[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Shun unhealthy self-focus (3)

‘Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life.’
Ephesians 4:22 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 25 NOV 2020

Does God expect us to work on growth and self-improvement? Yes!

But just as examining yourself is futile, so is trying to change if it keeps you self-focused and defeated. The Bible’s path to change is to turn away from self and focus on Christ.

Paul says, ‘We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…by the Spirit of the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV). God isn’t interested in improved flesh.

In His eyes ‘improved flesh’ is still flesh. He’s in the character-transformation business, not the self-improvement business.

All your self-improvement strategies can’t transform your old self-nature. Only God, ‘by the Spirit’, can make you more Christ-like.

As you ‘behold [look at and study] as in a mirror [the Word of God]’ you become ‘transformed into the same image [the image of God you’re looking at] from glory to glory [grade to grade]’. It doesn’t happen because of your grit, but because of His grace.

‘So what will happen to my flesh?’ you ask. God’s ultimate plan is to replace it and give you a new heavenly body.

That’s why Paul writes: ‘Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.’ No altering, adjusting, and patching-up allowed – you must ‘throw it off’! Like a lobster growing and shedding the confinement of its old shell, as you focus on and fellowship with Christ, you are released from the dominance of your old nature and grow into your new one.

You’re transformed – from the inside out.

Daniel 1-2, 2 Peter 2

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Shun unhealthy self-focus (4)

‘My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.’
Psalm 25:15 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 26 NOV 2020

Hannah Whitall Smith writes: ‘It is no use for us to examine self, and tinker with it in hope of improving it. The thing the Lord wants us to do is to get rid of it.’

Your old nature is determined to hold your attention; it would rather be thought of badly than not at all. In the process of examining your flesh and feeling miserable, you’re apt to think you are being humble, honest, and spiritual.

But the only spiritual and safe way to handle your fleshly nature is to consign it to the ‘ignore file’, and anchor your attention and expectations exclusively on the Lord. David understood how this principle worked: ‘My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.’ Looking at your own ‘clay feet’ (weaknesses and failures), and the ‘snare’ (your unregenerate flesh) you’re tangled in, won’t free you from the trap.

You’ll just end up further entangled. Only God, together with your cooperation, can release you from the trap of the flesh.

Keeping your ‘eyes…ever on the Lord’ is His way of giving you the victory. Listen again to what David said: ‘I keep my eyes always on the Lord…I will not be shaken…You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand’ (Psalm 16:8-11 NIV).

Your job is simple, though not necessarily easy. It’s to ignore your fleshly cravings and stay focused on Jesus. His job is to transform you by His mighty power!

Daniel 3-4, 2 Peter 3

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Shun unhealthy self-focus (5)

‘Is this the kind of fast I have chosen?’
Isaiah 58:5 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 27 NOV 2020

God never commanded you to examine your emotions, experiences, or sins. What He did say is, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29 NASB).

Victory over sin comes from focusing on Christ – not beating yourself up! In the Old Testament the Israelites reached a place of despair.

They’d fasted and ‘afflicted’ their souls, yet God ignored their efforts. They sought spiritual restoration in their own self-directed way, and God rejected it, saying: ‘Is this the kind of fast I have chosen…for people to humble themselves…bowing one’s head like a reed…in sackcloth and ashes?

Is that…acceptable to the Lord?’ Clearly, God is not pleased with the misery that comes from self-focus!

He has a more effective way to liberate us. Rather than have us weighed down with remorse, He said: ‘Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice…set the oppressed free…break every yoke…share your food with the hungry…provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not…turn away from your own flesh and blood?’ (Isaiah 58:6-7 NIV).

God’s way eliminates the ‘paralysis of self-analysis’ by commanding you to forget about yourself completely; to stop dwelling on your imperfections and get involved in the lives and needs of others. His four-point plan for overcoming your flesh is:

1) Acknowledge His grace and see yourself as ‘righteous’ in Christ.
2) Fix your eyes on Jesus.
3) Shun obsessive self-focus.
4) Serve God by serving others.

When you do all these things, ‘Your light will rise in the darkness…The Lord will guide…and…strengthen [you]’ (vv. 10-11 NIV).

Daniel 5-7, 1 John 1

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Slow down! (1)

‘Focus on…one thing.’
Philippians 3:13 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 28 NOV 2020

We live in the day of multitasking. We talk on the phone while having lunch, read text messages while feeding the kids, and even drink coffee while driving.

Dr Richard Swenson says: ‘In some instances we are more productive…some people crochet while watching the news. And in certain jobs it’s considered necessary; clerks on the Stock Exchange floor are required to run around doing five things at once.

But isn’t it bizarre that when a 48-year-old broker drops dead, his colleagues keep working around the lifeless body receiving CPR? The dramatic escalation of busyness has given us too much to do in a short time.

