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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Always Keep a Good Attitude
‘…meditate on these things…and the God of peace will be with you.’

Philippians 4:8-9
The UCB Word for Today - 27 Oct 2015


When you’re going through bad times, your goal should be to keep a good attitude. And with God’s help you can. Dr Viktor Frankl, a Nazi Holocaust camp survivor, said: ‘If a prisoner felt that he could no longer endure the realities of camp life, he found a way out in his mental life—an invaluable opportunity to dwell in the spiritual domain, the one that the SS was unable to destroy.



Spiritual life strengthened the prisoner, helped him to adapt, and thereby improved his chances of survival.’ Here is some practical advice on keeping a good attitude in bad times: 1)


Always believe the best about others, but don’t get bent out of shape when they disappoint you. Nobody is perfect, including you. Just be grateful for the people that bring joy and endeavour to be counted among them. 2)



When you are tempted to retaliate, judge or become impatient, say to yourself, ‘This is an opportunity for me to model a great attitude for the glory of God.’ You say, ‘But this person is driving me crazy.’ Then refuse to be a ‘passenger’ and go along with them. Take back the wheel, get into the driver’s seat of your life, and determine which direction you’ll go and what attitude you’ll have.



The Bible says: ‘…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things…and the God of peace will be with you.’
Jer 48-49, Philemon

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


God’s Forgiveness, Mercy and Grace (2)
‘Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”’

Psalms 3:2
The UCB Word for Today - 29 Oct 2015

Regardless of how badly you have failed or how often you have failed—God won’t give up on you.



So don’t give up on yourself! Nothing you’ve done is beyond the scope of His grace. Others may give up on you, but not God. King David fell as low as a person can get. He was guilty of adultery, deception and murder—all major offences. But God forgave and restored him. He writes about it in two psalms. In the first psalm he writes: ‘Many are saying of me, God will not deliver him.



But You, Lord, are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side…From the Lord comes deliverance’ (vv 2-7 NIV). In the next psalm he writes: ‘…He turned to me and heard my cry.



He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him’ (Psalms 40:1-3 NIV).


And the God who turned David’s greatest mess into a message, and his greatest test into a testimony, will do the same for you when you turn to Him and receive His forgiveness, mercy and grace.



Jer 51-52, Heb 2

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Acknowledge Your Mistakes
‘…he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.’

Proverbs 15:32
The UCB Word for Today - 30 Oct 2015


In spite of his faults, flaws and failures, God called David ‘…a man after [my] own heart…’ (Acts 13:22). And one of the qualities that made David great was his willingness to acknowledge his mistakes. Here were two instances of it: 1)



When fleeing the wrath of King Saul, he sought the help of a certain priest—a decision that caused Saul to order the death of eighty-five priests and their families. Devastated but not defensive, David told the surviving son of the slain priest who had assisted him, ‘…I have caused the death of all your father’s family’ (1 Samuel 22:22 NLT). Can you imagine taking responsibility for such a tragic consequence? 2)



When the prophet Nathan confronted him about his affair with Bathsheba and his attempt to cover up her resulting pregnancy by having her husband killed, David acknowledged, ‘…I have sinned against the Lord…’ (2 Samuel 12:13 NLT). Would you have the emotional and spiritual maturity to make such an admission? Or do you have a tendency to defend your actions for fear of being judged, criticised or rejected?



Do you sometimes feel attacked when someone offers feedback, whether it is positive or negative? Do you retreat in silence? Do you counter-accuse or blame your attacker? Do you make hostile comments?


Do you become sarcastic? Making mistakes doesn’t make you a lesser person, but defending them does. Don’t let pride rob you of the wisdom that comes from acknowledging your mistakes and ultimately growing through them. ‘He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.’



Lam 1-2, Heb 3

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Be Willing to Let God Mould You
‘…as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand…’

Jeremiah 18:6
The UCB Word for Today - 31 Oct 2015

Henry Poppen, one of China’s first missionaries, spent forty years telling its people about the love of Jesus and how He died to take away their sin.



One day, after he had finished speaking, a man approached him and said, ‘We know this Jesus! He’s been here.’ Dr Poppen explained how that wasn’t possible because Jesus had lived and died long ago in a country far from China. ‘Oh no,’ the man insisted, ‘He died here. I can even show you his grave.’ He led Dr. Poppen outside the city to a cemetery where an American was buried.


