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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Do You Love God’s Word?
‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’

Matthew 24:35
The UCB Word for Today - 12 Aug 2017

One of the first books to come off the printing press when it was invented was the Bible. And it’s still the world’s best-selling book.

An anonymous author has written: ‘It contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the fate of sinners, and the happiness of believers.

It is a light to direct you, food to nourish you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveller’s road map, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s weapon, and the player’s game plan. It’s a mine of incredible wealth, and a river of genuine joy. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.

Christ is its grand subject, your good its design, and the glory of God its end. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practise it to be spiritually healthy. Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully. Let it fill your memory, rule your heart, and guide your steps. It is given to you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and judge those who trifle with its sacred contents.’

The Bible is ‘the word of our God [which] endures forever’ (Isaiah 40:8 NIV 2011 Edition). Most of us respect the Bible; the trouble is we don’t read it daily and put it into practice.

After hearing a discussion on various translations of the Bible, one man said: ‘I prefer my mother’s translation, because she translated it into everyday life.’ Are you doing that?

Prov 1-2, 1 Cor 11:1-16

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

God still has a plan for you
‘I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD.’

Jeremiah 29:11
The UCB Word for Today - 13 Aug 2017

The people of Israel ended up living as slaves in Babylon because they disobeyed God and decided to do their own thing.

And they paid a high price for it. They lost their homes, their jobs, their freedom, and their self-respect.

Has that happened to you? Well, there’s good news. God says: ‘The plans I have for you…are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me…I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes’ (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NLT). That means God still has a plan for your life. And if you seek Him ‘wholeheartedly’, He will reveal it to you.

You ask, ‘How do you know God still has a plan for me?’ Because you’re still breathing! He has a plan for every single person He ever created, and it never goes out of date.

Unlike the milk in your supermarket that has an expiration date after which it can’t be used, God’s plans don’t have expiration dates.

Even if you’ve gone astray and missed His plan for years, that plan can still swing into operation the moment you turn your life over to Him and fall into line with His will.

Now the plan may be somewhat modified from what it would have been twenty years ago if you’d paid attention, but that doesn’t stop God. He can adapt to fit anything that comes up in any life that’s ever lived, including yours.

Luke 15:1-10, Ps 81-83

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Start praying for God’s favour
‘I entreated Your favour.’

Psalm 119:58
The UCB Word for Today - 14 Aug 2017

One moment of God’s favour will do more for you than a lifetime of striving. Through the favour of God, Ruth went from being a penniless widow to becoming the wife of Boaz, a wealthy man. It’s what made Esther a queen and positioned her to save the Jewish nation.

As you begin to walk in God’s favour, doors of opportunity open, the right people are drawn to you, and you discover ideas, strategies, and resources in the most unexpected places.

Does that mean you won’t experience opposition? No; when you’re doing anything worthwhile you must expect flack from those who aren’t privy to God’s plan for your life.

It goes with the turf. But the Bible says even ‘the king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases’ (Proverbs 21:1 NLT). Like changing the direction of a moving stream, God can change people’s hearts and give you favour with those who might otherwise reject or overlook you. Solomon writes, ‘When GOD approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand’ (Proverbs 16:7 MSG).

So, when people oppose or disagree with you, just concentrate on pleasing God and let Him deal with the fallout. Remember, God takes up where you leave off. He can give you blessings that, humanly speaking, you don’t deserve and qualify for.

Just as the Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to fulfil His life’s mission, He will equip and enable you to fulfil His plan for your life (see Luke 4:18-19).

So, stop trying so hard to make things happen on your own terms, and start praying for God’s favour. He has promised it to you and He keeps His promises.

Prov 3-5, 1 Cor 11:17-34

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

The three Ts
‘Do good to each other.’

1 Thessalonians 5:15

The UCB Word for Today - 15 Aug 2017

Somebody said, ‘When the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.’

Let’s face it, because of our strong personalities some of us are inclined to use a hammer when a gentler approach would do the job better. If that’s your problem, remember the three Ts: 1) Temper.

When you’re upset you’re more likely to make a big deal out of a little one. So, when it comes to your response and decibel level, use this rule of thumb: when the reaction is worse than the action, the problem generally increases.

But when the reaction is less than the action, the problem usually decreases. 2) Timing. If you don’t get an injured person to the hospital quickly enough, their life can be lost.

