[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Look for a true friend

‘A true friend sticks by you like family.’
Proverbs 18:24 MSG

The UCB Word for Today - 27 Nov 2018

One day two cows looked over a fence and saw these words on a passing milk truck: ‘Pasteurised, Homogenised, Vitamin A added.’

One cow said to the other, ‘It makes you feel a bit inadequate, doesn’t it?’ Seriously, is that how you feel today?

There’s too much to do, and not enough of you to do it? Or you don’t think you have the skill or resources?

Remember the old Beatles song: ‘Help!’? You may think you can do everything on your own, but you’ll begin to realise you need the help of others.

In a perfect world Adam still couldn’t make it by himself, so God said, ‘I will make a helper suitable for him’ (Genesis 2:18 NIV 2011 Edition). Sometimes the solution requires more than prayer or counselling; it requires a friend who understands – especially one who has fought the same battles and won.

In Acts chapter three God used Peter and John to bring about the healing of a lame man sitting at the temple gate. But there was another miracle earlier that day.

Peter had just denied Jesus, fallen flat on his face, and decided to return to his old fishing job. But John refused to let go of him.

As a result, Peter was restored, a lame man was healed, and three thousand people were won to Christ. You don’t need a lot of people in your life; you just need the right people.

So ask God for a ‘true friend’ who will stick by you; then you do the same for someone else.

Daniel 5-7, 1 John 1

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Get up and try again

‘Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen…and help you; I will uphold you with my…right hand.’
Isaiah 41:10 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 28 Nov 2018

To succeed in life you need two things:
1) The right people. Sometimes the first step towards getting out of discouragement is finding somebody who can lift you.

When you spend time with someone who is continually negative and full of despair about their life, you can come out of that conversation feeling negative and full of despair at your life too. The company you keep will either lift you up or pull you down.

Paul wrote, ‘God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus’ (2 Corinthians 7:6 NIV 2011 Edition). You need a Titus in your life, and you need to become a Titus to others.

The Bible says, ‘Bear…one another’s burdens’ (Galatians 6:2 KJV).

2) The right perspective. Over half of all salespeople fail because they don’t go back a second or third time.

About 58 per cent make one call and stop. Twenty-five per cent make two calls and stop.

Fifteen per cent make three calls and stop. The 12 per cent who go back again and again and again make 80 per cent of all sales.

That’s the group you belong in. Don’t settle for failure; get up and try again!

God will work with you (see Philippians 1:6). Missionary and theologian E. Stanley Jones said, ‘When life kicks you, let it kick you forward.’

Refuse to accept defeat. Remember, you’ll be rewarded for what you finished, not for what you started.

Sometimes the last key on the ring is the one that opens the door, so ask God for the strength to keep persevering until you win!

Daniel 8-10, 1 John 2

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Don’t lose your passion

‘He never lost sight of where he was headed.’
Hebrews 12:2 MSG

The UCB Word for Today - 29 Nov 2018

Concerning Jesus, the Bible says: ‘Because he never lost sight of where he was headed…he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever…When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again’ (vv. 2-3 MSG). It’s your vision that fuels your passion.

Ever notice how God often transforms the worst of sinners into His greatest servants? That’s because they’re passionate, and once that passion is harnessed and redirected they become effective in His kingdom.

Now you understand why the enemy has tried so hard to destroy you. He knows once you line up your passion with God’s plan, there will be no stopping you.

Passion is spiritual energy; without it you’re as limp as a wet noodle and as bland as hospital food. So instead of trying to stifle your passion, let God redirect it.

Jesus told the end-age church, ‘You are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!’ (Revelation 3:15 NLT).

Who is He speaking to? Professing Christians who live, marry, have children, buy cars, accumulate stocks, and do all the things their modern-day counterparts do, but without passion.

They were simply going through the motions! The Bible says, ‘Taste and see’ (see Psalm 34:8); in other words, step up to the plate and swing the bat!

So what if you miss? The fact is you’ll miss for sure if you don’t swing!

Your instinct for self-preservation can rob you of the only chance you may ever get at life. So if you’re down today, get back up.

If you failed, try again. Ask God to rekindle the fires of passion within you.

Daniel 11-12, 1 John 3

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

What this test is about

‘These trials will show that your faith is genuine.’
1 Peter 1:7 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 30 Nov 2018

The tests we face reveal both our weaknesses and our strengths. When the Bible speaks of ‘a refiner’s fire’ (see Malachi 3:2), we’re inclined to think of the negative things God wants to remove from our character.

But we also have inner strengths and gifts that need to be refined but we’re not aware of them because a demand hasn’t been placed on them. In 1 Kings 17, when the widow and her son met Elijah there was a famine in the land, and he asked her to share their last meal with him.

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Typical preacher!’ Don’t be too quick to jump to conclusions!

One of the best days in this woman’s life was when God placed a demand on her faith. Her response changed her future and saved her family.

So when you’re faced with a need, how do you respond? Do you withdraw? Withhold?

Give from a sense of obligation? Or do you see it as an opportunity to obey God and change your future?

