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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

An attitude adjustment (2)

‘He changes times and seasons…He gives wisdom.’
Daniel 2:21 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 13 MAY 2020

Realise that rough times won’t last forever. As surely as God created spring to follow winter, ‘He changes times and seasons…He gives wisdom.’

The season of adversity you’re in will end. And when it does, you’ll glean from it the wisdom to build a better future.

Sometimes your greatest blessings come from your most negative circumstances. Paul writes, ‘Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long.

Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!’ (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). Tough times don’t last, but tough people do!

Out of your greatest tests come your greatest testimonies. Don’t make major decisions during a storm.

Thoughts and feelings often run wild in the midst of a crisis; those are times when you need to be careful about making decisions. Remain calm, discipline yourself to focus on what you can do, and trust God to do what you can’t.

Just as a pilot error can cause a plane to be diverted from its intended destination, or have to make a dangerous emergency landing, a bad decision can divert or delay you from reaching your destiny. Let your emotions subside – before you decide.

You may not always have that option, but as much as possible, put significant decisions on hold until your storm passes. Just as the wind blows about wildly during a storm, your thoughts can become wild and frantic, and that’s not the best time to make crucial assessments.

What should you do? Paul answers, ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and…His peace will guard your hearts and minds’ (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).

2 Samuel 16-18, John 20

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

An attitude adjustment (3)

‘Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.’
Proverbs 3:6 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 14 MAY 2020

When it comes to having the right attitude – stay in touch with the control tower. Air traffic controllers ‘see the big picture’ when it comes to what’s going on in the sky.

They have the knowledge and authority to tell pilots to slow down or speed up, fly higher or lower, avoid or navigate through storms, or take alternative routes. Amazingly, air traffic controllers in the UK handle over 2.5 million flights each year ­– an average of around 7,000 every day.

In fact, their busiest day on record was 5th July 2019, when they handled 8,863 flights! They manage commercial flights, private aviation, military, and cargo air traffic, as well as air taxis and airport vehicles.

With so many flights taking off and landing every minute, pilots have to stay in touch with the control tower. Similarly, you must stay in touch with God – the One who sees the big picture for your life and orchestrates everything that involves you.

He makes sure everything that needs to happen, happens at the right time, and moves at the appropriate speed to make sure you arrive safely at the destination He’s planned for you. That’s why staying in communication with God should be at the top of your daily to-do list.

He will help you navigate the ups and downs of life, and find your way through cloudy days when you can’t see the next step you need to take. In short, when you ‘seek his will in all you do…he will show you which path to take’.

2 Samuel 19-20, John 21

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

The need for repentance

‘Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted.’
2 Corinthians 7:10 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 15 MAY 2020

There’s a difference between confessing your sin and repenting of it. In Scripture, the word ‘repentance’ means ‘to turn away from sin’.

By confessing your sin you acknowledge what you have done; by repenting you turn away from it. And the good news is that there’s no limit to God’s forgiveness.

The moment you ask for it, you receive it. However, God doesn’t intend you to keep repeating your sinful patterns over and over again.

That’s where ‘godly sorrow’ comes in. Paul writes, ‘You sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you’ (v. 11 NKJV).

The purpose of godly sorrow is to make you more diligent when it comes to changing behaviour. When you allow sin into your life, you violate your core of righteousness.

‘For [God]…made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV). At the point of salvation God literally made you ‘the righteousness of God in Christ’.

You’re a regenerated spirit living in an unregenerated body, and when you permit sin into your life, it violates the very core of who you are! And that will cause you godly sorrow, leading to repentance and turning away from sin.

Don’t settle for saying, ‘This is a habit I can’t break. But it’s okay because God will forgive me.’

Yes, He will forgive you, but He doesn’t want you to settle for a cycle of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and then repeating the same sin. He wants you to be strong and effective in His service.

That’s why He’s calling you to a higher level.

2 Samuel 21-22, Acts 1

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

The need for rest and renewal

‘Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength.’
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 16 MAY 2020

When you’re physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained, you become vulnerable. When Samson grew tired, he lay down in Delilah’s lap.

Jesus called for 100 per cent commitment, but He also knew the importance of staying in balance; of work and rest; of giving out and taking in. ‘Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”

He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone’ (Mark 6:31-32 NLT).

A good general will never commit all his soldiers to the battlefield at the same time. He keeps a reserve force to relieve the exhausted ones when they stagger back from the front lines.

Yes, you may have the greatest assignment in the world and be succeeding in it, but unless you ‘keep a reserve’, you’re opening yourself up to potential danger. That’s why setting aside time each day to be alone with God in prayer and Bible reading is so important.

If Satan can’t defeat you outright, he will settle for an exhausted, ineffective version of the person God wants you to be. If you’re a type A, high-energy person, you’re particularly at risk.

What’s the answer? ‘Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint’ (Isaiah 40:30-31 NKJV).

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

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Your strength and strategy for living

‘He gives power to the weak.’
Isaiah 40:29 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 17 MAY 2020

When the battle continues to rage with no end in sight, you grow weary. Is that where you are today?

Are things that once ran smoothly no longer working? Have you done all you know to do but it hasn’t helped?

What should you do? Spend more time with God in prayer, and listen to Him as He speaks to you through His Word.

As long as you don’t give up within, victory is assured without. It’s a matter of replenishing your strength by drawing on God’s strength, refocusing your faith towards victory, and ‘[calling] to remembrance’ God’s promises (Psalm 77:6 NKJV).

