TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
Go deeper!
‘Launch out into the deep.’
Luke 5:4 NKJV
The UCB Word for Today - 09 April 2019
The disciples fished all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus said, ‘“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets”…And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish’ (Luke 5:4-6 NKJV).
Notice three things here:
1) Working harder isn’t necessarily the answer. The disciples ‘toiled all night’.
Nobody could have questioned their work ethic. But when you fish in water that’s too shallow, no amount of effort will bring results.
2) You need to obey God even when you don’t understand His plan. Peter, a seasoned fisherman, had to set aside his pride and say, ‘Nevertheless at Your word I will…’
In 2 Kings chapter 5, Naaman had to humble himself and bathe in the Jordan in order to be healed of leprosy. In Gethsemane Jesus displayed the same attitude when He prayed, ‘Not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42 NIV 2011 Edition).
3) Going deeper always works. Jesus said two men built houses, but only one house survived the storm because the builder ‘dug…deep and laid the foundation on rock’ (Luke 6:48 NIV 2011 Edition). Author Phil Yancey’s former pastor said he sometimes felt like an old hand-operated pump.
‘Everyone who came along would reach up and pump vigorously a few times, and each time he felt something drain out of him. Finally, he had nothing more to give.
At a ministry retreat he expressed his thoughts to a very wise nun, expecting her to offer soothing words about what a wonderful sacrificial person he was. Instead she gave him some great advice: “There’s only one thing to do when your reservoir is dry.
Go deeper!”’ And that’s the word for you today!
Joshua 19-21, John 4:1-30
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
What season are you in?
‘In season and out of season.’
2 Timothy 4:2 NIV
The UCB Word for Today - 10 April 2019
If you sow your seed at the wrong time, you risk losing your harvest. Why?
Because you didn’t recognise what season you were in. Are you in the season of small beginnings?
If you are, God says, ‘Do not despise these small beginnings’ (Zechariah 4:10 NLT). The richness and stability that come from ‘small beginnings’ and gradual success are more lasting than the temperamental theatrics of those who have never learned their own vulnerabilities or developed a true sense of dependence on God.
If you’re not sure what season you’re in, ask God. He does everything according to a set time and purpose.
In the autumn you break up the ground, turn the sod, sow the seed, add the fertiliser, and look for the harvest next spring. In the meantime you wait, because the soil that has yielded so many of its nutrients is being replenished.
The fertiliser that smells so bad is in the process of producing the highest quality crop. The root system that’s required for strong, healthy growth is being developed.
Understand this: God gives you grace for the season you’re in – not the one you were once in, or the one you’d like to be in. When Paul said, ‘Be prepared in season and out of season,’ he recognised that he was in the winter of his ministry.
That’s why he was pouring his knowledge into his successor, Timothy. Paul wasn’t resentful about the changing seasons. No, when his days as a player were over he simply became a coach.
So ask God to show you what season you’re in and how to make it the most productive season of your life.
Joshua 22-24, John 4:31-54
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
Being friends with God (1)
‘The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.’
Exodus 33:11 NLT
The UCB Word for Today - 11 April 2019
When you talk to a friend, you’re unguarded and relaxed. No need to ‘mind your Ps and Qs’.
You can say what you think without fear of being judged. That’s how Moses and God talked to each other – like two friends who were trusting and transparent.
They said what they felt and thought. The Israelites had just created a golden calf to worship, and God was angry enough to disown them and pick some new friends.
Moses had a major crisis on his hands, and he engaged God in a serious conversation. In essence he told God, ‘You see it one way and I see it another way. And your perspective is making me very uncomfortable.’
Sounds like a candid exchange between friends, right? He wasn’t being disrespectful, he was opening his heart.
God and Moses knew each other well enough to speak ‘face to face, as one speaks to a friend’. Do you pray like that?
No posturing; just a heart-to-heart conversation with a friend you trust and feel close to. That’s what God wanted with Moses, and what He wants with you!
Religious-sounding clichés and the usual run-of-the-mill prayer request list can undermine your opportunity to connect deeply and personally with God. Open up to Him instead.
Get down to the nitty-gritty where you talk honestly about where you’re coming from and what you feel, think, and desire. That’s what being friends with God is all about!