The standard strategy…instead of refusing to take on more…is to do two, three, or four things at once. It’s an extension of the do-more-and-more-with-less-and-less philosophy. But someone forgot to do the math!

By doing two things at once you divert 30 per cent of your attention from the primary task; you sacrifice quality for quantity, which leads to more errors. You may end up finishing more tasks, but with poorer products and frazzled nerves.

The downside of multitasking isn’t well-advertised…so we keep experimenting to see how far we can push the envelope. However, when it comes to relationships, multitasking can be disastrous.

We don’t listen…it takes too much time. Families need focus…babies need what they need when they need it.

You either parent them or you don’t. Paul didn’t live like that.

He focused “on…one thing”, which was the person in front of him.’ A dog has four feet, but it doesn’t try to walk down four roads!

So slow down and establish a pace that’s sane and sustainable.

Daniel 8-10, 1 John 2

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Slow down! (2)

‘Don’t copy the behaviour…of this world.’
Romans 12:2 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 29 NOV 2020

Our high-tech society is producing stressed-out people. Next year we will have even less time because statistically for every hour technology saves you, it consumes two more.

Author Keri Wyatt Kent writes: ‘Every time you say “yes” to something, you’re saying “no” to other options. Activity cloaked in “Christian window-dressing”, is still activity. Don’t copy the behaviour…of this world; our world is hurried.

Take time to listen and care. The hallmark of a Christian is love, and you can’t love in a hurry.’ So to slow down you need to:

1) Simplify your life. ‘Don’t fuss about what’s on the table…or whether [your] clothes…are in fashion’ (Matthew 6:25 MSG). Put God first and everything else will follow.

When Marlene Eissens decided to switch careers, she set out for university with only the stuff she could fit in her car. Today she’s in ministry.

She has a house, but resists filling it, and anything she hasn’t used for six months goes to charity. She says, ‘I feel real freedom because with less stuff I’m free to focus on God.’

2) Keep the Sabbath. Todd Gitlin says, ‘We’re a nerve-wracked society. We have difficulty sitting back and thinking of the purpose of what we do.’

Set aside at least one day a week to rest, spend time with your loved ones, and fellowship with your church family.

3) 'Be satisfied with…[what you have]' (Hebrews 13:5 AMPC). You’ll still be tempted to hurry and wish for more or nicer stuff, but you’ll grow closer to God by making more space in your life for Him.

As J.I. Packer says, ‘We dishonour God when we proclaim a Saviour who satisfies and then go around discontent.’

Luke 22:47-71, Psalms 120-122

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Slow down (3)

‘Does it mean nothing to…all you who pass by?’
Lamentations 1:12 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 29 NOV 2020

At a Metro station in Washington D.C. on a cold January morning, a young violinist played several classical compositions as people rushed by. After three minutes, a middle-aged man slowed briefly, then hurried away.

Thirty seconds later the young man received his first dollar; a woman threw it in his case without stopping. Six minutes later a man leaned against a wall to listen for a few minutes, then looked at his watch, and walked on.

After ten minutes a little boy stopped, but his mum hurried him along. Other kids did the same, but every parent, without exception, rushed them on.

The young musician played for forty-five minutes. During that time seven people stopped and listened for a while, and twenty gave money as they walked past.

He collected a total of $32 (about £25), and when he stopped playing nobody noticed or applauded. What’s remarkable is this: the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the world’s greatest musicians, and he played some of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million (about £2.8 million).

Two days before, he’d sold out a Boston theatre where seats averaged $100 (about £80) to listen to him play the same music he played at the Metro station that morning, where only one person recognised him. So here’s the question: if you’ve no time to stop and listen to one of the world’s best musicians playing the finest music ever written, on one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, what else are you missing as you barrel through life?

It’s worth thinking about, isn’t it? (Note: Joshua Bell played incognito as part of a social experiment conducted by The Washington Post.)

Daniel 11-12, 1 John 3

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
Facing death without fear (1)

01 DECEMBER 2020
‘In your presence is fullness of joy.’
Psalm 16:11 NKJV
Ask twenty people to describe heaven, and chances are you’ll get twenty different answers. But there’s one thing that’s not open to speculation: ‘To leave this life and be with Christ…is much better’ (Philippians 1:23 NCV) than anything we can imagine.


Recalling a conversation with her mum before she went to heaven, Billy Graham’s daughter Anne writes: ‘I told her about my recent visit to Westminster Abbey, where kings and queens are crowned and royalty are married. The door for tourists that leads to the cathedral entrance is a dark, cramped space.


