2025-04-09
2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV
What’s your goal in life? Survival, success, or succession? Some of us suffer from “duck syndrome.” We appear calm on the surface, but underneath we’re paddling furiously. We think “I’m glad people around me don’t know how much I don’t know,” and we keep them at a distance hoping they never find out. That’s not how God wants you to live, as the source of your own strength and wisdom. David wrote, “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1 NKJV).
On the other hand, some of us strive for a self-centered form of success that begins and ends with us. Our philosophy is “look out for number one.” When that’s your goal, God cannot trust you with success because your motives violate every principle in His Word. God told Abraham, “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2 NKJV). When your heart’s intent is to bless others, God will bless your endeavors. Jesus said, “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain [after you’re gone]” (John 15:16 NKJV).
Part of God’s plan for your life is passing on to others what He has entrusted to you. There is no lasting success without a successor. That’s why Paul wrote, “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” So, the word for you today is – pass it on.
Soul food: Phil 1-4; Luke 22:14-23; Ps 43; Prov 10:10
2025-04-08
Romans 14:19 NLT
Paul wouldn’t yield an inch when it came to standing on the central truths of Scripture. But when it came to traditions, personal opinions, and personal preferences, he said, “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (v. 5 NKJV). Under the law of Moses, being circumcised was considered equal to having a covenant between you and God. So when Gentile believers joined the New Testament church, Jewish believers insisted they too must be circumcised. Not as babies, mind you, but as adults! Were these Jewish believers sincere? Absolutely. But they were sincerely misguided. When this issue threatened to split the church, the apostles met in Jerusalem, prayed about the matter, and issued the following opinion: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things” (Acts 15:28 NKJV).
Any time a tradition or personal preference becomes equal in authority to God’s Word, we have gone too far. Question: Have you been upset with someone who doesn’t agree with you on some nonessential point of doctrine? Have you been critical of someone whose opinion differs from yours? Perhaps in insisting on your list of dos and don’ts, you have forgotten the most important item on God’s list: that we exhibit love.
Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35 NKJV). Our hearts can be in unity even when our minds don’t agree. We can walk hand in hand, even when we don’t see eye to eye. As theologians often say, “In essential things, unity. In all things, charity!”
Soul food: Lev 26-27; Luke 22:1-13; Ps 56; Prov 10:8-9
2025-04-07
Psalm 37:24 NLT
Every opportunity in life comes with two things: the possibility of succeeding, and the possibility of failing. When you reach the end of your life, your greatest regrets won’t be over your failures, but the opportunities you failed to seize because you were afraid of failing. So here are some principles to help you conquer the fear of failing:
(1) Be willing to try and fail at something. And when it happens, tell people. Why? Because that’s how you discover failure isn’t fatal.
(2) Find a project so big that you cannot do it without God’s help, then commit to it.(3) Socialize with some impulsive types. Observe how they take risks without dying. Seeing and imitating is a great way to learn.
(4) The way we learn to take big steps of faith is by taking small steps of faith. Compliment someone you don’t know. Volunteer for an additional task at work. Go out of your way to help someone in need.
(5) Declare war on perfectionism. Instead of waiting until you can do it perfectly, do your best and tell yourself, “That’s good enough for now.”
(6) Be afraid, and obey God anyway. You will never totally defeat your fears, but you can diminish them to where they have less control of your life.
Here is a promise for you to stand on: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand” (vv. 23-24 NLT).
Sielskos: Lev 23:26-25:55; Luke 21:29-38; Ps 50:16-23; Prov 10:4-7
2025-04-06
Genesis 37:25 NKJV
If Abraham and Sarah had been willing to wait a little longer, Isaac would have been born and the promise of God fulfilled. But they became impatient, and as a result, Ishmael was born. One of the names given to God in Scripture is “Redeemer,” because He can redeem our mistakes and turn them into learning experiences; He can turn the mess you make into the miracle you need.
It took three generations, but God turned the mess Abraham made into the miracle of deliverance Joseph needed. Joseph’s destiny was to be ruler of Egypt and save his family and the world in time of famine. But because his brothers resented him, they sold him as a slave to “a company of Ishmaelites.” These were the descendants of Ishmael, who was born to Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s maid. And where were these Ishmaelites going? To Egypt! “Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt… so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt” (vv. 25, 28 NKJV).
It’s not over until God says it’s over. He can turn the mess you made in the past into a miracle you need in the future. And that miracle will not only bless you, but others too. And perhaps those others will be in your own family, just as in the case of Joseph.
Soul food: 2 Ki 5:1-27; Matt 6:19-34; Acts 5:1-11
2025-04-05
Matthew 1:5 NKJV
Humanly speaking, the chances of a Gentile like Ruth marrying a wealthy Jew like Boaz were less than zero, because the law of Moses forbade it. “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever” (Deuteronomy 23:3 NKJV). If ever a door looked shut, locked, and bolted, it was this one. But when people and circumstances rule, God overrules. His résumé reads: “He who has the key… He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” (Revelation 3:7 NKJV).
God, not people, holds the key to your future. Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27 NKJV). From this unusual combination of Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, accepted and rejected, would come Jesus the Redeemer of the world. The record reads, “Boaz begot Obed by Ruth.”
So, the word for you today is: the best is yet to come. Your walk with Christ can produce fruit that blesses your children and your grandchildren for generations to come. Live in the present and enjoy every day God gives you, but always keep the long view in mind. It’s not just about what God wants to do for you, but what He wants to do through you that will bless others. God told Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing… And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3 NKJV). Claim that promise!
Soul food: Lev 21:1-23:25; Luke 21-25-28; Ps 50:1-15; Prov 10:3
2025-04-04
1 Corinthians 16:1 NIV
When a recession hit Jerusalem, Paul asked the believers at Corinth to give offerings to meet this need: “Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem” (vv. 1-3 NIV).
A healthy church will always have two things: in-reach and outreach. It will endeavor to meet both the spiritual and material needs of people. In the Old Testament, God told His people, “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren… you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother “(Deuteronomy 15:7 NKJV).
When you have a true encounter with Christ, you will have a heart for hurting people. “Then Zacchaeus… said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house'” (Luke 19:8-9 NKJV).
When it comes to giving to God, the Bible sets the baseline at 10 percent (See Malachi 3:10). Beyond that, you should be guided by your love for God: “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV).
Soul food: Lev 18-20; Luke 21:12-24; Ps 25:16-22; Prov 10:2
