[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

How to help people (1)

‘Peter…went up…to the temple at the hour of prayer.’
Acts 3:1 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 18 Mar 2018

The Bible says: ‘Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer…And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple…to ask alms from those who entered…who, seeing Peter and John…asked for alms…Peter said, “Look at us.” So, he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength’ (vv. 1-7 NKJV).

Notice two things: 1) Miracles happen in ordinary moments. This man was probably no stranger to Peter and John; they walked past him daily.

But this day was different. Peter said, ‘Look at us. We have the answer you need.’ Supernatural faith rose up in Peter’s heart, causing him to see an opportunity to glorify God, and he seized it.

2) You must be prepared when your moment comes. You can’t give what you don’t have.

You can’t tell what you don’t know. You can’t share what you don’t feel. You can’t give out of a vacuum.

The fact is, nothing great is created suddenly; it takes time. Three and a half years of walking with Christ, listening to His messages, and seeing His miracles had prepared the apostles for this moment.

So had the ten days they’d just spent in the upper room being filled with the Holy Spirit. So, the word for you today is: to help people, you must be prepared!

Luke 5:1-16, Psalm 29-30

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

How to help people (2)

‘What I do have I give you.’
Acts 3:6 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 19 Mar 2018

Notice two things in this story. First: it’s important to know what you have and don’t have.

‘Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.”’ You must become comfortable in your own skin and confident in your calling.

Paul writes: ‘Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without…trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them.

Keep a smile on your face. Love from the centre of who you are; don’t fake it’ (Romans 12:6-9 MSG). Second: learn to recognise the difference between what people want and what they truly need.

Sometimes they need to be strengthened; other times they need to be stretched. Sometimes they need comfort, not correction; other times they need correction, not comfort.

This lame man didn’t need a handout – he needed a hand up. And that’s what Peter gave him.

‘He took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength’ (Acts 3:7 NKJV). So, in order to help people you must love them, recognise what they need, know what you have to offer, and connect with them at the point of their need.

Deuteronomy 1-3, Mark 10:32-52

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

How to help people (3)

‘He gave them his attention, expecting to receive.’
Acts 3:5 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 20 Mar 2018

You can’t help someone until they’re ready. That calls for knowing the difference between those who are looking for solutions, and those who may just be looking for sympathy.

Before the lame man at the temple gate received his healing, ‘he gave [Peter and John] his attention, expecting to receive something from them.’ Note two important words:

1) ‘Attention.’ Have you got the other person’s attention? Are they really hearing what you say, or are they so blinded by circumstances and emotion that they can’t see a way out, even though you’re clearly pointing them to it?

2) ‘Expecting.’ The most effective thing you can do to help somebody is to build their faith. And that takes patience.

One leader writes frankly about his problem with impatience when working with others: ‘Early in my career I wanted to do things as quickly as possible and move on to the next thing.

If someone didn’t want to move at my speed, I breezed right past him or her. But that leadership style hindered my ability to connect with others, and my relationships suffered.

The good news was that I moved fast. The bad news was that I often moved alone.

Moving at the speed of another person can be exhausting. It obviously takes energy to keep up with someone who’s moving faster than we are.

But isn’t it also tiring to move at a slower pace than we want to?…I find it very frustrating.

It tries my patience. However, if I want to connect with people, I have to be willing to slow down and go at someone else’s pace.’ And to help people, you must be willing to do the same.

Deuteronomy 4-6, Mark 11:1-19

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

How to help people (4)

‘Who, seeing Peter and John…asked for alms.’
Acts 3:3 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 21 Mar 2018

Peter and John were willing to let the lame man at the temple gate interrupt their plans, and maybe make them late for ‘the hour of prayer’ – which raises an important point. Is it possible to be so busy with religious activities that you don’t take time for people who are hurting?

Selfishness is one of the easiest sins to commit, because when you’re busy, you’re unaware of committing it. Paul describes Jesus as ‘the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).

It seems counterintuitive, but Jesus taught that we’re more blessed when we give than when we receive. Giving fuels us; withholding drains us.

Giving requires energy, and that’s not always easy, especially in stressful situations. Motivational speaker Trudy Metzger, who had an abusive childhood, became a giver in adulthood.

However, she still finds it difficult to maintain the mind-set of a giver when dealing with some of the people from her past. She admits to becoming defensive and trying to control the situation if she feels vulnerable.

