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The Word For Today-A Daily Update
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Set the right example!


‘He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father…had done.’
2 Chronicles 26:4 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 13 June 2018

The punch line in a cartoon reads, ‘No matter what we teach our children, they insist on behaving just like us!’ We smile, but it’s a very serious matter.

One expert says, ‘We teach what we know, but we reproduce what we are.’ Your children may sometimes doubt what you say, but they will always believe what you do.

So: 1) If you want them to have a quiet time with God, you have one.
2) If you want your children to be in church, take them, don’t send them.
3) If you don’t want your children using foul language, watch what comes out of your mouth.
4) If you don’t want your children to smoke, drink, or do drugs, you leave them alone.

When you say one thing but do another your children may still love you, but eventually they’ll lose respect for you. And what’s worse, they’ll think, ‘If the principles you preach don’t work for you, why should I try them?’

Your example will have more impact than all your exhortations. Read these two Scriptures carefully.

The first is found in the Old Testament: ‘He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father…had done.’ The second is found in the New Testament: ‘I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also’ (2 Timothy 1:5 NIV 2011 Edition).

Thousands of years separate those two Scriptures, but the truth they teach is timeless: so set the right example!

1 Chronicles 10-12, Acts 16:1-21
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Set the right example!


‘He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father…had done.’
2 Chronicles 26:4 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 13 June 2018

The punch line in a cartoon reads, ‘No matter what we teach our children, they insist on behaving just like us!’ We smile, but it’s a very serious matter.

One expert says, ‘We teach what we know, but we reproduce what we are.’ Your children may sometimes doubt what you say, but they will always believe what you do.

So: 1) If you want them to have a quiet time with God, you have one.
2) If you want your children to be in church, take them, don’t send them.
3) If you don’t want your children using foul language, watch what comes out of your mouth.
4) If you don’t want your children to smoke, drink, or do drugs, you leave them alone.

When you say one thing but do another your children may still love you, but eventually they’ll lose respect for you. And what’s worse, they’ll think, ‘If the principles you preach don’t work for you, why should I try them?’

Your example will have more impact than all your exhortations. Read these two Scriptures carefully.

The first is found in the Old Testament: ‘He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father…had done.’ The second is found in the New Testament: ‘I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also’ (2 Timothy 1:5 NIV 2011 Edition).

Thousands of years separate those two Scriptures, but the truth they teach is timeless: so set the right example!

1 Chronicles 10-12, Acts 16:1-21
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Praying for ‘just the right words’


‘Let your conversation be always full of grace.’
Colossians 4:6 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 14 June 2018

Pray: ‘Lord, I join with the psalmist David and ask: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight” (Psalm 19:14 KJV). I realise that the words I speak have tremendous power, both in my own life and in my relationships.

Your Word says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21 KJV). Teach me to always speak words that are true to Your Word and glorify You. Help me to be careful to speak words that build others up and not tear them down, that edify rather than criticise, that are spoken in love and truth and not twisted by my own desires and expectations, and that bring confidence and not discouragement.

Where I have spoken words that are negative or harmful about anyone else, forgive me. Keep me from saying things that hurt or cut others down in any way.

I want to be kind with my words and have the tongue of the wise that promotes healing and blessing (see Proverbs 12:18). Help me to have such faith in Your Lordship over my life that I can “do all things without murmurings and disputings” (Philippians 2:14 KJV).

Help me not to speak negative things about myself. And every time I start to say a critical word, help me to stop immediately and keep a lid on it.

Your Word says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt [in good taste], so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Today let my words honour and glorify You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.’

1 Chronicles 13-15, Acts 16:22-40
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Longing for home


‘We are citizens of heaven.’
Philippians 3:20 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 15 June 2018

Every year Pacific salmon, having lived five to six years in the ocean, suddenly get the urge to return to the headwaters of their birth river. Battling fishermen, bears, and giant hydroelectric dams, they fight their way upstream determined to reach their home.

Scientists don’t know how the salmon make their way back to the exact river in which they were born after being in the ocean for several years. Some think it’s because they can taste or smell the fresh water from their river.

Others think they may use the stars to navigate. Regardless of how they do it, we know they don’t use charts and compasses; their journey is intuitive.

