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Food for the Soul

Food for the Soul, devotionals to help you in your busy life, written by NEWIM board members and staff.

Filtering by Category: Devotional

Christmas, A Time to Praise

Kim Johnson

“My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"                                                                                                   —Luke 1:46-47 (NIV)

Yes, it is that time again. Seems like we just put the decorations away from last year and here we are, getting them out all over again. Tradition means we’ll do it just like we always have. That’s also the way it is with the Christmas Story. It’s been told and retold for thousands of years. So how do we read it again and expect to get something new from it, year after year?

That is the risk we take we if allow the tradition of the season to be our only focus. Every 364 days we are going to rejoice in God’s love sent to us in the form of the baby Jesus. We all plan on that. Yet, God didn’t just stop sending His love and mercy to us when His Son was born. He has shown up every day since. That means He has been there for us every day this past year as well. Traditions are a good thing. However, if we only concentrate on those, we rob ourselves of the opportunity for something new and spontaneous.  

These verses in Luke are an inspiring reminder as we prepare for Christmas. Mary’s praise in this scripture is an unconstrained response of a thankful child of God. She was overwhelmed by the Lord’s goodness and she sings one of the most beautiful and profound songs of worship.

We, too, can allow this time of year to create that kind of response within our hearts. Contemplating the boundless love and mercy our Heavenly Father showed us over the year will no doubt bring something to mind that can cause us to feel the same kind of overpowering gratitude. When we remember His goodness, praise is the best response from a grateful heart.  

Even as we move through the chaos and busyness naturally created by this time of year, let’s take time each day to praise the One who came as well as the One who sent Him.

“Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!”
—Stuart K. Hine, 1949

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categories Devotional
tags Food for the Soul, Christmas, praise, love, mercy, Christian love

Do It Now Not Later (7/16/2015)

Kim Johnson

The most valuable commodity for a woman in leadership is her time. It can also be the most difficult to protect. Often our day is perfectly planned, our to-do list organized to maximize completion. Then someone stops by unexpectedly for a chat; a task takes longer than expected; or a crisis call comes requiring that we drop everything to handle it. This is a normal part of the job when you are ministering to others. However, disruptions can become a cause for concern if we allow them to become an excuse to put things off.

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categories Devotional
tags Food for the Soul, Christian leadership

The Significance of Success (4/4/2015)

Kim Johnson

People love the spectacular. Tourists flock to the natural wonders in the United States: the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls and Yellowstone, to name a few. The world holds an overabundance of equally incredible places, man-made as well as natural, that attract thousands of tourists wanting an in-person glimpse of these phenomenal marvels. We humans create other wonders such as daredevil shows and extreme sports, watched by thousands. We love to be amazed.

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categories Devotional
tags Food for the Soul, God's glory, success

New Year New Yield (1/13/2015)

Kim Johnson

It is the beginning of another new year. As leaders we are no doubt planning, setting goals and researching our resources to determine the how we can make 2015 successful. With the myriad of material just a mouse click away, it is easy to forget our success is never based upon our sources but His sufficiency. God doesn’t look for the best program. He looks for the basic person, someone who will be totally dependent on Him.

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categories Devotional
tags Food for the Soul

The Right Response

Kim Johnson

With the weather turning cooler and the days getting shorter, we know it is fall and the holidays are right around the corner. Starting with Halloween, we slide right into Christmas, almost missing the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven. Yes, that day of eating we call Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is increasingly becoming obscured by the materialism of Christmas. So we find ourselves thrust into the rush with hardly any time to celebrate, let alone remembering to be thankful.

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categories Devotional
tags Food for the Soul, gratitude, Thanksgiving, blessings

Pruning to Produce (10/24/2014)

Kim Johnson

For those who are gardeners, pruning is a process that is useful in producing beautiful gardens. It seems counter-intuitive, but the results speak for themselves – cutting back creates growth. In our personal lives, we know God also uses this method intangibly to help us become who He wants us to be. We often feel His presence trimming and snipping those areas that need attention. As leaders, however, pruning in terms of a staff as demonstrated in God’s dealing with Gideon may never have crossed our minds.

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categories Devotional
tags Food for the Soul, Christian leadership

It’s Only Me, Lord (8/5/2014)

Kim Johnson

Kingdom work as a leader can be very fulfilling. Seeing hours of work and prayer come to a constructive conclusion is so encouraging, letting us feel blessed to be on the front line for our Lord. On the other hand however, it can also be downright demanding. If those days of work and hours in prayer continue without a reasonable result, we can end up exhausted both physically and spiritually. This is exactly what happened to Elijah.

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categories Devotional
tags Food for the Soul, Elijah, encouragement