New Life Christian Fellowship Church

04/28/2026

Word for Today
Tue, 28 Apr 2026

Overcoming envy

“Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” Proverbs 27:4

Unlike jealousy, which is the fear of being displaced, envy is ill-will toward those who possess something you want. Jealousy says, “I’m afraid you are going to take what I have.” Envy says, “I want what you have, and I resent you for having it!” Envy is one of the most frequently concealed emotions. You may be more likely to admit to an uncontrollable temper, a phobia, or any other negative emotion than to acknowledge that you are envious.

Envy inevitably leads to resenting and criticising the person you envy. And once you allow envy and resentment to enter your heart, they act like free radicals producing an emotional cancer. Eventually they will manifest themselves in some destructive way, whether it is in the form of taking mood-altering substances, overeating, shopping excessively, lashing out, being sarcastic, or physically harming others. If you harbor envy toward someone, it’s time to deal with it. David wrote: “You desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:6-7 NIV). If you covet what someone else has, ask yourself, “Am I willing to pay the price they paid to obtain it?” The world has a saying: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Everything—except salvation—has a price tag. So whether you want to be thin, rich, educated, or whatever, stop envying the success of others, and ask God to help you succeed in the assignment He has given you for your life

04/27/2026

Word for Today
Mon, 27 Apr 2026

Learn to listen to God

“‘Speak, for Your servant hears.’ Then the Lord said to Samuel.” 1 Samuel 3:10-11

If you are serious about having a truly interactive relationship with the Lord in which you speak to one another and hear from one another, you will need to spend quality, uninterrupted time opening your heart to Him. When Samuel finally prayed, “Speak, for Your servant hears,” the Bible says, “Then the Lord said to Samuel.” All too often, our prayer is “Listen, God, for Your servant is speaking.”

Listening to God can involve a variety of practices: reading His Word, spending time in solitude and silence, and hearing from God just like a seasoned friend you trust. Here’s an example: “As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.’ And he went on. ‘But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God’” (1 Samuel 9:27 NKJV). One of the most effective ways of hearing from God is through meditating on His Word. You say, “But I don’t know how to meditate.” If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. In both worry and meditation, your thoughts and focus are given to a certain thing. When you meditate on God’s Word, you’re focusing your thoughts on the right thing! God told Joshua: “This Book…shall not depart from your mouth [speak it regularly], but you shall meditate [focus] in it day and night, that you may observe to do [act on it] according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8 NKJV).

04/26/2026

Word for Today
Sun, 26 Apr 2026

Stay true to the truth of God’s word

“Bring that person back.” James 5:19

The Bible says, “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back” (James 5:19 NIV). That means it’s possible for a true believer to do this. It also means we must never put our convictions on the shelf. If we don’t make a deliberate effort to stay close to the truth of God’s Word, we will wander from it. After all, we live in a world with lots of distractions.

Today many people are on a quest for “unity at all costs” and are therefore devaluing the importance of the truth as revealed in God’s Word. Knowing he would soon die as a martyr for his faith, the apostle Paul wrote to his successor Timothy: “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of” (2 Timothy 3:14 NIV). Then in 2 Timothy 4:2-5, he encouraged Timothy: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship…discharge all the duties of your ministry” (NIV). So the word for you today is—stay true to the truth of God’s Word.

04/25/2026

Word for Today
Sat, 25 Apr 2026

The challenges and rewards of leadership

“I have called [you]…and [your] way will prosper.” Isaiah 48:15

As a leader, you must understand what you do well and know where you need assistance. Your strengths and weaknesses don’t make you wrong or right; they just make you who you are. If you’ve ever heard the saying, “No man is an island,” it was probably said about a great leader. Few people achieve success on their own.

Consider an actor in a play. He may be the one out front in the spotlight; with perfect hair, makeup, and costume; reciting poignant lines and getting all the applause. But he didn’t do it alone. He had to rely on the costume designer for the outfit he wore, the hair and makeup artists who made him look flawless, the playwright who wrote the words, and the lighting and sound crews who set the stage, etc. Good leaders are wise enough to surround themselves with people who have strengths that complement theirs. They are still in charge, but they have teams that help them achieve their vision. You are a leader in some area of your life—home, family, work, church—and you know leadership has its challenges. While there are certainly many benefits, a leader has to deal with conflict, controversy, and naysayers who think they know better. This comes with the territory. But you can’t let others keep you from achieving your goals. Not everyone will be your cheerleader. That’s just a fact of life. If you are going to be an effective leader, hold fast to your vision, build a great team to help you, and stand on God’s promise: “I have called [you]…and [your] way will prosper.”