And if you don’t apologise when you’ve wronged someone, the relationship can be lost. Knowing when to act - and when not to - is every bit as important as taking the right action. Lady Dorothy Nevill said, ‘The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.’ 3) Total picture.

A man walked into a restaurant and asked the waiter, ‘Do you have anything to cure hiccups?’ The waiter slapped him across the face. ‘Hey! What’s going on?’ the man exclaimed. The waiter smiled: ‘Well, you don’t have hiccups anymore, do you?’ The man said, ‘I never did.

I wanted something to cure my wife. She’s out in the car!’ Are you inclined to jump to conclusions? Slow yourself down and you’ll be more likely to respond appropriately.

Prov 6-7, 1 Cor 12

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Relationship and fellowship
‘If we say that we have fellowship with Him.’

1 John 1:6

The UCB Word for Today - 16 Aug 2017

God is responsible for your relationship with Him. The moment you put your trust in Jesus Christ His Son, you are a fully accepted family member.

But you are responsible for your fellowship with God. The Bible says, ‘If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth.’

Stop and think about the last time you experienced tension with one of your family members. You were still members of the same family, but your conversation became superficial and you found that you were more comfortable apart than together.

When something happens between two people who are normally close, the first thing to vanish is the evidence of fellowship. And it’s the same in our walk with God.

Suddenly our prayers become surface and shallow: ‘Lord, please bless this food.’ And we begin to avoid spending time with that Person: ‘I just don’t have time for my devotions.’

The main prerequisite for experiencing fellowship with Jesus is following Him each day and obeying His commands. When Peter and the disciples were fishing, the Lord told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat.

When they obeyed Him, they caught a boatload of fish. But something even greater happened that day. As Jesus drew closer, John said, ‘It is the Lord’ (see John 21:7).

What followed was an intimate meal and a sweet time of fellowship with Jesus. So if you are feeling out of fellowship with Jesus today, the chances are that you’ve either stopped fellowshipping with Him or started disobeying Him. If that’s so, do something about it.

Prov 8-9, 1 Cor 13

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

‘Lord, where are You?’ (1)
‘I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer.’

Job 30:20

The UCB Word for Today - 17 Aug 2017

Do you feel like God isn’t answering your prayers? Job the patriarch felt the same way: ‘I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me…When I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness’ (vv. 20,26 NIV 1984 Edition).

All of us go through times when it feels like God has moved and left no forwarding address. What’s He up to? Why doesn’t He respond?

There are some lessons you only learn when God is silent:

1) Silence isn’t absence. An old proverb says, ‘Speech is silver, silence is gold!’ Sometimes God says to you, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10 NIV 2011 Edition).

You have to be really secure with somebody to just sit quietly with them. Silence takes the emphasis off words and builds a level of intimacy where they’re no longer necessary.

If you want to be comfortable with God, learn to enter into meditation and silence with Him.

2) Silence tests your faith. How much faith is actually involved when somebody’s coaching your every step?

It’s like a parent running alongside a child who’s learning to ride a bike. Right now, the child lacks confidence, but they’re going to look strange at age twenty if that parent is still trotting along beside them!

At some point God takes His hands off the wheel to see how far you’ve progressed. And for a while it can be a wobbly ride. That’s when you demonstrate how far you’ve come, and where you’re placing your trust.

Prov 10-12, 1 Cor 14:1-19

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

'Lord, where are You?’ (2)
‘He will bring justice if you will only wait.’

Job 35:14
The UCB Word for Today - 18 Aug 2017

Have you ever tried to sit and watch a seed sprout? You can’t, can you?

It stays in the ground until the time is right for it to emerge. There’s a lesson here. God has planted certain things within you, and you must wait for them to take root and grow.

And the unresolved issues of your past can undermine this process. Often it takes prayer and counselling to bring these issues to the surface so that you can effectively deal with them.

With God, a delay is not a denial. When speaking to Job, his friend Elihu said, ‘It is wrong to say God doesn’t listen, to say the Almighty isn’t concerned. You say you can’t see him, but he will bring justice if you will only wait’ (vv. 13-14 NLT). What great advice!

Charles Trumbull said, ‘God knows when to withhold or grant visible signs of encouragement. It’s good when He sends confirmation, but we grow faster when we’ve trusted Him without it.

