2025-11-13
2 Corinthians 4:8 NCV
The Brooklyn Bridge, which links Brooklyn to Manhattan Island, is one of the most famous bridges in the world. When it was first conceived in 1867, bridge-building experts throughout the world told the designer, a creative engineer by the name of John Roebling, that his idea wouldn’t work. Roebling convinced his son Washington, who was also an engineer, that his idea had merit. The two of them developed a concept, resolved the problems others had forecast, and enthusiastically hired a crew to build the bridge.
After only a few months of building, a tragic on-site accident took John’s life, and another event months later severely injured Washington, who became unable to talk or walk. Everyone thought the project would be abandoned, since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew the dynamics of building the bridge. Washington, however, could still think, and he had a burning desire to see the bridge finished.
As he lay in his hospital bed, he had an idea. He would communicate with the engineers by using one finger to tap out in code on his wife’s arm what he wanted her to tell them. Washington tapped out his instructions for thirteen years until the bridge was built! That’s the conquering spirit.
The apostle Paul talks about it this way: “We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed” (vv. 8-9 NCV). Those words constitute the conquering spirit – the spirit God can give you.
Soul food: 2 Chr 8-11; John 11:17-27; Ps 8; Prov 26:23-26
2025-11-12
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
A minister writes: “To the average eye, it was a mutilated piece of marble. The aborted sculpture had been abandoned a half century earlier… but a young artist named Michelangelo saw something in that stone others did not. Chiseling the eighteen-foot block of marble would consume nearly four years of his life, but that seemingly worthless stone was destined to become what many consider the greatest statue ever sculpted… Michelangelo resurrected a dead stone and, breathing his artistry into it, brought David into existence.
As he chiseled… he believed the masterpiece was already inside the stone. All he had to do was remove the excess stone so David could escape. He didn’t see what was. He saw what could be… He didn’t see the imperfections in the stone. He saw a masterpiece of unparalleled beauty.
And that is precisely how the Artist [God] sees you. ‘We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.’ Every work of art originates in the imagination of the artist. And so you originated in the imagination of God. You were conceived by God long before you were conceived by your parents. You took shape in the imagination of the Almighty before you took shape in your mother’s womb.”
Regardless of what others think of you, or what you think of yourself, God sees you as a potential masterpiece. To see yourself as anything other than that is to devalue and alter your true identity. And it’s in discovering your true identity that you discover God has a plan for your life.
Soul food: 2 Chr 5-7; John 11:1-16; Ps 83:9-18; Prov 26:17-22
2025-11-11
Romans 12:6 NCV
A pastor writes: “God used a seemingly random skill to strategically position David. And the slingshot skill isn’t the only example… When David played the harp, it soothed Saul’s spirit [See 1 Samuel 16:23]. That’s how David met Jonathan [King Saul’s son]. That’s how he learned the customs of the king’s court. Without his musical skills, David wouldn’t have even gotten a foot in the door!
You never know what skill God will use for His purposes, so don’t underestimate the strangest of skills. God can use anything… for His purposes if we simply allow ourselves to be used by Him. God used Noah’s boat-building skills, Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams, and the Magi’s astrological knowledge. No skill is unredeemable or unusable in God’s grand scheme…
But here’s what you need to see: the greatest psalms came out of the worst circumstances… The most comforting psalms were written in the most uncomfortable situations. David is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. David is agonizing over his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. David is a fugitive hiding out in the caves of Adullam. David didn’t want to be in any of those situations, but [they] produced the profound lyrics we find in Psalm 23, Psalm 51, and Psalm 142.
Maybe you’re wrestling with depression or reeling from a mistake that seems unforgivable, or just sick and tired of being sick and tired… So you may not like your present circumstances, but they may be the key to your character development. And character development is the key to your future.”
