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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Overcoming the fear of sharing your faith
16 November 2024

‘Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.’
Matthew 10:32 NKJV

To share your faith effectively with others, you must overcome these three obstacles.

1) You must be sure of your own salvation. John writes: ‘He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself…And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son…These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God’ (1 John 5:10-11, 13 NKJV).

2) You must get over your fear of rejection. That means getting to the root of your fear, which is ego. Only when self-preservation and self-interest are crucified can you make Christ known without fear. Jesus said, ‘Whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me’ (John 13:20 NIV). Get over yourself! If someone rejects you, you may lose face. But if they reject Jesus, they will lose their soul.

3) You must use wisdom in sharing the gospel. ‘He that winneth souls is wise’ (Proverbs 11:30 KJV). God can work on both ends of the line. He can prepare the heart of your listener so that they’re open to what you have to say, and He can give you the right words and the right approach to talk to them. Jesus said, ‘The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you’ (John 14:26 NIV).

Ezekiel 33-34, James 5

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Jesus: the source of enlightenment (1)
17 November 2024

‘The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.’
Matthew 4:16 NKJV

First and most importantly, Jesus brought the light of salvation to all mankind. But one of the enduring benefits of His kingdom is His impact on learning and education. The word university began with those who believed that God created the universe; therefore, His ways must be studied and known. Martin Luther highlighted from the New Testament the priesthood of all believers. In the process, he changed education because he taught that every person needs to be capable of reading and writing so they can study the Scriptures for themselves. This ushered in a goal of worldwide literacy for everyone in a society.

In America, the first law to call for mass universal education was announced in Massachusetts in 1647. It was named, believe it or not, ‘The Old Deluder Satan Act’. Its wording goes: ‘It being one chief product of that Old Deluder Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures…and to the end that learning may not be buried in the graves of our forefathers.’ This is a lovely idea that everybody should learn: that ignorance is the devil’s tool, and that God is the God of truth.

In nation after nation, Christian missionaries discovered languages that had not been written. So in acts of extraordinary sacrifice, they dedicated their lives to the chore. They assembled the first dictionaries. They penned the first grammars. They formed the first alphabets. And the first significant proper name written in numerous languages was the name Jesus.

Luke 22:1-30, Psalms 119:1-88

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Jesus: the source of enlightenment (2)
18 November 2024

‘I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.’
John 12:46 NKJV

John Ortberg writes: ‘In 1780 a Jesus-follower in Great Britain named Robert Raikes could not stand the cycle of poverty and ignorance that was destroying little children, a whole generation. He said, “The world marches forward on the feet of little children.” So he took children who had to work six days a week in squalor. Sunday was their free day. He said, “I’m going to start a school for free to teach them to read and write and learn about God.” He did, and he called it Sunday school.

'Within fifty years, there were 1.5 million children being taught by 160,000 volunteer teachers who had a vision for the education of a generation. Sunday school was not a privatised, optional programme for church kids. It was one of the great educational volunteer triumphs of the world.

'The alphabet of the Slavic peoples is called Cyrillic. It was named for Saint Cyril, who was a missionary to the Slavs and discovered they had no written alphabet. Thus he created one for them so they would be able to read about Jesus in their own language…

'A Methodist missionary, Frank Laubach, cited an extraordinary encounter with God about a century ago that put him on a mission to lift the world out of ignorance. He began a worldwide literacy movement. The phrase “Each one teach one” flows out of the extraordinary life of this man. He travelled to more than a hundred countries and led to the development of primers in 313 languages. He became known as “the apostle to the illiterates”.’

Ezekiel 35-36, 1 Peter 1

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

The importance of sound doctrine
19 November 2024

‘For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.’
2 Timothy 4:3 NKJV

People who desire to beautify themselves with diamonds use the timeless counterfeit – cubic zirconia. But now, scientists can create real diamonds in a laboratory. And they are so good that gemologists have trouble recognising laboratory diamonds from mined ones. To tell them apart, an expert’s checklist is used: weight, colour, clarity, and brilliance. Without it, an imposter could pretend a two-day-old diamond is one that took thousands of years to develop.

