JAN. 5, 2026

Living in the Promised Land.

"These things happened to them as examples for us." 1Co 10:11 NLT

Egypt represents our days in bondage to sin. Then Jesus liberated us and gave us a new life. Our Promised Land isn't a physical territory; it's a spiritual reality. It's not real estate, but a real state of heart and mind.

• It's a life in which "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Ro 8:37 NKJV).
• A life in which "we do not lose heart" (2Co 4:16 NKJV).
• A life in which we are "exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation (2Co 7:4 NKJV);
• we are "anxious for nothing" (Php 4:6 NKJV);
• we are "praying always" (Eph 6:18);
• and a life in which we "do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Col 3:17 NKJV).

Max Lucado wrote: [In Canaan]...'we win more often than we lose, forgive as quickly as we are offended, and give as abundantly as we receive.

• We serve out of our giftedness and delight in our assignments.
• We may stumble, but we do not collapse.
• We may struggle, but we defy despair.
• We boast only in Christ, trust only in God, lean wholly on his power.
• We enjoy abundant fruit and increasing faith."

Canaan symbolizes the victory we can have today, and God invites us to enter it.

There is only one condition; we must turn our backs on wilderness living."

Paul wrote: "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1Pe 2:9 NKJV).

Living in the Promised Land "You are a chosen generation."

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When your mate struggles with insecurity.

"Jealousy [is] as cruel as the grave." SS

8:6 NKJV

If you're dealing with an insecure mate, you must make every effort to be accountable.

It's important to voluntarily provide adequate details. After all, he or she is looking for assurance. Learn to explain your whereabouts in a casual but thorough manner. Short, one-syllable responses will provide more insecurity and leave the person to imagine various negative scenarios.

A jealous person is insecure and thus has doubts about having what it takes to maintain the relationship.

Do not make the mistake of thinking or saying, "Tough-you just need to get over your insecurity." If it were that easy, your mate would have done it by now. Continue to pray for their healing from this debilitating mindset, but do your part not to exacerbate the problem with vague communication. Most of all, encourage your partner to talk about his or her fears. Listen without being critical or judgmental.

• Seek first to understand.
• Make it clear that you love your mate and have pure intentions regarding your relationship.

But here is something important to keep in mind: Stay balanced in your interaction. You must also make it clear that you will not be forced into an emotional prison by having to account for every moment of the day. This too could exacerbate the jealousy and set up unrealistic expectations.

• Trust is a two-way street.
• And one way to build trust is by praying together.
• In prayer, we become honest and transparent, realizing that God already knows every detail about us.
• When your mate hears you share your heart in prayer, it relieves unfounded fears and creates security within them.

When your mate struggles with insecurity Trust is a two-way street.

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DEC. 31, 2025

Leave the past in the past.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Eph 4:32 NKJV

Studies suggest that just 3 percent of life events are highly memorable. So, over the course of an average year, approximately seventeen experiences will make it into your long-term memory. The other 97 percent fades into the black hole called the subconscious. But that remaining 3 percent can hurt us every day if we cannot or will not forget.

That 3 percent can make us prisoners of our past. Even if we've confessed our sin, we often still feel condemned. And that feeling of condemnation undermines the fact that God is for us (see Ps 56:9). We keep beating ourselves up. We keep sabotaging ourselves. We keep believing the self-defeating lies that come from Satan "the accuser" (see Rev 12:10).

And how can you overcome the accuser and silence him? Revelation 12:11 says: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony" (NKJV).

Push back! Testify to Satan the accuser. Tell him what the blood of Jesus Christ has done on your behalf.

Remind him that "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Ro 8:1 KJV).

• None.
• Nada.
• Zilch.
• Zero.
• Not a trace.
• Not a whiff.
• Not a hint.

Instead of defining yourself by what you've done wrong, define yourself by what Christ has done right on your behalf. Instead of defining yourself by the hurtful things done to you, begin to declare what Christ has done for you.

• If you are in Christ, you are not in sin.
• If you have been forgiven, you are no longer guilty.

Leave the past in the past You are no longer guilty.

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JAN. 2, 2026

Bible reading; the key to spiritual growth (1)

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth." Jos 1:8 NKJV

God gave Joshua a big job: conquer the Promised Land and divide it up among the twelve tribes of Israel. He also gave him the key to success: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." God didn't command Joshua to seek a spiritual experience or a personal revelation. He told him to meditate on the Scriptures.

Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson wrote a book called Move. They wanted to find the key factors for spiritual growth, so they surveyed the congregations of one thousand churches. Here's what they found: "Nothing has a greater impact on spiritual growth than reflection on Scripture. If churches could only do one thing to help people at all levels of spiritual maturity grow in their relationship with Christ, their choice is clear. They would inspire, encourage, and equip their people to read the Bible."

You don't grow in Christ simply because you're busy in church; it happens automatically when you read and trust God's Word.

So engage with your Bible.

