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‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for…Saul, for he is praying.’ Acts  9:11 NIV

Has everyone else written off your Saul? ‘He is too far gone.’ ‘He is too hard, too addicted, too old, too cold.’ Joseph believed one day he would be reunited with the brothers who betrayed him, and it happened. The prophet Hosea’s wife deserted him and became a prostitute. Yet, he kept the door open, and she came home. God believed in Saul. And he believed in Saul through Ananias: ‘Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 9:17 NIV).

Max Lucado writes: ‘My favourite Ananias-type story involves a couple of college roommates. The Ananias of the pair was a tolerant soul. He tolerated his friend’s late-night drunkenness, midnight throw-ups, and all-day sleep-ins. He didn’t complain when his friend disappeared for the weekend or smoked cigarettes in the car. He could have requested a roommate who went to church more or cursed less or cared about something other than impressing girls. But he hung with his personal Saul, seeming to think that something good could happen if the guy could pull his life together. So he kept cleaning up the mess, inviting his roommate to church, and covering his back.’

Max continues: ‘ I don’t remember a bright light or a loud voice. I’ve never travelled on a desert road to Damascus. But I distinctly remember Jesus knocking me off my perch and flipping on the light. It took four semesters, but Steve’s example and Jesus’ message finally got through.’ So, no matter what, don’t give up on your Saul!

SoulFood: Acts 6-7, Mark 3:20-27, Ps 75, Pro 10:22-23

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024

‘Blessed is he who considers the poor;’ Psalm 4 1:1 NKJV

In October 2022, Forbes stated there were 2,668 billionaires in the world. It’s incredible to think that one individual, let alone 2,668 individuals, can be worth billions of dollars, and yet there are billions of poor people in the world.

Does that seem right? These individuals might easily say, ‘I worked for my money.’ But the question is, what responsibility does God place on the haves with regard to the have-nots? Surely donations made by even one of these individuals would eliminate the threat of starvation experienced by millions. So, why are there still people who are hungry and dying of starvation? ‘Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.’ (Psalm 41:1-3 ESV).

When you bless the poor, God blesses you. So, as one leader wrote, make this your prayer:

‘Lord, you promised we would always have the poor among us. Help me to make sure that the reverse is also true: that I’m always among the poor, helping, encouraging, and lending a hand wherever I can. Enable me to love the invisible God by serving the very visible poor in my corner of the world. Help me to be creative without being condescending, encouraging without being egotistic, and fearless without being foolish. May the poor bless You because of me…amen.’

SoulFood: Acts 3:11 – 5:42, Mark 3:13-19, Ps 127, Pro 10:19-21

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024

‘He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.’ Jeremiah 2 2:16 NIV

When he was a theology student, Jim Wallis and some of his classmates took scissors to the Bible and cut out every verse about poverty, wealth, justice, or oppression. And would you believe it, by the time they had finished, there were some two thousand verses lying on the floor! The fact is, when you cut concern for the poor from your Bible, you cut the heart right out of it! Here is one such verse: ‘“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord’ (Jeremiah 22:16 NIV).

Jesus often quoted Scripture, but only on one occasion do we find Him selecting and reading from it. And what portion did He choose to read publicly? ‘”The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free’ (Luke 4:18 NIV). Jesus’ to-do list is: help for body and soul, strength for the physical and spiritual, and therapy for temporal and eternal.

Now some people (albeit a minority) are poor because they’re lazy and need to be taught that God’s Word says, ‘Those unwilling to work will not get to eat’ (2 Thessalonians 3:10 NLT). But others are poor because parasites have weakened their bodies, or they spend six hours every day collecting water, or rebel armies have destroyed their farms, or disease has claimed their parents. These are the people God has assigned us to care for!

SoulFood: Acts 1:1 – 3:10, Mark 3:7-12, Ps 43, Pro 10:17-18

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024

‘Their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.’ Acts  6:1 NIV

Since the government didn’t care for widows and orphans back in New Testament times, the church took on that responsibility. Unfortunately, bias raised its ugly head, and Jewish widows and orphans were given preferential treatment over Gentile widows and orphans. How did the church leaders respond? They could easily have dismissed it like we so often do. They could have said, ‘We’re called to feed souls, not stomachs. We deal in matters of sin and salvation, not sandals and soup.’ Instead, here is what they did.

First, they called a meeting to resolve the problem (see Acts 6:2). They let every member know that their church took poverty seriously, and they were each personally responsible before God to do something about it. The Scripture doesn’t endorse forced communism, but it clearly teaches Spirit-led volunteerism.

Second, they assigned the problem to their brightest and best. They selected seven men, well respected, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and gave them this responsibility (see Acts 6:3 NLT). Instead of grooming our children for important fields like medicine, law, politics, or government, let’s teach them that caring for the needy is one of God’s highest callings. Why do 10% of the world’s population go to bed hungry each night? Or, 17,000 plus children die every single day (one every five seconds) from malnutrition and preventable diseases when we can do something about it? No one can do everything, but God has called each of us to do something! ‘Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.’ (James 1:27 CSB).

SoulFood: Joel 1-3, Mark 3:1-6, Ps 56, Pro 10:14-16

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024

‘But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,’ 2 Corinthians  3:18 NKJV

As the old saying goes, ‘You become like the company you keep.’ Paul explains it this way: ‘But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV).

Christians, like mirrors, reflect the glory of God. The more you spend time in God’s presence, the more you will reflect His likeness and carry His presence with you. What does beholding your face in a mirror mean? It’s more than just a quick glance; behold means to study, stare at, and contemplate. The Bible tells us after Moses spent 40 days on a mountain in God’s presence, the people of Israel couldn’t bear to look at his face because it was glowing with the glory of God. ‘And it came about, when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai … that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.’ (Exodus 34:29 NASB). What Moses beheld was what Moses became! The Bible says that ‘whatever you do, do all to the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV). That means ‘whatever you do’, you’re a reflector!

Jesus said, ‘Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16 NIV).

In other words, people should be able to look at you and see the God who lives within you. And that should be the case at home, at play, in the workplace, and anywhere else you happen to be.

SoulFood: Jer 51-52, Mark 2:23-28, Ps 50:16-23, Pro 10:11-13

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024