Opposite is another door that opens into the magnificent, glorious, cavernous sanctuary of Westminster Abbey. The dimly lit narthex is just a place to purchase your ticket and guidebook before transitioning to the cathedral.


I can’t imagine anyone clutching a ticket or leafing through a guidebook being satisfied with staying in the [entrance hall]…We pick our ticket to heaven when we’re born again through faith in Jesus.

And we familiarise ourselves with the “guidebook” to heaven – the Bible…My mother left the narthex and moved into the sanctuary on June 14, 2007…It’s unimaginable that I can no longer see the sparkle in her eyes, or hear the wisdom of her words.


Yet despite my aching heart, I know her whole purpose for being – and ours – is to transition into heaven. The psalmist said, “In your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” One day I too will move, to live forever in the sanctuary.


In the meantime, I want to show others a glimpse of our Father’s house, so they’ll look forward with hope to moving there.’

Hosea 1-4, 1 John 4

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Slow down (3)

‘Does it mean nothing to…all you who pass by?’
Lamentations 1:12 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 30 NOV 2020

At a Metro station in Washington D.C. on a cold January morning, a young violinist played several classical compositions as people rushed by. After three minutes, a middle-aged man slowed briefly, then hurried away.

Thirty seconds later the young man received his first dollar; a woman threw it in his case without stopping. Six minutes later a man leaned against a wall to listen for a few minutes, then looked at his watch, and walked on.

After ten minutes a little boy stopped, but his mum hurried him along. Other kids did the same, but every parent, without exception, rushed them on.

The young musician played for forty-five minutes. During that time seven people stopped and listened for a while, and twenty gave money as they walked past.

He collected a total of $32 (about £25), and when he stopped playing nobody noticed or applauded. What’s remarkable is this: the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the world’s greatest musicians, and he played some of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million (about £2.8 million).

Two days before, he’d sold out a Boston theatre where seats averaged $100 (about £80) to listen to him play the same music he played at the Metro station that morning, where only one person recognised him. So here’s the question: if you’ve no time to stop and listen to one of the world’s best musicians playing the finest music ever written, on one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, what else are you missing as you barrel through life?

It’s worth thinking about, isn’t it? (Note: Joshua Bell played incognito as part of a social experiment conducted by The Washington Post.)

Daniel 11-12, 1 John 3


TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Facing death without fear (2)

‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’
1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV

The UCB Word for Today - 02 DEC 2020

When Carolyn Arends’ father lay dying in the hospital, an oxygen mask made it virtually impossible for him to communicate with his family. So they were surprised to hear him humming an old Sunday school song: With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm, as we go sailing home.

Just hours before he went home to heaven, a boyhood chorus he had learned sixty years ago gave this dying man comfort and strength. Arends writes: ‘I hope I go down singing, speaking, and thinking about Jesus…Death unaddressed is the bogeyman in the basement; it keeps us looking over our shoulders and from entering joyously into the days we’ve been given.

Dragged out of the shadows and held up to the light of the gospel, death not only loses its sting, it becomes a reminder to “use wisely all the time we have” (see Psalm 90:12 CEV)…A race toward the finish line has a different sense of purpose and urgency than a jog around the block.

When a believer acknowledges he’s headed toward death [tomorrow or in 50 years], he [or she] can stop expending the tremendous energy it takes to deny his mortality and start living into his eternal destiny here and now. He can be intentional about investing in the things he wants to be with him at the end…

Death hurts, but it’s not the end…we don’t mourn as those who have no hope…I don’t know how many days I’ve got left, but I want to use every one to get the truth about who Jesus is – and who I am in Him – more deeply ingrained.’

Hosea 5-6, 1 John 5



TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Training leaders who can train others (1)

‘Teach these truths to…trustworthy people who will…pass them on.’
2 Timothy 2:2 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 03 DEC 2020

Most church leaders would concede that people are their greatest resource. Which raises the question, why don’t we devote more time to training new leaders?

One pastor admits that by failing to do this: ‘We limit the long-term growth and effectiveness of our organisations. Paul modelled this truth and changed the course of history.

He cultivated other leaders around him, and taught them to do the same. He told his protégé, Timothy, “Teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will…pass them on.”

That’s the essence of great leadership.’ When you devote time to developing leaders with a caring attitude, they learn to pass the same level of care on to the people they minister to.

There are proven principles that apply to leadership in any organisation, and the church is no exception. For example, Jon Gordon says: ‘Great customer service begins with being employee-focused first and customer-focused second.

Too often organisations focus all their energy on the customer while ignoring the people who serve. This may work in the short run, but eventually employees become tired, burned out, negative, and resentful…

Organisations who deliver the best service have a culture where employees are valued, listened to, and cared for. In turn these employees value, care for, and serve their customers…If you model great service, your people will share it.