Soul food: 2 Chr 1-4; John 10:22-42; Ps 83:1-8; Prov 26:13-16
2025-11-10
Psalm 1:3 NKJV
One key to fulfilling your destiny is realizing what season you’re in. If you don’t, you will feel exasperated and disappointed. For example, in some seasons learning to follow is more important than learning to lead. In some seasons handling failure offers more value than handling success. One of the biggest errors we make is concentrating all our energy on the next season, rather than enjoying the season we’re in, maximizing it, and gleaning its lessons. God wants to get you where He wants you to go even more than you want to get there. So, enjoy the journey, and understand that God will get you there when you’re ready. Your present frustration will give you a reason for future celebration if you stay the course long enough. God is developing emotional endurance inside you.
The key to emotional endurance is going through high levels of disappointment that break us down so God can build us back up with a holy confidence. Can you imagine how David felt as he watched his brothers go off to war while he stayed home to tend a flock of sheep? But his day was coming. And yours is too. While you wait, don’t bypass God’s plans by taking shortcuts. God is setting you up.
But the bigger the opportunity, the longer it takes. The reason we get irritated is because we think big without thinking long. Reconsider your timeline, and be encouraged when it takes longer than you estimated. That means God wants to do something considerably more than all you can ask or imagine (See Ephesians 3:20).
Soul food: 1 Chr 26:20-29:30; John 10:11-21; Ps 133; Prov 26:7-12
2025-11-09
Hebrews 10:14 TLB
Author Dorothy Littell Greco writes: “For some perfectionists, the fear of making a mistake results in a sort of paralysis, causing us to agonize over every decision… To help you discern if [perfectionism] has crept into your life… consider the following questions: (a) Are you comfortable asking for help or only offering it? (b) Are you able to receive appropriate criticism without getting defensive? (c) Do you have a nagging belief that you are falling short of some illusive standard? (d) Do you harshly critique yourself? (e) Are you able to experience joy? An absence of joy might be one of the best indicators [of] perfectionism. It slowly squeezes the joy out of life by reducing creativity, accentuating mistakes, and making us slaves of success.”
The truth is, no matter how hard we struggle, we can never be perfect enough to satisfy the sin debt against us. And we don’t have to be! “Christ gave himself… for our sins as one sacrifice for all time and then sat down in the place of highest honour at God’s right hand… For by that one offering, he made forever perfect in the sight of God all those whom he is making holy” (vv. 12, 14 TLB). Notice: When God makes you perfect, it’s going to be for forever, and once you get your head wrapped around that truth, it will change your life.
Gigi Graham Tchividjian says, “We don’t have to be perfect to be a blessing. We are asked only to be real, trusting in His perfection to cover our imperfection, knowing that one day we will finally be all that Christ saved us for and wants us to be.”
Soul food: Gen 14:18-24; Ps 110; Heb 5:5-10
2025-11-08
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
A perfectionist seeks to achieve nothing less than perfection. Dorothy Littell Greco writes: “I’ve been a perfectionist for as long as I can remember… I had to get A’s, had to win, and had to please everyone. Every mistake or perceived failure unleashed a torrent of self-condemnation… Perfectionism often [comes from] insecurity and a faulty understanding of grace. During the first few years… parents are meant to communicate through their words and actions that we’re… lovable, even though we do nothing to earn that love… But not all of us were the beneficiaries of such parenting. Many of our needs were met with frustration or even anger, which we interpreted as, ‘There’s something wrong with me.’ When that’s the case, over time, shame creeps in… [and] distorts our understanding of our self-worth.
The voice of perfectionism increased when I started following Jesus. I feared being judged and… excluded, [which] motivated me to prove my worth to my fellow Christians. Though I believed, theoretically, that I was saved by grace, I lived as if I had purchased salvation on credit and was accruing an enormous debt. I [lived] as if Jesus would tear up our ‘salvation contract’ the moment I made a mistake. As I began to understand that pride and a fear of mankind were driving my perfectionism, I confessed this as sin… [and] the chokehold started to loosen. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, I needed Jesus to break in and tenderly reorient me to his living water.”
Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to be a blessing to others – you just have to be real!
Soul food: 1 Chr 23:21-26:19; John 10:1-10; Ps 99; Prov 26:1-6