They have a longing for a particular river, and it can’t be satisfied until they find it. That’s exactly how it is with us. God created us for heaven, and nothing in this life will fully satisfy that longing (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Just like those salmon – we’re in this world but we’re not of it. Yes, we find joy in fulfilling the assignment in life God has given us, but it’s nothing compared to the joy that awaits us in heaven.

Paul puts it this way: ‘We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour.

He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control’ (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT). And as your redeemed loved ones leave to go to heaven, your longing to join them will only increase.

1 Chronicles 16-18, Acts 17:1-15
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Father (1)


‘Hear the instruction of your father.’
Proverbs 1:8 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 16 June 2018

One day a man went into a barber’s and noticed a young man sweeping the floor. After talking to him, he learned that the boy had no dad in his life.

‘Son,’ the man asked, ‘who do you want to be like when you grow up?’ The boy shot back, ‘Mister, I ain’t never met nobody I want to be like when I grow up.’

Do you believe that at least one of every child’s heroes should be his or her dad? Do you genuinely want to be a hero to your children?

If you do, you’ll have to make time for them, and work at being the father they need. If you don’t, they may pick the wrong heroes and end up breaking your heart.

Child psychologist Wade F. Horn considered himself an expert on what made a good father. But when doctors diagnosed him with cancer and told him that he had about six years to live, he realised with a jolt that he was closer to primary school than university in his level of expertise as a dad.

He said, ‘It became clear to me in a personal way that if I were to have died because of that illness, my unfinished business would not have been my clinical practice…My unfinished business would have been my two little girls, who every morning when I was recuperating, would come and give me a kiss goodbye.’ Fortunately (or unfortunately) most dads will never get a wake-up call of this nature. But if you’ve been neglecting your kids, a wake-up call is exactly what you need.

1 Chronicles 19-21, Acts 17:16-34
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Father (2)


‘My son…let your heart keep my commands.’
Proverbs 3:1 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 17 June 2018

If you’re a dad, God expects you to be the leader in your family. That means:

1) You must want to lead. Without good leadership, the chances are your kids are headed for a life of trouble.

Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr said, ‘If you look at the one factor that most closely correlates with crime, it’s not poverty, it’s not unemployment, it’s not education; it’s the absence of the father in the family.’

2) You must know where you’re going. Without clear direction for your own life, you can’t guide your kids. God expects you to enable your children to make wise decisions in such crucial areas of life as sex, money, relationships, marriage, and the vocations they choose.

These are make-or-break issues. It’s your job to teach them both in precept and practice what those crucial life issues are, and to help them make godly decisions in each one.

3) You must ‘be there’ for them. Let’s use this acrostic on the word DADS: Direction. Availability. Discipline. Spirituality. The most crucial component on the list is ‘availability’.

Why? Because if you’re not available you can’t give direction, your discipline will be resented, and your spiritual leadership will be rejected.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and if you don’t lead your children, someone will lead them for you. If you’re not there for them someone else will be – someone you may not like.

And when that happens, the greater problem isn’t that you won’t be around; it’s that you’ll no longer be missed! In the Bible, God is called ‘Our Father’.

So today ask Him to help you become the father your children need.

Luke 11:1-28, Psalm 63-65
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Father (3)


‘My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice.’
Proverbs 23:15 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 18 June 2018

Author and pastor James Merritt reports that fatherless children are 100 to 200 per cent more likely to experience emotional and behavioural problems…twice as likely to use drugs and alcohol…more likely to become sexually active at an early age…and three times more likely to commit violent crime. Over 50 per cent of teens who attempt suicide live in single-parent homes.

Most runaways leave fatherless homes, and boys without fathers are 300 per cent more likely to end up incarcerated. Seventy per cent of juveniles in long-term correctional facilities grew up without a father.

Fatherless daughters are 53 per cent more likely to marry in their teens, and 164 per cent more likely to have children outside of marriage. Fatherless daughters who marry have a 92 per cent higher divorce rate, and fatherless sons are 35 per cent more likely to experience marital failure.

Eighty per cent of teenagers admitted to psychiatric hospitals come from fatherless homes, and are 50 per cent more likely to grapple with learning disabilities. They fare worse in school, and are three times more likely to drop out than kids who grew up in a home with a father.

And it’s possible to be physically present, yet emotionally absent. In a recent poll, 50 per cent of fathers said they feel guilty about spending too little time with their children.

According to the Family Research Council, the average dad spends eight minutes a day in direct conversation with his kids. And in families where the mum works outside the home it drops to four minutes. If you find these statistics shocking, wake up and do something about it!