And when that happens, she goes from being a giver to being a taker. She writes: ‘While giving requires energy, I have to say that the situations where I become a taker leave me completely drained and “dead” inside.

To be a giver brings life – like watering a plant so that it grows – but to be a taker is like sucking the water and the nutrients from the soil, leaving both the plant and the soil depleted and useless.’ Being a giver is a win-win. It helps others, plus it energises and fills you with joy.

Deuteronomy 7-9, Mark 11:20-33

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Life is what you make it

‘For the happy heart, life is a continual feast.’
Proverbs 15:15 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 22 Mar 2018

The story’s told of a wise old man. Every day he and his granddaughter would sit outside his petrol station in rocking chairs, waiting to greet tourists as they passed through their small town.

One day a tall man with the appearance of a tourist started looking around like he was checking out the area for a place to live. ‘So what kind of town is this anyway?’ he asked.

The old man replied, ‘Well, what kind of town are you from?’ The man replied, ‘One where the people are critical of each other. It’s a real negative place to live.’

The old man said, ‘You know, that’s just how this town is too.’ Later, a family passing through also stopped for petrol.

The father stepped out and asked the old man, ‘Is this town a good place to live?’ ‘Well, what about the town you’re from?’ he replied.

The man said, ‘Where I’m from everyone’s close, and always willing to lend a helping hand. I really hate to leave it.’ The old man smiled and said, ‘You know what, that’s a lot like this town.’

After the family drove off, the old man’s granddaughter looked up and asked, ‘Grandpa, how come you told the first man this was a terrible place to live, and when the second family asked, you told them it was a wonderful place to live?’ The old man looked into her big blue eyes and said, ‘Sweetheart, no matter where you go, you take your attitude with you – and that’s what makes it terrible or wonderful.’

Yes, life is what you make it! Which is why the Bible says, ‘For the happy heart, life is a continual feast.’

Deuteronomy 10-12, Mark 12:1-27

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

S.O.S. prayers

‘God is…always ready to help in times of trouble. And so, we won’t be afraid!’
Psalm 46:1-2 CEV

The UCB Word for Today - 23 Mar 2018

One day a woman was driving through the countryside when she saw a tornado approaching, so she hid behind her car and watched as it demolished a nearby house. Running over to what was now a hole in the ground, she saw a man hunkered down with his eyes closed. ‘Are you okay?

Is there anybody down there with you?’ she asked. ‘No,’ he replied. ‘Just me and God having an urgent conversation!’

Nothing fuels prayer like real need; in a crisis even unbelievers will pray. There are some issues in life we simply can’t resolve on our own, hence the psalmist wrote, ‘When I am in trouble, I pray, knowing you…listen’ (Psalm 86:7 CEV).

Sometimes our prayers are simply cries for help meant for God’s ears only. When you’re out of options, your faith develops fast and emergencies become opportunities to experience God’s grace and power in a greater way.

So, if you’re in an S.O.S. situation today, here’s a prayer God will answer: ‘Father, it feels like I’m in an impossible position with no way out. Let me feel Your presence and the encouragement of Your Spirit, reminding me that with You all things are possible to those who believe.

Send the answer from heaven to my earthly situation. From where I stand, things look hopeless.

But You are the God who created the earth from nothing, and rolled back the Red Sea so Your children could cross over safely. You made the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear.

Today I thank You that You’re my God, and that You are “always ready to help in times of trouble”.’

Deuteronomy 13-15, Mark 12:28-44

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Today, act with compassion

‘He was moved with compassion for them.’
Matthew 9:36 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 24 Mar 2018

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines ‘compassion’ as ‘being moved in one’s bowels’ (the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity). It shares a root system with splanchnology, the study of the visceral [inner] parts of the body.

Compassion, then, is a reaction from deep within – a kick in the gut, if you will. Perhaps that’s why we turn away when we see news reports of children starving in refugee camps, and hear about the 1.7 billion people who live on less than 97p a day and go to bed hungry every night.

It’s too much for us – especially when we perceive the need as so overwhelming that we couldn’t begin to meet it. But what if you could?

What if you could make life better for one hurting person? ‘Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand…lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength’ (Acts 3:6-7 NKJV).

What if Peter had said, ‘I have no silver or gold, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut and pass on by’? But he didn’t, and as a result a crippled man who’d sat begging for thirty-eight years rose up and walked into a new life.

You say, ‘But I don’t have that kind of power!’ No, but God does!

