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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

God ideas
15 FEBRUARY 2024

‘David gave…Solomon…the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the…temple of the LORD.’
1 Chronicles 28:11-12 NIV

The first Jewish temple ranks as one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world. Built in the tenth century BC, the project’s scope was so massive that Solomon employed thirty thousand loggers and eighty thousand stonecutters. More than three thousand foremen managed the seven-year project. The temple was the epicentre of Judaism. It was the place of sacrifice. It was the place of worship. It was the place of pilgrimage. But like everything else, the temple was once a figment of the imagination.

The cumulative history of the Jewish temple can be traced all the way back to an idea in the mind of King David. But it wasn’t David’s idea. ‘David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord.’ We have no idea how God downloaded the plans to David. JPEGs? PDFs? Mental images? Detailed drawings? One thing is sure: the plans for the temple were not manufactured in David’s mind, they originated with the Spirit of God.

The temple wasn’t just a good idea, it was a God idea. So, ask God for an idea. Pray for a plan. Why? Two reasons. First because the Bible says, ‘Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalm 37:4 NIV). Second, when something is conceived by God’s Spirit, it is sure to succeed.

Leviticus 6-7, Matthew 25:1-30

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Prepare yourself
16 FEBRUARY 2024

‘Make this valley full of ditches
2 Kings 3:16 NKJV

All things don’t come to those who wait but to those who prepare. There is a great illustration of this in 2 Kings 3. As part of God’s strategy for defeating the Moabites, God told the Israelites to dig a ditch and He would fill it with water until it became a mighty river. They did, and as a result they experienced a spectacular victory. But don’t miss the point here. God said, ‘When you have dug the ditch, then I will fill it!’ (see v. 17). God can use anybody, but He doesn’t; He uses prepared people.

Moses lived to be 120. His first forty years were spent in a palace, his second forty years were spent in a wilderness, and his last forty years were spent fulfilling his God-given assignment. That’s two-thirds of his life in preparation! What happens when you’re not prepared? Things you hope won’t happen, do. Often the dividing line between winning and losing is preparation! Singing, ‘When you wish upon a star,’ won’t make your dream come true – you have to prepare yourself! Paul’s ministry begins with the words, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ (Acts 9:6 KJV). Whereupon God takes him into the desert for the next three years to teach him and prepare him for his ministry.

Whether your vocation is sacred or secular, you have to know what it will cost in terms of time, effort, and resources, and prepare for it. ‘Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts’ (Proverbs 24:3 TLB). So, the word for today is – prepare yourself.

Leviticus 8-10, Matthew 25:31:46

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

The breaking process (1)
17 FEBRUARY 2024

‘The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.’
Psalm 51:17 NLT

Brokenness is the process by which God strips us of pride and self-sufficiency so that the character of Christ can shine through. Brokenness doesn’t necessarily mean experiencing some tragedy. Many people suffer tragedy without drawing closer to God. The issue in brokenness is not so much your circumstances but your response.

What’s God trying to teach you? Brokenness is when God strips you of self-sufficiency to the extent that you have no strength left to fix yourself. When He blocks every exit you try to take and you come to see that He alone is the answer, you make a life-changing discovery. What’s that? When God is all you have, God is all you need! The truth is that God’s power is reserved for those who have given up trying to do it in their own strength or accomplish it for their own ends.

Note the words ‘the sacrifice you desire’. Sacrifice means something has to die on an altar. So, if you want to experience a new level of God’s grace and power in your life, you must be willing to die to self-interest, ego, and independence. For a plant to rise from the soil, the seed must be broken. For a baby chick to experience life, the shell must be broken. For a thoroughbred horse to win, it must be ‘broken in’ and harnessed. After a breaking encounter with Christ on the Damascus road, Paul prayed, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ (Acts 9:6 KJV). Are you in the breaking process today? Here are your options: 1) resist, 2) run, or 3) respond and say, ‘Yes, Lord.’

Leviticus 11-12, Matthew 26:1-25

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

The breaking process (2)
18 FEBRUARY 2024

‘You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.’
Psalm 51:17 NLT

Brokenness leads to blessing. To receive a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, Elisha, who was a farmer, had to break and burn his plough. To demonstrate her love for Jesus, Mary had to break open her box of costly ointment and pour it over Him. To defeat the armies of Midian, Gideon’s three hundred soldiers had to break their pitchers, let their light shine, and make themselves a target.

