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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Different Ways to Pray (1)
‘…He…keeps us present before God…’

Romans 8:27
The UCB Word for Today - 6 Sep 2015


Someone who’s better at prayer than you are is already at work on your behalf. ‘God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter.

He does our praying in us and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves…and keeps us present before God…’ (vv 26-27 TM). Notice, the Holy Spirit ‘keeps us present before God’. Sometimes we’ve a hard time being ‘fully present’ in prayer.




We all know what it’s like to be with another person when their mind is a million miles away. What’s the answer? Try jotting down what goes on while you’re praying. The two most common hindrances to praying successfully are: a) your mind gets easily distracted by other thoughts; b) you get tired.





When author John Ortberg shared these two frustrations with a friend, he suggested that John go outside alone and simply invite Jesus to come along with him. Ortberg writes: ‘The next day I went to the ocean, took off my shoes, started to run and invited Jesus to come along.




I found the strangest thing. When I thought I was supposed to be talking to Him, I found it effortful and difficult. Now that all I had to do was invite Him, I couldn’t stop thinking about Him. My mind kept reflecting on His being with me. I found myself wanting to point out the pelicans and the waves to Him. People and concerns would pop into my mind, and I would find myself telling Jesus about them. Everything changed.’ So, invite Jesus to come along with you today and share each thing you do with Him.



Luke 17:1-19, Ps 91-93

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Different Ways to Pray (2)
‘Hezekiah received the letter…and spread it out before the Lord.’

Isaiah 37:14
The UCB Word for Today - 7 Sep 2015


Hezekiah, King of Israel, received a threatening letter from a much more powerful king - the King of Assyria.


The Assyrian potentate demanded unconditional surrender, and told Hezekiah not to trust in God. The letter was graphic, warning that resistance meant the Israelites would have to ‘eat their own excrement and drink their own urine’ before they died (2 Kings 18:27 NIV).


So Hezekiah went to the temple ‘and spread it out before the Lord’. Then he prayed: ‘…God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.


You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see…’ (Isaiah 37:16-17 NIV).



Hezekiah literally said, ‘Lord, would you read this, then do something about it!’ And God did. Indeed, what He did was spectacular. ‘Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!’ (Isaiah 37:36 NIV).




So, what piece of paper would you like to spread out before the Lord? A financial statement that’s overwhelming? A divorce decree? A medical diagnosis? An angry email? Any piece of paper that causes you stress can be an invitation to prayer, and a candidate to be spread out before the Lord. If it’s important to you, it’s important to Him. You say, ‘I’ve never done anything like that before.’ Try it. Give it to God, trust Him, and watch how He works things out for you.



Is 5-6, 2 Cor 13

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Different Ways to Pray (3)
‘I lay prostrate before the Lord…’

Deuteronomy 9:25
The UCB Word for Today - 8 Sep 2015



Find a prayer style that works for you. In Scripture people pray as they stand, kneel, lie on the ground, sit, stretch out their hands, lift their faces toward the sky, or bow them toward the earth. Just find the method that works best for you, and use it. Some people pray better when they are moving.


If you’re one of them, take a walk, go for a drive, or run. You are free to use your body and posture to help you turn your mind and heart towards God.




When you’re acknowledging your sins, you may find it helpful to have your head bowed and to kneel; it’ll help you to remember and experience the humility of the moment. In worship, you may want to turn your face towards the sky. In asking for guidance, you may find it helpful to turn your palms upwards as a way of expressing with your body: ‘Lord, whatever You want.’ When praying for someone, say at a restaurant, you may want to look that person right in the eye while talking to God and say, ‘Father, I’m so grateful for this person. You know what they need. Give them what is required by their heart.’ When you’re praising God, put on a worship CD and sing along.


The point is you should approach God with the joy, excitement and simplicity with which a child runs into the arms of a loving parent. Just as you don’t have anyone else’s fingerprints, you don’t have anyone else’s temperament.


So just approach God in a way that’s natural, spontaneous and comfortable for you.



Is 7-8, Gal 1

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Different Ways to Pray (4)
‘He will call upon Me, and I will answer him…’

Psalms 91:15
The UCB Word for Today - 9 Sep 2015




When we try to spend an extended period of time in prayer, our minds tend to wander. When that happens, is God upset with us? No, when your mind wanders—God’s Spirit is still with you. Sometimes your wandering thoughts can actually guide you into prayer.



