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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Building Real Relationships
‘He now showed them the full extent of his love.’

John 13:1
The UCB Word for Today - 27 Jun 2016


People spend hours every day on social networks like Facebook - in many cases because they’re lonely.


Now, there’s nothing wrong with interacting with others this way. In fact, social media offers one of the greatest tools the Church has ever had for reaching the world with the gospel.


But in a day when it’s getting easy to neglect real relationships, let’s remember why we’re connecting with others in the first place.


One author says: ‘Life is so much richer when we have friends with whom we can share our joys and troubles … Unfortunately loneliness remains a major problem and source of pain for many.



But none of us need become resigned to loneliness; [it’s]…“treatable,” if not actually avoidable.’ Real relationships aren’t built by posting updates, or tweeting and re-tweeting the most thought-provoking quotes. It takes more time than that.


The greatest social networking involves meeting someone’s needs in a way that never would’ve happened without a one-on-one connection.


That’s what Jesus did. Most of His public ministry was spent pouring Himself into twelve men who, in turn, went out in His name and poured themselves into others.


The Bible says, ‘Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.’ The psalmist spelled out how many people today feel deep down: ‘No one is concerned for me … no one cares’ (Psalm 142:4 NIV 2011 Edition).

If you want to meet people’s needs you have to get ‘up close and personal’. That’s what Jesus did, and He’s your example.


2 Chron 13-14, Acts 22

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Start Now
‘An intelligent person aims at wise action … a fool starts off in many directions.’

Proverbs 17:24
The UCB Word for Today - 28 Jun 2016


Successful people have one thing in common: they’ve developed the habit of doing what unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do.


We all want more money, but we don’t all want more work. We’d all like to be slim and trim, but we’re not all willing to eat properly and exercise daily.

The bookends of success are commitment and consistency. Without commitment you’ll never start, and without consistency you’ll never finish.


Getting started is the hardest part, because we come up with so many reasons not to. So: 1) Start small. Take the first step.


You can’t take step two until you’ve taken step one. Taking the first step to prioritise your life will focus you in the right direction.

But don’t expect to immediately understand all that’s required. ‘By faith Abraham … went out, not knowing’ (Hebrews 11:8 KJV). God guides you when you’re in motion, so ‘you’ll know as you go’. 2) Start with yourself.


If you want others to respond to you differently, give them a different set of attitudes and actions to respond to. 3) Start early.


Someone said, ‘Noah didn’t wait for his ship to come in - he built one.’ Hard work is an accumulation of the easy things you didn’t do when you should have. The truth is, the work doesn’t seem nearly so hard once you stop putting it off. 4) Start now.


What are you waiting for? Until you finish school, get married, have kids, the kids leave home, you retire, or you die? If you wait long enough you’ll only have one regret - that you didn’t start now.


2 Chron 15-16, Acts 23:1-15

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Start a trend!
Jesus...laid aside His garments...'

John 13:3-4
The UCB Word for Today - 29 Jun 2016


John records that: 'Jesus...rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself...poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.


Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, 'Lord, are You washing my feet? (Luke 13:3-6 NKJV).


Jesus didn't wait for His disciples to make the first move, He went first. He taught that in order to serve God you must be willing to lay aside your image, your comfort and your agenda.


And He dramatised it in a way His disciples would never forget. By laying aside His garments He showed them God has no time for form or fashion.


Real ministry is not image conscious; it's done with a complete loss of distinction. God incarnate clothed Himself in humility.


Amazing! But Peter didn't get it. He was embarrassed to think that His Lord would allow Himself to be seen in such demeaning light.


So Jesus said, 'You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’...If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.


For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you...If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them' (John 13:13-17 NKJV).


If you want to be blessed, don't join the 'spiritual elitists' who are impressed by their own speeches and display their own accomplishments.


Lay aside everything you privately glory in and pick up the towel of servanthood. And don't wait for others. Somebody at your table needs to start a trend. Today let it be you!


2 Chron 17-18, Acts 23:16-35

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Overcoming the ‘I Can’t’ Mentality
‘We saw the giants … and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight.’

Numbers 13:33
The UCB Word for Today - 30 Jun 2016


Wherever you go, you take your mentality with you. After four hundred years as captives in Egypt, the Israelites needed to adjust to their new freedom and learn to step into unfamiliar situations.


They functioned best when other people told them what to do.

Consequently when they approached the Promised Land and their leader sent twelve spies in to check it out, ten came back saying, ‘The inhabitants of the land are giants.


