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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

God has a plan for your life
27 December 2024

‘“I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good…to give you a future and a hope.”’
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

Paul was totally invested in what God had called him to do. Are you? When it comes to barriers to success, we are usually our own worst enemies. Taking the steps necessary to fulfil a God-given dream will cost you. You will have to work hard. You will have to make sacrifices. You will have to keep learning, growing, and changing. Are you willing to do that?

Most people aren’t. Ask people when they will do what they want to do, and most will answer that they hope to do it ‘someday’. Why not now? Because you’re not ready? Perhaps you’re not. But if you wait until you are, maybe you will never do it. You only get ready by starting. And if you’re willing to start, here are some things you can count on.

First, it will be different from what you imagined.

Second, it will be more difficult than you imagined.

Third, it will be better than you imagined.

Mark Twain said that the two greatest days in a person’s life are the day they were born and the day they discover why they were born. If you want to discover why you were born, spend time with God. His Word says, ‘“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me”’ (vv. 11-13 NLT).

Zechariah 9-10, Revelation 19

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

UCB Word For Today
Your quiet time (1)

28 December 2024
‘You’re my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your Word to renew me.’
Psalm 119:114 MSG

What’s stopping you from having a regular quiet time with God? Maybe the very thought feels filled with ‘shoulds’ and ‘ought tos’; like another item to add to the unending checklist of your life. So, you think, ‘Maybe later, when life slows down.’ We need to shed the myths and impractical expectations the Enemy uses to prevent us from experiencing the joy of knowing Jesus and being known by Him.

David wrote: ‘The one thing I ask of the Lord – the thing I seek most – is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me…My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming”’ (Psalm 27:4-6, 8 NLT).

When David wrote those words, there was no temple or ‘house of the Lord’. So, what did he mean? That God is as close to you as a prayer; that you can seek the Lord, delight in the Lord, meditate on the Lord, and talk with the Lord anywhere and anytime. The words ‘you’re my place of quiet retreat’ mean you can withdraw from people, pressures, and problems and draw fresh strength from the Lord by communing with Him in your heart and mind. It can happen anywhere and anytime.

Zechariah 11-12, Revelation 20

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Your quiet time (2)
29 December 2024

‘This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses.’
Hebrews 4:15 NLT

One of Satan’s most successful strategies for keeping us away from our quiet time with God is reminding us of our sins and shortcomings. That’s a lie; don’t believe it. In the Old Testament, the High Priest went into the Holiest of Holies to atone for the sins of the people. When he came back out, the people rejoiced, knowing that they were fully accepted by God. With that in mind, read this Scripture: ‘[Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most’ (vv. 15-16 NLT).

Another lie that Satan will tell you to keep you away from your quiet time is that the greatest saints in history spent hours each day praying and studying the Scriptures. That’s true, and one day you may become like them. Meanwhile, what should you do? Start small but begin!

Pastor Greg Laurie sees spiritual hunger as the opposite of natural hunger: ‘When you’re hungry in the natural, you eat and are satisfied. But with spiritual hunger, it isn’t until you begin eating that you discover how hungry you really are!’ So when you fail to keep your quiet time with God, you shouldn’t feel guilty; you should feel hungry. When you ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Psalm 34:8 KJV), you will want more and more time with Jesus – which is wonderful because He longs for time with you.

Luke 24:36-53, Psalms 144-150

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Your quiet time (3)
30 December 2024

‘Put me together again with your Word.’
Psalm 119:107 MSG

When everything in the psalmist’s life began falling apart, he prayed, ‘Put me together again with your Word.’ That’s what your quiet time with God does. So, why don’t we have a consistent quiet time with God? Two reasons:

1) We think our quiet time must be a long time. Start small. Reserve five minutes to open your Bible and meditate on a brief portion of Scripture. Chat with God about it. Tell your needs to Him and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through the whole day. Good news! You have just experienced a quiet time! So, tomorrow, repeat it. As your spiritual appetite grows, you will find yourself putting aside more time – ten minutes, then twenty, and that time will keep on growing.