One author writes: ‘I begin praying, and then I imagine myself being wildly successful at something. Or I replay a conversation with a person I’m upset with. Or I try to figure out how to solve a problem I’m worried about.


I used to think of those kinds of thoughts as obstacles to prayer, but I’ve come to think of them as prayers waiting to be offered. Maybe the reason they pop into my mind isn’t simply my short attention span, but rather what my mind is really concerned about. So instead of trying to suppress these thoughts, it’s better to begin to talk to God about them.


And just like that, I’m back in the flow of prayer. Indeed, we are free to pray in ways that will best help us live in the joyful awareness of God’s presence.’ Obviously, things like getting your hair done or your car fixed are distractions. When these arise, just write them down and say, ‘I’ll get to that later,’ then get back to prayer.

Developing a rich and rewarding prayer life isn’t something you accomplish overnight; you have to work at it.


But the rewards are more than worth the effort. You’re not unique; everybody battles distractions in prayer. Those who succeed are those who learn to deal with the distractions.



Is 9-10, Gal 2

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY


Are You Burying Your Talent?
‘…I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground…’

Matthew 25:25
The UCB Word for Today - 10 Sep 2015



One of the most familiar parables Jesus told illustrates how things work in God’s kingdom: ‘Then he who had received one talent came. “Master,” he said, “…I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.”…His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant!…You should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.


Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.


Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him …throw that worthless servant outside”’ (vv 24-29 NIV). Can you imagine going to work next Friday and watching your boss hand your pay packet to someone else, while you stand there? That’s exactly what’s going on in this story. It’s a picture of what will happen at the judgment seat of Christ—and you’ll be there to see it.


Why did the Lord come down so hard on this guy? Because he buried his talent. And why did he bury it? Because he ‘was afraid’. Afraid of what? a) Afraid the talent God had given him wasn’t equal to the task. b) Afraid to take a risk in case he failed. c) Afraid he didn’t have the talents others had, therefore his didn’t count. Just like there are degrees of punishment in hell (Matthew 11:21-24), there will be degrees of reward in heaven.

And how you use your talent now determines what your reward will be then.


Is 11-13, Gal 3

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



The Power of Love
‘…God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.’

1 John 4:16
The UCB Word for Today - 11 Sep 2015




When Dr E Stanley Jones preached a sermon on love in India, a church leader told him how a layman, whom he loved and had helped, was making trouble and threatening to split the church.


The frustrated clergyman asked Dr Jones what to do because, in this case, love didn’t seem to be working. ‘Increase the dosage!’ retorted Jones.


Our self-centred nature would have us believe that happiness comes when we get what we want and all of our needs are met. Yet, when we do get a better job, or a bigger house, or a bit of fame, we find ourselves empty because these things don’t bring us lasting joy and fulfilment. They actually whet our appetite for more—and around and around it goes.


Peter Gillquist said, ‘Every time we have a chance in any way to flesh out the love of God to others, our joy cycle gets fulfilled all over again.’ St. Francis of Assisi may have expressed it best in his famous prayer: ‘Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.


Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.’


Is 14-16, Gal 4

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



Can You Take Advice?
‘Where there is no counsel, the people fall…’

Proverbs 11:14
The UCB Word for Today - 12 Sep 2015




The only thing that’s worse than making a mistake is concealing it and allowing pride to lock us in to it. Why do we do that? Insecurity! Low self-esteem! We’re all prone to being defensive from time to time.



But if you find that this has become a pattern in your life, you must do something about it. So: 1) Try to listen to yourself as you speak; become aware of your tendency to defend and justify your actions. 2) Guard against defensive body language.



For example, crossing your arms when someone is offering their opinion could be your subconscious way of saying, ‘I’m closed to what you’re saying.’ 3) Counter the anxiety that comes with feeling attacked, by breathing deeply and silently praying, ‘Lord, I receive Your strength now.’


Combining this physical and spiritual act will help to minimise your emotional response. 4) If there is a genuine and credible justification for your action, state it in a calm, unemotional manner. And if you are really brave, ask a trusted friend or co-worker if you are being defensive.


Then refuse to become defensive if the response is, ‘Yes!’ 5) Don’t attack your attacker. Simply ask them what they would have done in the situation under discussion. Then thank them for sharing their insights. 6) If you are guilty of a bad decision or wrong behaviour, try admitting it before it comes to light.



A simple ‘I made a mistake’ will give you credibility, preserve your integrity, and not allow your mistake to redefine who you are in the eyes of others. It may even increase their level of trust in you.