When you feel overwhelmed by trouble in your marriage, your business, your health, your job, or your finances, stand on these two Bible promises: ‘He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint’ (Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT).

‘We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and…thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die.

But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God…And he did rescue us…We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us’ (2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT). Instead of trying to escape the situation, seek God and He will give you strength and a strategy to come out of it stronger.

Luke 9:18-36 , Psalm 51-53

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

God and your money (1)

‘No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’
Psalm 84:11 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 18 MAY 2020

What you believe about God and your money will determine how you pray and what you believe Him for. You say, ‘But money is the root of all evil.’ No, the Bible says, ‘The love of money is the root of all evil’ (1 Timothy 6:10 KJV).

That means if you’re a miser, God won’t give you more. ‘But haven’t some preachers used the Bible to enrich themselves?’ you ask.

Absolutely – and you wouldn’t want to stand in their shoes when they answer to God! But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The best way to tell if a five-pound note is counterfeit is to place it beside a genuine one. So here’s the question: are you looking for a reason to doubt God’s promises, or a reason to believe them?

The Bible says, ‘No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless’ (Psalm 84:11 NIV). We all agree that providing for your family, getting a promotion, educating your children, and meeting other people’s needs are all ‘good’ things.

So when you ‘do what is right’ before God, you can expect Him to bless you. John wrote, ‘Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers’ (3 John 2 NKJV).

Only when our children reach maturity and demonstrate responsibility do we entrust them with the keys to the family car, right? So maturity must precede prosperity.

When you demonstrate maturity, you can go to God with confidence, knowing He’ll meet your needs and bless you. Which raises the question: are you growing and maturing spiritually?

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

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

God and your money (2)

‘In all things at all times, having all that you need.’
2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 19 MAY 2020

Let’s begin by saying it again: what you believe about God and your money will determine what you believe Him for. If the reason you want more is to ‘keep up with the Joneses’, or brag about what you own, don’t expect God to bless your plans.

The Bible says, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble’ (James 4:6 NIVUK). Humility says, ‘Lord, everything I have is a gift from You.

And everything I’ll ever need comes from You.’ Before you ask God for more money, you must know that your heart motive is right.

And when you know it is, you can stand on this Scripture: ‘Whoever sows sparingly will…reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will…reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion’ (2 Corinthians 9:6-11 NIV).

Who does God give seed to? Sowers – not hoarders.

When does God multiply your seed? When you sow it to fulfil His purposes.

1 King 3-5, Acts 3

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

God and your money (3)

‘Help in time of need.’
Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 20 MAY 2020

When you have a spiritual, physical, relational, or financial need, God says He will meet it. But some of us have a hard time believing this.

After all, Jesus condemned the rich man for overlooking the poor man sitting on his doorstep. And God hasn’t changed His position on that issue.

Jesus told the story of a man so busy making money that he had no time for God. ‘But God said to him, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?”

Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God’ (Luke 12:20-21 NLT). And He hasn’t changed positions on that issue either.

Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple because they were ripping people off. He went so far as to call them ‘a den of thieves’ (Mark 11:17 NKJV).

Does that mean God is interested in meeting our spiritual needs but not our material ones? Let’s be clear; your spiritual needs should always be your highest priority, but let’s allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves.

When it comes to God and your money, Jesus said: ‘Don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?”

These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need’ (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT).

Note the word ‘everything’. When you’re in right standing with God, you can pray with confidence and ask Him to bless you in all things!

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

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

God and your money (4)

‘Money answereth all things.’
Ecclesiastes 10:19 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 21 MAY 2020

The Bible teaches that God wants you to have enough money to:

1) Provide for the needs of your family and help them to succeed. ‘If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel’ (1 Timothy 5:8 KJV).

2) Tithe, and finance His work. ‘“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it”’ (Malachi 3:10 NIV).

3) Pay your taxes and your obligations. In answer to the question ‘Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God’ (Matthew 22:17-22 NLT).

4) Send His Word to the four corners of the world. ‘How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach unless they are sent?’ (Romans 10:14-15 NKJV).

5) Help the poor and needy. ‘Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments…Wealth and riches will be in his house…He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever’ (Psalm 112:1, 3, 9 NKJV). When your reason for wanting money is to fulfil God’s will and bless others, God will honour you.

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

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

God and your money (5)

‘He will give you everything you need.’
Matthew 6:33 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 22 MAY 2020

When it comes to money, the Bible teaches that:

1) God wants you to have enough to meet any size of need you may face. Think about it: employees are mainly concerned with one thing – getting their salary.

Employers, on the other hand, have a bigger need. They must have enough money to cover everybody’s salary.

And here’s the good news for both employer and employee: ‘Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!’ (v. 8 NLT).


2) Many times God will send you to a particular place or person in order to meet your need. During a time of severe famine when people in Israel were dying of starvation, God said to the prophet Elijah, ‘Turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith…I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there’ (1 Kings 17:3-4 KJV).

And that worked well for a time – until ‘the brook dried up, because there had been no rain’ (v. 7). God arranged it that way, because He will never permit you to depend on anybody or anything other than Him.

He will dry up your ‘brook’ in order to send you back to your true source – Himself. Here’s what God told Elijah next: ‘Arise, get thee to Zarephath…and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee’ (v. 9 KJV).

God used unlikely things like ravens, a brook, and a poor widow to meet Elijah’s needs. So stop trying to figure God out!

Trust the One who ‘hangs the earth on nothing’ (Job 26:7 NLT) to use whomever, whatever, wherever, and whenever to meet your needs.

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