2) We think our quiet time must be free of all noise! Instead of avoiding hustle and bustle, Jesus wants to connect with you there. Begin to find creative ways to connect with the Lord all day long. Listen to worship music while you clean, and sing along. Pray in the Spirit. Learn memory verses. ‘Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord’ (Colossians 3:23 NKJV). Listen to the Bible while you drive – excellent apps are available. Pray while exercising – develop your faith muscle! Go with God for coffee – do your Bible study at a café. Go for a walk with Jesus – pray for others, and praise God for the outdoor beauty He created. Welcome Him into your routines, and the mundane will turn into holy moments. Give the Holy Spirit your consent to interrupt, then do what He says. To put it another way – do life with Jesus.

Zechariah 13-14, Revelation 21

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Your quiet time (4)
31 December 2024

‘I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah.’
Psalm 3:4 NKJV

Sometimes Jesus rose early in the morning to pray; other times, He prayed all night long. So, your quiet time can be morning, evening, or whatever time works best for you. You’re not punching a time clock where God pays you; accordingly, He is inviting you to spend time with Him. David said, ‘I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah.’ Throughout the Psalms, this little word ‘Selah’ occurs seventy-one different times. It means to pause and think. There is no specific length of time attached to the pause. Instead, it seems left up to the individual.

Selah. It’s a call to rest and reflect, to be still and breathe deeply, to settle into the moment and remain for a while. The Selah thought appears to be at the centre of quiet time with the Lord. When the Lord says, ‘Selah,’ He is saying, ‘Stop doing, and sit at My feet. Just belong to Me.’ What an invitation! It’s everything you have longed for and everything you need.

And believe it or not, people who often have the hardest time doing it are involved in ministry. Like Martha, they excel when it comes to serving. And the danger is that by doing lots of things for the Lord, we feel like that excuses us from sitting at His feet and spending time with Him as Mary did. If you have been remiss, negligent, or inconsistent in this, re-establish your quiet time with the Lord and refuse to let anything keep you from it.

Malachi 1-4, Revelation 22

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™



UCB Word For Today
Start by forgiving

01 January 2025
‘Forgiving each other…as…God forgave you.’
Ephesians 4:32 NIV

If you would like to start the New Year with a clean slate and travelling lighter, let go of the old grudges that are weighing you down. Philip Yancey describes forgiveness as ‘an unnatural act’. He says, ‘You don’t find dolphins forgiving sharks for eating their playmates. It’s a dog-eat-dog world…not dog-forgive-dog.’ Bitterness and hatred come naturally when you have been hurt. Forgiving is supernatural and requires the grace of God, but remember, Jesus said, ‘If you do not forgive…your Father will not forgive your sins’ (Matthew 6:15 NIV). Think about it – there is not one single, solitary reason God should ever forgive our sins, yet the offences He pardons us for every day far outweigh anything we will ever be asked to forgive our parents, spouses, and friends for.

The Bible says forgive ‘each other…as…God forgave you’. Forgiveness opens the doors of a prison, where you are both the prisoner and the jailor. Grudges not only isolate you from people who were once friends, they shorten your life by producing deadly enzymes that contribute to a host of physical ailments. One man told his counsellor, ‘I wish my brother could come to my wedding, but we haven’t spoken in years.’ The counsellor asked, ‘How come?’ Pausing, the man replied, ‘It sounds ridiculous now, but I don’t even remember!’ Drifting apart is the natural result of an unforgiving spirit; forgiveness reverses the trend by healing broken relationships. It’s a scientific fact that forgiveness adds years to your life. As a rule, when you talk to individuals who have passed the eighty-year mark, you find they’re at peace with themselves because they have learned to forgive and let go.

Genesis 1-3, Matthew 1

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™



The importance of being alone with God
02 January 2025
‘When He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.’
Matthew 14:23 NKJV
Jesus was both human and divine. Because we tend to think of Him as the Son of God more than the Son of Man, we overlook what we can learn from His human experience. When Jesus miraculously fed five thousand people, His divine power and prerogatives were on display (see Matthew 14:13-21). Yet after the event, we see His humanity in ways we should be able to identify with.

