[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

‘Casting’, or ‘keeping’
28 JUNE 2021


‘Casting all your care upon Him.’
1 Peter 5:7 NKJV


When it comes to dealing with your fears and worries, you have two choices; cast them on the Lord, or keep them and try to handle them yourself. When the communists overran China, missionary Isobel Kuhn was forced to escape on foot across the snow-covered mountains into Burma.


There she was stranded at the world’s end, with no money and no way to get home. ‘I cannot tell you the dismay and alarm that filled me,’ she wrote.

But she made two decisions. ‘The first thing is to cast out fear,’ she said. ‘The only fear a Christian should entertain is the fear of sin. All other fears are from Satan, sent to confuse and weaken us.’ So Isobel prayerfully trusted God, and rejected panic.

Second, she sought His guidance as to the next step, and eventually she arrived home safely. Here’s an important key to victory: instead of living with your fears and allowing them to take root within you, identify them and confront them the moment you become conscious of them.

Next, turn each fear into a prayer and give it to God, refusing to take it back, confident that He will handle it for you. And don’t just do it with some of your fears and worries, do it with all of them. ‘Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully’ (v. 7 AMPC).

You’ll never be entirely free of fear and worry, but by God’s grace you can do a lot better than you’re doing right now.

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

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Memorising Scripture and conquering worry
29 JUNE 2021


‘Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day.’
Psalm 119:97 NRSV


One of the most powerful tools God has given you for conquering fear and worry is memorising Scripture. Your memory is like a muscle; the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Seneca, the ancient Roman teacher of rhetoric, would impress his class of two hundred by asking each student to recite a favourite line of poetry. He would then recite all two hundred lines from memory – in reverse order.

Saint Augustine had a friend who could recite all the poet Virgil’s words – backwards! Okay, maybe those guys were gifted – but there are lots of things each of us can recite from memory too. Things like birthdays and anniversaries, addresses and phone numbers, National Insurance numbers and bank account numbers and driving licence numbers.

These items have two characteristics in common: we use them frequently, and we need them constantly. In other words, we have memorised them because we use them so often, and we can’t get along without them. Similarly, you can begin to conquer your worries by confronting them each time they arise with a Scripture you have memorised.


It’s powerful! It’s effective! It works! Why? Because God’s power is greater than your problems, and God’s Word is greater than your worries. Understand this: God is committed to keeping His Word. So when you speak scriptural words instead of anxiety-ridden words, God goes to work on your behalf.

He has made you this promise: ‘I will hasten my word to perform it’ (Jeremiah 1:12 KJV). So if you’re serious about wanting to conquer stress and worry, begin to memorise and verbalise God’s Word each day.

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

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Learn to set boundaries
30 JUNE 2021


‘Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work.’
2 Timothy 2:5 TLB


Are you so eager to stay in everybody’s good graces that you comply with their every demand? You’re not alone – good people burn out every day because they can’t set boundaries. And once that happens, it’s hard to fix because none of us, not even those ordained by God, can break His natural laws without suffering.

One Bible teacher writes: ‘Once when I was complaining about my heavy schedule, I heard God’s Spirit say, “You’re the one who makes the schedule; if you don’t like it, do something about it!”’ Paul told Timothy, ‘Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work…as an athlete…follows the rules or is disqualified’ (v. 5 TLB). Not every problem is spiritual, some are physical.

Furthermore, you can’t blame the devil for things that are your own fault. We resent people who pressure us, yet we keep doing what they want, which feeds our silent anger.

You’re allowing yourself to be pressured by not taking responsibility for your own life. The fact is, many well-intentioned people are walking around each day stressed out and depressed because they can’t say no. They forget that Jesus is their example, and that He had regular times of rest and renewal.

The answer lies in 1) putting your life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 2) learning to put first things first, 3) realising you, too, have needs, and 4) not expecting everybody to understand when you set boundaries. The Bible says, ‘A friend loveth at all times’ (Proverbs 17:17 KJV), not just when you comply with their wishes. So to fulfil God’s will for your life, you must learn to set boundaries.

2 Chronicles 19-20, Acts 24

[ebankole]

We welcome you all to the month of July.
God bless you all, preserve and keep you all save in this perilous time.

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Bearing spiritual fruit (1)
01 JULY 2021


‘No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.’
John 15:4 NIV


Jesus said: ‘My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch…that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me…If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit’ (vv.1-5 NIV). What does God want from you today? Spiritual fruit! And He will do two things to produce it in your life.

