2025-03-24
Isaiah 26:3 NLT
Your thoughts create your feelings, and your feelings dictate your approach to life. So by changing the way you think, you can change how you feel and how you approach life. Unlike the world, which teaches you to empty your mind to achieve peace, God’s way is to fill your mind with fresh, powerful, redeeming thoughts. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
It’s not just about trying to blot out bad thoughts with your willpower. If a wrong, bad, or negative thought is lodged in your mind today and you can’t seem to shake it, stop trying! That won’t erase it from your mind. That’s like cutting a weed off at ground level rather than uprooting it; it will just grow again. What you need to do is replace that wrong destructive thought with a thought that’s from God. That’s the only way to deal with wrong thoughts and begin the healing process. The apostle Paul writes: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise… Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9 NLT).
Are you concerned about your health? “Fix” your mind on this Scripture: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17 NKJV). Are you concerned about the future? “Fix” your mind on this promise: “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV).
Soul food: Job 40-42; Luke 19:37-44; Ps 69:1-18; Prov 8:27-29
2025-03-23
Hebrews 10:2 NKJV
To become a worshiper in the fullest sense requires two things. First, an understanding that God’s love toward you is not predicated on your love toward Him. The moment you accept Christ as your Saviour, God accepts you and clothes you in the righteousness of Christ; therefore, you are always worthy to approach Him.
Second, understanding that God’s love for you is not merely a theological concept, but something that is embraced with your heart and responded to through your emotions. In the act of worship, you “let yourself go,” giving yourself without reservation and abandoning yourself to Him. “Worshipers, once purified, would have had no consciousness of sins.”
When you believe that the blood of Jesus has cleansed you from all sin – past, present, and future – you become a worshiper enraptured with His love. Sinful patterns are changed, and stubborn habits are broken when you get your eyes off yourself and focus on Christ. Paul writes, “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19 NKJV). Note the words “in your heart to the Lord.”
The psalmist David writes, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8 NKJV). Note the word “taste.” Picture yourself sitting down to your favourite meal, tasting each bite and savoring each flavour. The truth of God’s love for you must not just remain in your mind; it must be experienced in your heart. When that happens, you are truly worshiping God.
Soul food: Lev 27:30-33; Num 31:48-54; 1 Cor 16:1-3; 2 Cor 9:1-15
2025-03-22
Mark 16:20 KJV
The book of Mark concludes this way: “They went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” Understanding the will of God is not a precise science, and the most spiritually mature among us can get it wrong. But this much you can count on: God will use a combination of the Spirit and Scripture to guide you. As you open His Word and open your heart, God will speak to you. Then you have to act on it.
The way to get spiritual momentum is by praying, and then making a decision. And the harder the decision, the more momentum it can produce. The main reason most of us don’t notice God moving is because we aren’t moving. If you would like to see God move, you need to make a move! Near the end of her ministry, Mother Teresa was frequently asked by her admirers how they could make a difference with their lives the way she had with hers. She often replied with only four words: “Find your own Calcutta.”
That doesn’t mean God’s will for you is to be a missionary in a foreign land. It could be; the greater likelihood is that God is calling you to take action where you live and where you work. Before God asks you to do greater things, He will ask you to use what you have, do what you can, and serve where you are. So, what little things do you need to do now that will make you ready for the big things God wants down the road?
Soul food: Job 38-39; Luke 19:28-36; Ps 38:13-22; Prov 8:24-26
2025-03-21
Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV
After four hundred years of living as slaves in Egypt, the Israelites struggled with low self-esteem. So, God said to them, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt” (vv. 3-4 NKJV). Notice the words “built” and “rebuilt.” How can you build, or rebuild, your self-esteem? In three ways:
First, by believing in God’s unearned, undeserved, unchanging, unfailing love for you at all times.
Second, by serving and giving to others. When you have been victimized in the past, you tend to focus unduly on yourself. It’s not that you want to be selfish, it’s just what you feel you must do in order to survive. Yet, the opposite is true. Helping someone – even making a small difference – lifts your self-esteem. It’s difficult to harbor bad feelings about yourself when you’re doing something good for someone else. On top of that, adding value to another’s life causes that person to value you more. It creates a cycle of positive feelings from one person to another.
Third, doing the right thing, even when it’s the hard thing. Being true to yourself and your values is a remarkable self-esteem builder. Each time you do something that builds your character, you become a stronger person – the more difficult the task, the greater the character builder. You can actually “act yourself” into feeling good about yourself, because positive character enlarges into each area of your life, providing you with confidence and positive feelings about all you do.
Soul food: Job 35-37; Luke 19:20-27; Ps 38:1-12; Prov 8:22-23
2025-03-20
Ephesians 6:4 NLT
Planting a seed is only the first of a season’s worth of steps. There is watering, fertilizing, weeding, and protecting the struggling plant from pests, diseases, storms, and adverse weather. Many flowers and vegetables require stakes, cages, and other supports to help them stand tall and bear their fruit. The gardener who does nothing but sow a seed shouldn’t be surprised if his or her plants never reach maturity. Almost all living things in God’s creation reproduce by sowing a seed: human beings, plants, birds, fish, and animals. When a seed is buried out of sight in the ground, there is little we can do to impact its growth.
But when a new plant – and especially a new baby – enters the world, that’s where the results of real husbandry – and parenting – can be seen. Passive parenting is letting a child grow up in his or her own way. But Bible parenting is a different matter altogether. If you’re a parent, read these Scriptures: “True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honour, and long life. Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will avoid it. Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it” (Proverbs 22:4-6 NLT). “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing” (Psalm 92:12-14 NKJV). That’s called “parenting, the Bible way.”
Soul food: Job 32-34; Luke 19:11-19; Ps 55:12-23; Prov 8:19-21
2025-03-19
Matthew 6:33 NIV
The first step to getting what you want in life is knowing what you want. Jesus said, in essence, “The key to getting what you want out of life is to focus on what I want for your life.” Note the words “seek first.” This word “seek” means “to strive for diligently” or “to desire strongly.” The action is continuous. It says, “Keep on striving for, keep on seeking, keep on desiring daily.”
When Jesus says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” it means you don’t have to pray about what your top priority in life ought to be; everything you do will be ordered by those two things. Where you work, how you spend your time, the person you marry, how you manage your money, the relationships you form, the pastimes you enjoy, the purchases you make – all of these will be sifted and sorted through one filter: “Is this for His kingdom? Does it relate to His righteousness?”
Can’t you see how living this way would transform your marriage, your work, your family, your finances, and every other area of your life? But in order to pursue the priorities of the kingdom, you must first have a relationship with the King. You won’t even know where the kingdom is, or what it looks like, until you know the King. And you can know Him. How? As you open the pages of His Word and open your heart, there He will reveal Himself to you. And as you spend time with Him in prayer, He will respond to you.
Soul food: Job 29-31; Luke 19:1-10; Ps 55:1-11; Prov 8:17-18