The same is true with spiritual truth. If Christians don’t know their Bibles, spiritual imposters can pass off all manner of lies as truth. It’s not enough for someone to do miracles in Jesus’ name. ‘Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not…done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me”’ (Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV).

The Bible says that even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. Paul warns: ‘For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths’ (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT).

The Bible uses the word ‘doctrine’ fifty-five times. That’s how important it is. We need to have the desire of a diamond expert – a desire not to be deceived. If careful examination, study, and care are taken in determining the quality of a precious stone, how much more should the same effort be applied to the precious Word of God?

Ezekiel 37-39, 1 Peter 2

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Growth is a pathway
21 November 2024

‘The path of the just…shines ever brighter.’
Proverbs 4:18 NKJV

When it comes to growth, you never ‘arrive’. It’s not a place you reach; it’s a pathway you walk. ‘The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.’

A pastor writes: ‘Many people learn only from the school of hard knocks. Difficult experiences teach them lessons “the hard way”, and they change – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. The lessons are random and difficult. It’s much better to plan your growth intentionally. You decide where you need or want to grow, you choose what you will learn, and you follow through with discipline going at the pace you set. Think about what it is that you want to do. Whom do you want to be? Make a list of things that will help you reach that goal and be that person. Is there something on that list you can do now? Today? Do it. Whether you feel prompted to or not, now is the time to start growing…

'You will never get much done unless you go ahead and do it before you are ready. If you’re not already intentionally growing, you need to get started today. If you don’t, you may reach some goals, which you can celebrate, but you will eventually plateau. But once you start growing intentionally, you can keep growing and keep asking, “What’s next?” When you start working actively towards your goal, you will find that the door of personal growth opens a crack. Through that crack, you’ll begin to see more growth opportunities everywhere. Your world begins to open up. You accomplish more. You learn more. Other opportunities begin to present themselves.’

Ezekiel 42-44, 1 Peter 4

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

God thought of everything you need
22 November 2024

‘You saw me before I was born…Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.’
Psalm 139:16 NLT

Way before God set earth’s foundations, He had you in mind. He thought of all you could conceivably need. Mind-boggling, isn’t it?

A respected author writes: ‘God planned for every contingency you might ever encounter, before the beginning of time…It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the sovereignty of God, but let me put it in chess terms. In 1997 a team of IBM engineers designed and developed Deep Blue, the computer that out-manoeuvred chess grand master Garry Kasparov. Deep Blue was equipped with thirty-two processing engines that could calculate 200 million chess moves per second…I have a tough time with the fifty-fifty stuff. True or false. Right or left. Chocolate or vanilla. I can’t even imagine contemplating 200 million contingencies in a split second. [That’s] laughable compared to the Omniscient One who took every contingency into consideration before a nanosecond had even ticked off the clock of time. Think of your life as a game of chess. You are the pawn and God is the Grand Master. You have no idea what your next move should be, but God already has the next 200 million moves planned out.’

God says, ‘I make known the end from the beginning’ (Isaiah 46:10 NIV). Are you grappling with knowing God’s will for your life? Here is the simple truth: God wants you to arrive where He wants you to go more than you want to arrive where God wants you to go. And if you keep in step with the Spirit, God will make certain you arrive where He wants you to go.

Ezekiel 45-46, 1 Peter 5

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

You need a bigger concept of God
23 November 2024

‘So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’
Isaiah 55:9 NKJV

Your internal picture of God decides how you see everything else. The majority of our troubles are not circumstantial; they are perceptual. We can trace our biggest problems back to an insufficient understanding of who God is. God says, ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’

A best-selling author informs us: ‘Astronomers have spied galaxies 12.3 billion light-years from earth. To put that distance into perspective, consider the fact that light travelling at 186,000 miles per second only takes eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles between the sun and planet earth. Sunlight is only eight minutes old. But light from the farthest galaxy takes 12.3 billion light-years to get here. That distance is virtually incomprehensible. And God says that is about the distance between His thoughts and our thoughts. Your best thought about God on your best day falls 12.3 billion light-years short of how great and how good God really is…Maybe it’s time to stop placing four-dimensional limits on God. Maybe it’s time to stop putting God in a box the size of your cerebral cortex. It’s time to stop creating God in your image and let Him create you in His.’