First, He will show you the habits, relationships, and activities that make it impossible for you to bear spiritual fruit, and then begin to cut them off. But He can only do that if you let Him.

Second, He will reveal to you the things that drain you spiritually and keep you from bearing more fruit. And His favourite pruning knife is His Word, which is ‘sharper than any double-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

As you read God’s Word, He cuts away the bad so that it doesn’t impede the good. Then He prunes the good so that it doesn’t obstruct the best.

This explains why He allows difficult times to come into our lives. As one pastor puts it: ‘Trials may simply be pruning shears in the hands of the divine Gardener – tools He uses to cut away dead wood, fruitless branches, and sap-sucking shoots so that we might bear more fruit.’

2 Chronicles 21-22, Acts 25

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Bearing spiritual fruit (2)
02 JULY 2021


‘Abide in Me, and I in you.’
John 15:4 NKJV


A branch doesn’t bear fruit by trying, working, or straining. It bears fruit by simply ‘abiding’. What does this mean? How do you abide in Jesus? Let’s illustrate it this way: when you put a tea bag in a cup of hot water, something happens.

As the tea bag abides in the water, the tea begins to flavour the water until it takes on the taste of the tea bag. And the longer the tea bag abides in the water, the stronger the colour and flavour of the tea. That’s what happens when you abide in Christ and He abides in you.

The longer you abide in Him and the deeper you go with Him, the more His presence will begin to permeate your life. The branch doesn’t produce the fruit; it bears the fruit. It’s the vine that produces the fruit. And Jesus said, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing’ (v. 5 NKJV).

Without the vine, the strongest branch is as defenceless as the weakest branch. So what does it mean to abide in Christ? 1) Studying His Word. ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you’ (v. 7 NKJV).

As you study God’s Word, you are changed by His Spirit. 2) Obeying His will. ‘If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love’ (v. 10 NKJV). The closer you get to God, the more you’ll want to do what He says. And when you do what He says, you’ll begin to walk in His blessing.

2 Chronicles 23-24, Acts 26

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Being ready
03 JULY 2021

‘It did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.’
Matthew 7:25 NKJV



Did you know that before it snows, certain fir trees retract their branches so that the weight of the snow they’ll have to bear will be reduced? This withdrawal response is programmed into their branches. God has enabled these trees to anticipate the problem before it occurs, thereby reducing the risk that they will break in a storm. And you need to do the same thing in your marriage. You can’t avoid problems and crises, but you can prepare for their arrival.

Most of the stress points in our families are common, and therefore predictable. Christian psychologist Doctor James Dobson writes: ‘One of my good friends spent a considerable amount of time with his wife, preparing for the moment when their grown kids would move out of the house.


They talked often about the empty nest, and discussed ways their friends had coped with it. They read books about that phase of life, and applied what they had heard to themselves. As a result, their transition to the empty nest was smooth. Into every marriage, a little snow will fall.

Blizzards will blow, and storms will howl. But an effort to anticipate these times will help you and your mate stand up under the weight of the winter storm.’ Here are three ways in which you can be ready: 1) Sharing goals beyond parenting to which you’re both committed. 2) Sharing feelings and needs, and having them validated. 3) Sharing in prayer together each day.

Did you know that 90 per cent of all Christian couples don’t pray together? Be sure and make it your goal to be part of the 10 per cent who do.

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

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Try to be tactful
04 JULY 2021

'Let your conversation be gracious and attractive.’
Colossians 4:6 NLT


If you habitually put your foot in your mouth, there’s a scriptural remedy. ‘Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone’ (v. 6 NLT). Notice this: to speak effectively requires you to be ‘gracious’ in your dealings with others. And while honesty is always the best policy, it’s not a licence to say whatever you want.

One of the most important skills you can develop is the ability to deal with others tactfully and with sensitivity when you find yourself in a difficult situation. You would think exhibiting graciousness would come easily to those who claim to be filled with the Spirit of God, but the evidence shows otherwise.

We tend to perpetuate the communication style of the family we grew up in. You say, ‘But sometimes you need to be brutally honest!’ Extending grace and being truthful are not mutually exclusive. You can learn to tell the truth tactfully.

The Bible says, ‘For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’ (John 1:17 NIV). Jesus never allowed courtesy and kindness to prevent Him from telling the truth, but He never did it in a mean-spirited way. Nor should you.

Sometimes we claim to be ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15), when the truth is that anger, frustration, disappointment, and retaliation are what’s truly in our hearts.

