2026-01-08
Psalm 90:12 NKJV
Motivational speaker Denis Waitley describes an experience that marked his life forever. He was trying to catch a flight for a speaking commitment and was running through the airport terminal. He reached the gate just as the agent closed the door. Denis explained his dilemma, but the agent didn’t reopen the door. That’s when his annoyance turned into anger.
He stomped out of the boarding area and returned to the ticket counter to lodge a complaint and reschedule his flight. His anger increased as he waited for over twenty minutes in a line that hardly moved. Right before his turn at the ticket counter, an announcement over the intercom changed his life, because he realized that by missing that flight, his life had been saved. The flight he missed, Flight 191 from Chicago to Los Angeles, had crashed on take-off with no survivors. Denis never lodged his complaint. He also never returned his invalidated ticket for Flight 191. He brought it home and tacked it on a bulletin board in his office.
In the aftermath of that experience, anytime he felt irritated or upset, all he had to do was look at that ticket from Flight 191. It was an unforgettable reminder that life is a gift that should not be undervalued. The psalmist wrote: “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years… it is soon cut off, and we fly away… So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (vv. 10, 12 NKJV).
Soul food: Lev 13:38-14:57; Luke 1:67-80; Ps 3; Prov 1:29-31
2026-01-07
1 Kings 19:4 NIV
Elijah got so depressed that he wanted to die. Here is the threefold prescription God gave him for climbing out of his depression:
(1) Refresh yourself. “An angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again” (vv. 5-6 NIV). Elijah was exhausted. He had just fasted for a long time, so his body was weakened. He had also run eighteen miles to deliver the good news of his victory over the pagan prophets, adding to his physical weakness. Adequate rest and a balanced diet can do wonders for your life.
(2) Focus on God. When you take your eyes off God and focus on yourself, you begin to amplify every difficulty you encounter and disregard the One who can solve every problem you have. God told Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord” (v. 11 NIV). One minister notes, “When God has your ear, He can speak into it. When God has your heart, He can minister to it.”
(3) Attend to others. God told Elijah, “Anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha… to succeed you as prophet” (vv. 15-16 NIV). Perhaps you need to find someone to minister to. You’re not the only one who has problems; there are people in worse straits than you. If you want to see the haze of depression dissipate, stop looking within and begin looking outward.
Soul food: Lev 11:1-13:37; Luke 1:57-66; Ps 42:6-11; Prov 1:24-28
2026-01-06
1 Peter 3:18 NKJV
A saleswoman passed a particular corner each day on her way to work. For more than a week, she observed a little girl trying to sell a flop-eared puppy. The saleswoman finally said to the little girl, “Honey, if you want to sell this dog, I suggest you clean him up, brush his coat, raise your price, and make people think they’re getting something of value.” At noon, the saleswoman noticed the little girl had taken her advice. The puppy was groomed and sitting under a big sign that read, “TREMENDOUS Puppy for Sale – $5,000.00.”
The saleswoman smiled and gulped, determined to tell the little girl later that she may have overpriced the puppy. To her surprise, on the way home she saw the puppy was gone! Flabbergasted, the woman sought out the little girl to ask if she had really sold the dog for $5,000.00. The little girl said, “I sure did, and I want to thank you for all your help.” The saleswoman spluttered, “How in the world did you do it?” She said, “It was easy. I just took two $2,500.00 cats in exchange!” Seriously, two thousand years ago the greatest exchange of all time took place.
On a cross outside Jerusalem, Jesus Christ gave His life in exchange for ours, “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” At the cross God took all your sin and placed it upon Christ. And when you place your trust in Christ, God takes all of His righteousness and wraps you up in it. That’s the great exchange!
Soul food: Lev 8-10; Luke 1:39-56; Ps 42:1-5; Prov 1:20-23
2026-01-05
Jeremiah 29:11 TLB
Sports psychologists have identified six recurring traits that are common to Olympic gold medalist athletes. These traits of a champion apply to both men and women, but they are also dominant factors in the lives of those who succeed in nonathletic vocations as well. Let’s look carefully at each trait and see what we can learn.
