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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Don’t belittle your gift
17 MAY 2021

‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.’
Ephesians 3:20 NKJV


Next time you see a big oak tree, remind yourself that it began as a tiny acorn. What you have to offer today may seem small, but when God blesses it, it can grow. In 1912, Dr Russell Conwell, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Philadelphia, USA, told about a Sunday school student named Hattie May Wiatt.

Because of overcrowding, Dr Conwell had told Hattie May he would love to have buildings large enough for everyone to attend. When Hattie May became ill and died, Conwell was asked to preach at her funeral. The girl’s mother told him Hattie May had been saving her money to help build a bigger church.

Hattie’s purse contained coins amounting to fifty-seven cents (about 42 pence). Conwell exchanged them for fifty-seven pennies, which he put on display and ‘sold’. With the proceeds, a nearby house was purchased for a children’s wing for the church. Inspired by Hattie’s story, more money came in, and out of her fifty-seven cents eventually came the buildings of Temple Baptist Church, Temple University, and Good Samaritan Hospital.


Perhaps you feel your gifts, your time, your talents, and your efforts are too small to make a difference. But when you give them completely to God and ask Him to bless them, you discover that He’s both a great mathematician and a great multiplier.


He can take your words, your endeavours, and your resources and multiply them beyond anything you can imagine. ‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us’ (v. 20 NKJV).

2 Samuel 23-24, Acts 2:1-21

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


God will visit you again
18 MAY 2021

‘Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.’
Job 10:12 KJV

There’s no cure for past pain like present desire. When the longing for something is powerful enough, it can wipe out the pain of the past, enabling you to rise again with renewed energy and purpose.

If you ask women who have experienced the pain of childbirth whether it was worth everything they went through, many would be willing to go through it again to experience the joy of holding that little one in their arms.

Maybe you’ve experienced a tragedy that has left you feeling indifferent about the future, or a heartbreak that still has you reeling in pain.

You may have tried to rationalise it by telling yourself, ‘As long as I don’t care, it won’t hurt.’ The fear of being hurt again is very real; a burned child dreads the fire.

But you can’t live the rest of your life in fear. Job lost his health, his wealth, and his children in a single day. How did he get through it? He said, ‘Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.’ God is not finished with you.

He will visit you again! Job’s story ends with these words: ‘The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before’ (Job 42:10 KJV). And God can do the same for you.


Be encouraged – He has a better future for you: ‘If you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.

You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by’ (Job 11:13-16 NIV).

1 Kings 1-2, Acts 2:22-47

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Accept responsibility for your life
19 MAY 2021

‘The wise are glad to be instructed.’
Proverbs 10:8 NLT

If you want to walk in God’s blessing, stop making excuses and take responsibility for your life. The Bible says, ‘The wise are glad to be instructed…fools fall flat on their faces.’ The ability to accept responsibility is a hallmark of character and maturity.

More importantly, God can’t restore you until you acknowledge and turn away from your sin. Nowhere in Scripture does God excuse our sin because of someone else’s behaviour. The Bible says He will ‘repay all people as their actions deserve’ (Proverbs 24:12 NLT).

When you keep placing blame on other people, you never reach the place of honest responsibility – where real change begins! A respected counsellor writes: ‘All blame is a waste of time. Regardless of how much fault you find, it will not change things.

The only thing blame does is keep the focus off you when you’re looking for reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration.

You may succeed in making someone else feel guilty, but you won’t succeed in changing whatever’s making you unhappy.’ Blaming others is often just a way of avoiding the truth about yourself. Jesus said that knowing the truth will set you free (see John 8:32).

It may make you very uncomfortable at first, but it’s the thing that will truly liberate you. And hiding from it doesn’t make it go away. In fact, until you’re willing to face your mistakes, you’ll keep having problems.

Is that really how you want to live? No? Then get honest with God, and let Him help you correct the things in your life that are out of order.

1 Kings 3-5, Acts 3

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


What will your legacy be? (1)
20 MAY 2021

‘A good person leaves an inheritance.’
Proverbs 13:22 NIV

Leadership expert Dr John Maxwell writes: ‘On December 18, 1998, I had a serious heart attack. That night as I lay on the floor waiting for an ambulance, I remember thinking two things: First, I was too young to die. Second, I had not completed some of the things I wanted to accomplish…One of the most beneficial outcomes of my heart attack experience was that it motivated me to ask myself, “What will my legacy be?” A legacy is something we leave behind to the next generation.