The truth is, God has to break each of us in different areas in order to use us. What areas? Bad habits. Stubborn wills. Inflated egos. Evil thoughts. Crippling fears. Secret prejudices. Misguided ambitions. The list is endless. If you’re facing east, you won’t go west, so God has to turn you around. Sometimes that requires discipline. And it’s you, not God, who determines the length of that discipline and the extent of it. ‘No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way’ (Hebrews 12:11 NLT). If you’re a parent, you understand this. One child will collapse in tears, whereas another will defy you.

God will do whatever it takes to break your habit of of self-sufficiency! Paul writes, ‘Now may…God…sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB). Notice that your body comes last in order of transformation. As a regenerate spirit living in an unregenerate body, you will always be ‘fighting the flesh’. What’s the secret of victory? Brokenness and surrender!

Luke 3:1-19, Psalms 18-19

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The breaking process (3)
19 FEBRUARY 2024

‘He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples.’
Matthew 14:19 NKJV

The Bible says that Jesus ‘took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes’ (v. 19 NKJV). Notice the progression in this story: the loaves were taken, blessed, broken, then given to others. That’s how God works! In order to bless others through you, He will take you, bless you, break you, and give you to others.

Paul had to be broken of pride. ‘I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh…Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me…For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT). So, if you have a ‘thorny’ person or situation in your life, God wants you to experience His grace and power through dealing with them.

Paul finally reached the place where he could thank God for his ‘thorn’. The Bible speaks about ‘the sacrifice of praise to God’ (Hebrews 13:15 KJV). When you’re willing to sacrifice in order to have something, it means you value it enough to pay the price for it. Do you want to walk in God’s power? To experience His blessing? Then thank God for your ‘thorny situation’, and embrace the breaking process through which He is taking you today.

Leviticus 13, Matthew 26:26-46

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What’s the ‘most important’ thing to you?
20 FEBRUARY 2024

‘The most important thing is that I complete my mission.’
Acts 20:24 NCV

The story is told of Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen, a wealthy Canadian man who survived the Titanic. After it struck the iceberg, he returned to his stateroom and, ignoring cash, jewellery, and other valuable possessions worth around $300,000, grabbed a favourite pearl pin and three oranges. Later, he was reported to have said, ‘The money seemed to be a mere mockery at that time.’ Circumstances transformed his values; tragedy clarified his priorities. The question is not will your calendar be full, but who will fill it and what will it be filled with? If you’re wise, you will consult God as to your life’s priorities, then keep them before you at all times (see Proverbs 3:6).

In a survey, people over ninety were asked, ‘If you had your life to live over, what would you do differently?’ Three answers constantly emerged:

1) I would spend more time with my family and friends.

2) I would try more things and take more risks.

3) I would give myself to something that would live on after I’m gone.

Petty things steal too much of our time, and we finish up living by the wrong priorities. If you say yes to every request, you will never get around to doing what God has called you to do. Paul had it figured out: ‘The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me.’ A life in which anything goes is a life in which nothing goes. Your greatest challenge is thinking and doing things that ultimately matter. ‘Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!’ (Deuteronomy 32:29 NKJV).

Leviticus 14, Matthew 26:47-75

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Live with integrity at home
21 FEBRUARY 2024

‘But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.’
Genesis 19:14 NKJV

Make your life an open book. Establish a system of values against which all of life is judged. Walk with God; maintain your integrity at work and at home, and you will make the right choice every time. Lot failed to do this, and it cost him dearly. ‘Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law…and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking’ (v. 14 NKJV).

When you lose your integrity, you lose your credibility. If you’re a parent, guard your children physically when they’re young, and emotionally as they mature. Teach them to respect others and get to know the people they’re dating. Be sure to check what they and you watch on TV and do on the internet.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be fun to be around. Show your lighter side. Don’t be so preoccupied with work or church that you’re a prude or a bore. ‘A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance’ (Proverbs 15:13 KJV). The point is, if you ‘talk the talk’, be sure you ‘walk the walk’.

When Lot tried to warn his family, they ‘looked at him as though he had lost his senses’ (Genesis 19:14 TLB). Was he too busy making a living to teach them what mattered most in life? Did he say one thing and do another? We don’t know. But any way you cut it, his loss was tragic. The truth is that your integrity, or the lack of it, will have consequences not only in your own life but also in the lives of your loved ones.

