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"ASK GOD FOR A MOUNTAIN (1)"
‘…give me this mountain…’ Joshua 14:12 NJKV
WHY WOULD someone ask God for a mountain? Because
when you tackle something bigger than yourself: 1) you
grow; 2) you learn to depend on God; 3) you get to
celebrate big victories. Caleb said: ‘…here I am today,
eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day
Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to
battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country
that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard
then that the Anakites were there and their cities were
large and fortified, but, with the Lord helping me, I will
drive them out just as He said’ (vv. 10-12 NIV). Anybody
can occupy the flat ground, but it takes faith in God to
tackle a mountain. What’s more, that’s where the
Anakites—the giants—lived. These guys were so big they
caused ten of Moses’ spies to say, ‘…Next to them we felt
like grasshoppers ...’ (Numbers 13:33 NLT). You’d think
at eighty-five Caleb would have asked for a nice cottage
in Shalom Acres! But no, he wanted another battle and
another victory before he checked out. Stop asking God
for a problem-free life, otherwise you might die of
boredom. It’s in working to solve problems and overcome
challenges that you become the person God wants you to
be. So ask Him for a task that will keep you learning,
growing, uncomfortable, and hungry for significance.
When you pray, ‘God, use me,’ be prepared to encounter
four things: adventure, danger, risk, and reward. How
about it—are you up for a little excitement?
Deut 28-29, Mk 8:14-26, Ps 44:17-26, Prov 12:12-14.  

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
Ask God for a Mountain (2)
‘…I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent
me…’
Joshua 14:11
God has a mountain with your name on it. Do you know
why? Because you only flourish as you face challenges!
Joshua and Caleb both brought back a good report, yet
only Joshua was promoted to leadership when Moses
departed. Caleb could have withdrawn and sulked, but
instead he invested himself in the lives of the people
around him. As an older man whose generation was dying
off, he had to develop a whole new circle of friends and he
did it. He became a mentor, guide, and cheerleader for an
entirely new generation. He did it with such gusto that
they all wanted the eighty-five-year-old Caleb to lead
them when they went up to the hill country. Challenges
undertaken for the greater good bind us to people,
whereas the pursuit of comfort leads to isolation, and
isolation is terminal. You say, ‘I’m too old to make a
difference.’ God doesn’t think so. ‘Even to your old age…I
will carry you; I will sustain you…’ (Isaiah 46:4 NIV). So
start making plans. Dare to dream! Life isn’t about
comfort, it’s about saying, ‘God, give me another
mountain.’ Somebody said that when everything’s coming
your way—you’re on the wrong side of the road. Living the
adventure God planned for you isn’t just another pursuit;
it’s the reason you were born! How will you recognise
your mountain? There’s no precise formula and like every
other area of growth in your life, your mountain won’t look
exactly like anyone else’s. But you’ll recognise it,
because it lies at the intersection of your greatest
strengths and your greatest passions.
2 Sam 19-20, John 21

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"ASK GOD FOR A MOUNTAIN (3)"
‘…Joshua blessed him, and gave [the mountain in] Hebron
to Caleb…’
Joshua 14:13 NKJV
WHEN RICH Stearns became engaged, his fiancée wanted
to order some china. But he said to her, ‘As long as there
are children starving in the world, we will not own china,
crystal, or silver.’ Rich had remarkable gifts of leadership.
He loved strategic thinking, team building, and mission
achievement. Twenty years later he became the CEO of
Lenox, the top producer of fine china in the country. One
day he received a phone call from World Vision, asking if
he would consider getting involved with them. So Rich
went to Rakia, Uganda, the area considered ground zero
for the AIDS pandemic. In that village he sat in a thatched
hut with a thirteen-year-old boy called Richard. A pile of
stones outside the door marked the place where they had
buried the boy’s father, who had died of AIDS. Another pile
marked the place where they had buried his mother, who
had also died of AIDS. Rich talked for a while with the boy
—now the head of the household, trying to raise two
younger brothers - and asked him at one point, ‘Do you
have a Bible?’ The boy said, ‘Yes,’ went into another room
and brought back the one book in their house. ‘Are you
able to read it?’ Rich asked, and at that the boy’s face lit
up. ‘I love to read the gospel of John because it says
Jesus loves children,’ the boy said. Deeply moved, Rich
Stearns left his job, his house and his title and asked God
for one more mountain. If you haven’t done it yet, ask
God for one.
Deut 32:29 - 34:12, Mk 9:1-13, Ps 62, Prov 12:18-19.