Is 17-19, Gal 5

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY




Divine Protection
‘…He will see the blood…and…not permit the destroyer to enter your houses…’

Exodus 12:23
The UCB Word for Today - 13 Sep 2015



When the angel of death visited Egypt, only those whose doorposts were painted with lamb’s blood were protected from ‘the destroyer’.



And the blood of Jesus [the Lamb of God] is still your best protection from the enemy who ‘…prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). One author writes: ‘When [satan] sees a person or home that’s covered by the blood…he moves on.


He’d rather find easy prey than mess with one who belongs to the Lord. Just like a robber prefers someone who is unaware of his surroundings, is not paying attention, and appears weak, the enemy chooses his victims based on what seems like a sure thing.



Make him look elsewhere… cover your home and loved ones with the…blood of Jesus.’ God put a hedge around Gomer, the prophet Hosea’s wife, to protect her from adulterous relationships and draw her back to her husband. He said, ‘…I will fence her in with thorn bushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way’ (Hosea 2:6 NLT).



Before your family leaves home in the morning, ask God to place His hedge of divine protection around them, to safeguard them throughout the day and block their path from wrong influences. God has given you authority over satan, so tell him: ‘You’ve no right to harm my loved ones in any way. I take authority over you in the Name of Jesus and through the power of the blood. I declare null and void any strategies and schemes you’ve planned.’



Luke 17:20-37, Ps 94-96

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY




Beauty Is an Inside Job
‘Those who look to Him are radiant…’

Psalms 34:5
The UCB Word for Today sep 14



It’s said ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, but you can waste your life trying to please the wrong beholder.



One Christian writer says: ‘When it comes to beauty, each of us carries baggage from childhood…I’ve fretfully hung clothes of every size in my wardrobe… messed with make-up when I should have slapped on sunscreen and gone outside to play. I’ve eaten close to nothing in an effort to stay small…wasted time worrying I wasn’t pretty enough when I should have been enjoying the things that made me interesting.




Throughout history the definition of beauty has shifted to reflect society. Sometimes we should be curvy, other times thin as a lath; sometimes tanned, sometimes pale; sometimes with long hair, sometimes with short…We devote our energies to meeting the latest standards and…guess what? There’s always another mandate…it’s an empty and relentless pursuit.




We must seriously consider whose heart we’re trying to capture…God’s is the only one worth pursuing.’ Paul says, ‘…Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking…’ (Romans 12:1-2 TM); ‘If anyone belongs to Christ…The old things have gone; everything is made new!’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 NCV). You won’t find the secret to inner beauty and peace by comparing yourself with the airbrushed models on magazine covers.



That kind of image is unsustainable. You’ll find peace by asking God to remove the scales from your eyes and show you what you look like in His eyes. ‘Those who look to Him are radiant.’


The only healthy and lasting definition of beauty comes from God because He ‘…looks into the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7 TM).



Is 20-22, Gal 6

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TODAY'S WORD FOR TODAY



When You Don’t Understand
‘…secret things belong to the Lord…things revealed belong to us…’

Deuteronomy 29:29
The UCB Word for Today - 15 Sep 2015



When you don’t understand what’s happening in your life, start with what you know for sure; namely, that God is good all the time, and His ‘…love for those who respect him continues forever…’ (Psalms 103:17 NCV). He’s not fickle.


He doesn’t bless you one day and curse you the next: His ‘mercies…are new every morning’ (Lamentations 3:22-23).



But there are things God chooses to reveal to us, and ‘secret things’ He doesn’t—for our own good. Writer Beth Jones says: ‘If God keeps a secret from us, it’s for our benefit and the benefit of others …For example, He doesn’t go around blaming, tattling or disclosing our sins, weaknesses, unbelief, carnality, selfishness or pride to others. When things happen, God knows why…Secret things belong to the Lord. And when He reveals something to us, it’s because He wants us to walk in that truth by faith.



For example, He reveals His character and His will in His Word…so we can live by faith knowing that He’s good, fair, kind, generous, merciful, faithful, gracious, patient, and He’s in the saving, healing, redeeming, restoring, sanctifying, and blessing business. Things revealed belong to us.



When we don’t know why …here’s what we know for sure. God’s Word is truer than our circumstances or experiences…and just because He knows everything about us doesn’t mean He tells us about everything. We also know that when things look bad, God is still good. He’s a giver, not a taker…a blesser, not a curser…and no matter what happens or doesn’t happen, at the end of the day—we still win!’




Is 23-25, Eph 1