(1) Self-analysis. The successful athlete knows their strengths and weaknesses, and engages in a critical appraisal that is honest but never negative.
(2) Self-competition. A winner knows that he or she can only control their own performance, so they compete against their own best effort and not that of others.
(3) Focus. The champion is always “in the present,” concentrating on the task at hand.
(4) Confidence. Successful athletes control anxiety by setting tough but reasonable goals. As these goals are reached, their confidence increases.
(5) Toughness. This is a mental trait that involves accepting risk and trying to win, rather than trying not to lose. A winner sees change as opportunity, and accepts responsibility for their own destiny.
(6) Having a game plan. Even the best athletes know that talent is not enough; they must have a game plan.
And here is the good news: You can develop these six traits. You say, “Where can I get a game plan for my life?” From the God who loves you and says in His Word, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans for good… to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen” (vv. 11-12 TLB).
Soul food: Lev 5-7; Luke 1:26-38; Ps 10:12-18; Prov 1:17-19
2026-01-04
2 Timothy 3:16 NCV
Perhaps you wonder, ‘Is the Bible really inspired by God? Is it true, trustworthy, and infallible?’ The answer is yes, and here are three reasons why:
1) It is remarkable in composition. It was composed over sixteen centuries by forty different authors, including soldiers, shepherds, farmers, and fishermen. Begun by Moses in Arabia and finished by John the Revelator on Patmos – it was penned by kings in palaces, shepherds in tents, and captives in prisons. Would it be possible for forty writers, largely unknown to each other, writing in three different languages in several different countries, separated in time by as much as 1,600 years, to produce a book of singular theme? This would be impossible unless behind them there was one mind and one designer. (See 2 Peter 1:21.)
2) It is remarkable in durability. It is the single most published book in history. Translated into at least 1,200 languages by an army of translators, it has outlived all its opponents. Bibles have been burned by governments and banished by courtrooms, but God’s Word endures. The death knell has been sounded a hundred times, but God’s Word continues (see Isaiah 40:8).
3) It is remarkable in prophecy. Its pages contain more than 300 fulfilled prophecies about the life of Christ, yet they were all written at least 400 years before He was born. What are the odds? Imagine if something similar occurred today. If we found a book written in the year 1900 that prophesied two world wars, a depression, an atomic bomb, and the assassinations of a president and a civil rights leader, wouldn’t we trust it? Yes. So you can believe these words: ‘All Scripture is inspired by God.’
Soul food: Gal 5:22-23; 1 Cor 13; Eph 3:14-21; John 15:9-17
2026-01-03
2 Timothy 3:14 NCV
Don’t chart your life’s course according to the opinions of people or popular culture. If you do, you’ll make the mistake that a farmer’s son made. The father sent the boy to prepare a field, reminding him to till straight lines. ‘Select an object on the far side of the field and plough straight at it.’ Later, when the father checked on the boy’s progress, there wasn’t a straight furrow to be found. ‘I thought I told you to select an object and plough towards it,’ the dad said. ‘I did,’ the boy answered, ‘but the rabbit kept hopping.’
A straight line requires an unmoving target, so set your sights on the unchanging principles of God’s Word. Let it be the authoritative Word in your world. This decision rubs up against the skin of our culture. We prefer the authority of the voting booth, the pollster, or whatever feels good. Such resistance is not novel to us.
When Paul wrote a letter to Timothy he listed nineteen characteristics of people, each of which was a fruit of rebellion (see 2 Timothy 3:1-5). Then he wrote: ‘Continue following the teachings you learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. Since you were a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right’ (2 Timothy 3:14-16 NCV). So soak yourself in the Scriptures!
Soul food: Lev 1-4; Luke 1:11-25; Ps 10:1-11; Prov 1:8-16