• Meditate on it day and night.
• Think and rethink on it.
• Let it be your guide.
• Make it your go-to book for questions.
• Let it be the ultimate authority in your life.

Peter puts it this way: "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby" (1Pe 2:2 NKJV).

Bible reading; the key to spiritual growth Engage with your Bible.

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JAN. 1, 2026

Make prayer your first priority.

"Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." Jn 16:24 NKJV

Prayer should be your highest priority. Why? Because when you fail to pray, you set yourself up to fail. You're saying in essence, "I don't need God's help or input." God comes by invitation. Prayer opens the door and welcomes Him into your situation. Jesus said, "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

An unknown poet wrote: "I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray.

• Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. 'Why doesn't God help me?' I wondered. He answered, 'You didn't ask.!
• I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak. I wondered why God didn't show me. He said, 'But you didn't seek!
• I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, 'My child, you didn't knock!
• I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray!" The psalmist said, "O God..early will I seek thee" (Ps 63:1 KJV).
• The first voice he wanted to hear in the morning was God's.
• The first conversation he wanted to have - was with the Lord.
• Before others made demands on his time and energy, he wanted to know God's will.

Has your prayer life been hit-and-miss? Rearrange things and make it your first priority each day. If you do, you'll begin to thrive spiritually.

Make prayer your first priority

My child, you didn't knock.

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NOV. 27, 2025

Be sure to praise the Lord.

"Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful." Ps 33:1 NKJV

Of 150 psalms recorded in the Bible, the dominant recurring theme is "praise the Lord!" The book is like a memo from psalmists that says, "Today be sure to praise the Lord."

In Psalm 34, David writes: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Ps 34:1-3 NKJV).

In Psalm 113:1-3, the psalmist writes: "Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised."

In Psalm 118:24, the psalmist says, "This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

In Psalm 119:164, the psalmist says, "Seven times a day do l praise thee." We have coffee and tea breaks; they had praise breaks.

Finally we arrive at Psalm 150, the last psalm. In verse 6, the last verse of the last psalm, we are reminded again, "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord." That means as long as you are alive and breathing, you're to praise the Lord. So whatever else you do, or fail to do today, be sure to praise the Lord.

Be sure to praise the Lord Praise breaks

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NOV. 25, 2025

Start small, and keep a winning attitude. "Do not despise...small beginnings." Zec 4:10 NLT

Juan grew up in Puerto Rico, the son of a sugarcane plantation foreman. One of a family of eight, he lived in a three-room shack with a dirt floor and no toilet.

His first job, at age six, was driving oxen to plow the cane fields. He worked eight hours a day and earned one dollar. Juan said it was in the cane fields that he learned important lessons like being

• on time,
• work hard,
• and be loyal
• and respectful to your employers.

His job and small income were a great source of self-esteem.

At age seven he got a job at a golf course spotting balls for golfers, and he began to dream of playing golf and earning enough money to buy a bicycle. The more he dreamed, the more he thought, "Why not?"

He made a golf club out of a guava limb and a piece of pipe, then hammered an empty tin can into a ball.

Next, he dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth between them.

He practiced his "golf" with the same intensity he put into his job in the cane field, and he got good-very good.

In his thirty-one years as a pro golfer, Juan "Chi Chi" Rodríguez won eight PGA tour events and twenty-four major tournaments, and he was the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

What can we learn from him? Two things: (1) Be willing to start small. The Bible says, "Do not despise...small beginnings."

(2) Be willing to think big because you serve a big God (See Eph 3:20).

Start small, and keep a winning attitude Be willing to think big.

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NOV. 5, 2025

The traits of a champion.

"For I know the plans I have for you... plans for good...to give you a future and a hope." Jer 29:11 TLB

Sports psychologists have identified six recurring traits that are common to Olympic gold medalist athletes. These traits of a champion apply to both men and women, but they are also dominant factors in the lives of those who succeed in non-athletic vocations as well. Let's look carefully at each trait and see what we can learn.

(1) Self-analysis. The successful athlete knows their strengths and weaknesses, and engages in a critical appraisal that is honest but never negative.

(2) Self-competition. A winner knows that he or she can only control their own performance, so they compete against their own best effort and not that of others.

(3) Focus. The champion is always "in the present," concentrating on the task at hand.

(4) Confidence. Successful athletes control anxiety by setting tough but reasonable goals. As these goals are reached, their confidence increases.

(5) Toughness. This is a mental trait that involves accepting risk and trying to win, rather than trying not to lose. Awinner sees change as opportunity, and accepts responsibility for their own destiny.

(6) Having a game plan. Even the best athletes know that talent is not enough; they must have a game plan. And here is the good news: You can develop these six traits. You say, "Where can I get a game plan for my life?" From the God who loves you and says in His Word, "For I know the plans I have for you...plans for good...to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen" (vv. 11-12 TLB).

The traits of a champion A game plan for your life

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