You can actually give your way out of trouble! (See 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.) When God sent Moses to Pharaoh, He said, ‘The king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him’ (Exodus 3:19 NIV 2011 Edition).

And today God may be permitting the enemy to test you in order to reveal:

1) how much He cares for you;
2) how you’ll act when your back’s against the wall;
3) who you’ll believe when God says, ‘I will bring you out with a mighty hand,’ and the enemy is saying, ‘I won’t let you go.’

That’s what this test is about.

Hosea 1-4, 1 John 4

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

It’s an inside job (1)

‘He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.’
John 14:16 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 01 Dec 2018

Do you remember dinner without mobile phones? Your family enjoying each other’s company, uninterrupted by technology?

We’re a generation that’s losing the art of communication – and intimacy – and it’s also impacting the time we spend alone with God. Although Jesus preceded the high-tech age, He was in constant demand; the multitudes pursued Him at all hours of the day and night.

Nevertheless, the Scriptures tell us, ‘A great while before day, he…departed into a solitary place, and there prayed’ (Mark 1:35 KJV). Jesus made time to be alone with His Father.

It requires spiritual discipline to be still and listen; to deliberately eliminate life’s noise and racket. But if we’ll practise it, we’ll discover a heart-satisfying fellowship with the resident Holy Spirit.

Invest a few minutes reading John chapters 14-16, and let your spirit absorb Jesus’ message. Notice, He wants His disciples to have peace, and He comforts them with the assurance that they’re never left alone.

These are all blessings He wants us to share too. Question: How can you find this peace and comfort?

Answer: ‘It’s an inside job,’ because the Holy Spirit lives in you. Jesus told His disciples, ‘I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.’

It may be Christianity’s best-kept secret, that the Holy Spirit is available to and indwells every true believer, providing everything we need to handle life’s difficulties and opportunities. The ‘Comforter’ was promised by the Son, sent by the Father, and today He’s ours by faith.

Embrace Him, trust His power, experience His peace, and follow His guidance.

Hosea 5-6, 1 John 5

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

It’s an inside job (2)

‘It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go…the Helper will not come to you.’
John 16:7 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 02 Dec 2018

Even as the disciples’ hearts ached about Jesus’ departure, He assured them it was to their ‘advantage’ because it would open a new era of power and authority for them (see John 14:12). Being ‘under new management’ wasn’t the end, but a continuation of Christ’s ministry as the Holy Spirit took the baton from the Son’s hand and placed it in theirs.

The Son would leave, but the Spirit would ‘abide with [them] for ever’ (John 14:16 KJV). This was their ‘advantage’. The Spirit would enter their human bodies and live permanently in them!

This is no tentative, vague connection. It’s God’s Spirit choosing us as His permanent dwelling place.

Have you ever considered the ‘advantage’ this gives you? For example, you might awake tomorrow feeling stressed, weary, and irritated, and these feelings could easily dictate your day.

But because the Spirit lives in you, these things don’t have to control you. Paul writes, ‘Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?’ (1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV).

Once you accept that promise by faith, you become God’s temple. You can be at work, driving the kids to school, walking the dog, waiting for biopsy results, or attending the funeral of your best friend, and as you go about your everyday life God’s Spirit is living in you.

Can you see now why Jesus told the disciples it was good for Him to leave and send the Holy Spirit? Whatever you do, don’t let this life-changing truth slide by you!

Luke 22:47-71, Psalm 120-122

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

It’s an inside job (3)

‘I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.’
John 14:16 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 03 Dec 2018

There are many benefits to receiving the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament Jesus told His disciples, ‘I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.’ The Greek source for the word ‘Comforter’ is Paracletos, which means one who comes alongside you to strengthen, encourage, and advise you.

Think about it. When you feel discouraged, confused, and powerless you have access to a wise, compassionate, competent helper who will show up to support you and supply you with what you need.

So instead of struggling to go it alone, learn to lean on Him, trust His power, and ask Him to do His mighty work in you. Here’s another Holy Spirit blessing.

Paul tells us, ‘The Holy Spirit…will tell you where to go and what to do…then you won’t always be doing the…things your evil nature wants you to’ (Galatians 5:16 TLB). The battle of the Spirit versus the flesh is constant.

And however well-intended, our fleshly nature can never be subdued by human thinking; that just produces defeat and discouragement. And another advantage of the indwelling Spirit is that you qualify for a Spirit-directed lifestyle.

The Bible says, ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God…are the sons of God’ (Romans 8:14 KJV). Praying and taking your best guess isn’t God’s way.

The Holy Spirit’s guidance – not your guesswork – should direct your lifestyle.

Hosea 7-8, 2 John

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

It’s an inside job (4)

‘The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.’
Romans 8:26 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 04 Dec 2018

The twin pillars of a believer’s daily life should be prayer and Scripture. And while praying may be simple, it’s not always easy.

