December 2025 - Soul Survival

“Is God Getting Your Best—or What’s Left Over?” December 31

Dec 31, 2025

What does God actually receive from your life?

Your best?

Or whatever is left after everything else has taken its share?

That’s the uncomfortable question Malachi places before us.

The people were still bringing sacrifices.

They hadn’t abandoned worship completely.

But instead of bringing God their best, they offered animals that were lame, sick, or otherwise undesirable.

In other words, God was getting what they didn’t particularly want themselves.

And that raises some searching questions for us.

Does God get intentional time in our schedules—or whatever minutes are left over?

Does generosity come before our wants—or after them?

Does our marriage reflect the seriousness of a covenant made before God?

If we’re single, are we using that season purposefully for His glory?

Are we offering Him our abilities, resources, attention, and obedience—or simply fitting Him around the life we’ve already planned?

As another year approaches, perhaps one of the most important questions we can ask isn’t:

“What do I want to accomplish next year?”

but:

“How can I give God my best in the year ahead?”

Then Proverbs 31 gives us a fascinating picture of an excellent wife whose life is marked by wisdom, diligence, generosity, and the fear of the Lord.

And Revelation 21 and 22 take us somewhere even greater—to the new heaven and new earth and the glorious future awaiting everyone who belongs to Christ.

So today we’ll look backward, inward, and forward—

and ask what kind of life makes sense in light of the God we serve and the eternity that awaits us.

“The Bible – All One Continuous Story” December 30

Dec 30, 2025

Have you ever wondered how books of the Bible written hundreds of years apart can fit together so perfectly?

Zechariah prophesied more than five centuries before Christ.

The Apostle John received the Revelation near the end of the first century.

Different men.

Different centuries.

Different circumstances.

Yet when you read Zechariah alongside Revelation, you begin seeing the same King, the same coming kingdom, the same final victory, and the same unfolding plan of God.

That’s because the Bible isn’t merely a collection of religious books about God.

It is one unfolding story authored by God.

The more you read it, the more the pieces begin fitting together.

Prophecies connect with their fulfillment.

Old Testament pictures point forward to Christ.

New Testament passages reach back and illuminate what came before.

And eventually, the story carries us all the way to the end.

Today’s reading in Revelation 20 brings us to one of the most sobering scenes in Scripture:

the great white throne judgment.

Scripture also speaks of the judgment seat of Christ for believers.

That means every one of us should ask a very personal question:

When the story reaches its final chapter, where will I stand?

“Are You Believing Lies with Eternal Consequences?” December 29

Dec 29, 2025

Most of us know lies can be dangerous.

But some lies are far more serious than others.

Believing something false about money may cost us financially.

Believing something false about a relationship may bring heartache.

But believing lies about God, salvation, or eternity can have consequences far beyond this life.

And one of the greatest dangers is this:

We rarely think we are the ones being deceived.

False teaching usually doesn’t arrive wearing a label that says, “This is a lie.”

It often sounds reasonable.

Spiritual.

Comforting.

Even biblical.

That’s what makes it dangerous.

Zechariah warned that:

“The idols speak delusion; the diviners envision lies.”

People were being comforted by things that weren’t true.

And false religion still works that way.

It may tell us we’re acceptable to God because we keep certain rules.

Because we belong to the right group.

Because we perform religious rituals.

Because we’re sincere.

Because we’re basically good people.

But what if those things give us confidence God never intended us to have?

So how can we know we aren’t believing lies?

And how can we recognize spiritual counterfeits before they carry us farther than we ever intended to go?

The answer begins with knowing the truth well enough to recognize what contradicts it.

“What Has the Power to Intoxicate Your Heart?” December 28

Dec 28, 2025

What has the power to influence your thinking without you even realizing it?

Alcohol can lower inhibitions, weaken judgment, and distort what a person sees.

But Scripture warns us about other kinds of intoxication.

False religion can be intoxicating.

So can wealth.

Comfort.

Success.

Material abundance.

Revelation 18 describes a world so captivated by false worship and luxury that people become blind to what is really happening around them.

And that danger isn’t limited to the future.

False religion can still deceive people today.

So can prosperity.

We can become so comfortable with religious activity that we never examine whether we truly know Christ.

Or so absorbed with possessions, comfort, and financial security that eternal things quietly move to the edges of our lives.

Then Zechariah raises another heart-level question.

When we feel sorrow over sin, what kind of sorrow is it?

Are we grieved because we’ve sinned against God?

Or merely because our sin brought consequences, embarrassment, or pain?

One kind of sorrow produces repentance.

The other can leave the heart unchanged.

So today we’re asking two important questions:

What is controlling your heart?

And:

When you’re sorry for sin, has your sorrow actually changed the direction of your life?

“What Do You Do When You Don’t Have the Strength to Keep Going?” December 27

Dec 27, 2025

Have you ever reached the point where you thought, “I just don’t know how much longer I can do this”?

Maybe you’re exhausted from dealing with a strong-willed child.

Maybe your marriage has become a source of constant hurt and discouragement.

Perhaps you’ve experienced a devastating loss, and the holidays only made the empty place more noticeable.

Maybe you’ve lost a job, suffered a financial setback, received a frightening medical diagnosis, or you’re simply weary from one problem after another.

You’ve prayed.

You’ve tried.

You’ve kept going.

But now you’re tired.

What do you do when you don’t feel as though you have enough strength for one more day?

The people in Zechariah’s day knew something about discouragement.

They had returned to Jerusalem with a job to do. But sixteen years later, the temple still wasn’t finished. Opposition and difficulty had worn them down until the work had nearly stopped.

So God sent Zechariah with a message for Zerubbabel.

It wasn’t:

“Try harder.”