What’s the remedy? Before you speak, take a moment to review the words in your mind, and try to evaluate their impact.

Then choose to yield to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Doing that will help you develop the emotional discipline necessary for stifling tactless remarks.

Luke 12:1-31, Psalms 68-69

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


How to help hurting people
05 JULY 2021

‘Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious.’
Ecclesiastes 10:12 NIV


Are you are easily hurt? Do you hurt other people without intending to? Three things cause that: 1) We speak out of our own hurt. German poet Hermann Hesse wrote: ‘If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself.

What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.’ It helps to remember that people often lash out in response to what’s happening inside themselves. 2) When we’re hurting, we get touchy.

Let’s say you ignore a splinter in your finger, and it gets infected. Someone brushes up against it, and you howl with pain, ‘You hurt me!’ However, the real problem is the splinter you neglected to address. Hurting people overreact, over exaggerate, and overprotect.

They also over-influence. Counsellors who deal with couples in crisis say that emotionally one spouse ‘throws up’, and the other ‘cleans up’. Usually the one with the most pain does the most damage. 3) Getting over our hurt takes time. Quick fixes don’t work.

The kindest thing you can do when someone’s hurting is to show them you care. And if they’re willing, to help them work through their issues and get beyond the pain. Good things can come from bad situations.

A cleaning company working on a sewer line under a city street found sixty-one diamond rings, numerous vintage coins, and silverware. It was an unpleasant job – but the workers were allowed to keep the valuables they found.

You may have to deal with some pretty nasty stuff, but in the process, you may discover some treasures you didn’t know existed, and after all your hard work, end up with a great relationship.

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

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Monitor your children’s close friends
06 JULY 2021


‘My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!’
Proverbs 1:10 NLT


If you have children, you’ll never have a more important job in life than being a parent. And as long as your children are under your roof, you are responsible to God for them. With that in mind, do these: 1) See who influences your child most. Your son or daughter will gravitate towards certain kids for a variety of reasons. These are the ones they ‘hang out with’.

They text them, talk with them on the phone, invite them to the house, sit with them in church, and so on. You can’t monitor every relationship your child has, but you need to know the ones who influence them most. 2) Get to know their close friends.

Notice the way they talk, dress, show respect or a lack of it, and how they play and interact with your family. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions about their parents, the church they attend and, if they’re old enough, their relationship with Christ. 3) Check your child’s overnight accommodations.


If your son or daughter is invited to a friend’s house, talk with the parents and become aware of any activity that might be planned outside the home. Make sure they have adequate supervision.

Tell your children you expect them to show courtesy and respect, and ask them to inform you if there’s a problem of any kind. 4) Look out for warning signs.

When your child is running with the wrong crowd, chances are you’ll observe signs like indifference towards spiritual things, an openly defiant spirit, and an attraction to music, dress, and entertainment you don’t necessarily approve of. ‘Isn’t that very demanding?’ you ask. Yes, and it’s also very loving and protective!

2 Chronicles 30-31, Acts 28

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



How to stay on course
07 JULY 2021


‘I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’
Psalm 119:11 NIV


Senator Bill Nelson trained for and flew on a six-day space shuttle mission aboard the Columbia just prior to the Challenger disaster.

In his book Mission he explains how difficult it is to maintain a proper orbit in space. There’s no resistance in space, so an astronaut can literally turn that huge orbiter over by himself.

To maintain a proper orbit, the onboard computers constantly make course and altitude corrections by firing small rockets which make minute adjustments, while larger jets burn fuel to make major adjustments.


These rockets are critical, for if they don’t consistently fire at the right time, the space vehicle can veer from its orbit and go tumbling into outer space or crashing into Earth’s atmosphere.

There’s an important lesson here for each of us. Left to ourselves, we tend to veer out of our spiritual orbit into lukewarmness and indifference. Or worse – we end up in sin and rebellion.

That’s when the rockets of prayer and Bible study, ‘fired’ on a continuous and consistent basis, help us to keep our course correct, and prevent our lives from spinning out of spiritual control.

Bible study and prayer go together. You should pray before you read the Bible to ask God to help you understand it.

And you should pray after you read it to ask God to help you apply what He has told you. Like a faraway lover, God’s love letter to you is the Bible, and prayer is the telephone you pick up and talk back to Him. That’s why it’s crucial to maintain your daily prayer and Bible study.

2 Chronicles 32-33, Romans 1