http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

The Jan-March 2010 issue of Our Magazine

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Job done!

'But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbour.'

Galatians 6:4 ESV

I have never been good at making decisions and to make matters worse my wife Heather is no better at it than I am.  Who says God doesn't have a sense of humour?!  On a few occasions in the past, when going out for a day with the family, I can remember sitting at the end of our lane wondering which way to turn...for maybe 10mins!!!

Being decisive is difficult for me.  But in life there are always decisions to make and perhaps I'm taking this verse a little differently from what it's literal meaning, but here's what God through this verse is saying to me:

Richard, stop needing the approval of others! In fact stop listening to everyone else and listen to me.  Listen to what I have already told you!  Just do it, then you can take the blessing...it won't belong to anyone else!

Of course what I'm worried about is getting it wrong, but then God says:

'In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.'  Proverbs 3:6 KJV

Psalm 23:1 says 'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.'  I've read that a thousand times but this time it makes total sense. 

I'm going His way, listening only to Him!

The NLT puts the verse in Galatians like this:

'Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else.'

Job done!

The Oct-Dec 2009 issue of Our Magazine

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Your way around, not mine!

'Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.'

1 Peter 5:6 KJV

It's been a while; life's been real busy...too busy!  We all have problems we don't know the answers to.  Obstacles we can't overcome.  Road blocks with no way around, at least not to our eyes.  I have mine to!

I was just searching youtube for a video I could use to compliment this weeks bible class - Cain and Abel.  I was looking for something about worship which pleases and is acceptable to God.  I had already learned that God wasn't angry with Cain because of his unacceptable offering but because of his reaction to God's refusal of it.  Cain could have learned from his mistake and given God the offering or worship God desired, but pride, jealousy and hatred took over.

Anyway as I looked through videos about worship, struggling to find something that said what I wanted, I found something else, in a way totally unrelated, that God knew I needed to hear (here's the link).

'So many good things have flowed from the immense, unimaginable wisdom that God showed in answering our prayers, not according to our will but according to His will.  That's why we worship Him.  That's why we follow Him.  His ways are higher than ours.  His ways are best.  I take time to share this with you cause I'm thinking to myself, 'you probably have some things you're seeking God about, some things your asking God to do'.  How important is it that you learn from my mistakes.  Let's worhip God at all times, when we see what He's doing and even when we can't.  That's the lesson that I learned, it happened to me.'

James MacDonald

Even when I can't see what You're doing, I will worship You!  I long for the day when I can say about the obstacles and road blocks that I have in my heart and that I'm leaving to You, 'It happened to me!'

Get me over, under, through, around...

Smoooothly does it!

I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

Isaiah 45:2 (NASV)

Rough is not nice - it's uncomfortable, dangerous, difficult and undesired!

Look what Wikipedia says...

'Roughness is a measure of the texture of a surface. It is quantified by the vertical deviations of a real surface from its ideal form. If these deviations are large, the surface is rough; if they are small the surface is smooth.'

Ideally life should have been smooth, but thanks to sin we don't live in an ideal world.

We live in a rough world!

'Rough surfaces usually wear more quickly and have higher friction coefficients than smooth surfaces.'

Life can wear us down.  The rough times can leave us with friction burns - That hurts!

'Although roughness is usually undesirable, it is difficult and expensive to control.'

No one wants rough! But how do we avoid it? Smooth is expensive, very expensive!

Thankfully my God can afford it and has paid the ultimate difficult and expensive price to smooth the roughness away!  In my mind I want that to mean that I'll never face difficult times - that everything will be easy.  But what it really means is that when I face rough times, and I will, they will be an awful lot smoother only because He is there!

He will go before me and make my rough places smooth!

Praise God!  Thank you God!

One final thought - I'm a bit rough, we all are.  But from experience and God's word I know that the rough times in my life are smoothing me out!  Making me stronger and more perfect - more like Jesus!

Reality check!

Speak gently - it is better far

To rule by love than fear;

Speak gently - let not harsh words mar

The good we might do here.

I need to be sympathetic and understanding!

Please God, help me!