2025-12-15
Hebrews 11:34 NCV
A pastor writes: “Around the turn of the twentieth century, a pioneering psychologist named Alfred Adler proposed the counterintuitive theory of compensation. Adler believed that perceived disadvantages often prove to be disguised advantages because they force us to develop attitudes and abilities that would have otherwise gone undiscovered. And it’s only as we compensate for those disadvantages that our greatest gifts are revealed.
Seventy percent of the art students that Adler studied had optical anomalies. He observed that some of history’s greatest composers, Mozart and Beethoven among them, had degenerative traces in their ears. He cited a… wide variety of vocations, of those who leveraged their weakness by discovering new strengths. Adler concluded that perceived disadvantages, such as birth defects, physical ailments, and poverty, can be springboards to success. And that success is not achieved in spite of those perceived disadvantages. It’s achieved because of them…
In one study of small-business owners… 35 percent of them were self-identified dyslexics… That disadvantage forced this group of entrepreneurs to cultivate different skill sets. Some of them became more proficient at oral communication because reading was so difficult. Others learned to rely on well-developed social skills to compensate for the challenges they faced in the classroom. And all of them cultivated a work ethic that might have remained dormant if reading had come easy for them… Our greatest advantages may actually be hidden in our greatest disadvantages, if we learn to leverage them.”
That’s sufficient reason to praise God for your perceived disadvantages and challenges.
Soul food: Zech 1-4; John 20:10-18; Ps 57; Prov 30:24-28
2025-12-14
John 13:35 NKJV
Designer clothes brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren are recognized by their designs and by their trademarks. These trademarks make them immensely visible and identifiable. Sometimes workers in certain industries are identified by their attire, such as a surgeon who wears scrubs, or a policeman who wears a uniform, or a judge who wears robes.
Jesus has given to us something as irrefutable evidence that we are close to God – a test whereby you can evaluate your own spiritual growth. In fact, so amazing is this trademark that He said it would be the foremost declaration of your faith. Jesus said it like this: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (vv. 34-35 NKJV). Francis Schaeffer, the great Christian apologist, said, “Love is the final apologetic. It is the defence for which there is no defence.”
When a woman is pregnant with a child, there comes a point where we say that she is “showing.” The life growing inside her begins to grow and show on the outside. Likewise, the Bible says, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5 KJV).
John writes, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11 NKJV). Love; it’s the ultimate test of your discipleship.
Soul food: Gen 11:1-9; Phil 2:1-11
2025-12-13
Ecclesiastes 9:9 NLT
Here is an illustration of the different roles in marriage: A husband’s job is like that of a thermostat, to set the temperature in the home. The wife’s job is like that of a thermometer, to give a temperature reading. And the reading of the thermometer should indicate the setting of the thermostat. If a man wants a warm wife, he can’t bring home frosty weather.
Here is another illustration of the two different roles in marriage: For grapevines to become the most fruitful, their branches have to be elevated, so vinedressers tie them to a post for support. As grapes mature and grow, the vine becomes too heavy and begins to drag on the ground. Elevation keeps the grapes off the soil, and helps them receive the whole benefit of the sun. After a while, the branches start to spread along the post where they’re tied. Because they have been stabilized, they’re free to climb and spread and maximize their potential for fruitfulness.
In the same way, when a husband provides stability in the home, it allows a woman to feel secure and cared for. She is then free to thrive, to grow, and to be fruitful. Again Solomon weighs in with his wisdom: “Live happily with the woman you love… The wife God gives you is your reward… Whatever you do, do well” (vv. 9-10 NLT). The time, love, and attention you invest in your wife will bring you a reward of great blessing, satisfaction, and fulfillment. And when you do your part, you can count on God to do His.
Soul food: 2 Tim 1-4; John 20:1-9; Ps 105:37-45; Prov 30:20-23
2025-12-12
Psalm 86:5 NLT
“Heavenly Father, although I’ve repented and genuinely regret my actions, the guilt of my sin continually torments me. The burden of it is too heavy for me to bear any longer, so I am turning to you for deliverance. Your Word declares that you are ready to forgive me (See Nehemiah 9:17), and that you have an abundance of mercy for all who call upon you (See Isaiah 55:7).
The problem is, I’m having a hard time accepting your forgiveness and releasing myself from the remorse of my sin. Help me to comprehend and receive your promise that says, ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9 KJV). You said in your Word, ‘I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins’ (Isaiah 43:25 KJV).
Drawing on the power of your Spirit, I choose to no longer let thoughts of guilt and condemnation rob me of the peace and joy you offer. I stand on your Word which says, ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far you have removed my transgressions from me’ (See Psalm 103:12).
You have said, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’ (Hebrews 10:17 NKJV). Since you have chosen not to remember it, help me to forget it and stop rehearsing it. Beginning today I declare, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses me from all sin!'” (See 1 John 1:7).
Soul food: Micah 5-7; John 19:31-42; Ps 105:23-36; Prov 30:15-19
2025-12-11
Acts 20:35 NKJV
When British Prime Minister William Gladstone was facing one of the greatest crises of his political life, he sat down one morning at two o’clock to write the speech he hoped would help him win a political victory in Parliament the following day. At that same hour, the mother of a dying child saw the light on in his home and knocked on his door. She asked him to come and bring a message of hope and cheer to her son. Without hesitation, Gladstone left his half-finished speech on his desk and spent the remainder of the night with the child, leading him to Christ before he died.
As the morning light was breaking, he went back to his study and faced his own day with a smile of confidence, peace, and power. He said to a friend later that morning, “I am the happiest man in the world today.” When asked why, he replied that the previous night he had been allowed to serve a child in the name of his Master.
Later that day Gladstone made what many consider to be the greatest speech of his life. The House of Commons was won over and his cause triumphed. Were the two events related? Gladstone was convinced that they were.
Before leaving the leaders of the church at Ephesus for the last time, Paul told them: “I have shown you in every way, by labouring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
Soul food: Micah 1-4; John 19:17-30; Ps 105:16-22; Prov 30:10-14
2025-12-10
1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV
Here is a description of Saul, Israel’s first king: “There was not a more handsome person… among the children of Israel” (1 Samuel 9:2 NKJV). But his looks couldn’t compensate for his lack of character, and he died prematurely in shame and defeat. When Samuel the prophet went to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as Israel’s next king, God said, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Many years ago a boy was born in Russia who thought himself to be so ugly, he was certain there would be no happiness for him in life. He bemoaned the fact that he had a wide nose, thick lips, small grey eyes, and big hands and feet. He was so distraught about his appearance that he asked God to work a miracle and turn him into a handsome man. He vowed that if God would do this, he would give Him all he possessed.
That boy was Count Tolstoy, who became one of the world’s foremost authors, best known for his epic War and Peace. In his books he admits that through the years, he discovered that the beauty of physical appearance he had once sought was not the only beauty in life – and it was not the best beauty. Instead, Tolstoy came to regard the beauty of a strong character as having the greatest good in God’s sight. Character is not a matter of money or looks, but of doing what is right apart from money and standing up for what’s right apart from appearances.
Soul food: Neh 11-13; John 19:1-16; Ps 105:8-15; Prov 30:5-9