04/25/2026

04/24/2026

Word for Today
Fri, 24 Apr 2026

Experiencing God’s peace

“Acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace.” Job 22:21

Within a matter of seconds, Vicky’s life was shattered. A trapeze artist, she lost control of the fly bar and landed head-first in the net. She broke her neck between the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae and became paralysed, a quadriplegic. Three years after the accident, she had fallen into deep despair and self-pity, determined to take her life. Her attempt failed, and she ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

On the fourth anniversary of her fall, she and her husband separated, and bitterness set in. One day, a home-health aide was assigned to help Vicky. Her name was Mae Lynne, a strong Christian who introduced Vicky to Jesus Christ and the Bible. Vicky began to learn how to stand firm in her faith and walk in obedience to God. In addition, a pastor faithfully taught her God’s Word for two years. Then Vicky began a ministry of encouragement by writing letters each week to prison inmates and others with disabilities. The more joy she brought to them, the more she experienced herself. She jokes, “Quadriplegics aren’t supposed to have this much joy, are they?” Vicky still uses a wheelchair, becomes dizzy at times, and has occasional respiratory problems. But she has a deep inner peace and strength because of her relationship with Jesus. And you can have it too. Job said: “Acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up” (Job 22:21-23 NKJV).

04/23/2026

Word for Today
Thu, 23 Apr 2026

Healing for anxiety

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

Paul wrote: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT). Jesus said: “Don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT).

Instead of meditating on our problems, we need to meditate on how good and loving our God really is. When we keep our minds on our problems, we create anxiety. But when we keep our minds on the promises of God, we get infused with His peace. So allow the promises of God to heal your soul of worry and stress by focusing on His goodness and willingness to show Himself strong on your behalf. “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT). Our heavenly Father loves us dearly and already knows everything we need. When we take hold of that truth, fear and doubt fall by the wayside. Confession: “I don’t give in to needless worry. I pray about problems rather than complain about them. God hears my prayers, and I thank Him for all He has provided for me. I experience God’s peace because I know He hears me and has already answered my prayers in Christ.”

04/23/2026

04/22/2026

Word for Today
Wed, 22 Apr 2026

Prayer is your connection to God

“Cry to God all day and all night for the fulfillment of his promises.” Isaiah 62:6
The remora fish has an oval sucking disc on the top of its head that allows it to attach itself to the underside of a shark. Once attached, the remora does not have to worry about food, transportation, or safety. It feeds on the food that falls from the shark’s mouth. Of course, it has the option of swimming on its own, but when it decides to attach to the shark, it goes where the shark goes.

It does not attempt to go in a direction contrary to the shark. Protection? It’s a non-issue for one that’s connected to such a powerful creature. The remora is secure, and it knows the shark can take it places it could never go alone. Doesn’t this sound like the relationship God desires His children to have with Him? He wants us to feed on the words that come from His mouth. He wants us to go with Him where He leads and not take off on independent excursions, hoping He will tag along. He wants us to live with the assurance that He will protect not only our lives, but also our relationships and all that pertains to us. Oh, that we would emulate the remora! We would then find ourselves securing our attachment to God on a daily basis through prayer. He is waiting to carry us to places we fear going alone. The prophet Isaiah admonished the Jewish leaders: “Cry to God all day and all night for the fulfillment of his promises.” So the word for you today is this—prayer is your connection to God.

04/21/2026

Word for Today
Tue, 21 Apr 2026

God forgives and forgets (4)

“He delights in mercy.” Micah 7:18

God has a remarkable memory. The Omniscient One doesn’t just know everything; He also remembers everything. In fact, He remembers it before it happens! Every moment of your life was ordained in God’s imagination before it became a memory—every laugh, every dream, and every sacrifice. The Psalmist wrote: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:16 NLT).

Nothing is lost on God, not even your tears. He doesn’t just remember them; He collects them in a bottle (see Psalm 56:8 NKJV). There’s only one thing that God can and will forget: confessed sin. So when you confess sin that’s already been confessed, you’re reminding God of something He’s already forgotten (see Isaiah 43:25). The reason we bring it back up is that even though we are forgiven, we don’t feel forgiven. What’s the answer? Don’t give your feelings a voice or a vote, or they will mislead you. Stand in faith, believing what God says in His Word. “I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me” (Jeremiah 33:8 NKJV). The apostle John put it this way: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NKJV). Maybe you’ve struggled with addiction, or your marriage ended in divorce, or you’re in prison for a crime you committed. What should you do? Repent, renounce your sin, receive God’s mercy, and begin to live free from guilt and condemnation.

04/20/2026

Word for Tofay
Mon, 20 Apr 2026

God forgives and forgets (3)

“His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23

The English word for new is the Hebrew word hadas. It doesn’t just mean again and again, as amazing as that would be. It’s new, as in different. It means never before experienced. Today’s mercy is different from yesterday’s mercy, or the day before that, or the day before that! Just as the seasonal flu vaccine changes from year to year, God’s mercy changes from day to day. It’s a new strain of mercy. Why? Because you didn’t sin today the way you did yesterday!

Try this little exercise: figure out how old you are—not in years but in days. Whatever number you come up with isn’t just your age in days; it doubles as the sum total of different kinds of mercy that you have received life-to-date. By the time you are twenty-one, you have experienced 7,665 unique mercies. When you hit midlife, it numbers about 14,600. And by the time you hit retirement, God has shown mercy to you about 23,725 times! And His mercy for you is a tailored mercy that perfectly fits your sin, your shortcomings, your needs, and your mistakes. His mercy fits like a glove! In Scripture, the word manifold means “multifaceted.” Mercy and grace are not the same thing. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve, and grace is getting what you don’t deserve. The apostle Peter spoke about “the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10 NKJV). Like snowflakes, God’s grace never crystallises the same way twice. That’s what makes it so amazing!