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
If You're a Husband
‘Husbands, love your wives…’
Ephesians 5:25
‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for her.’ Many men wrestle with
the fear of intimacy. Masculine emotions have become the
twenty-first century version of ‘Pandora’s box’. We don’t
know all that’s in it, but we have a feeling that we’d better
not open it. But if we hide our true selves from our wives,
they will only love what we do—not what we are! As a
husband, you don’t have to be a ‘10’. You just have to be
a man of God. He wants strong men who lead, instead of
weak men who follow. No woman wants to be in
submission to a man who isn’t in submission to God and
led by His Spirit. ‘…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control…’ (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV). A
woman feels secure with a man who has these qualities,
and will gladly say to him, ‘Lead the way.’ Men are
masters at giving ‘things’. Where they have big problems
is when they are asked to give themselves! Jesus Christ,
the greatest lover the world has ever known, gives Himself
openly and unashamedly. His love is exemplified in His
coming, but consummated in His dying. The truth is, your
wife doesn’t need more things—she just needs you to give
your love to her completely. Jesus is described in the
book of Revelation as a Lion and a Lamb (Revelation
5:5-6). That’s a picture of strength and tenderness, and
that’s what your wife needs from you. You say, ‘How long
will it take me to accomplish this?’ A lifetime, so get
started!
2 Sam 23-24, Acts 2:1-21

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
If You're a Wife
‘Wives, submit to your own husbands…’
Ephesians 5:22
Some people use this Scripture to treat women like a
doormat, and rob them of their voice and right to any
leadership role. Read the Bible! Deborah led the nation of
Israel. Huldah the prophetess spoke the Word of God to
kings. Let’s read the Scripture again: ‘Wives, submit to
your own husbands, as to the Lord.’ As a wife you are
called to submit to ‘your own husband’, not to all men. In
God’s eyes men and women are equal (Galatians 3:28).
Paul is not speaking about your ‘person’; he’s speaking
about your ‘role’ in the home. As a human being, a
general is not more important than a sergeant. But for an
army to function successfully there must be a respected
chain of command where one leads and the other follows.
God doesn’t want you to squirm under your husband’s
leadership, but snuggle up into the security that it should
afford you. You can excel in your career yet still allow
yourself to enjoy being nurtured, loved, and protected by
your husband. Properly understood, your husband’s love
and leadership do not rob you of your strength, they
simply keep you in balance by allowing you to reconnect
with your softness and femininity. But a word of caution: if
you’re looking for a man to be ‘your everything’, forget it!
God’s the only one who can be everything. By expecting
perfection from your husband, you’re asking more from
someone else than you can provide yourself. Here’s God’s
plan: ‘…she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life.
Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be
hindered’ (1 Peter 3:7 NLT).
Luke 9:18-36, Psalm 51-53

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
The Secret of Lasting Happiness
‘…happy is the man who delights in doing His commands.’
Psalms 112:1
Lasting happiness isn’t found in money or career success.
Does that mean these things are wrong? No. When you
put God first He will actually give you these things!
(Matthew 6:33). But you must never let anything God
gives you rob Him of first place in your life. The Psalmist
said: ‘Happy is the man who delights in doing His
commands. His children shall be honoured everywhere,
for good men’s sons have a special heritage. He himself
shall be wealthy, and his good deeds will never be
forgotten. When darkness overtakes him, light will come
bursting in. He is kind and merciful—and all goes well for
the generous man who conducts his business fairly. Such
a man will not be overthrown by evil circumstances.
God’s constant care of him will make a deep impression
on all who see it. He does not fear bad news, nor live in
dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind
that Jehovah will take care of him. That is why he is not
afraid, but can calmly face his foes. He gives generously
to those in need. His deeds will never be forgotten. He
shall have influence and honour” (Psalms 112:1-9 TLB).
Somebody said that the best things in life aren’t things.
Happiness isn’t determined by what you own; it lies in
relationships, and the first relationship you need is with
God because every blessing in life flows from Him. In a
world of urgency and confusion, God will give you values
and priorities to live by. ‘Happy is the man who delights
in doing His commands.’
1 Kings 1-2, Acts 2:22-47

