The Word For Today

Solomon wrote: 'One standing alone can be...defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer' (Ecclesiastes 4:12 TLB). What Solomon is saying is this: 'Be a team player.' The Bible speaks of one person chasing 1,000 and two putting 10,000 to flight (see Deuteronomy 32:30). The lesson is that two working together will be ten times more effective than one going solo. Teams create synergy. The best explanation of synergy is that a hand is more effective than five fingers working independently of each other.

When the press interviewed Edmund Hillary regarding the key to his success in being the first to reach the top of Mount Everest, his response was inspiring: 'Our greatest strength on Everest in 1953 was our very strong team spirit. Individually, as mountaineers, we were not particularly expert people. We were competent climbers, but we worked together, and we were determined that someone should get to the top. All of us, of course, wanted to be that one, but it was even more important that someone in the group reached the summit. In modern-day climbing, this team spirit is not quite so common. There are many more prima donnas in the modern climbing fraternity, people who have great skills and great individualism but who may not work together as enthusiastically as we did.'

No individual is as smart and strong as a group together. Or, as Dr John Maxwell said: 'Teamwork makes the dream work.' So be willing to sacrifice your personal agenda for the greater good that can be accomplished only by a team.

How do you start your day with God? If you're not a 'morning person', don't put pressure on yourself to have an extended time of reading Scripture and praying first thing. Frank Laubach, a modern-day master of practising the presence of God, said, 'If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are.' Instead of forcing yourself in the morning, arrange - as early as you can after you wake up - to have just a few minutes alone with God.

Do three things: First, acknowledge your dependence on God. Second, tell him about your concerns for the day. Third, invite God to spend the day with you. The psalmist said, 'My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord...I will direct it to you, and I will look up' (Psalm 5:3 NKJV). Then he added, 'I wake up early in the morning and cry out. I hope in your word' (Psalm 119:147 NCV).

So how can you start your day with God? Don't attempt to do a lot of new or heroic things. Just do the things you normally do - only do them with God. In our culture, we often talk about embracing the moment and seizing the day. But we are not meant to embrace moments; we are meant to embrace God. Moments are not always good; God is never anything but good. 'Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good' (Psalm 118:1 NKJV)! Remind yourself that today God is with you, and that he will be good to you and for you.

James wrote: 'Take the prophets...as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord - that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful' (James 5:10-11 NKJV). Here we are reminded to look back and be challenged and encouraged in our faith journeys by those who went before us.

Look back at Hosea: his wife deserted him, but he faithfully hung in and God restored their marriage (see Hosea 3:1-3). Look back at Daniel: thrown into a lions' den for standing firm in his faith, but God delivered and promoted him (see Daniel 6:1-28). Look back at Jeremiah: arrested, accused of being a traitor and thrown into a well to die (see Jeremiah 37-38). But he looked up, and God delivered him. Then there's the roll call of the faithful listed in Hebrews 11! Those of us who've been rejected by family members, look back to Abel (see Hebrews 11:4). Those who are misunderstood, look back to Noah (see Hebrews 11:7). Those battling a crisis of faith and who seem to be up against the impossible, look back to Abraham (see Hebrews 11:8-10). Those who've been used or abused, look back to Joseph (see Hebrews 11:22). Those confronted by seemingly insurmountable obstacles in life, look back to Joshua (see Hebrews 11:30). Those seeking to move beyond a sinful past, look back to Rahab (see Hebrews 11:31).

So, this is the word for today: look back and be encouraged.

Here are three reasons you need to partake of Holy Communion:

(1) To make you grace-minded. No one will ever stand in Heaven and say, 'Look what Jesus and I have accomplished.' If you had to pay one cent of your debt of sin, it would make you a co-redeemer with Christ. What an offence to the cross! (See Ephesians 2:8-9.) Hymnist Horatio Spafford wrote: 'My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!'

(2) To keep you sensitive to sin. 'Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgement to himself' (1 Corinthians 11:28-29 NKJV). It's the 'manner' in which you approach God that counts. You don't have to avoid the communion cup; you need only confess your sin, then drink deeply with gratitude.

(3) To keep you focused on Jesus' return. Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God' (Mark 14:25 NLT). Every communion service brings you one step closer to the greatest communion service of all: the marriage supper of the Lamb in Heaven (see Revelation 19:7). Are you planning on being there?

Neuroscientists tell us that every sound, experience, conscious thought and subconscious dream is recorded and literally engraved on our external hard drive, the cerebral cortex. Now juxtapose that with this: 'Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 2:5 NKJV). Simply put: the mind of Christ is the word of God. After all, Jesus is 'the Word' (John 1:1).

When you pray, or meditate or memorise Scripture, you're engraving Jesus on your brain. Neurologically speaking, you're recruiting new neuro connections and rerouting old ones. Slowly but surely, your brain is being rewired and renewed. Think of it as mind sync. You're downloading the very words and thoughts of God. And over time, those downloads are upgrades that form the mind of Christ in us.

Note what author Mark Batterson says about how he reads the Bible, 'I continue until I come to any verse that may suggest pausing. It's often something I need to think about or pray about. Sometimes it's the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and I need to have a conversation with God before I continue...When I come to one of those verses, I do three things: First, I underline it or circle it in my Bible. Second, I write it out in longhand in my journal. Third, I journal thoughts, confessions and ideas associated with it. Then, when I feel like the Holy Spirit brings closure, I go on to the next verse.' Those are three great ideas that will work for you too.

Jimmy Wayne never knew his father, and his mother spent more time in prison than out. When Jimmy was twelve, his mother was released from jail and took up with a troublemaker. They loaded him into the back seat of their car, and for a year that was his home. Then one day, they dumped him at a Pensacola, Florida, bus station and drove off. He had no home, no future and no provision. While wandering through a neighbourhood, he spotted an older man at work in a garage wood shop. He approached the elderly gentleman and asked if he had any work. Not only did he give Jimmy Wayne a job, but he also took him in to live with him and his wife. Having a home to live in was like Heaven to Jimmy. Still, despite their kindness, he refused to unpack his bag. For four days, his plastic bag sat on the floor, full of clothes, ready if the husband and wife changed their minds. It took several days, a dozen or so meals and more than one heart-to-heart conversation. But they finally persuaded Jimmy to trust them to care for him.

Perhaps you question your place in God's family or his love for you. What if he changes his mind? God answered that question at the cross. When Jesus died, the heavenly vote was forever cast in your favour. 'He has rescued [you] from the kingdom of darkness and transferred [you] into the Kingdom of his dear Son' (Colossians 1:13 NLT). PS: What happened to Jimmy Wayne? He took his place in the family, got an education and became a country music singer and songwriter.