Leviticus 15-16, Matthew 27:1-26

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Don’t doubt God
22 FEBRUARY 2024

‘I won’t believe it unless I see…’
John 20:25 NLT

John writes: ‘Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them…Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed’ (vv. 24-28 NLT).

Jesus picked a doubter to be His disciple. And when he doubted, Jesus didn’t denounce and dismiss him. He actually put in a special appearance to resolve his doubts and build his faith. Elisabeth Elliott said, ‘True faith only goes into operation when there are no answers.’ God says, ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55:8 KJV). The truth is, God doesn’t think like us. He sees the big picture, and He works towards a specific end. Jesus said, ‘I have many more things to say…but they are too much for you now’ (John 16:12 NCV).

So when you find yourself doubting, pray: ‘Lord, believing isn’t easy when I’m hurt and confused, and You are silent. Like Thomas, I want proof that You love me. Help me to see beyond my desire for peace and comfort, beyond my doubts and unanswered questions, and to grasp the truth of Your unfailing love and grace.’

Leviticus 17-18, Matthew 27:27-50

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Armed for spiritual warfare (1)
23 FEBRUARY 2024

‘Put on all of God’s armour.’
Ephesians 6:11 NLT

Every day you live, you will battle the world, the flesh, and the devil. In order to be armed for spiritual warfare, Paul gives us six specific pieces of spiritual armour. Here are the first three:

1) The sturdy ‘belt of truth’ (v. 14 NLT). During World War II, a plane flew many miles past its destination. Why? Because the crew, not realising there were such strong tailwinds, refused to believe the cockpit instruments. As a result, everyone on board perished. Yet when the plane was found years later, the instruments were still in perfect working order. You can depend on God’s Word to guide you right. Read it daily and believe it no matter what your mind or emotions tell you.

2) ‘The body armour of God’s righteousness’ (v. 14 NLT). Note, it is God’s righteousness, not yours. You’re not saved by trusting your own performance but by trusting Christ’s performance on the cross. When you know that, God’s righteousness becomes the breastplate that protects your heart from doubts about your salvation (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).

3) ‘For shoes, put on…peace’ (Ephesians 6:15 NLT). Shoes indicate you’re going somewhere, so don’t expect to hear from God if you’re determined to remain frozen in the same spot. When you start moving ahead, He confirms the rightness of your direction by giving you a sense of peace (see Colossians 3:15). You ‘know in your knower’ that you’re on the right track. When you don’t have peace about it, seek God for direction. This is particularly important if you’re a self-starter who loves what you do. God wants you to have an abiding sense of His peace – so, don’t go without it.

Leviticus 19-20, Matthew 27:51-66

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Armed for spiritual warfare (2)
24 FEBRUARY 2024

‘Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.’
Ephesians 6:13 NLT

Let’s look at the next three pieces of spiritual armour God has provided for us to live victoriously:

1) ‘You will need faith as your shield’ (v. 16 TLB). For what? ‘To stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan’ (v. 16 TLB). Do you remember in the old western movies the battles between the Native Americans and the settlers? The settlers circled the wagons, and the Native Americans shot flaming arrows into them. They both understood that you can’t fight fires and fight foes at the same time; flaming arrows are a distraction. Satan uses the same tactic. But faith (focusing on God’s Word) snuffs out those flaming arrows.

2) ‘Put on salvation as your helmet’ (v. 17 NLT). This helmet protects your mind. When Satan whispers, ‘If you were really a Christian, you wouldn’t have…’, you repel his attacks by knowing your identity in Christ – a blood-bought, totally forgiven, seen-as-righteous, heaven-bound child of God.

3) ‘Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ (v. 17 NLT). ‘The word of God’ referred to here isn’t logos (the written word) but rhéma, which means ‘utterance’. It calls for speaking God’s Word to defeat Satan; utilising the right Scripture at the right time to deal with the problem. That’s why Satan fights you so hard over Bible reading. Three times he attacked Jesus in the wilderness, and three times Jesus answered, ‘It is written’ (Matthew 4:4-10 KJV). He demolished Satan with Scripture! The devil can out-argue you, but he has no defence against the Word of God. So, memorise the Scriptures, and use them as a weapon to defeat him.

Leviticus 21-22, Matthew 28