Daily Readings

UCB

The Word for Today .
UCB 's free daily devotional booklet, written by Bob Gass. Used by kind permission

Sample excerpts taken from the above booklet
Dealing with grief - Part 1

" THEY PASS THROUGH THE VALLEY OF [WEEPING]…THEY GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH… "
PSALM 84 : 6 (NIV)

Standing at Ground Zero, a Christian firefighter, the only survivor from his fire station, asked, “How can I ever forgive those who did this?” He’d attended more funerals in two weeks than most of us will in a lifetime. Is God angry when we struggle with honest emotions like hate or fear? No, until we come to grips with the enormity of our loss and the injustice done to us, we’re not ready to forgive. Indeed when we rush to forgive, we forgive only in part and we’re released only in part. Jesus said “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Until you embrace the one you can’t experience the other. It’s not time that heals, it’s insight! We all know people who were wounded 20 or 30 years ago, whose wounds are still as fresh today as ever. As God’s children, we’re not exempt from the stages of grief: (1) denial – “It’s not real, it can’t be happening” (2) anger – “It’s not fair. Why is God letting this happen to me?” (3) bargaining – “I’ll do anything; just make it go away” (4) depression – silence and withdrawal (5) acceptance – we’re ready to pray, “Not my will but Thine be done.” Whether it’s the loss of your child, your marriage, your job, your health, or anything else you value, it’s in turning to God that you receive the grace to embrace it, grieve it, express it, release it, then “go from strength to strength.” TOP

Dealing with grief - Part 2

" YOU WILL WEEP AND MOURN…BUT [IN TIME] YOUR GRIEF WILL TURN TO JOY…AND NO ONE WILL TAKE [IT] AWAY "
JOHN 16 : 20 (NIV)

Beware of a half-baked ‘theology of denial’ that leaves you spiritually and emotionally crippled for life. What we don’t deal with now will deal with us later in harmful ways. When we stuff things into our emotional rubbish bin, we end up squandering precious time and energy sitting on the lid, trying to keep the contents from spilling out. Jesus said, “ You shall know [embrace] the truth [even its painful aspects] and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32 NKJ). In A Better Kind of Grieving, Bill Hybels writes, “Fifty years ago industrialists thought they could just bury toxic waste and it would go away. We’ve since learned it doesn’t. It leaks into the water, contaminates the crops and kills animals. Burying grief does the same thing. It leaks into our emotional system and wreaks havoc. It distorts our perceptions of life and taints our relationships.” Hybels continues, “When my father died, I replaced the pain real fast. I think I missed only four days of work. I just substituted my feelings of loss and disappointment with a frenzied ministry schedule. I ran from it. That was a bad move for me and for those around me.” Are you running from pain today? Are you trying to trade it in prematurely for some other feeling? That’s not God’s way. Listen: “…you will weep and mourn…but [in time] your grief will turn to joy…and no one will take [it] away…” (John 16:20-22 NIV). TOP

Dealing with grief - Part 3

" WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT, BUT JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING. "
PSALM 30 : 5 (NIV)

The process of becoming whole involves: (1) feeling deeply (2) dealing honestly (3) making way for healing. Sometimes we try to find ‘quick relief’ by releasing it before we’ve gone through it. We do that because we fear the process. We run from the pain or try to replace it with another feeling as soon as we can. Sometimes we use alcohol, drugs, sex, money or workaholism. But that only makes it worse! With God’s help, you can…feel the pain…let it go…and move forward. Listen: “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). You must go through one in order to get to the other. Moses was the greatest leader Israel ever had. His death was an unspeakable loss. Together God’s people wept on the Plains of Moab. For 30 days and nights God stood by, allowing them to mourn in a healthy expression of grief. No hurrying. No divine censure. No denial. Only when God saw that they had completed the process did He tell Joshua to lead them forward. They had to go through – to get through! We all do! Listen: “After the death of Moses…the Lord spoke to Joshua…saying: ‘Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them…Be strong and of good courage…do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’” (Joshua 1:1-9 NKJ). The God Who spoke those words – is your God! TOP

Learning to say "When"!

" WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN. "
ACTS 5 : 29 (NKJ)

You can’t travel quietly through life hoping that others will see when your ‘cup is full’. Speak up or they’ll just keep pouring more problems and more responsibilities on you, and before you know it your life will be a mess! You don’t have to drop a bomb or start a riot, but you do need to learn when to say ‘when’. Your life is too precious to leave in somebody else’s hands, especially if they’re needy, demanding or just plain manipulative. If you want to be heard, speak up! Personal empowerment begins when you take control of your life. Overloaded people fail. They always have and they always will. They fail at marriage, ministry and management. They fail at parenting, partnership and professional endeavours. You’re like an aeroplane: if you carry too much baggage, you won’t get off the ground. Motivated by a desire to please, impress or gain somebody’s approval, you’ll take on too much and, in the end, fail to reach the heights God planned for you, or crash because you ignored your limitations! Every situation that arises does not deserve your attention! Think about that! Jesus left the crowd so He could be alone with the Father. Did He evoke criticism? Yes. Did He enjoy communion? Yes. People who don’t recognise your needs and respect your goals will drain you, divert you and keep you grounded. What’s the answer? Give what you can. Learn when to say ‘when’. Then let go and fly! TOP

You are His personal concern!

" THROW THE WHOLE WEIGHT OF YOUR ANXIETIES UPON HIM, FOR YOU ARE HIS PERSONAL CONCERN. "
1 PETER 5 : 7 (PHILLIPS)

When worry comes knocking at your door, stop it on the doorstep, otherwise it’ll move in and take up residence. Listen: “…throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, for you are His personal concern” (1 Peter 5:7 Phillips). How wonderful; God cares (He really does) about the things that worry you and prey on your thoughts. He cares about them more than you do. Not a single nagging, aching, worrisome, gut-wrenching, blood-pressure-raising thought escapes His notice. Because “you are His personal concern,” you never disappear from His screen. What qualifies as a worry? Anything that drains your tank of joy… anything you can’t change… anything you’re not responsible for…anything you’re unable to control…anything that frightens and torments you…anything that keeps you awake when you should be asleep. All that ‘stuff’ needs to be transformed from your worry list to your prayer list! Listen: “’Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT). Give each worry, one by one, to God! The more you practise doing this, the more exciting your walk with Him will become. You’ll be amazed at how easily He handles things that overwhelm you. Always keep these three things in mind: (1) He’s able to handle it (2) He’s willing to handle it (3) He’s waiting for you to give it to Him. TOP

How’s your work ethic these days?

" LAZY PEOPLE ARE SOON POOR; HARD WORKERS GET RICH. "
PROVERBS 10 : 4 (NLT)

When Dave was 12 he convinced a restaurant manager that he was 16 and got hired as a lunch-counter waiter for 25 cents an hour. His bosses were Frank and George, two immigrants who started out as a dishwasher and a hotdog seller. Frank once told Dave, “So long as you try, you can always work for me.” Trying meant everything from working hard to treating customers politely. Once when Frank saw a waitress giving a customer a rough time, he fired her on the spot and waited on the table himself. The usual tip for waiters then was a dime, but Dave discovered that if he brought the food quickly and was especially polite, he sometimes got a quarter. He set a goal for himself – to see how many customers he could wait on in one night. His record was 100! Today R. D. Thomas, better known as ‘Dave’, is founder and senior chairman of Wendy’s International Inc., a chain of 4,300 restaurants. Andrew Carnegie began working for $4 a month; John D. Rockefeller for $6 a week. The remarkable thing about Abe Lincoln is not that he was born in a log cabin, but that he got out of it! Listen to these Scriptures: (1) “Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich” (Proverbs 10:4 NLT) (2) “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper…” (Proverbs 13:4 NLT) (3) “Observe people who are good at their work…they don’t take a back seat to anyone” (Proverbs 22:29 TM). TOP

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