2025-09-11
Hebrews 4:12 NLT
It seems like no matter where you look nowadays, there are temptations. Our young people are bombarded by imagery that confuses, seduces, and erodes standards of decency and self-control. A wise and devoted eighty-year-old pastor was asked at what age sexual temptation was no longer an issue. Without hesitation, he replied, “It must be sometime after eighty!” The truth is, if you’re breathing – you’re vulnerable!
And it doesn’t end there. Research shows that a growing number of women are becoming ensnared in the easily accessible world of seductive literature, movies, and videos. Willpower, internet filtering, and personal accountability partnering are all valuable and can help. But these alone won’t bring about deliverance or provide healing from the moral wounds inflicted by the Enemy. We all need to hear and heed some Bible directives offered for our protection.
Jesus said, “You have heard… it… said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you… anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28 NIV). The first step is to recognize that lust is destructive and scripturally forbidden. Now, Jesus isn’t talking here about a momentary glance. He is talking about a longing look that inflames desire and leads to sin. It implies a process rather than a fleeting thought. The Greek word blepo used here for “looks at” implies special contemplation or willful, extended thought.
Clearly then, a look that stirs up wrongful passion should be our cue to call on the Holy Spirit to help us resist sin and walk in purity.
Soul food: 2 Cor 5-8; Matt 25:14-21; Ps 78:65-72; Pro 20:26-30
2025-09-10
Mark 6:31 NLT
God instructed the observance of the Sabbath day with good reason: rest from our labours. Now if God felt He should rest after six days of creative activity, how much more should we? Jesus was a big advocate of taking time off. Once, He sent His disciples on an evangelistic journey. When they returned thrilled about all the wonderful miracles that had happened, you would imagine that He would urge them to maintain the momentum. He didn’t.
“Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.’ He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place” (vv. 31-32 NLT).
Note the words “people coming and going.” Does this sound like your normal day in which you rarely get a chance to take a breather? Jesus was concerned that His disciples would get out of balance. What did He know that we continue to miss? He never rushed around, never seemed to be harried or controlled by the crowds, kept His priorities in order, and always managed to complete what He set out to do. Jesus knew the importance that rest and relaxation played in His disciples’ continued effectiveness. But “time-outs” won’t occur without firm determination and planning.
You must view such times just as important as any other undertaking. Prayer: “Father, help me to make rest a priority in my life. Help me to stop dishonouring my body, this temple you have given me to perform my purpose here on earth.”
Soul food: 2 Cor 1-4; Matt 25:1-13; Ps 78:56-64; Pro 20:25
2025-09-09
Luke 2:43-44 NLT
The Bible says: “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travellers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him” (vv. 41-44 NLT). This story has a happy ending because Jesus’ parents found Him. But it doesn’t always turn out that way.
Don’t “assume” your children are okay. Today they have access to drugs, guns, and pornography via the internet, where they can meet a paedophile as well. That should concern you. Jesus said Satan comes to “steal… kill, and… destroy” (John 10:10 KJV). Don’t let him have your family.
After being set free from demonic control, a man wanted to travel with Jesus as one of His disciples. But Jesus said, “Go back home to your family and tell them what the Lord has done for you” (See Luke 8:39). Your dream job or house will feel empty if you lose your children. Indeed, your achievements may taste like ashes in your mouth.
If you have been traveling the road to success and neglecting to bring your family along with you, make a U-turn! Go back and get the people who matter most. Commit yourself to making the journey only if it includes them. Pray with the psalmist, “I need your help, especially in my own home, where I long to act as I should” (Psalm 101:2 TLB). Don’t assume your children are okay – be sure they are.
Soul food: Eze 46-48; Matt 24:36-51; Ps 78:40-55; Pro 20:22-24
2025-09-08
1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT
In the 1996 Olympics, gymnast Kerri Strug had the weight of winning the gold medal for her team on her shoulders. All she had to do was make a successful jump and the United States would win the gold. But when she performed her first jump, she sprained her ankle and could hardly walk. She fell and did not obtain the score needed to win.
Sitting on the mat with tears streaming down her face, she cried for two reasons. First, she was in pain. Second, she could see no way to make up the score needed to win. But she had another jump! She felt like quitting, but her coach, standing on the sidelines, said, “You can do it, Kerri!” Limping as she tried to prepare for a vault, she found it difficult to move.
After the jump, she explained to an interviewer that all she could do to persist was to keep her eyes on her coach. He kept her from focusing on the pain in her ankle. She was hurting – she was crying – but her coach believed in her. And she found strength from his encouragement that she herself didn’t have. Even with the limp, she took off running and did the jump. She had to nail the landing in order to win. She had to try to do this with one good ankle and one injured ankle. And she did it!
With her coach’s encouragement holding her up, she did the impossible. She earned a high enough score for the US team to win the gold. Your encouragement – it can make the difference.
Soul food: Eze 43-45; Matt 24:26-35; Ps 78:32-39; Pro 20:20-21
2025-09-07
Joshua 1:8 NIV
If you want to change your life, you must change how you think and what you think about. When you think about the wrong things, your life goes wrong. But when you think about the right things, your life goes right.
(1) Changing your thinking isn’t easy. It’s not automatic and doesn’t happen on its own. Good ideas seldom go out and bump into someone. If you want to discover a good idea, you have to look for it. If you want to improve your thinking, you need to work at it – and when you become a better thinker, good ideas will keep coming. Furthermore, the amount of good thinking you do at a specific time relies mainly on the amount of good thinking you’re engaging in already.
(2) Changing your thinking calls for commitment. Albert Einstein said, “Thinking is hard work; that’s why so few do it.” When someone says, “This thought is off the top of my head,” anticipate dandruff. Only people who believe thinking is easy are the ones who don’t participate in it. The media, the culture, and those around you will influence your thinking unless you decide to think for yourself.
(3) Changing your thinking brings great rewards. Paul writes, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16 KJV). When you tap into the thoughts of God and make them your own, your potential is unlimited. Gold mines run out. Stock markets suddenly decline. Real estate investments go bad. But a mind transformed by the Spirit and Word of God is like a diamond mine that lasts. It’s invaluable.
Soul food: Gen 2:7-25; 1 Cor 15:39-55
2025-09-06
Proverbs 23:7 NKJV
Good thinkers are constantly in demand. Why? Because they solve problems, always have ideas that can build an organization, and are hopeful for a better future. And good thinkers seldom find themselves under the control of bad thinkers. Adolf Hitler once boasted, “What luck for rulers that men do not think.” Those who build the technique of good thinking can manage themselves – even when under an unfair ruler or in other challenging circumstances. In summary, good thinkers are successful.
Dr. John Maxwell writes: “I’ve studied successful people for forty years, and though the diversity you find among them is astounding, I’ve found that they are all alike in one way: how they think! That is the one thing that separates successful people from unsuccessful ones. And here’s the good news. How successful people think can be learned. If you can change your thinking, you can change your life!”
The Bible puts it succinctly: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” That means you will never climb higher in life until you are ready to change your thinking. But if you change the way you think, you can change your life! It’s hard to exaggerate the value of changing your thinking. Good thinking can do several things for you, including generating opportunities, resolving problems, and producing revenue. It can lead you to an entirely new level, both professionally and personally.
Paul writes, “Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise… Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9 NLT). Do you want to change your life? The first step is to change how you think.
Soul food: Eze 40:10-42:20; Matt 24:15-25; Ps 78:17-31; Pro 20:15-19
