[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Try God

‘Then Peter said to them, “Repent…”’
Acts 2:38 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 29 Aug 2018

A sign on a church notice board read, ‘Try God Week.’ The idea was simple enough: if you try Him for a week and don’t like the results, you can go back to your old life again. Peter didn’t tell the crowd on the Day of Pentecost to try God for a week.

He preached, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call’ (vv. 38-39 NKJV).

A fish doesn’t try water; it needs water in order to survive. A plant doesn’t try soil; it needs soil in order to grow.

Likewise, you don’t try God; you need God because there’s a void within you only He can fill. And He wants to do more than just come into your life; He wants to take over your life! ‘But I struggle with certain weaknesses,’ you say.

The truth is we’re all born with certain proclivities; some are just more obvious than others. That’s why every one of us needs to ‘be born again’ (John 3:3).

As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, although he had a natural birth he needed a spiritual birth to enter God’s kingdom. Salvation and the guarantee of heaven take place immediately; all you have to do is put your trust in Christ.

But submitting to the lordship of Jesus is a project you’ll be working on from the new birth to the New Jerusalem.

Ecclesiastes 7-9, 2 Corinthians 6

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Keep running

‘Let us run with endurance the race.’
Hebrews 12:1 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 30 Aug 2018

Experienced runners know if they can just keep going, eventually they’ll get their ‘second wind’. Some refer to it as ‘runner’s high’, a release of adrenalin that makes you feel like you could run all day.

So the word for you today is: keep running until you get your second wind! Paul says: ‘Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and…run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of…God…consider Him who endured such hostility…lest you become weary and discouraged’ (vv. 1-3 NKJV). Note the word ‘endured’. Don’t let what’s going on around you sabotage what God’s doing within you.

Generally speaking, your outlook is affected by what’s happening now. A drowning man isn’t too impressed with something good that’s going to happen tomorrow; he needs help today.

Keep in mind that what you’re going through right now is temporary – so look for a turnaround. In the Old Testament God told Isaiah, ‘Comfort my people…Tell them they have suffered long enough and their sins are now forgiven’ (Isaiah 40:1-2 GNT).

Then He went on to make them this wonderful promise: ‘The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it.

The Lord himself has promised this’ (vv. 4-5 GNT). Claim that promise for yourself today – and keep running!

Ecclesiastes 10-12, 2 Corinthians 7

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

You must break with the past

‘She broke the flask and poured it on His head.’
Mark 14:3 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 31 Aug 2018

Do you remember the prostitute who anointed Jesus? ‘A woman…having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard…broke the flask and poured it on His head.’

She gave her most precious possession to Jesus. Not only was it extremely valuable, it was also part of her sex appeal.

Breaking it open was her way of breaking with her past. She was giving up her former life by giving that jar to Jesus.

Remember the revival that broke out in Ephesus? Those who practised sorcery burned their scrolls publicly.

The value of those scrolls was estimated at 50,000 drachmas. A drachma was a silver coin worth a day’s wages.

That’s 138 years of wages! They could have sold those scrolls and pocketed the money, but they would have been selling their souls.

Instead they made a £2,766,832 statement of faith. Our problem is that we want God to do something new for us, while we keep doing the same old thing.

We want Him to change our circumstances without having to change us at all. But if we’re asking God for new wine, we will need a new wineskin.

Change is a two-sided coin that reads: Out with the old, and in with the new! Most of us get stuck spiritually because we keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.

Spiritual routines are a crucial part of spiritual growth, but when the routine becomes routine, you need to change it. What got you to where you are, may not get you to where God wants you to go next.

Song of Songs 1-3, 2 Corinthians 8

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Until you can run no more

‘The socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint.’
Genesis 32:25 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 01 Sep 2018

When you try to run from God, you keep running into Him at every turn. It happened to Jacob.

He ran from his brother Esau’s anger, and when things got too hot in his father-in-law’s house, he ran from there too. Finally, when he could run no more, he ran into God at a place called Peniel.

And it was there that his name was changed from Jacob the deceiver, to Israel, which means ‘a prince with God’. The Bible says: ‘Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”

And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed”’ (vv. 24-28 NKJV). When God dislocated Jacob’s hip, in essence He was telling him, ‘Your running days are over, and your limp will be a constant reminder of your total dependence on Me.’