After dismissing the crowd and sending the disciples away, Jesus withdrew to a solitary spot on the mountainside to be alone with God. After such a miracle, most of us would be celebrating. And those around us would have a hard time understanding why He sent them away. But Jesus understood that His power did not come from the crowd but from His Father, so He created time and solitude to be alone with Him.

The relationship Jesus had with His Father is a picture of the relationship you, too, can have with God. Three things describe it:

1) Intimacy. ‘For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does’ (John 5:20 NKJV).

2) Dependency. ‘The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner’ (v. 19 NKJV).

3) Obedience. ‘I can of Myself do nothing…I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me’ (v. 30 NKJV).

What do you need to send away in order to have such a relationship with the Lord?

Genesis 4-6, Matthew 2

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™



Abiding: the secret of perpetual fruitfulness
03 January 2025

‘He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.’
John 15:5 NKJV

If serving the Lord stresses you out, read what Jesus said: ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing’ (vv. 4-5 NKJV).

When you see grapes on a vine, it’s a picture of effortless growth. One day when the great missionary J. Hudson Taylor felt overworked and worried, he read a letter from a friend who had found the secret of abiding in Christ. The letter profoundly moved Taylor, and he realised that his unity with Christ should create joy and fulfilment, not worry and stress.

Soon afterwards, Taylor wrote to his sister, saying, ‘As to work, mine was never so plentiful or so difficult: but the weight and strain are now gone. The last month has been perhaps the happiest in my life; and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul…I looked to Jesus and saw that He had said, I will never leave you. Ah, there is rest. For has He not promised to abide with me? As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured into my soul!’

So pray: ‘Lord, instead of me striving to see how much I can do for You, I’m going to abide in You and see how much You can do through me.’ That’s a prayer God will answer.

Genesis 7-9, Matthew 3

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

Are you doing what you’re supposed to do?
04 January 2025

‘He has created us anew…so we can do the good things he planned for us.’
Ephesians 2:10 NLT

In his book, How Successful People Grow, John Maxwell identifies three kinds of people:

‘1) People who don’t know what they would like to do…They lack a strong sense of purpose…They dabble. They drift. They…have no idea what to shoot for. I believe the main reason is that they don’t know themselves as well as they should and thus remain unfocused in their growth.

2) People who know what they would like to do but don’t do it…Sometimes they aren’t doing what they want because they worry that it will cause them to neglect other responsibilities, such as providing for their families. Sometimes they aren’t willing to pay the price to learn, grow, and move closer to where they want to be. Other times fear prevents them from changing courses to pursue their passion. No matter what the reason, they, too, miss their potential.

3) People who know what they would like to do and do it. [These people fulfil the Scripture: “He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”] The third kind of people know themselves, possess a strong sense of passion, are focused on purpose, grow in areas that help them move closer to their purpose, and do what they were created to do. The best word that describes them is fulfilled. Finding yourself and growing to your potential can be a bit of a catch-22. You have to know who you are to grow to your potential. But you have to grow in order to know who you are.’

The solution is – spend time with God and let Him direct you.

Genesis 10-12, Matthew 4

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY™

God has an assignment for you to fulfil
05 January 2025

‘He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us.’1
Ephesians 2:10 NLT

Your God-given assignment in life comes with three things.

1) A plan. ‘He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.’ As you spend time with the Lord in prayer, He will reveal His plan to you. And He will do it one step at a time. You might say, ‘But what if I make a mistake? What if I stumble?’ The Bible says, ‘The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand’ (Psalm 37:23-24 NLT).

2) A time frame. Not only does God have a personal plan for you, He schedules certain things to take place in your life at certain times. ‘For the time to favour her, yes, the set time, has come’ (Psalm 102:13 NKJV). That’s why you must stay in step with God and in sync with the beat of the Holy Spirit who lives within you.

3) Victory in spite of the odds and the opposition. ‘For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith’ (1 John 5:4 NLT). Keep your faith strong. Keep trusting God. You may say, ‘But the circumstances don’t look good.’ God is in control of your circumstances. He made the sun stand still to give Joshua extra time to win the battle over his enemies, and He can alter the circumstances for your good and His glory.

Luke 1:1-20, Psalms 1-3