The more we grow, the bigger God should become. And the bigger God becomes, the smaller our troubles will become. The hymnist Oscar C. Eliason wrote: ‘Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through? God specialises in things thought impossible. He can do just what none other can do.’

Ezekiel 47-48, 2 Peter 1

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

What kind of neighbour are you?
24 November 2024

‘Which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?’
Luke 10:36 NKJV

Jesus told the story of the Jewish traveller who was robbed, beaten, and left to die on the Jericho road. Two Jews, both in the ministry, walked past him without helping. Then a Samaritan rescued him. No race of people was more hated by the Jewish people than the Samaritans. They were openly cursed in the synagogue and were barred from temple worship. What this Samaritan does is nothing less than incredible.

He utilises all his resources – personal clothing, oil, wine, his time, animal, money, and energy – to attend to this Jewish man in the best way possible. Then he risks his life by taking the wounded man to lodging in a Jewish area. On top of it all, he pays the innkeeper for the man’s food and room for many days and promises to return and pay for anything more the man owes. This was crucial because anyone who could not pay their bill could be sold as a slave by the innkeepers so that they could receive full payment for a debt.

Jesus ends His story in these words: ‘Which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?’ No law will ever cause you to be a good neighbour, but the love of Christ will. You see, a neighbour is not identified by colour or creed; a neighbour is identified by the nearest need. So, here is a prayer for you to pray: ‘Lord, give me the courage to recognise and help a neighbour in need.’ That’s a prayer He will answer!

Luke 22:31-46, Psalms 119:89-176

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

The value of one lost sheep
25 November 2024

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.’
John 10:11 NKJV

Jesus told of a shepherd with a hundred sheep. When one of them was lost, he left the other ninety-nine in the fold and searched until he found the one lost sheep. Then he put it on his shoulders and rejoiced as he brought it home. Good shepherds don’t care about some of the flock, or most of the flock, but all of the flock. That becomes most evident when one sheep gets lost.

The story is told of a little girl who wandered off into the woods and got lost. As darkness fell, fear clutched her heart. She shrieked and cried until, worn out, she laid down and went to sleep. Her father, his voice husky from shouting her name, had been looking for her for many hours when he found her lying in a grassy area. Crying out to her, he rushed to her side. The little girl woke up, leapt into his arms, hugged him, and said, ‘Daddy, I’m so happy I found you!’

That’s our story. But we don’t find Jesus; He finds us. And He finds us because He is constantly looking for us. Jesus ended His parable in these words: ‘I tell you…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent’ (Luke 15:7 NIV). Every time one lost person is found, heaven celebrates. ‘You mean I matter that much to the Lord?’ Yes. Just as the shepherd left ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that was lost, Jesus loves you and died to save you. So, come to Him today.

Daniel 1-2, 2 Peter 2

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Cross the line (1)
26 November 2024

‘I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.’
Philippians 3:14 NKJV

In his booklet Cross The Line, Sam Parker writes: ‘With everything, there’s a line. On one side of the line is a greater chance to make good things happen (better results, better relationships, more opportunities). This is where you will find all those people you admire. On the other side of the line, there is less of a chance. And with each line, you have a choice. You want to cross the line or you don’t. You want that better chance at making good things happen (meaningful things) or you set off with the lesser chance. Your choice.

'Then there will be those times when in the short run it will seem like you can’t cross the line (no matter what you do). But then, those misses (those hurdles) in the short run will sometimes help you over the line in the long run (in a way you couldn’t have seen). They will serve as lessons, giving you more depth to your experience – making you stronger and better prepared for the bigger and more important challenges you’ll face in the future. But you won’t know that at the time. At the time, you will just see that line. And it might seem like a wall. But it really is just a line (a line you want to cross). And it’s yours to cross, but you have to decide (make that choice).’

Paul chose to cross that line: ‘I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.’ Note the word ‘upward’. It’s a climb. It calls for total commitment. But in the end, it’s worth it!

Daniel 3-4, 2 Peter 3