We all need a ‘Jacob experience’. Oswald Chambers said when God wants to use a man, ‘He hammers him and hurts him, and with mighty blows converts him.’

Everything Jacob needed, he found when he ran into the arms of God. The same is true for you.

Song of Songs 4-5, 2 Corinthians 9

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Get out of the box
‘If God be for us, who can be against us?’
Romans 8:31 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 02 Sep 2018

In his family’s eyes, David would never be more than a shepherd (see 1 Samuel 16:11-12). But in God’s eyes, he was Israel’s next king. It’s amazing how people categorise us the moment we’re born. Somebody says you ‘look exactly like so-and-so’, or convinces you that you’re ‘just an average student’, or a ‘plain Jane’.

And before you know it, you end up believing their assessments and opinions. Evidently some people considered Timothy too young to be a leader.

That’s why Paul wrote and told him, ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young’ (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV 2011 Edition). Our list of other people’s perceived shortcomings can be harsh and unforgiving.

It includes things like being poor, uneducated, physically or mentally challenged, or ethnically different. It even takes into account the foolish mistakes they made years ago. Ask yourself, would you like to be measured with that yardstick?

Didn’t think so! When Adam Clarke, one of England’s most prolific eighteenth-century preachers, was young, his father told Adam’s teacher he didn’t think his son would do well in school.

The teacher replied, ‘He looks very bright to me.’ Adam heard those words – and they changed his life by letting him out of the box his father put him in.

Clarke lived to be seventy-two, became a famous Methodist minister, and gave the world one of its greatest Bible commentaries. So get rid of your labels and life-limiting thoughts, and start dreaming.

‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ When God is in your corner, you can rise to the top like cream!

Luke 16:16-31, Psalm 89-90

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

What’s in a name? Everything! (1)

‘That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.’
Psalm 83:18 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 03 Sep 2018

The Israelites called God Jehovah, a name they regarded as incommunicable and inexplicable. The name means the ‘self-existing One’, and the ‘I Am’.

He was the Creator of all things; an awesome and unknowable supreme being. But God desired to be known in a personal way.

So He added to the name Jehovah five revealing titles – word-portraits of Himself to help us better understand and relate to Him. Israel discovered these word-portraits during times of crisis and distress, and they will bless and encourage you during your times of need.

Let’s look at each. Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will see, the Lord will provide. Abraham was about to sacrifice his son when God provided a lamb for the offering in Isaac’s place.

In response, Abraham called Him Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who sees and provides. And it doesn’t just apply to Abraham.

The New Testament says the Lord sees your needs and provides answers. Jesus said, ‘Your heavenly Father knoweth…ye have need of all these things’ (Matthew 6:32 KJV).

Like a caring, alert, observant parent who anticipates his child’s every need, God provides well-timed solutions. Before a child’s shoes wear out a good father provides new ones; his child doesn’t need to beg, bargain, and plead.

‘Then why don’t I have what I want?’ you ask. Because God knows what you really need – you don’t!

What you see as ‘needs’ might simply be ‘wants’ in God’s eyes. Remember – Jehovah-Jireh sees your needs and will provide them!

Song of songs 6-8, 2 Corinthians 10

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

What’s in a name? Everything! (2)

‘For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’
2 Chronicles 20:15 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 04 Sep 2018

When Israel was threatened by the mighty forces of Amalek at Rephidim, God gave them a supernatural victory. Realising that God was fighting the battle for them, Moses built an altar to Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord my banner.

Hear His words: ‘The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace’ (Exodus 14:14 NKJV). ‘Be not afraid nor dismayed…for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’

Why then do you discourage yourself into defeat, trying to win the battle in your own strength? You engage in a fruitless cycle of repentance, resolutions, struggles, defeat, and discouragement, which leads to more repenting.

The only sort of spiritual conflict that’s ever successfully won, is the one God fights for you. He doesn’t expect you to win the battle, only to surrender to Him and let Him win it for you!

‘So am I not supposed to fight at all?’ you ask. Yes, you’re to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12 KJV).

Yours isn’t a battle of exhausting effort; it’s the battle of believing. ‘But am I not to wrestle like Jacob did?’

Observe two things: first, Jacob didn’t win by wrestling, he won by being rendered too weak to continue wrestling. Paul said, ‘When I am weak, then am I strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:10 KJV).

Second, Jacob’s victory lay in his surrender. Are you worn out from the battle – at the end of your rope?