We are like grasshoppers compared to them.’ But two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, knew God was with them so they reported, ‘The inhabitants of the land are like grasshoppers to us. We are well able to overcome them’ (see v. 30).

Joshua and Caleb developed the capacity to see things from God’s vantage point. It spelled the difference between success and failure - and this one secret will change your world.

You learn to ‘mount up with wings’ like an eagle (Isaiah 40:31 KJV) and see every situation from a higher viewpoint: through God’s eyes! You stop looking at the devil’s picture of defeat and focus on God’s portrait of success.


This is your ticket to the Promised Land! Start speaking what you desire - not what you dread (see Psalm 107:2). Speak your expectations - not your fears.

This isn’t mind-over-matter or pop psychology. It’s standing on God’s Word declaring, ‘I am what God says I am…I have what God says I have…and I can do what God says I can do!’ (see Philippians 4:13).


2 Chron 19-20, Acts 24

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Knowing What Not to Say
‘A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.’

Proverbs 29:11
The UCB Word for Today - 1 Jul 2016


Honesty and good communication are the foundation stones for a healthy relationship. This is particularly so in marriage.

But any good idea can be misused. For example, it’s honest to tell your spouse that you don’t like the way they cook. It’s honest for you to express anger over your spouse’s shortcomings.

But honesty that does not have the best interest of the other person at heart is cruel, and a form of selfishness.

This is especially so when the other person can’t do anything about it.


Some couples, in their determination to share every thought and opinion, destroy the sweet spark of romance that drew them together. No longer is there any sense of magic.


They’ve unravelled the romantic allure that first attracted them to one another. Your spouse is the person you chose to marry.


So if you didn’t do your homework up front, don’t complain when you don’t like the test results.


Peter writes, ‘Continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins’ (1 Peter 4:8 NLT). Paul writes: ‘Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.


Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance’ (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT). When you practise these virtues, you can help improve your marriage.


2 Chron 21-22, Acts 25

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


The Weakness of Willpower
‘Without Me you can do nothing.’

John 15:5
The UCB Word for Today - 2 Jul 2016


We think that if we have enough willpower, we can fight off every temptation that comes our way. And sometimes it works. Here’s the problem, however.


Willpower is your best friend when things go well, but often the first friend to check out when you get weary. When you don’t want to do something, your carnal mind will give you plenty of reasons why you don’t have to.


Your emotions will even join in and say, ‘I agree, because I don’t feel like doing it anyway.’ Your mind, will, and emotions would love to run your life, but the Bible says you’re to be led by God’s Spirit. ‘Walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh’ (Galatians 5:16 AMP Classic Edition). Willpower and discipline are necessary to a successful life, but willpower alone won’t be enough.


Determination may get you started and keep you going for a while, but it’s never enough to bring you across the finish line. ‘“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts’ (Zechariah 4:6 NKJV).

What happens when instead of turning first to willpower, you turn to God? He releases His power into your willpower and energises it to bring you across the finish line.


That way willpower doesn’t get the credit for your success, God does. That’s why Jesus said, ‘Without Me you can do nothing.’ This is one of the most important and difficult lessons you must learn if you want to enjoy the life Jesus died to give you.


2 Chron 23-24, Acts 26

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Love Yourself
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

Matthew 22:39

The UCB Word for Today - 3 Jul 2016


God loves you so much that He gave His only Son to save you. ‘Save me from what?’ you ask: 1) Going through this life lost, directionless, joyless, and unfulfilled. 2) Spending the next life lost and without the joys of heaven He wants you to share.


That’s how highly God values you. So when you keep putting yourself down, you’re rejecting His opinion of you.


And to disagree with God is to make yourself equal with Him, or worse, put your opinion above His. Maybe you never thought about it like that before. Actress/singer Ethel Waters ministered to great crowds in the Billy Graham crusades.


She was born black and poor in a segregated society, but when she found Christ she gained true self-esteem. With a smile that would melt your heart, she told her audiences, ‘God made me - and my God don’t make no junk!’ When you refuse to love yourself, it’s impossible to love others or accept that they love you.


You become skilled at tuning out compliments and picking up on criticism, because it confirms the negative opinion you have of yourself. As a result, you distance yourself from people and end up lonely without ever knowing why.


Maybe your parents failed you, or your spouse betrayed you. You may feel like ‘damaged goods’, and seek escape in addictions, or affairs, or a lifestyle of ritual accomplishment. But it doesn’t work.

Only when you accept that God loves you unconditionally, and decide to love yourself, will you have love to give to others.