1 Chronicles 22-24, Acts 18
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Treasure God’s Word (1)


‘I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.’
Job 23:12 NIV

The UCB Word for Today - 19 June 2018

The Spirit of God makes us like the Son of God, through the Word of God! That’s why Satan will put 101 roadblocks in your way to keep you from reading the Bible.

Paul writes, ‘[God’s]…Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need’ (Acts 20:32 MSG). Underscore that word ‘everything’.

God’s Word is like seed; it’s filled with potential. Jesus said, ‘The words that I have spoken to you…are life’ (John 6:63 NASB). An amazing thing happens when you study the Scriptures.

Your mind illuminates, your heart resonates, and the truth comes to life in you. The Bible is more than just a doctrinal guidebook.

It creates faith, produces change, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, builds hope, releases power, cleanses minds, brings things into being, and guarantees your future. You can’t survive without it.

It’s as essential to your life as food. That’s why Job said, ‘I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.’ God’s Word is the spiritual nourishment you need to fulfil your life’s purpose.

The Bible is described as milk, bread, solid food, and sweet dessert (see 1 Peter 2:2; Matthew 4:4; 1 Corinthians 3:2; Psalm 119:103). This four-course meal is the Spirit’s menu for daily strength and growth.

Peter writes, ‘Crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up’ (1 Peter 2:2 NIV 2011 Edition). So make a commitment to spend time each day reading God’s Word.

1 Chronicles 25-27, Acts 19:1-22
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Treasure God’s Word (2)


‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.’
John 8:31 NKJV

The UCB Word for Today - 20 June 2018

John writes, ‘I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers’ (3 John v.2 NKJV). In order to ‘prosper’, reading God’s Word must be one of your first priorities each day.

Jesus said, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.’ To ‘abide’ means to reside in a certain place.

It makes us think of home, the place where you find joy, acceptance, encouragement, support, protection, purpose, identity, and rest. To ‘treasure’ God’s Word means to accept it as your highest authority, your compass for direction, your counsellor in making decisions, your benchmark for evaluating every relationship and action.

In other words, the first and last word in your life. Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities, like: Culture – ‘Everybody’s doing it.’ Tradition – ‘We’ve always done it this way.’ Reason – ‘It seems logical.’

Emotion – ‘It just feels right.’ All these are flawed because they come from within us, not from God.

What we need is a perfect standard that will never lead us in the wrong direction, and only God’s Word meets that criteria. Solomon wrote, ‘Every word of God is flawless’ (Proverbs 30:5 NIV 2011 Edition).

That means when His Word tells you to do something, you need to do it whether or not it makes sense to you, and whether or not you feel like doing it. You must say like Paul, ‘I believe everything that…is written’ (Acts 24:14 NIV 2011 Edition).

1 Chronicles 28-29, Acts 19:23-41
 
TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY

Treasure God’s Word (3)


‘Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.’
Colossians 3:16 NLT

The UCB Word for Today - 21 June 2018

As you fill your mind with God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will use it to transform you. ‘Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives…with all the wisdom he gives.’

How do you do that? 1) By reading it.

If you read the newspaper but not the Bible, you won’t grow spiritually. You can’t watch TV for three or four hours, then read your Bible for three or four minutes and expect growth.

How can you say you believe the Bible from cover to cover, when you haven’t read it from cover to cover? ‘[We] should…read from it every day’ (Deuteronomy 17:19 NCV).

If you read your Bible for just fifteen minutes a day, you’ll read completely through it once a year. If you cut out just one thirty-minute television programme daily, you can read it through twice a year.

Daily Bible reading keeps you within range of God’s voice. Do you want to grow spiritually? Develop a daily Bible reading plan and stick with it.

2) By receiving it. In the parable of the sower Jesus talks about three unreceptive attitudes: a closed mind (hard soil), a superficial mind (shallow soil), and a distracted mind (soil with weeds) (see Luke 8:5-15). He then goes on to say, ‘Consider carefully how you listen’ (v.18 NIV 2011 Edition).

Any time you’re not learning, check your attitude, especially for pride, because God can speak to you through the most boring teacher if you’re humble and receptive. James says, ‘Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you’ (James 1:21 NIV 2011 Edition).

These aren’t just good ideas; they’re life-changing principles!

2 Chronicles 1-3, Acts 20:1-16