It wasn’t:

“You should be stronger by now.”

Instead, God reminded him where the strength to continue would come from:

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts.

Perhaps that’s exactly the reminder some of us need today.

Because sometimes God allows us to reach the end of our own strength so we’ll stop depending on it.

So how do we keep going when we’re discouraged, worn down, and tempted to give up?

“Are You Seeing God Through the Wrong Lens?” December 26

Dec 26, 2025

How do you decide what is true about God when life doesn’t make sense?

When prayers seem unanswered?

When circumstances are painful?

When God’s plan seems slow?

When people oppose you?

When you expected something very different?

It’s easy to begin interpreting God through what we see.

If life is going well, we assume He’s good.

If life becomes difficult, we may wonder whether He has forgotten us, stopped loving us, or simply isn’t working.

But what if we’re looking through the wrong lens?

The people in Zechariah’s day had returned from captivity with great expectations.

They began rebuilding.

Then the work became difficult.

Opposition came.

Enthusiasm faded.

And they needed to be reminded that their circumstances had not changed God’s promises.

That temptation is still with us.

We can either view God through the lens of our circumstances—

or view our circumstances through the lens of what God has revealed about Himself.

And that choice affects whether we remain faithful or give up.

Then Revelation 16 takes us to one of the most sobering chapters in Scripture.

The seven bowl judgments are poured out.

Pain.

Darkness.

Blood.

Heat.

Earthquakes.

Yet even then, many refuse to repent.

So what keeps a heart soft toward God when life is hard?

And what happens when people continually resist Him?

We’ll look at both today.

“Are Your Priorities God’s Priorities?” December 25

Dec 25, 2025

Merry Christmas!

I pray you’re enjoying a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Savior.

And with Christmas nearly behind us, many of us will soon start thinking about the coming year.

What do we want to accomplish?

What needs to change?

Where do we want to improve?

But before we make another list of goals, Haggai asks us to look at something deeper.

The people in his day were working hard.

They planted.

They earned money.

They took care of their homes.

They were busy.

Yet somehow, nothing seemed to be working.

They sowed much and harvested little.

They earned wages only to watch the money disappear.

They ate but weren’t satisfied.

It was as if everything they worked for slipped through their fingers.

Why?

God told them:

“Consider your ways.”

Their problem wasn’t a lack of effort.

Their priorities were wrong.

They had plenty of time and energy for themselves while God’s work was neglected.

Could something similar happen to us?

As we think about our goals for the coming year, perhaps the first question shouldn’t be:

“What do I want to accomplish?”

But:

“Are my priorities God’s priorities?”

“The King Who Came at Christmas Is Coming Again” December 24

Dec 24, 2025

Merry Christmas Eve!

Tonight and tomorrow, millions of people will think about a baby in a manger.

Angels.

Shepherds.

Bethlehem.

A star.

But what if Christmas is only the beginning of the story?

The baby born in Bethlehem is also the King who will one day return in power and glory.

And Revelation 14 gives us a very different picture from the quiet manger scene.

An angel proclaims the everlasting gospel.

Another announces the fall of Babylon.

A third gives a terrifying warning about worshiping the beast and receiving his mark.

Then comes a picture of judgment so severe that it is described as the great winepress of the wrath of God.

That raises an uncomfortable but important question:

How long can someone put off responding to Christ?

Is there another opportunity after death?

Can good works make up for rejecting the gospel?

Is there a place where sins can be paid for later?

Or does Scripture tell us that the decision we make about Christ in this life has eternal consequences?

As we celebrate His first coming, Revelation reminds us not to forget His second.

The Lamb who came to save sinners is also the King who will return.

And that makes Christmas far more than a sentimental story.

It makes the gospel urgently personal.

“The Antichrist Will Rise—but He Won’t Win” December 23

Dec 23, 2025

What do you do when evil seems to be winning?

When people who reject God appear to prosper?

When truth is mocked, sin is celebrated, and those who stand for what is right seem increasingly outnumbered?

The prophet Habakkuk wrestled with questions like those.

He looked around at the wickedness of his day and struggled to understand why God allowed it to continue.

And Revelation 13 takes that question into the future.

A ruler will arise with extraordinary power.

The world will marvel after him.

People will worship him.

Those who refuse will face persecution and even death.

And eventually no one will be able to buy or sell without his mark, his name, or the number associated with him:

666.

For a time, it will look as though evil has been given free rein.

But there’s something easy to miss in Revelation 13.

The Antichrist’s authority is not unlimited.

His time is not unlimited.

And his apparent success does not mean God has lost control.

So what are God’s people supposed to do when evil looks unstoppable?

Habakkuk gives us an answer that echoes throughout Scripture:

“The just shall live by faith.”

“What If Physical Death Isn’t the Death We Should Fear Most?” December 22

Dec 22, 2025

Death.

It’s something most of us would rather not think about.

We take care of ourselves.

We go to doctors.

We try to eat better.

We exercise.

And we do what we can to postpone the day when physical life ends.

But what if physical death isn’t the death we should fear most?

Scripture speaks of something called “the second death.”

And unlike physical death, it is eternal.

Jesus described a place where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die.

It’s not temporary.

It’s not purgatory.

And it’s not annihilation.

That’s sobering enough.

But Scripture tells us something even more disturbing:

Left to ourselves, every one of us deserves it.

So is there any way to escape it?

There is.

And that brings us back to the reason Christ came into the world in the first place.

Christmas wasn’t merely about a baby in a manger.

It was about a rescue we desperately needed.

And Revelation 12 pulls the curtain back even further, showing us the spiritual battle surrounding the coming of Christ—and an enemy who wanted to destroy God’s plan before the Savior could accomplish it.