There, inscribed on a crumbling gravestone was the name of a medical doctor who felt called by God to live and die among the people of this remote Chinese village.


And when its people heard Dr Poppen describe the attributes of Jesus—His mercy, His love, His kindness, His willingness to forgive—they remembered the missionary doctor. God will use you when you’re willing to become ‘clay in the potter’s hand’.


Clay has no aspirations; it’s mouldable, pliable and completely subject to the potter’s will. Henry Blackaby says: ‘When God’s assignment demands humility, He finds a servant willing to be humbled.



When it requires zeal, He looks for someone He can fill with His Spirit. God uses holy vessels, so He finds those who’ll allow Him to remove their impurities. It’s not a noble task being clay.


There’s no glamour to it, nothing boast-worthy, except it’s exactly what God’s looking for.’


Lam 3-5, Heb 4

[Tranglatar]

Pst Bankole,

Very lovely encouraging life giving words. If only we would harken to such words and allow ourselves to decrease that the SPIRIT may increase.
Do anybody need to discern that the American doctor referred to, must be among the triumphant Church in Heaven praying and wishing that we on earth may give up the world, accept to be clay in HIS Hands for the greater glory of GOD and ourselves in Heaven

[ebankole]

TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Never, Never Quit!
‘Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.’

Proverbs 16:3
The UCB Word for Today - 1 Nov 2015


The moment you start believing you’re successful enough to rest on your laurels, you’re in trouble. You’ve put a lid on your growth! Solomon wrote, ‘Do you know a hard-working man? He shall be successful and stand before kings!’ (Proverbs 22:29 TLB).


Success is always a possibility, but never a guarantee. It belongs to the man or woman who’s willing to show up early, stay late, go the extra mile, and keep asking, ‘Is there a better way?’.


An agency once created an ad for an automobile company. It said, ‘At sixty miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.’ When they ran the ad by the company’s CEO, he smiled and said, ‘I guess we’ve got to do something about that clock!’.


A young man once asked Henry Ford, ‘How can I make a name for myself and be successful?’. He replied, ‘Decide what you want, then stick with it.


Never deviate from your course no matter how long it takes or how hard the road, until you’ve accomplished your purpose.’ Successful people have one thing in common: they refuse to quit! No matter how many times they fall, they get back up, dust themselves off, learn from it, and start over. Paul J. Meyer says, ‘Ninety-nine per cent of those who fail are not actually defeated, they simply quit.’ The Bible says, ‘To win…you must deny yourselves… things that…keep you from doing your best’ (1 Corinthians 9:25 TLB).

The only people who never fail are those who never try. So keep going, and don't even think about quitting!


Luke 21:1-19, Ps 113-115

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Strengthen Your Marriage
‘Husbands…be considerate.’ : ‘Wives…be…worthy of respect.’

1 Peter 3:7 : 1 Timothy 3:11
The UCB Word for Today - 2 Nov 2015



A couple celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary was asked the secret to their success. The husband replied, ‘The day we got married we agreed that if an argument arose I’d go out and stand on the porch until I cooled off.


And it worked like a charm; fifty years of being outdoors in all that fresh air was exactly what this relationship needed!’. If you’ve been spending too much time out on the porch, here are three ways to strengthen your marriage: 1)


Commitment – ‘You’re first.’ Speaking those words on special occasions is easy, but you need to speak them seven days a week. A film star who’d been through several failed marriages told an interviewer, ‘I’ve given up trying to find the right person.



Now I’m working at becoming the right person.’ That formula always works! 2) Concern – ‘What do you need?’ Husbands and wives are as different as chalk and cheese.


And to complicate things further, their needs change according to the season of life they’re in. So when you ask, ‘How are you today?’ slow down and listen. Your wife may not want you to solve the problem, but to share it.


Closeness in marriage isn’t an accident: it’s a decision you make, and keep making every day. 3) Coping – ‘We can work it out.’


Marriage may alleviate the problem of loneliness, but it presents the challenge of getting along with another person. It teaches you that you can’t always avoid conflict, but you can make it work for you.


