2025-05-27
Proverbs 16:24 NIV
Read this: “I remember when I took your new car on the road and wrecked it. I thought you would be livid and come down hard on me, but you didn’t. I remember when we went to the beach, and you didn’t want to go because you said it was going to rain. We went, and it rained. I was sure you would rub it in and say, ‘I told you so!’ But you didn’t. Then there was the time when I spilled blueberry juice down the front of your new white tuxedo. I knew you would be upset and blame me. But you didn’t. And remember that formal evening? I was mistaken and told you it was casual. You wore blue jeans and felt like a fish out of water. I was sure you would storm out in anger and leave me standing there. But you didn’t. I wanted to tell you how much I loved you and how much I appreciated you for all those things when you returned from Afghanistan. But you didn’t.”
Don’t spend the future regretting unspoken words someone needs to hear. “Gracious words are… sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Few things are more effective than the right word at the right time. By the same token, words of kindness withheld are a heavy burden to live with. That’s why the Bible says, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad” (Proverbs 12:25 ESV). Don’t let shyness or fear of rejection keep you from saying what needs to be said. Tell them while you still can.
Soul food: Rev 1-4; Mark 10:13-22; Ps 117; Prov 12:20-22
2025-05-26
John 5:39 NLT
To be used by God, you must know two things:
(1) Who God is. A little girl in Sunday school was asked by her teacher what she was drawing. She replied, “A picture of God.” The teacher said, “But nobody has ever seen Him.” Confidently she replied, “They will when I’m finished!” Please understand this: The only God some people around you will ever see is the one they see in you each day. And to know God, you must spend time with Him. Not leftover time, but quality time, daily time, prioritized time!
(2) Who you are. When God called Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt, he asked God two things:
(a) “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13 NLT). “God replied to Moses… ‘Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you'” (v.14 NLT). In order to know who you are, you must first know who God is – then you will have credibility.
(b) “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me?” (Exodus 4:1 NLT). “Then the Lord asked him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A shepherd’s staff,’ Moses replied. ‘Throw it down on the ground,’ the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake!… ‘Perform this sign,’ the Lord told him. ‘Then they will believe'” (vv. 2-3, 5 NLT).
Moses already had what he needed! And so do you. Bottom line: To be used of God, you must know who He is and who you are.
Soul food: 1 Ki 21-22; Mark 10:1-12; Ps 82; Prov 12:18-19
2025-05-25
1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT
An unknown author wrote these poignant words: “Their wedding picture mocked them from the table, these two whose minds no longer touched each other. They lived with such a heavy barricade between them that neither battering ram of words nor artilleries of touch could break it down. Somewhere, between the oldest child’s first tooth and the youngest daughter’s graduation, they lost each other.
Throughout the years each slowly unravelled that tangled ball of string called self, and as they tugged at stubborn knots, each hid his searching from the other. Sometimes she cried at night and begged the whispering darkness to tell her who she was. He lay beside her, snoring like a hibernating bear, unaware of her winter… She took a course on modern art, trying to find herself in colours splashed upon a canvas, complaining to the other women about men who are insensitive. He climbed into a tomb called ‘The Office,’ wrapped his mind in a shroud of paper figures, and buried himself in customers.
Slowly, the wall between them rose, cemented by the mortar of indifference. One day, reaching out to each other, they found a barrier they could not penetrate, and recoiling from the coldness of the stone, each retreated from the stranger on the other side.
For when love dies, it is not in a moment of angry battle, not when fiery bodies lose their heat. It lies panting, exhausted, expiring at the bottom of a wall it could not scale.” So, the word for you today is – don’t let a wall build up between you.
Soul food: Exo 20:15; Exo 22:1-4; Prov 6:30-31; Luke 19:1-10
2025-05-24
Revelation 4:10 NKJV
When we try to impress the people, we consider to be important, we become trophy collectors. “I’m more important because I know this famous person” is how our thinking goes. And all kinds of objects can become trophies: our grades in school, the houses we live in, people we have impressed, our looks, clothing brands, compliments, and promotions. There are even websites you can visit to look for a trophy wife – a woman whose beauty is a tribute to her husband’s wealth and influence.
A trophy is anything you own that causes other people to look at you and say, “Wow!” But living for trophies leaves you empty, unhappy, and tired. They bring a momentary happiness that can be addictive, but the enjoyment always dwindles. It’s notable that in heaven, when images like crowns are used, instead of wearing them, people are casting them at the Lord’s feet. When you give the triumph, admiration, and honour away, they bring you joy. When you collect them, they dull, fade, and become a burden.
That’s why the Bible says: “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever…and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created'” (vv. 10-11 NKJV).
Anything good you have, anything good you are, and anything good you will receive in the future all come from God. So, be sure to give God all the glory.
Soul food: 1 Ki 18:16-20:43; Mark 9:38-50; Ps 113; Prov 12:15-17
2025-05-23
Luke 6:45 NIV
Do you think of yourself as a person who has faith in God? Do your thoughts and words reflect that? We can deceive ourselves into thinking we have great faith, but if challenges easily defeat us, then maybe our faith isn’t as great as we thought it was. Jesus said, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” You can learn a lot about yourself by listening to what you say. Do your thoughts and words show your dependence on God, recognizing that His abilities, not yours, enable you to do anything you need to do?
To get your words right, you must get your heart right. And to do that, you must line your thinking up with God’s Word. That means being willing to face anything He wants to show you and asking Him to change you. If you’re trusting in your own strength, start trusting God instead. If you’re attempting to do things through your own abilities and becoming irritated, let God know that you want Him to work through you, and allow His sufficiency to be yours. Paul writes, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5 NKJV).
Your words are like containers, so don’t fill them with things that disable you. Instead, stand on this Scripture: “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV). When you speak, always agree with God’s Word.
Soul food: 1 Ki 16:1-18:15; Mark 9:30-37; Ps 108; Prov 12:14
2025-05-22
Philippians 2:4 NLT
You can learn to love by thinking loving thoughts. By focusing on the other person’s needs, pains, difficulties, goals, and desires, not just your own. The old Indian saying goes, “It’s easier to understand someone when you walk a mile in their moccasins.” Hurting people tend to hurt other people. If someone is hurting you, that person may be doing so because they are hurting. How can you love them? By looking beyond their faults and seeing their needs.
The least lovable people are often those who need love the most. The people we would prefer to ignore are the very ones who need huge doses of love. If a person can’t find love, they will seek attention. And if they can’t obtain positive attention, they will work at attracting negative attention. Unintentionally they are saying, “I will be noticed, one way or another.”
Make love the master of your will, not the slave of your emotions. We can’t change our feelings, but we can change our thoughts. When we change how we think about someone, we will steadily change our feelings about that person. When rather than thinking about a person’s faults, we start thinking about their needs, it will change the way we feel.
You say, “If I act lovingly toward someone I don’t even like, wouldn’t that be hypocritical?” No, it’s called “loving by faith.” When you love by faith, you act yourself into feeling the right way toward that person. Try it and find out for yourself!
Soul food: 1 Ki 14-15; Mark 9:14-29; Ps 101; Prov 12:12-13