We lack motivation, we’re easily distracted, and not always sure what we should be praying for. So recognising our human inadequacies, God ‘helps’ us through His indwelling Holy Spirit: ‘The Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

And the Father…knows…what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us…in harmony with God’s own will’ (vv. 26-27 NLT). That means no matter how you feel when you pray, the Holy Spirit joins in prayer with you, and for you, transforming your feeblest prayers into powerful appeals to the Father.

And when it comes to the second pillar, namely the Word of God, the Holy Spirit’s role is equally dynamic. Jesus said, ‘When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will [show] you things to come’ (John 16:13 KJV).

Notice, the Holy Spirit does three things: 1) He guides you as you study the Word of God and seek to understand it.
2) He takes what Jesus wants you to know and reveals it to you.
3) He opens your understanding about things that are still to come.

No question, good reference books, Scripture-based resources, and skilled Bible teachers can be helpful, but they’re no substitute when it comes to hearing from the Holy Spirit for yourself and listening carefully to what He wants to tell you.

Hosea 9-10, 3 John

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Are you at the breaking point?

‘Let him have all your worries and cares.’
1 Peter 5:7 TLB

The UCB Word for Today - 05 Dec 2018

In the film Limitless, actor Bradley Cooper discovers a wonder drug that opens up the entire capacity of his brain. He can learn languages and complex maths in a fraction of the time it takes normal people.

He can recall almost anything he’s read or seen. He can analyse more quickly and more in-depth than the best financial gurus.

He is limitless. And he leverages his ability to earn millions and achieve great success.

Today over 50 per cent of people are stressed out by their relationships. Over 60 per cent are stressed out by their work.

Over 70 per cent are stressed out by money. If you’re saying, ‘I’ve hit the trifecta!’

here’s the word for you today: ‘Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.’ You say, ‘If you saw my schedule, you’d know why I’m at the breaking point.’

Who sets your schedule each day? One of three people will.

Either somebody else is going to set your schedule, or you are going to set your schedule, or you can go to God and ask Him to set your schedule. One of the reasons God allows us to reach the breaking point is to force us to come to Him for guidance, for strength, and for direction.

There’s plenty in life that you can’t handle, but there’s nothing in life you and God can’t handle together. The secret is in handling only the things God wants you to handle, and entrusting the rest to Him.

Hosea 11-12, Jude

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

It’s a choice

‘Yet I will rejoice in the LORD.’
Habakkuk 3:18 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 06 Dec 2018

Pastor Jim Penner says: ‘I’ll never forget…as an eight-year-old sitting on the step when my mother opened the door to two men who handed her some papers…As tears rolled down [her] cheeks it didn’t take me long to figure out what happened. Money was tight…the bank hadn’t been paid and…our car was repossessed.

I also carry with me another image I cherish to this day of my mother praying in her room. In the face of fear two words came through…“Thank You! Thank You!” I thought, “Thank you?

You just lost your car; we have no money; what’s going to happen to us?” Her prayer continued, “Thank You, God, for what You’ve provided…and that we have something to eat tonight”…So it went…fifteen minutes, maybe more.

Looking back, I gained a lifetime of wisdom in those precious minutes. My mother taught me an attitude of gratefulness in the midst of adversity that I’ll never forget…The tough times didn’t end overnight…but in the years to come God blessed my mother for her steadfast faith.’

Gratitude isn’t a natural response to adversity; it’s a discipline you develop. The psalmist said, ‘Forget not all his benefits’ (Psalm 103:2 KJV).

In the midst of trouble, when you don’t think God has blessed you, sit down and recall His faithfulness and you’ll end up filled with joy. Habakkuk said, ‘Fig trees may not grow…there may be no grapes on the vines…no olives…no food growing in the fields…no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the barns. But I will still…rejoice in God my Saviour’ (Habakkuk 3:17-18 NCV).

When you take time to give thanks for the blessings in your life, it will change your outlook and attitude.

Hosea 13-14, Revelations 1

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Stay focused on what’s important

‘I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will.’
Isaiah 50:7 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 07 Dec 2018

In a small Wisconsin town on the southern shore of Lake Superior, the annual dogsled derby was about to begin. The racers were all children – from older boys with several dogs and big sleds, to one little boy who had only a small sled and a dog.

On the signal, the sleds took off and the little fellow was soon so far behind that he hardly seemed to be in the race at all. Then about halfway through the race when the second-place team tried to move into first place, the sleds got too close and the dogs began to fight.

As each of the other sleds in the race came upon the fight, more dogs got involved. The scene was soon one big seething knot of kids, sleds, and dogs.

All thought of racing had vanished from the minds of the racers. However, the one little guy and his dog managed to skirt the others and went on to win the race.

RightPath founder and business coach Jerry Mabe tells employers that when they hire managers, they should look out for ‘shiny object’ people. Why?

Because like children, they are easily distracted by other things and the job suffers under their watch. To succeed you must stay focused on what’s important, and pursue your goals without wavering or hesitating.

Keep your eyes on the finish line, trusting God to help you. He will.

His Word says so: ‘Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will.

And I know that I will not be put to shame.’

Joel 1-3, Revelations 2