2025-03-12
Philippians 4:13 AMPC
When God made the first man, He saw that his creation was “very good.” That means every person that has ever been born, including you, has seeds of success within them. All you need to do is water them and feed them, and they will grow. So why do many people fail to reach their God-given potential in life? One of the key reasons is low self-esteem; they don’t believe in themselves. They possess hundreds of possibilities, but they never nurture them because they have persuaded themselves that they’re incapable of learning and growing into something amazing. If you don’t believe you’re valuable and worth investing in, you will never spend the time and effort necessary to develop into what God made you to be.
Zig Ziglar said, “It’s impossible to consistently behave in a manner inconsistent with how we see ourselves. We can do very few things in a positive way if we feel negative about ourselves.” Paul was humble. He was aware of his total dependence on God. But He also had a healthy sense of self-worth. Here is what he wrote to those who believed in him and supported his ministry: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. But it was right and commendable and noble of you to contribute for my needs and to share my difficulties with me” (vv. 4:13-14 AMPC). So, the word for you today is – see yourself as valuable, because God does.
Soul food: Job 8-10; Luke 17:1-10; Ps 115; Prov 8:1-3
2025-03-11
1 Corinthians 3:5 NLT
One day when Charles Colson was scheduled to preach to three hundred inmates at San Quentin prison, a lockdown was called and most of the prisoners were confined to their cells. To the few who were allowed to attend, Colson decided to go ahead and give the complete message he had prepared. Later when he expressed disappointment that the three hundred were unable to attend, he was told, “We videotaped your message and will be showing it numerous times to all twenty-two hundred prisoners.” What if Colson had given way to disappointment and just delivered a short devotional instead of the full evangelistic message he had prepared? More than two thousand prisoners would not have heard the gospel.
An occasion may arise when you are the only person available to speak for God. Will you be faithful in such a moment? You are the most important person in the world to God when you are the one He has called to do something for Him. And the message is more important than the messenger.
Paul writes: “We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work” (vv. 5-8 NLT).
Soul food: Job 5-7; Luke 16:19-31; Ps 26; Prov 7:26-27
2025-03-10
John 13:34 NKJV
Love is not an emotion, because you cannot command someone to feel a certain way. Loving someone is a choice that manifests itself in your attitudes and actions toward that person. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (vv. 34-35 NKJV).
Jesus called this “a new commandment.” What’s new about it? These words: “as I have loved you.” Since Christ lives in you, you can love others with His love. Jesus always put His disciples first – washing their feet, saving them from storms, patiently teaching them. He didn’t look out for number one; He looked out for the twelve. You say, “But how can I love someone I don’t even like?” Jesus answers, “As I have loved you.”
C. S. Lewis tells of how he came to view others’ faults differently: “There is someone I love, even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is me…If I can love myself without approving of all I do, I can also love others without approving of all they do.” And what Jesus commands you to do, He empowers you to do: “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5 NKJV).
Soul food: Job 1-4; Luke 16:1-18; Ps 24; Prov 7:24-25
2025-03-09
John 17:18 NIV
Jesus prayed in John 17:15-18: “I have given them your word… My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (NIV).
Where did Jesus dispatch His disciples? Into the world. He didn’t say, “Try to avoid the world. Just hang out with Christian people in the church, and keep your distance from people who use bad language and are bad people.” He says being sent as a representative of God into your job, your neighbourhood, your circumstances, and your situations is why you’re on this planet. He says, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21 NIV). We’re not called to avoid the world, but to engage it.
You say, “But I don’t feel comfortable around such people.” Then ask God to make you more like Jesus, who was known as “a friend of sinners” (See Luke 7:34). Jesus told His disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16 NIV). It takes two things for a sheep to operate among wolves: courage and wisdom. It also takes total commitment.
Albert Schweitzer gave up his standing as a superb theologian and world-class musician to serve the poorest people on another continent. Whatever God has called you to do, it will involve loving people and giving yourself to them.
Soul food: Ps 51; Mark 8:34-38
2025-03-08
James 4:8 NKJV
We say we trust God but often fear that He won’t come through for us when we need Him most. So, we falsely assume that if we keep thinking about the problem and worrying about it enough, somehow we can take care of it on our own – just in case God doesn’t show up and do something according to our timetable. This brings us closer to our problems, but not to the One who can solve them. But when we choose to believe that God is in control of our lives and is going to handle whatever situation we are in, we move closer to Him and our problems don’t seem so worrisome at all.
It works like this: The closer you get to the problem, the smaller God seems, and the closer you get to God, the smaller your problem seems. The Bible says, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 AMPC). Trusting God will keep you from reasoning and trying to figure out things you don’t have answers for yet. Instead of listening to that nagging voice inside that says, “What are you going to do?” draw closer to God and say, “I’m going to trust God to show me what to do.”
David declared, “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart… how good it is to be near God!” (Psalm 73:26, 28 NLT). Where is God when you need Him most? Right beside you!
Soul food: Exo 39-40; Luke 15:11-32; Ps 135; Prov 7:21-23
2025-03-07
Ezekiel 37:1-2 KJV
God told Ezekiel to declare His word to a valley full of bones, and they became a mighty army. These bones were dead, dry, and in disarray. That may describe where you are today. Your hopes are dead, your soul is dry, your life in disarray. What’s the answer?
(1) You need God to shake things up in your life. “There was a… shaking, and the bones came together” (v. 7). If it feels like things are being shaken up in your personal life, your home life, and your work life, rejoice; it means God has great plans for you.
(2) You need God to speak to you through His Word. “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord” (v. 4). God’s Word turned this bunch of bones into a mighty army that could conquer, win, and fulfill His purposes. And God’s Word will do the same for you. Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32 KJV). So, get into God’s Word, and get God’s Word into you.
(3) You need God to breathe His Holy Spirit on you. “O breath, [of God]… breathe upon these… that they may live… and they… stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army” (Ezekiel 37:9-10 KJV). When you’re empowered by His Spirit, you will exceed your own expectations and do great things for God.
Ezekiel couldn’t see the potential in those bones until God showed it to him. So, no matter what others say, God sees potential in you and that’s why He is shaking you up.
Soul food: Exo 36-38; Luke 15:1-10; Ps 27; Prov 7:10-20
