21-22; Luke 12:49-59; Ps 70; Prov 6:26-28
2026-03-02
John 15:16 KJV
It doesn’t take many people to bring about change. In fact, too many people can get in the way. Gideon took 32,000 to fight, but God needed only 300. He doesn’t care how many can be counted – He cares only about how many can be counted on. The truth is that your life could be messed up because too many people are telling you what to do. Hang up the phone. Shut the door. Turn off the TV. Get down before God and ask Him to speak to you. He will give you the word you need (see Isaiah 50:4).
God doesn’t need a crowd; He just needs one who will listen and obey. If He wants to start a nation, He’ll give hope and vision to an Abraham. If He wants to bring down an Egyptian Pharaoh, He’ll reach into the bulrushes and pull out a Moses. When He wants a lineage for His Son, He’ll go to the “red light district” and find a Rahab. He’s just looking for a willing heart. Listen again: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”
Ethel Waters, who sang with the Billy Graham crusades, loved to say, “God don’t sponsor no flops.” Her grammar was slightly off, but her theology was “right on.” Don’t spend your life trying to be ordinary. Don’t pour your life into the mold of someone else’s expectations. God has an agenda for you. The reason He’s brought you through so much is that He has a higher plan and purpose for your life. Get into His presence today and ask Him about it.
Soul food: 1 Ki 18:16-20:43; Luke 12:35-48; Ps 66:13-20; Prov 6:23-25
