2025-04-18
Romans 5:1 NKJV
In the legal system, there is something known as “the law of double jeopardy.” It means you can’t be tried twice for the same crime. Now, let’s apply this principle to your salvation. Jesus has already been tried and punished for your sins – all of them! So don’t let Satan, the accuser, convince you that God will also punish you for them and send you to hell. Christ’s last words on the cross, “It is finished,” are translated in the Greek text as “paid in full.” All your sins – past, present, and future – were atoned for at Calvary.
Think of the word “finished.” Imagine a master carpenter putting the finishing touches to a beautiful table. Would you take a wood plane and say, “I think I can make this look a little better and give it a little more value?” The carpenter would say, “Stop; if you touch it, you will ruin it!” And he would be right. The same goes for your salvation. You can add nothing to it, but by trying to merit it by your performance and good works, you can definitely take something away from it.
The word justified simply means declared or made righteous in the sight of God. The moment you place your trust in Christ as your Saviour, that’s how God sees you. “Therefore, having been justified by faith [not works, human effort, or performance], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (vv. 1-2). How can you stand before God clothed in grace? By faith in Christ alone and nothing else.
Soul food: Gen 22:1-18; Luke 23:26-49; Ps 22; Isa 53
2025-04-17
John 4:4 NKJV
The Bible says that Jesus “left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria” (vv. 3-4 NKJV). In case you may not be aware of it, Samaria was not on the way to Galilee. Actually, it was miles out of the way. Yet, the Bible says Jesus “needed to go.” Think about it: It was a long journey, and He was on foot. It was hot. As a Jew, He wouldn’t be welcomed there because of a long-standing animosity between Jews and Samaritans. As for the woman at the well that He went to meet, women in that culture were forbidden to talk to men outside of their own family. Furthermore, this woman was the talk of the town because she had been through five divorces.
So, why did Jesus feel like He “needed to go”? Because He saw this woman as a diamond in the rough. While those around her talked about her past and her problems, Jesus saw her potential for His kingdom. “Many of the Samaritans… believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified” (v. 39 NKJV).
To reach Galilee on God’s schedule, Jesus had to throw man’s schedule out the window. But the schedule didn’t control Him. What did? The will of God and the unmet needs of hurting people. And He was willing to go out of His way, turn tradition on its head, and break new ground in order to do it. How about you? Can God interrupt your plans? If He can, then He can use you. Pray, “Lord, show me what I must do today in order to please you.”
Soul food: Jam 3-5; Luke 23:13-25; Ps 7:10-17; Deut 21:22-23
2025-04-16
Isaiah 42:16 NKJV
As attested by the law of requisite variety, the continued existence of any system requires the ability to cultivate variety in its internal structures. In physical exercise, for example, routines eventually become useless. If you exercise the same way each time you work out, your muscles begin adapting and stop developing. You have to change your routine. You have to disorient them.
This is true spiritually. One author writes: “When I’m in a spiritual slump, nine times out of ten, something sacred has become routine. I’m sure it differs by personality, but one of the ways I snap out of a spiritual slump is by disturbing my routine and experimenting with spiritual disciplines. Sometimes all it takes is a small change in routine. Volunteer at a local homeless shelter. Start keeping a gratitude journal. Get plugged into a small group or Bible study. Take a day off and do a personal retreat. Or just get up a little earlier in the morning and spend a little extra time with God. One of the small changes in routine that has helped me rejuvenate my devotional times is picking up a new translation of Scripture. New words help me think new thoughts.”
In order to grow spiritually, you need consistency, structure, and discipline. But when you go through a spiritual dry spell, try changing your spiritual routine. Instead of doing things the way you have always done them, try doing things differently. “I will lead them in paths they have not known.” God doesn’t change, but He moves! And in order to get to where God wants to take you, you must be willing to move with Him.
Soul food: Jam 1-2; Luke 23:1-12; Ps 7:1-9; Prov 10:16
2025-04-15
Exodus 14:15 NKJV
If you want to grow, you need to get over any fear you may have of making mistakes. As author and professor Warren Bennis states, “A mistake is simply another way of doing things.” So, expect to make mistakes along the way, and embrace them as a sign that you are going in the right direction. With the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s chariots behind them, the children of Israel panicked. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward'” (v. 15 NKJV). When they did, the Red Sea became a pathway to victory and a burial ground for the enemy they feared.
If you have to find “the best way” or “the perfect way,” you will never get anywhere. It’s like driving on an unknown road at night. Ideally, you would like to see your entire route before you start out. Instead, you see it little by little. As you keep going, a little more of the road is revealed to you. So, if you want to see more of the way, get moving.
Make a commitment to yourself to start on your growth plan and keep at it for at least twelve months. If you do, you will develop a love for the process, and at the end of the year, you will be able to see how far you have come. “Enlarge the place of your tent… stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left” (Isaiah 54:2-3 NKJV).
Soul food: Dan 11-12; Luke 22:63-71; Ps 16; Prov 10:15
2025-04-14
Job 13:15 NKJV
The story of Job reads like this: Chapter 1, he is one of the wealthiest men in his generation. Chapter 2, he loses everything, including his health, his wealth, and his children. Chapter 42, he is back on top again. Wouldn’t you like to know what happened from chapters 3 through 41? If so, you should read the book of Job and find out how he had it all, lost it all, got it all back, and ended up with twice as much as he lost.
Did Job have unanswered questions? Lots of them. Did he experience grief? Yes, to a depth that is hard to imagine. But Job never changed his mind about God, and God never changed His about Job. This Scripture best summarizes Job’s attitude: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
If you’re stuck at a place you don’t understand right now, don’t give up – on God or yourself. When you don’t understand your circumstances, and it feels like they’re more than you can bear, stand on this great Bible promise: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in… the Lord, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV).
Trusting God does not mean He will answer all your questions, but that He will give you “perfect peace” regardless of the circumstances. Trusting God does not mean that you won’t struggle, but that He will give you “everlasting strength.” So, the word for you today is – keep trusting God, and He will bring you through this.
Soul food: Dan 8-10; Luke 22:54-62; Ps 103:13-22; Prov 10:14
2025-04-13
Romans 11:29 NKJV
When God gives us a spiritual gift, He doesn’t take it back. “The gifts and… calling of God are irrevocable.” And if God does not, we must not! Paul writes: “If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived” (Galatians 6:1-3 MSG).
When a brother or sister in Christ goes astray, the Bible tells us what we must do; lovingly confront them, gently correct and counsel them, and cover them. The Bible says, “Love will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV). Now the word “cover” doesn’t mean “cover up”; it means provide a place of shelter and restoration where they can be made whole. Is restoring someone sometimes messy? Yes, especially if they have hurt others and brought embarrassment to the family of God. But that’s the point… They are still our spiritual family!
The world is watching to see how we handle this. If we throw away those among us who stumble, why would the world turn to us for help? Jesus healed a blind man by rubbing clay in his eyes and telling him to go and wash it off in the pool of Siloam. How far away was the pool? We don’t know. But he needed someone to hold his hand and walk with him until he reached it and his sight was restored. And that’s what we have been called to do.
Soul food: Ps 118:19-29; Matt 21:1-16