Judges 1-3, John 5:1-30
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
Being friends with God (2)
‘“I know you by name and you have found favour with me.’”
Exodus 33:12 NIVUK
The UCB Word for Today - 12 April 2019
We’ve witnessed Moses talking with God like a friend, saying what he truly felt and thought, and God wanted it that way. Let’s listen in on their conversation.
When Moses said, ‘You have been telling me, “Lead these people”…You have said, “I know you by name and you have found favour with me”’ (v. 12), he was mirroring back to God what God had just said to him. Do you remember saying to your spouse or friend, ‘You were the one who said [fill in the blank]’?
That’s what Moses was doing here – reminding God of His own words. The truth is, God wants you to remember His promises and speak them in prayer.
Not because He needs reminding, but because we do; plus His Word is the only word He’s obligated to fulfil (see Jeremiah 1:12). When you verbalise God’s Word in prayer, you’re praying in His will and you’re guaranteed a favourable hearing.
So memorise Scriptures that relate to your needs and desires. Clothe your petitions in His promises.
For example, when you say, ‘Lord, You said whatever I ask for in prayer, believing that I have received it, You will do it for me’ (see Mark 11:24), it empowers your praying. The more you learn of God’s Word, the more your prayer time will conform to His will and the more closely aligned you’ll feel with Him.
Keep your Bible handy when you talk to God so He can direct your thoughts to the words He wants you to pray.
Judges 4-6, John 5:31-47
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
Being friends with God (3)
‘He made known his ways to Moses.’
Psalm 103:7 NIV
The UCB Word for Today - 13 April 2019
Let’s listen again as Moses talks to God. ‘If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you’ (Exodus 33:13 NIVUK 2011 Edition).
Israel was in a crisis that threatened their relationship with God, but what did Moses pray for? Not, ‘Lord, You’ve got to resolve it for me!’
Instead he prayed, ‘Teach me Your way so I may know You.’ He wanted more than just information about God, he wanted intimacy with Him: to know His heart and mind – how He thought and felt about the situation.
Why? Because knowing God and having His favour would bring all the other things he needed, including a solution to the crisis.
And God gave him what he asked. ‘He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel.’
God responded to Moses’ request, saying, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’ (Exodus 33:14 NIV 2011 Edition). In the Hebrew text ‘you’ is singular.
God promised to accompany Moses and give rest to only him. Anybody else would have accepted gladly, but not Moses!
His prayer surpassed his own concerns: ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here’ (v. 15 NIV 2011 Edition). In other words: ‘Lord, it’s not me I’m praying for, it’s us!’
Question: Are your prayers bigger than yourself and your own needs? The Bible says, ‘For God so loved the world’ (John 3:16 NIV 2011 Edition).
So pray that your family, your town, and a lost world will not perish but have everlasting life!
Judges 7-8, John 6:1-21
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
It takes ‘heart’
‘The people had a heart…to work.’
Nehemiah 4:6 AMPC
The UCB Word for Today - 14 April 2019
In San Diego there’s a famous attraction called SeaWorld. If you go there you can see ducks on roller skates.
But when you get close to them, you realise that their hearts aren’t in it! You may smile, but a lot of people are like that – just going through the motions.
Don’t be one of them! If you want your life to count, find a cause greater than yourself and give your all to it!
Do you recall the story of Nehemiah? He risked life and limb in order to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.
Even though faced with threats and obstacles, he finished the job in record time. How did it happen?
Because ‘the people had a heart…to work’. An 1828 copy of Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘courage’ as ‘that quality which enables us to face difficulty and danger…without fear or depression’.
Then Webster adds the words of Moses as he transferred leadership of the nation to Joshua. ‘Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid…for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’ (see Joshua 1:9 NKJV).
At age one hundred and twenty, Moses was still telling the people of Israel, ‘Ya gotta have heart!’ Why?
Because anything worth having is worth fighting for! It takes ‘heart’ to deal with a child’s wilful defiance, or face your own fears, or pick up the pieces of your life and start over.
It’s easy to talk about what’s wrong, but it takes ‘heart’ to do something about it. And where does that kind of courage come from? God!
So talk to Him today.
Luke 7:1-30, Psalm 37-39