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
The Word and the Spirit
‘…we have the mind of Christ.’
1 Corinthians
When your mind is not open to the Holy Spirit, you cannot
understand God’s Word. So if you find reading the Bible
unrewarding, try this: before you open your Bible, open
your heart and pray, ‘Holy Spirit, show me what I don’t
see and teach me what I don’t know.’ Paul writes: ‘…it
was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For
his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s
deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts
except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know
God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have
received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can
know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When
we tell you these things, we do not use words that come
from human wisdom…we speak words given to us by the
Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these
truths…It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t
understand it, for only those who are spiritual can
understand what the Spirit means. Those who are
spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves
cannot be evaluated by others. For, ‘Who can know the
Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him? But
we understand these things, for we have the mind of
Christ’ (vv. 10-16 NLT). The Bible isn’t like any other
book. Its words are God breathed; therefore when you
approach the Bible you must ask the Holy Spirit to open
your eyes and give you understanding. He will!
1 Kings 3-5, Acts 3

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY
How to Activate God's Word (1)
‘Let Christ’s word…live in you.’
Colossians 3:16
Making the right decisions and choosing the right actions
are the crux of living successfully. If you are the source of
your own wisdom, or you’re looking to others, your odds
are not good. Paul writes, ‘Let Christ’s word with all its
wisdom and richness live in you.’ If you do, you’ll have
the winning strategy for your life. But you must: 1) Read
it. You don’t have to understand it all; it’s not an
intellectual exercise. Reading it prayerfully brings power
and wisdom because ‘…the Word that God speaks is alive
and active… [penetrating] to the place where soul and
spirit meet’ (Hebrews 4:12 PHPS). 2) Meditate on it. That
means ‘chew on’ it. Let your spiritual digestive juices
process God’s Word until its nutrients become part of you:
strengthening, energising and directing you. 3) Believe it.
‘My word…always produces…It will accomplish all I want
it to’ (Isaiah 55:11 NLT). There’s only one thing that can
short-circuit God’s Word—unbelief. ‘The message…did
them no good, because they only heard and did not
believe as well’ (Hebrews 4:2 PHPS). ‘Hearing’ opens the
door; ‘believing’ walks through it and activates the
promise. 4) Receive it. No matter how strongly you
believe in God’s promises and His intention to give them
to you, they’re not yours until you receive them by faith.
‘Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it, and it will be
yours’ (Mark 11:24 NIV). So believe your answer is on the
way, and keep your faith strong until it arrives.
1 Kings 6-7, Acts 4:1-22

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How to Activate God's Word (2)
‘…if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.’
1 John 5:14
While you are waiting for God’s Word to be fulfilled in your
life, do these three things: 1) Verbalise it. The most
effective way to pray is to speak God’s Word. The
patriarchs, prophets and psalmists regularly reminded
God of His promises in prayer, confident He would keep
them. The surest indicator of God’s will is His Word. ‘This
is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we
ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we
know that He hears us…we know that we have what we
asked of Him’ (vv. 14-15 NIV). God always responds to
His Word, always! 2) Obey it. God’s plan for us is not just
to speak His Word, vital as this is, but that we obey it
(James 1:22). The hymn-writer said: ‘When we walk with
the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on
our way; while we do His good will, He abides with us
still, and with all who will trust and obey.’ Obedience—
faith in action—aligns us with God and He responds by
fulfilling His promise to us. 3) Share it. Parents and
grandparents, ‘Take to heart these words that I give you
today. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them
when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get
up’ (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 GWT). You needn’t be a qualified
teacher, just a sincere teller. Sharing God’s Word will
produce fruit in the lives of your family, friends, relatives,
business associates and neighbours, and also increase
your own grasp and understanding of it.
1 Kings 8-9, Acts 4:23-37