You may be just where God wants you! Let go and trust your Jehovah-Nissi to prevail for you, because ‘the battle is not yours, but God’s’.

Isaiah 1-2, 2 Corinthians 11

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

What’s in a name? Everything! (3)

‘Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.’
Exodus 14:13 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 05 Sep 2018

Let’s continue with Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord my banner. Just because God fights your battles doesn’t mean you’re not involved.

It’s not easy to hand control over to the Lord and let Him fight on your behalf. You may feel like you’re copping out, being irresponsible.

You’re programmed to think, ‘Don’t just sit there – do something!’ You’re like a drowning man who can’t stop grabbling for his rescuer, thereby making his job almost impossible.

In essence, you become your rescuer’s worst nightmare! The hardest part about the order to ‘stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord’ is that most of us mistake standing still for doing nothing.

Fear says, ‘Do something – anything!’ Faith says, ‘Stand in faith.

Let God do it!’ That’s about as far from doing nothing as you can get!

It’s faith at its highest. ‘Why do I need armour if I’m not fighting?’

Paul says, ‘Put on the full armour of God, so…you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes’ (Ephesians 6:11 NIVUK 2011 Edition). You’re to wear God’s armour – not yours.

You’re to stand – not fight. ‘The weapons of our warfare are not carnal’ (2 Corinthians 10:4 KJV). Our human methods get in God’s way.

Natural powers are useless against spiritual forces. The grub of the dragonfly that lives at the bottom of the pond may be a finely developed, vigorous grub.

But when it becomes a dragonfly, the strengths and abilities of its grub-life won’t help it to live an airborne life. Once you lived by effort, now you live by trusting in and relying on Jehovah-Nissi!

Isaiah 3-4, 2 Corinthians 12

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

What’s in a name? Everything! (4)

‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites…Peace! Do not be afraid.’
Judges 6:16, 23 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 06 Sep 2018

The name Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord our peace, was discovered by Gideon when God told him to lead Israel against the Midianites – a position he felt was far beyond his capacity. ‘How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest…and I am the least in my family’ (v. 15 NIV 2011 Edition).

Here’s how the Lord responded: ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites…Peace! Do not be afraid.

You are not going to die.’ A frightened Gideon believed God and before the battle was even fought or the victory won, by faith he saw the peace already secured.

So he built an altar to Jehovah-Shalom, ‘the Lord is peace!’ We often assume we’ll only have peace when our situation changes.

Then like Gideon we learn that inward peace doesn’t depend on altering our outward circumstances; it depends on believing God is with you and experiencing His inner peace. Jesus promises: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace [inner, faith-based] I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives [outward, circumstantial]. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’ (John 14:27 NIV 2011 Edition).

However inadequate you may feel to face the challenges today, remember Christ’s words: ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace…take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 NIV 2011 Edition).

Notice: your job is to ‘take heart’, and trust Jehovah-Shalom to handle the rest!

Isaiah 5-6, 2 Corinthians 13

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

What’s in a name? Everything! (5)

‘This will be his name: “The LORD Is Our Righteousness.”’
Jeremiah 23:6 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 07 Sep 2018

The name Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord our righteousness, was given by God through Jeremiah, announcing the coming of Jesus the redeemer: ‘I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line…And this will be his name: “The Lord Is Our Righteousness”’ (vv. 5-6 NLT). Before Jesus came, our righteousness lay in our own efforts.

‘We will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands…God has given us’ (Deuteronomy 6:25 NLT). We absolutely failed that righteousness test!

But ‘The Lord our righteousness’ became our solution. ‘For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV).

Notice: it’s only ‘in Jesus’ that we ‘become the righteousness of God’! You’re not to try to do right so you can feel righteous before God, or to generate a supply of good works to draw from when needed.

You’re to draw continually from the ‘righteousness’ deposited in your account by Christ. It’s useless to look within yourself for humility, patience, kindness, love, etc.

They’re not there! You must take them by faith from the supply stored up for you in Jesus. Guilty hearts can draw forgiveness, anxious spirits can draw peace, and weary souls can draw strength from Jehovah-Tsidkenu.

You received salvation by faith alone. And in the same way you must draw righteousness, and everything else you need, by faith in what God has accomplished and stored up for your use in Jesus, The Lord our righteousness!

Isaiah 7-8, Galatians 1