Those who do, always receive the greatest visible evidence of His love.’ God answers every prayer; it’s just that across some He writes, ‘The time is not right yet.’ Job asks, ‘How long will this trial last? Why doesn’t God answer?’

Because it takes as long as it takes - and usually feels uncomfortable the whole time. But there’s good news. Eventually your prayers become less about getting answers and more about connecting with God.

By letting Him work: 1) you begin to realise that He is with you; 2) you develop a deeper level of intimacy with Him; 3) you discover you can trust Him for the entire trip.

Prov 13-15, 1 Cor 14:20-40

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Understanding how God works
‘Because you say so, I will.’

Luke 5:5
The UCB Word for Today - 19 Aug 2017

The Bible says: ‘When he [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will”…When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break…

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees…For he and all his companions were astonished…Then Jesus said…“Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

So they…left everything and followed him’ (vv. 4-11 NIV 1984 Edition). The real test of your faith comes when nothing you’ve tried has worked, and God tells you to do something that stretches your faith to its limit.

At that point you have the choice: give in to your doubts, or say with Peter, ‘Because You say so, I will.’

This story teaches us God works in three ways: 1) He uses the common to do the uncommon. In their workplace where nothing special ever seemed to happen, Jesus showed up, called them, and changed their lives. So, look for God in your daily routine, and don’t be surprised when He surprises you.

2) He moves you out from the security of the shallow to the risks of the deep. The great catches and the great storms are both in the same sea. If you want one, you have to contend with the other. No risk, no reward.

3) He involves you in one thing to teach you another. Christ’s plan for these men was to involve them in an even greater miracle: fishing for souls. Today that’s His plan for you too. And it begins when you say, ‘Lord, because You say so, I will.’

Prov 16-18, 1 Cor 15:1-28

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Practise humility
‘They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest.’

Mark 9:34
The UCB Word for Today - 20 Aug 2017

When Jesus asked His disciples, ‘“What were you arguing about along the way?” They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer…he said, “If you want the place of honour, you must…serve others!”’ (vv. 33-35 CEV).

If, after living with Jesus day and night for three years, His own disciples struggled with the concept of humility, none of us is exempt.

Then Jesus taught them a lesson they’d never forget. ‘Jesus knew…he had come from God and would go back to God. He also knew that the Father had given him complete power.

So, during the meal Jesus got up, removed his outer garment, and wrapped a towel around his waist. He put some water into a large bowl. Then he began washing his disciples’ feet and drying them with the towel he was wearing’ (John 13:3-5 CEV).

Then He blew their minds by saying, ‘If your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other.

I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you’ (vv. 14-15 CEV).

Chuck Swindoll writes: ‘Bending the knee to help others, or to admit weakness, is considered making yourself vulnerable to those who might take advantage of you.

Too many leaders view themselves as being there to be served, except for short periods when it’s advantageous to be seen serving others - but not for too long…Not so for the followers of Christ. For them humility isn’t a religious concept, it’s a way of life.’ So today practise humility!

Luke 15:11-32, Ps 84-86

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Stop beating yourself up

‘We all stumble in many ways.’

James 3:2

The UCB Word for Today - 21 Aug 2017

When you sin, God’s Spirit will convict you of your need to repent and change your ways. But until you get your glorified body in heaven, you’re always going to deal with sin.

The apostle James wrote, ‘We all stumble in many ways.’ But falling down isn’t what makes you a failure - it’s staying down! Get back up, dust yourself off, receive God’s grace, learn from the experience, and move on.

The Bible says, ‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1 NIV 2011 Edition). God is not condemning you, so stop condemning yourself.

A few decades ago, people used to wear a little badge with the letters GNFWMY. It meant, ‘God’s not finished with me yet.’ And He’s not finished with you either.

Sometimes we’re guilty of doing the wrong thing with the right motive. For example, in 1957 Ford Motors described the new Edsel as ‘the car of the decade’. Try telling that to all those drivers whose doors wouldn’t close, whose horns stuck, and whose transmissions failed!

And remember the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, where the architect designed a 10-foot-deep foundation for a 179-foot-tall building? How’d you like to have that on your CV?

The fact is, the most talented people often make the biggest mistakes. Solomon wrote, ‘There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins’ (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NIV 1984 Edition). And Paul added, ‘I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize’ (Philippians 3:12 CEV). So, stop beating yourself up.

Prov 19-21, 1 Cor 15:29-58