If you want your team to serve, serve them. If you want your people to care, care about them. If you want your team to love their work, love them.

If you want your employees to be their best, give them your best.’ So are you training people who can train others?

Hosea 7-8, 2 John


TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Training leaders who can train others (2)

‘You’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands…and the people…will flourish also.’
Exodus 18:23 MSG

The UCB Word for Today - 04 DEC 2020

In Exodus we read: ‘Moses took his seat…as judge…the people…stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing…he said…“What you are doing is not good.

You…will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy…you cannot handle it alone…select capable men…Have them serve as judges…because they will share it with you…you will be able to stand the strain”’ (vv. 13-23 NIV).

The executive director of a fast-growing church says: ‘As a performance-based people-pleaser, I know how Moses must have felt. Quick growth and multiplying campuses put me in a situation where I was trying to lead and manage everything.

In the process, I’d become worn out and frustrated. What I was doing wasn’t healthy for our team and the church.

In the weeks that followed, we reorganised our staff, empowered leaders with more authority, and developed a pipeline for training and development at all levels. As leaders we must resist the temptation to be heroes and handle it all ourselves.

It’s critical to re-evaluate your leadership structure at least once a year. Ministry leadership is tough…but there are things you can do to develop others and spread the responsibility.’

It takes prayer, humility, and patience to develop the right people. But ‘if you handle the work this way, you’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people…will flourish also’.

It’s a win/win for everybody!

Hosea 9-10, 3 John

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

‘The Martyr’s Contest!’

‘We will not compare ourselves…as if one…were better and another worse.’
Galatians 5:26 MSG

The UCB Word for Today - 05 DEC 2020

Does this sound familiar? ‘You think your day was tough?

I dealt with thirty customers before lunch!’ It’s easy to get sucked into ‘The Martyr’s Contest’, where your problems are worse than everybody else’s. And if you’re not careful, it can creep into your home.

Alicia Howe writes: ‘At day’s end when workplace frustrations are fresh and domestic tasks are looming, the setting is ripe…Spouses who desperately need each other to recognise their efforts, battle it out for the title of hardest-working person…We have a fundamental need for recognition from our spouses, and if we don’t get it, we devise strategies to evoke it.’ The problem is, when we compare ourselves we can damage our relationship.

So with that in mind:
1) Be alert for unspoken pleas for encouragement. When your mate expresses frustration, don’t counter with one-upmanship. Jesus said, ‘Listen…if you have ears!’ (Mark 4:9 GNT). What your mate needs is assurance that they can handle the problem.

2) Express appreciation often. Envision your mate wearing a sign that says, ‘Appreciate me!’ The fact that society is inclined to assign gender-specific roles doesn’t give you the right to take your partner for granted.

3) Reinforce your spouse’s efforts to help. Don’t criticise the way they fold laundry or rake the lawn. When you do, you guarantee they won’t try to do it again.

Think of a four-pronged fork:
a) Be respectful of one another’s work.
b) Recognise that while your jobs are different, they can both be difficult.
c) Be sensitive, and flexible enough to help when it’s not ‘your job’ or ‘your turn’.
d) Outlaw the complaint, ‘I’m tired’. It’s counter-productive, and chances are you are both tired of hearing it!

Hosea 11-12, Jude

[Gracemohau]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Old voices

‘In him we…become the righteousness of God.’
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 06 DEC 2020

Gandhi once said, ‘I refuse to let anyone walk through my mind with dirty feet.’ Yet that’s exactly what we do when we listen to old voices of condemnation.

A respected author writes: ‘Negative accusations take various forms. “You’re not as spiritual as you should be…You didn’t work hard enough last week…God can’t bless you because of your past.”

Those are lies…We don’t have to live condemned when we make mistakes. Even Paul said, “I do not do the good things I want to do…I do the bad things I do not want to do” (Romans 7:19 NCV).

There is a time to repent, and a time to shake it off and press forward. You can’t change the past. And if you live in guilt today because of yesterday, you won’t have the strength to live in victory.

The Bible says, “Put on the breastplate of God’s approval” (see Ephesians 6:14). The breastplate covers your heart, the centre of your being, the way you think and feel about yourself. If you’re thinking, “I don’t have much of a future.

I’ve blown it too often. God couldn’t be pleased with me,” that’s “the accuser”, and he has no authority over you.’

God says he’s been ‘cast down’ (Revelation 12:10 KJV). So stand your ground, and remind him that ‘God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’

Like all of us, you’ve probably made your fair share of mistakes. But positionally God sees you ‘in Christ’, so you’re ‘complete’, ‘justified’, and ‘accepted’.

Conditionally you’re a work-in-progress – and He won’t give up on you!

Luke 23:1-25, Psalms 123-125