And when you see someone’s need and reach out your hand to meet it – God will release His power! It’s your compassion that flips the switch. So, today, act with compassion.

Deuteronomy 16-18, Mark 13:1-20

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

It’s time to move on!

‘Let us go on…and become mature in our understanding.’
Hebrews 6:1 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 25 Mar 2018

Is what worked in the past not working for you now? Maybe it’s a job you’ve outgrown, or a relationship you need to re-examine, or a method you need to change.

Regardless of what it is, don’t become so settled that you can’t let go and move on when you need to. They say the hermit crab looks for a shell that fits him, and lives there until he outgrows it.

At that point he has to scurry along the ocean floor and find a bigger one – a process that repeats itself throughout his entire life. So, here’s the question: are you clinging to something that no longer fits you just because it’s easy and familiar?

David said, ‘You…freed me when I was hemmed in and enlarged me when I was in distress’ (Psalm 4:1 AMPC). You must be willing to move out of your comfort zone and deal with a little ‘distress’.

That’s what makes you grow. Patience and persistence are admirable qualities, but they don’t work in situations you’ve outgrown.

Instead of ‘hanging in’ and trying harder, at certain points in life you have to stop and ask yourself, ‘Is this situation good for me?’ If you’re not sure, ask God for ‘an understanding heart so that [you] can…know the difference between right and wrong’ (1 Kings 3:9 NLT).

And when He tells you what to do – do it – even though at first it won’t feel comfortable. When God says it’s time to move on, it’s because there’s another shell out there designed to fit you even better.

Luke 5:17-39, Psalm 31-32

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Love your church (1)

‘Christ…loved the church and gave Himself for her.’
Ephesians 5:25 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 26 Mar 2018

Before you criticise your church, remember ‘Christ…loved the church and gave Himself for her.’ He hasn’t given up on His church, so don’t you give up on it!

And stop talking so much about what you don’t like. If your church was perfect, you’d be out of place!

Noah didn’t sail on The Queen Mary; he sailed on a glorified cattle boat. Can you imagine the noise, the confusion, and the violent tossing of a ship in a storm big enough to destroy the world?

And how about the smell? All those animals and only one funnel!

But here’s the thing – everybody inside the ark was saved while everybody outside of it was lost. The story’s told of an aristocrat bragging about his lineage and pure-blooded ancestry.

Irritated, one of his listeners remarked, ‘I suppose your forebears were on board the ark with Noah!’ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘my people had their own boat!’

You may smile, but there’s only one craft that’s guaranteed to make it safely into heaven’s port, and that’s the old ship of salvation. Do things sometimes stink in the church?

Sure. Jesus issued one of His harshest rebukes to Peter, the disciple who was destined to become a leader in the church: ‘Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest [smell] not the things that be of God, but those that be of men’ (Matthew 16:23 KJV).

But the great thing is that when you mess up, the same grace that restored Peter will be there for you too. So, the word for you today is: love your church!

Deuteronomy 19-21, Mark 13:21-37

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Love your church (2)

‘Unless [you] stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.’
Acts 27:31 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 27 Mar 2018

Every church has problems – and the people who cause them. It has always been so.

Consider the Corinthian church. Some members got drunk during communion, and others wouldn’t attend unless their favourite preacher was speaking.

One guy was even having an affair with his stepmother (see 1 Corinthians 5:1). Sitting beside you on Sunday mornings are some very messed-up and dysfunctional folks.

But God keeps working with us, because He sees our potential value to His kingdom. After writing about murmurers, complainers, the lustful, and the greedy, Jude ends his short book with these words: ‘Unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and…present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy’ (v. 24).

Noah didn’t jump ship for the same reason you shouldn’t leave your church – there’s no better alternative. Paul and 276 others were in a storm that looked unsurvivable.

Nevertheless he told them, ‘Unless [you] stay on board the ship, you cannot be saved.’ Does that mean it’s always wrong to leave a church? No, but make sure your reasons are scriptural and not self-centred.

You say, ‘But the pastor’s sermons are too long.’ Paul once preached so long that a man sitting in a third-storey window fell asleep, plummeted to the ground, and died.

And what did Paul do? He laid hands on him, revived him, set him back in the window and made him listen to the rest of the sermon! (see Acts 20:9-11).

Seriously, if your church has problems, don’t leave; stay and pray. That’s how things get changed.

Deuteronomy 22-24, Mark 14:1-26