It can be possessions that we place in the hands of others. It can be principles we lived that carry on beyond our lives. It also can be people we have influenced whose lives are better as a result of knowing us.’ Always try to keep these two things in mind: 1) Today is all you’ve got.


Remember the words on a gravestone that read: ‘I expected this, but not just yet!’ We all hope for a long life, but none of us knows if we’ll see tomorrow. ‘Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring’ (Proverbs 27:1 NIV). 2) You will leave a legacy. ‘A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.’ Note, a good man or woman can leave a legacy that blesses the next two generations.

So focus on being good and doing good, and ask yourself regularly, ‘How do I want to be remembered by my loved ones? When my time here runs out, will I continue to influence others for good and for God?’

1 Kings 6-7, Acts 4:1-22

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


What will your legacy be? (2)
21 MAY 2021

‘You have given me an inheritance.’
Psalm 61:5 NLT



What would you like your legacy to be? In Walden, Henry David Thoreau voiced his concern that when it came time to die, he would discover he had never fully lived.

When it comes to your legacy, here are two things you need to keep in mind: 1) Nobody will care about the legacy you leave as much as you do.

So, be intentional when you decide on your legacy; that way, you greatly increase the odds of making an impact on the next generation. 2) The sum of how you live your life each day becomes your legacy.


Tally each action over many years, and you can see your legacy begin to take shape. In Inspiration and Ideals, Grenville Kleiser writes: ‘Your life is like a book. The title page is your name.

The preface is your introduction to the world. The pages are a daily chronicle of your efforts, trials, pleasures, discouragements, ambitions, and achievements…Day by day your thoughts and acts are being inscribed as evidence of your success or failure…Hour by hour the record is being made which must stand for all time.

One day the word “Finis” must be written. Let it then be said of your book that it is a record of noble purpose, generous service, and work well done.’ Most of us don’t get to choose when or how we’re going to die, but we all get to decide how we’re going to live.

And that’s the legacy we leave to those who follow us.

1 Kings 8-9, Acts 4:23-37

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


What will your legacy be? (3)
22 MAY 2021


‘The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.’
Proverbs 10:7 NIV


Inventor Charles F. Kettering once said, ‘The greatest thing this generation can do is lay a few stepping stones for the next generation.’ Short term, when people recall your name, they may talk with admiration about what you accomplished and acquired for yourself. Long term, what they’ll remember most is what you did for others.


That’s why the Bible says, ‘The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.’ If you want to be a blessing to others, 1) you must truly care about people and show it, and 2) you must appreciate how great an impact a good legacy can have.


Educator D. Elton Trueblood is said to have written, ‘We have made at least a start in discovering the meaning in human life when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.’ The great orator Henry Ward Beecher said: ‘We should so live and labour in our times that what came to us as seed may go to the next generation as blossom, and what came to us as blossom may go to them as fruit.


This expresses the true spirit in the love of mankind.’ So what will your legacy be? What must you stop doing…start doing…or do more of to make it a reality? It’s never too early to start thinking about what you want your life to mean after you’re gone. Just like the PS at the bottom of a letter, your legacy tells the people who follow you: ‘This is what my life was all about!’

1 Kings 10-11, Acts 5:1-20

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

The power of influence (1)
23 MAY 2021

‘They took note that these men had been with Jesus.’
Acts 4:13 NIV

To be ‘under the influence’ means to be controlled by something or someone other than yourself. Who you are, what you are, and where you are today is because you were under the influence of certain people.

The company you keep influences your thinking, your thinking influences your actions, your actions influence your character, and your character determines your destiny.


Influence is impossible to escape. It’s like the weather – always there to be reckoned with. That’s why it’s essential to monitor your children’s use of the internet, what they watch on television, and the company they keep because these things can influence them for good or evil.

And if you’re really wise, you’ll spend time under the influence of Jesus. You’ll read His Word and spend time with Him in prayer. Indeed, the more time you spend with Him, the more you’ll become like Him.


When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they were transformed to the extent that some people thought they were drunk. But Peter said: ‘These people are not drunk, as you suppose.

It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people”’ (Acts 2:15-17 NIV).


