2025-06-23
John 15:11 NKJV
To keep from burning out, do this:
(1) Join a support group. Ask yourself, who fills the role of Paul to your Timothy? Who teaches you to pray like Jesus and John the Baptist taught their disciples? With whom can you share your struggles? The Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron… a friend sharpens a friend” (Proverbs 27:17 NLT). Ministry peers understand your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs and can suggest new, refreshing spiritual practices.
(2) Use the middle two letters of the alphabet – NO – without apology. Know your gifts and your limitations. Face your fears; don’t avoid them by burying them and pretending they don’t exist. And above all, try to avoid falling into a state of helplessness. Take time to develop beneficial coping strategies. Don’t imagine that ordinary events are catastrophes. “They’re out to get me” is a sure sign of burnout! And don’t adhere to a certain viewpoint just because you always have. Like outdated clothes, it can become ill-fitting and absurd.
(3) Realize it’s not wrong to have fun. Your body won’t allow you to laugh and develop an ulcer at the same time – and that’s a good thing! Jesus said, “These things I have spoken… that My joy may remain in you, and… your joy may be full.” He also said that unless you “become as little children, ye shall not enter… the kingdom” (Matthew 18:3 KJV). Kids don’t try to run the world single-handedly or obsess about the work that’s piling up; they live in the moment.
The only advantage to living with stress is you get to meet Jesus earlier – but given more time, your reward may have been even greater!
Soul food: Jer 18-21; Matt 1; Ps 59:1-8; Prov 14:21-22
2025-06-22
1 Timothy 1:12 AMPC
Did you know that people in the helping professions experience a higher rate of drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide than other professions? A major contributing factor is they only hear and see the troubles and negative side of people’s lives. So in order to stay effective, you must learn to do these:
(1) Cultivate new disciplines. Shut the door, let your phone calls go to voicemail, and relax. Above all don’t be surprised when troubles come. Jesus said they would (See John 16:33). Author M. Scott Peck says when you anticipate that life will be hard, it usually turns out to be less so.
(2) Take time off regularly. And on your days off, do something different. Remember, your Creator never intended you to put in more hours than He did! Spurgeon said, “Repose is as needful to the mind as sleep to the body… If we do not rest, we shall break down. Jesus said, “Come… apart… and rest a while” (Mark 6:31 KJV) because people who don’t “come… apart” end up coming apart!
(3) Exercise and get enough sleep. Walk, swim, and breathe deeply. It’s good for you! Dr. Arch Hart says, “Adrenal arousal reduces our need for sleep – but this is a trap; we ultimately pay the penalty. Most adults need 8-9 hours a night.”
(4) Learn to relax. The relaxation response is the reverse of the fight-or-flight response. The Bible says, “A faithful ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:17 KJV), and as little as twenty minutes a day without the tyranny of “things present, [and] things to come” (Romans 8:38 KJV) can counteract the damaging effect of stress.
Soul food: Exo 20:17; Ps 10; Jam 4:1-3
2025-06-21
Romans 4:22-24 NKJV
Picture a transfer of funds from one account to another. Banks do it every day. Now imagine yourself destitute and unable to pay your debts. Then in an astounding act of grace, someone assumes all your debts and then transfers to your account such abundance that you never have to work or worry for the rest of your life. That’s what happened at the cross when God imputed to Jesus all your sins from the cradle to the grave and imputed all His righteousness to you.
Mind-blowing, isn’t it? Would you say, “No thanks, I believe in paying my own way”? Would you say, “I can’t allow you to do everything while I do nothing, so I’ll work for the rest of my life to prove myself worthy of your love and grace”? Salvation is like health food that’s labelled “no man-made additives.” Understand this: The righteousness required for getting into heaven is not about behaving the right way, but believing the right way.
You say, “But I feel such guilt when I sin.” You’re supposed to! Your new nature is reacting to sin just as your body does to food poisoning. Your boundaries have been violated and your regenerate spirit is saying that you can’t indulge in that anymore; it’s not who you are!
Why did God arrange the plan of salvation in this way? Because any righteousness we could achieve falls far short of His standards. He actually calls it “filthy rags.” Understand this: Your rewards in heaven are based upon your behaviour, but your getting into heaven is based on trusting in Christ alone.
Soul food: Jer 14-17; Mark 16:1-20; Ps 21; Prov 14:17-20
2025-06-20
Luke 22:32 NLT
Too often people are devalued or dismissed because of what they have been through in life. Sometimes it’s because of what they have done to others, sometimes it’s because of what others have done to them. If you have been to a consignment store, you know there are valuable items at deeply discounted prices; you just have to know what you’re looking for.
Jesus does. In His eyes you may be “down” but you’re not “out.” Peter’s sorrow over denying Jesus ran so deep that he decided to go back to his old job as a fisherman. Can you imagine the scuttlebutt around the harbour? “That’s the guy who turned his back on Jesus.” Were Peter a pastor, we would have called for his resignation. At the very least, he would have nothing to say that we would be interested in listening to. Yet, he was the first person Jesus went looking for after the resurrection. And when Jesus saw Peter, He never mentioned it – not even once. But three times He asked him, “Do you love me?” When Peter answered yes three times, Jesus said, “Feed my sheep,” referring to his future as pastor and head of the church (See John 21:15-17).
Jesus looked beyond Peter’s failed past and saw his future. Peter’s failure was not a surprise. Jesus had told him, “When you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” The weakness he had overcome and the restoring grace he had experienced became some of his greatest teaching tools in helping others. Yes, God will reprove you, but it’s to restore you and use you for His purposes.
Soul food: Jer 10-13; Mark 15:33-47; Ps 17; Prov 14:13-16
2025-06-19
2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul reflects on the cost of serving Jesus: “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27 NKJV).
What enabled him to live above his problems rather than be crushed under them? A God perspective! “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV).
Paul processed things differently. When he had nothing materially, he believed, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NKJV). When facing the executioner’s chopping block, he wrote, “Having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:23 NKJV). Today ask God to give you His perspective on things!
Soul food: Jer 7-9; Mark 15:21-32; Ps 8; Prov 14:9-12
2025-06-18
John 21:21 NIV
One day Peter looked at John and asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered… “What is that to you?… follow me” (v. 22 NIV). When others disappoint you, remember that you have disappointed others. When others give you bad advice, remember that you have given others bad advice. There is only one person who won’t disappoint you and will always point you in the right direction. Jesus. He doesn’t merely know the way, He is the way. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 NIV). When you follow even the best of Christians, they will sometimes cause you to stumble or be confused. But when you follow Jesus, He will illuminate every step you take.
Christ’s own disciples would have disappointed you. Peter was racially biased and sometimes honoured Jews over Gentiles. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on those in a village that refused overnight accommodation to Jesus and His disciples. Thomas doubted the truth of the resurrection and said, “Unless I feel the imprint of the nails in His hands, I will not believe He is alive” (See John 20:25).
Yes, people will disappoint you. But Jesus won’t. That’s why the Bible says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV).
The only people who can let you down are the people you lean on. So, the word for you today is – lean less on people and more on Jesus.
Soul food: Jer 4-6; Mark 15:1-20; Ps 144:9-15; Prov 14:5-8