Luke 12:32-59, Ps 70-71

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Love Your Neighbour
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

Matthew 22:39
The UCB Word for Today - 4 Jul 2016

In The Fine Art of Friendship Ted Engstrom outlines ten ways to love others: 1) Love is unconditional.


If it’s not…it’s manipulation. 2) Our natural tendency is toward self-centeredness (which isn’t related to a healthy self-esteem); that’s why it takes a conscious effort to love. 3) Each of us is a one-of-a-kind creation.

Therefore it takes time - often a long time - to understand one another. 4) Do you really listen and try to understand what people are saying? Or do you listen in order to give an answer; in other words, by letting the other person talk while you mentally formulate your response?

One who loves, listens with understanding. 5) Simply being there to care, whether or not you know exactly what to do.

Loving your neighbour involves fulfilling, in a visible way, Christ’s promise, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV). 6) Just because God put you in a leadership position doesn’t mean He made you ‘better’ than others.


Paul warns the leader ‘not to think of himself more highly than he ought to’ (Romans 12:3 NKJV). 7) Be generous with your praise and encouragement. Inspiring words build up the self-esteem of others, whereas critical comments kill enthusiasm and love. 8) Make your friends number one: ‘In honour preferring one another’ (Romans 12:10 KJV).

This is another point where we see a clear difference between the leader who loves, and a power-holder who ‘looks out for number one’. 9) Learn to love God with all your heart.


Then love your neighbour as yourself. 10) Emphasise other people’s strengths and virtues, not their sins and weaknesses. Why? Because you’ll be needing grace and love yourself before the day’s done!


2 Chron 25-27, Acts 27:1-26

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Love Your Neighbour
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

Matthew 22:39
The UCB Word for Today - 4 Jul 2016


In The Fine Art of Friendship Ted Engstrom outlines ten ways to love others: 1) Love is unconditional. If it’s not…it’s manipulation. 2) Our natural tendency is toward self-centeredness (which isn’t related to a healthy self-esteem); that’s why it takes a conscious effort to love. 3) Each of us is a one-of-a-kind creation.


Therefore it takes time - often a long time - to understand one another. 4) Do you really listen and try to understand what people are saying? Or do you listen in order to give an answer; in other words, by letting the other person talk while you mentally formulate your response? One who loves, listens with understanding. 5) Simply being there to care, whether or not you know exactly what to do.


Loving your neighbour involves fulfilling, in a visible way, Christ’s promise, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV). 6) Just because God put you in a leadership position doesn’t mean He made you ‘better’ than others.


Paul warns the leader ‘not to think of himself more highly than he ought to’ (Romans 12:3 NKJV). 7) Be generous with your praise and encouragement.


Inspiring words build up the self-esteem of others, whereas critical comments kill enthusiasm and love. 8) Make your friends number one: ‘In honour preferring one another’ (Romans 12:10 KJV).

This is another point where we see a clear difference between the leader who loves, and a power-holder who ‘looks out for number one’. 9) Learn to love God with all your heart.


Then love your neighbour as yourself. 10) Emphasise other people’s strengths and virtues, not their sins and weaknesses. Why? Because you’ll be needing grace and love yourself before the day’s done!



2 Chron 25-27, Acts 27:1-26

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

The Power of Praise
‘All the prison doors flew open.’

Acts 16:26


The UCB Word for Today - 5 Jul 2016
The Bible says: ‘About midnight Paul and Silas were … singing hymns to God … Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken … all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose’ (vv. 25-26 NIV 2011 Edition). Praise opens doors. Praise breaks chains.


Any time you praise God in spite of the circumstances, the forces of heaven come to your aid. You say, ‘But sometimes I don’t feel like praising God.’ The psalmist wrote, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times’ (Psalm 34:1 NKJV). Sometimes praise is an emotional response to God’s goodness; other times it’s an act of your will.


Anybody can praise God in the good times. But when you have to rise above your feelings and your circumstances, that’s when it really counts.


The battle of Jericho teaches us that sometimes you have to shout God’s praise when: 1) You are up against a brick wall. 2) It feels like you’re going in circles. 3) Your circumstances seem to mock you. 4) Your rational mind thinks, ‘This plan doesn’t make any sense.’ 5) It’s the last thing you feel like doing.


But when you praise God anyway, you discover the truth of Nehemiah’s words: ‘The joy of the Lord [the joy that comes from knowing He is present with you and has gone before you to work things out in your favor is your strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10 AMP). When you’re ruled by circumstances and emotions you live on a rollercoaster.

But if you look to the Lord of your circumstances and praise Him, you move from weakness to strength.


2 Chron 28-29, Acts 27:27-44