Two chapters later, we read this: ‘When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus’ (v. 13 NIVUK). And today the Holy Spirit, who is simply the influence of Christ, can transform your life too.

Luke 9:18-36, Psalms 51-53

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


The power of influence (2)
24 MAY 2021

‘But the fruit of the Spirit is…’
Galatians 5:22 NIV

Everybody has influence over somebody. It’s what you do with that influence that determines whether it’s negative or positive.

Sociologists tell us that over a lifetime even the shyest and most introverted person will influence about ten thousand people. Every interaction you have with another person enriches or impoverishes them.

Influence is never neutral.

And you can’t turn it off, because it’s built into the structure of life itself. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter what your title is. Ultimately, your character will determine if the title fits you.

The Bible says, ‘The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control’ (Galatians 5:22-23 NASB).

When you have those qualities, people will line up to help you, love you, and follow you. You ask, ‘How can I display all these qualities?’ Humanly speaking, you can’t. That’s the bad news.

But the good news is that it’s not only a possibility but a distinct reality – when you’re under the influence of God’s Spirit. The story is told of a little boy who kept falling out of bed each night and waking his mother up with his cr


ying. One night after tucking him in yet again she asked, ‘How come you keep falling out of bed?’ He thought about it for a minute and then said, ‘I guess I just stayed too close to where I got in.’ Salvation is the startingg point, but unless you spend time each day under the influence of Jesus, you won’t mature, you won’t maximise the spiritual gifts He has given you, and you won’t discover and fulfil your God-given assignment in life.

1 Kings 12-13, Acts 5:21-42

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Prayer: make it simple and frequent
25 MAY 2021

‘When you are praying…’
Matthew 6:7 NASB

Knowing our tendency to complicate things, Jesus said, ‘When you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition…for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him’ (vv. 7-8). By using the words ‘thoughtless repetition’, He’s teaching us that prayer doesn’t have to be long, loud, or laboured.

And because He said ‘your Father knows what you need before you ask Him,’ He’s inviting you to find a scriptural promise that corresponds to your need and stand on it.

Charles Swindoll, who uses his driving time to pray, writes this: ‘Often I speak to God out loud.


Sometimes I sing to Him. Occasionally the entire prayer will be in my mind. Each time I commit myself to prayer, I notice that God becomes my focus rather than some personal struggle.

I’m relieved of worry. I’m able to release anything concerning me so that I can become altogether lost in the majesty of His presence and the joy of ministry. When I arrive, I’m excited to do as God pleases.


I find myself refreshed, relieved, and ready. My mind is focused. My heart is prepared. My emotions are clear, and whatever was troubling me when I began that drive no longer concerns me.

Prayer has made that possible. Now I wish I could say I use every commute every day for time in prayer.


But like many people, I often forget. My mind will be spinning from one problem to the next and rather than pray, I churn. At times I’ll be so anxious it doesn’t occur to me that I should quit worrying and commence praying.’ Prayer: make it simple, and frequent.

1 Kings 14-15, Acts 6

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Do what God called you to do
26 MAY 2021

‘I have brought you glory on earth.’
John 17:4 NIV

Joseph’s brothers despised his dream, so they threw him into a pit. Jesus’ family didn’t understand His calling; one time they actually thought He was mad


. Yet, when He reached the end of His life, He could say, ‘I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gavee me to do.’ If you wait for everybody to understand and agree with you, you’ll never do what God called you to do.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century when the Methodists were holding a denominational convention, one leader stood up and shared his vision for both the church and society at large. He told his fellow ministers how he believed that someday men would fly from place to place instead of travelling on horseback.


It was a concept too outlandish for many in the audience to handle. One man, Bishop Wright, stood up and furiously protested: ‘Heresy! Flight is reserved for the angels!’ He went on to say that if God had intended man to fly, He would have bestowed him with wings.


Clearly the bishop was unable to envision what the speaker was predicting. When he finished his protest, he collected his two sons, Orville and Wilbur, and left the auditorium.

That’s right – his sons were the famous Orville and Wilbur Wright! And several years later on 17 December 1903, they did what their father had declared impossible; they recorded the first human flight.

Understand this: many people prefer the comforts of the past to the risks of the future. If you need their support and approval, you’ll never do what God called you to do.

1 Kings 16-18, Acts 7:1-22