The truth is, unless there are two winners in a marriage, there are none at all.


Ezek 1-2, Heb 5

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ODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


You’ve Been Forgiven, So Live Like It!
‘I will…remember their sins no more.’

Hebrews 8:12
The UCB Word for Today - 3 Nov 2015


When Satan brings up your past, remind him of what God has said: ‘I will…remember their sins no more.’ It’s not that God’s forgetful; it’s that He chooses not to remember your sins.


And when you choose otherwise, you question His forgiveness, allow the enemy to guilt-trip you, and forfeit the confidence you need to receive what God has promised you (See 1 John 3:21-22).


When you keep rehearsing your past you not only keep it alive, you empower it. What you keep on deposit, you’re more likely to withdraw and act on in a moment of weakness. Just as nobody knows when a dormant volcano may erupt, you can’t predict when an unresolved issue will resurface, turning your words into hot coals and your behaviour into a blaze of destruction.


Only by accepting God’s forgiveness, and forgiving yourself and others, can you break the hold your past has over you.

Shame isn’t a blessing; it’s a weight Jesus bore for you on the cross.

So set it down and walk away! God’s Word says, ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:12 KJV). Notice, there’s a North Pole and a South Pole, but no east or west pole. Why? Because that distance is infinite and beyond measure. Are you getting the idea?


Any time Satan brings up your past it’s because he hopes you’re ignorant of the truth, or he fears your future and wants to rob you of it. Don’t take the bait! Point him to the cross of Christ, refuse to discuss it further, and keep moving forward.


Ezek 3-4, Heb 6

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Don’t Be Cynical
‘If you love someone, you will…always believe in him.’

1 Corinthians 13:7
The UCB Word for Today - 4 Nov 2015


There are very few monuments erected to sceptics. That’s because instead of building people up, they tear them down. David’s older brother Eliab was like that. Here’s his story.



When nobody else in Saul’s army, including Eliab, who was a general, was willing to take on Goliath, David volunteered to go out and fight this ‘uncircumcised Philistine’ (1 Samuel 17:36). In Bible times circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant of protection and provision for the Israelites.



And David knew this bully had no such contract with God; only the Israelites could claim such a benefit.


As a result, David was very secure in the covenant, and embraced God’s promise. Obviously this wasn’t the case for Eliab. His ‘anger burned against David and he said: “Why have you come down?



And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle”’ (v. 28 NASB). Interestingly, the name Eliab means ‘God is my Father’, so Eliab not only represents secular cynics, but Christian ones too.


Yes, we have them in the Church! All it takes is one sceptical member and soon all those with weaker faith, or no faith at all, start chiming in and perpetuating the negativity.


Beware: cynicism can wreak havoc in any relationship and environment. That’s why the Bible says, ‘Blessed is the man who doesn’t sit in the seat of the scornful’ (Psalm 1:1). Think twice before sitting down in that seat. If you stay there too long you may not be able to get up again!



Ezek 5-7, Heb 7

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Your Quiet Time with God (1)
‘Seek first the kingdom of God.’

Matthew 6:33
The UCB Word for Today - 5 Nov 2015



Jesus said, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.’ What kind of ‘things’ was He talking about? Things like money, houses, relationships, health, and jobs.




What did He mean by ‘the kingdom of God’? Living under the rule of Christ each moment and submitting to His will in all things. When Jesus used the word ‘seek’, He called for three things: 1) Intentionality. When something important is lost, you must put aside other things and seek until you find it. 2) Importance. Position, performance, prosperity, and popularity can be good things when properly used.



But without the rule of Christ in your life, you’ll always be vulnerable to the devil. 3) Importunity. No matter how long it takes, how hard you must work, or what you must rearrange, restore your quiet time with God to its rightful place.





The psalmist wrote, ‘When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek”’ (Psalm 27:8 NKJV). ‘Quiet time’ has been called many things throughout the history of the Church: morning watch, daily devotions, appointment with God, or personal devotional time. It really doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you have it regularly.



Your quiet time with God is just daily fellowship with Him through His Word and prayer. It’s a time you deliberately set aside to meet with Him. The goal is that you might grow in your personal relationship with God so that you can know Him, love Him, serve Him, and become more like Him.
Ezek 8-10, Heb 8