2025-06-29
1 Corinthians 10:10 KJV
If you don’t think God takes murmuring seriously, read this: “Don’t murmur against God and his dealings with you, as some of them did, for that is why God sent his Angel to destroy them. All these things happened to them as examples – as object lessons to us – to warn us against doing the same things” (vv. 10-11 TLB). Not only do murmuring and complaining hinder your prayers from being answered, but they also affect your health and the happiness of those around you. So:
(1) Pray before entering your day. Receive God’s help first thing. Don’t wait until you’re overwhelmed with problems. Ask Him to permeate you with His peace and joy and enable you to respond His way during the entire day. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10 KJV).
(2) Get a good night’s sleep. Many metabolic and other restorative processes occur during the various stages of sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep for your system to be renewed, you will probably feel annoyed by the smallest things. David said, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me” (Psalm 3:5 NKJV).
(3) Talk to your doctor. When the people and situations around you constantly feel like “a pain in the neck” to you, it may be due to a literal pain in your neck or some other part of your body. Chemical imbalances can cause clinical depression, but the right medical help can restore your perspective. And watch your diet. Too much caffeine and sugar will adversely alter your mood and cause a spike in your insulin. Bottom line: The physical affects the mental, emotional, and spiritual!
Soul food: Ps 23; John 10:7-18
2025-06-28
Luke 8:18 NIV
Some people seem to go through life with a “closed” sign on their foreheads. Whether through fearfulness, selfishness, callousness, or busyness, they’re not open to the thoughts of others. And it can cost you dearly. Take a moment and ponder these Scriptures: “He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding” (Proverbs 15:32 NKJV). “When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction” (Proverbs 24:32 NKJV). “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Proverbs 9:9 NKJV). People who are receptive and approachable generally display three qualities.
(1) They show sensitivity toward people’s feelings. And here is something interesting: Although they themselves are emotionally steady, that doesn’t mean they expect others to always be that way. They recognize that good people sometimes have bad days, so they attune their approach to the feelings of others and adjust how they relate to them.
(2) They understand other people’s weaknesses because they’re aware of their own. Novelist Edgar Howe said, “Express a mean opinion of yourself occasionally; it will show your friends that you know how to tell the truth.” Open and receptive people are honest about their abilities – and their shortcomings.
(3) They have the ability to forgive others and to ask for forgiveness. That takes humility. Author David Augsburger wrote: “Since nothing we intend is ever faultless, nothing we attempt ever without error, and nothing we achieve without some measure of finitude and fallibility we call humanness; we are saved by forgiveness.”
So, the word for you today is – stay open and approachable.
Soul food: Jer 33:1-36:26; Matt 5:1-20; Ps 102:1-11; Prov 15:1-2
2025-06-27
Psalm 142:3 CEV
One day you may end up caring for a sick or aging loved one. And to take care of them properly, you must learn to take care of yourself. Following her parents’ deaths five weeks apart in a nursing home twelve hundred miles away, Beth Witrogen McLeod succumbed to clinical depression. “By ignoring my physical and mental health, I set myself up for a breakdown that would take two years to recover from. Despite its rewards, caregiving can be overwhelming.” David said, “Whenever I feel low, you are there to guide me.” So, if you’re a caregiver, follow this:
(1) Set boundaries. Learn to say no where you routinely say yes. There is nothing selfish about taking care of yourself so you can give the best possible care to someone else.
(2) Beware of harmful coping patterns. Misusing medication, overeating, drinking “to take the edge off.” You’re human, and it can happen!
(3) Don’t isolate. Invite some friends over who have volunteered to help. One can cook and care for your loved one while you and another friend take a walk.
(4) Ask for help. If family members aren’t pulling their weight, call a meeting and delegate responsibility. Don’t deny others the blessing that comes from “encouraging the fainthearted and helping the weak” (See 1 Thessalonians 5:14 NAS).
(5) Protect your time. It’s easy to schedule every minute with nothing left over for yourself. Don’t do it. Find something that feeds you: Read, pray, exercise, enjoy some solitude. And what’s more, schedule it, or it won’t happen!
Soul food: Jer 31-32; Matt 4:12-25; Ps 98; Prov 14:34-35
2025-06-26
Hebrews 12:14 NKJV
In order to resolve conflict, do these:
(1) Focus on the person’s behaviour and stay away from remarks about their character. Saying, “It was unacceptable for you to open my mail” is better than “I can’t believe you were so nosy!”
(2) Try to understand the other person’s behaviour instead of justifying your own. This will require active listening. Listening validates the other person’s feelings and provides them with the motivation to listen to you. “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear” (Isaiah 50:4-5 NKJV).
(3) Resolve one problem at a time. Don’t muddy the conversation with unrelated matters between you. Discuss them later.
(4) Agree on future behaviour in case the situation occurs again.
Strife is stressful, and it’s to your benefit to restrict it. You cannot remove conflicts entirely because everybody is unique, with different upbringings, ways of communicating, and desires. But you can face the problems, resolve them, and mature as a result.
“How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing” (Psalm 133:1-3 NLT). If you want to have peace and walk in God’s blessing, work for reconciliation.
Soul food: Jer 28-30; Matt 3:11-4:11; Ps 95; Prov 14:29-33
2025-06-25
Matthew 18:15 KJV
Few things in life cause more stress than unresolved conflict. It will elevate your blood pressure and consume your thoughts until you resolve it, so if you’re wise, you will deal with it right away. Not all people feel this way. Even though Jesus commanded us to deal with it, many Christians refrain from saying anything for the sake of peace. Not so. Unresolved conflict will affect your peace of mind, your productivity, and your attitude toward others, so it must be dealt with. Additionally, the problem with refusing to face an issue is that it will probably occur again. So, according to an interpersonal communications adviser, do these three things:
(1) “Ask God to give you His words to say so that His purpose will be achieved. ‘My word… will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it’ (Isaiah 55:11 NIV).
(2) Empty your emotions out to God before engaging the offender. Emotions tend to get in the way of facts and can hinder objective thinking. This isn’t as hard as it may sound once you decide you are going to make every effort to settle the issue in a harmonious way. ‘If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone’ (Romans 12:18 NIV).
(3) Be clear as to what you perceive the problem to be. Avoid vague arguments that leave room for misinterpretation. For example, ‘You need to do better’ does not really clarify the problem.” If your goal is to heal the relationship, God will work with you.
Soul food: Jer 25-27; Matt 2:16-3:10; Ps 64; Prov 14:25-28
2025-06-24
Psalm 40:1 NKJV
When you’re up against a problem that seems too big for you or feel like you are “in over your head” and you don’t know what to do or which way to go, use the waiting strategy. That’s the one David the psalmist used. And it worked for him: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth-praise to our God… Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust… My ears You have opened” (vv. 1-4, 6 NKJV).
Waiting is hard to do when you are anxious. And waiting patiently is even harder. Stop and think who you are waiting for: the Lord. He is Lord of every situation, including yours. Perhaps this illustration will help you.
Arthur McKinsey writes: “If you think of a… problem as being like a medieval walled city, then a lot of people will attack it head on, like a battering ram. They will storm the gates and try to smash through the defences with sheer intellectual power and brilliance… just camp outside the city. I wait. And I think. Until one day – maybe after I’ve turned to a completely different problem – the drawbridge comes down and the defenders say, ‘We surrender.’ The answer to the problem comes all at once.”
Waiting for God to work is that way. While you are waiting, He is working on your behalf.
Soul food: Jer 22-24; Matt 2:1-15; Ps 59:9-17; Prov 14:23-24
