The Word for Today in Asia and the Pacific

‘They have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!’ Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

Let’s take a moment to understand some reasons for our discontent:

(1) Looking for happiness in the wrong places. God said: ‘My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned Me—the fountain of living water. And they dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!’ There is an emptiness inside you that only God can fill, and He will, if you invite Him in.

(2) Failure to serve others. How we treat others is often a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. Philosopher Eric Hoffer said: ‘The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbour as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant towards others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves. It is not only love of self but hatred of self which is at the root of the troubles that afflict our world.’

(3) Comparing ourselves with others. Paul writes, ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice.’ (Romans 12:15 NIV) When you resent someone else’s achievements or level of blessing, joy quickly drains out of your life. The Bible says: ‘Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.’ (Romans 12:4–6 NLT)

SoulFood:

2 Chronicles 32–34

32:1 After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, 3 he planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. 4 A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” 5 He set to work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the Millo in the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance. 6 And he set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, 7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

9 After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? 11 Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? 14 Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? 15 Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!’”

16 And his servants said still more against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the LORD, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” 18 And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. 19 And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.

20 Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. 21 And the LORD sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. 22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. 23 And many brought gifts to the LORD to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the LORD, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

27 And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly vessels; 28 storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. 29 He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. 30 This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, 8 and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 And his prayer, and how God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers. 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images that Manasseh his father had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. 25 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. 9 They came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD. And the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD gave it for repairing and restoring the house. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. The Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over the burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

14 While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given through Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the LORD and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.

19 And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. 23 And she said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. 26 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD. 28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. 31 And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

John 12:37–50

37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

  “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

40   “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
  lest they see with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart, and turn,
    and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

Psalm 146

146:1   Praise the LORD!
  Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3   Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4   When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.
5   Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6   who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
  who keeps faith forever;
7     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.
  The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
  The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the LORD loves the righteous.
9   The LORD watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10   The LORD will reign forever,
    your God, O Zion, to all generations.
  Praise the LORD!

Proverbs 28:9–12

9   If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
    even his prayer is an abomination.
10   Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way
    will fall into his own pit,
    but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.
11   A rich man is wise in his own eyes,
    but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
12   When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,
    but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2023

‘Joseph remained a slave until his own words had come true, and the Lord had finished testing him.’ Psalm 105:19 CEV

God may not respond exactly when you want Him to, but He is always on time. ‘No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.’ (Psalm 84:11 NKJV) It’s difficult to watch God blessing others while you’re forced to wait. The Bible tells us, ‘Joseph remained a slave until his own words came true, and the Lord had finished testing him.’ God’s plan was for Joseph to live in a palace, yet for years he lived in a prison, charged with crimes he never committed. But it was there he met a butler who could speak with Pharaoh, and through this connection, he was promoted to the number-two spot in Egypt.

Understand this: when you walk with God, your opportunities for advancement are regulated by His plan, not someone else’s actions. And preparation always precedes promotion. When Elijah called down fire from Heaven on Mount Carmel, everybody admired and applauded him. But prior to that he’d spent years living through a famine, and the only friend he had was a poor widow. Together they had to trust God for every meal. That’s when Elijah learned important lessons about humility, divine guidance, and trusting God in times of need; things that don’t necessarily make sense to your natural mind.

When God is going to build something great, He takes time to lay a strong foundation. ‘Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.’ (Luke 2:52 NIV) Allow yourself time to grow. Let Him build a foundation under you that will sustain you and the blessings He has in mind for you in the years ahead.

SoulFood: 2 Chron 29-31, John 12:20-36, Ps 118:19-29, Pro 28:5-8

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2023

‘Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.’ Proverbs 29:25 NIV

Fourth, change your mindset. Does risk scare you? Are you discouraged by past failures? Do you not see the potential that opportunity offers? You won’t be able to move forward until you discover what is holding you back. ‘Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.’ A snare is a trap. And when you begin to see your fears as a trap, you will want to be free from them.

Fifth, don’t wait for opportunity to knock. Opportunity seldom comes knocking; you have to go look for it. Take a look at your assets, talents, and resources. Doing so will give you a picture of your potential. ‘But I don’t have any special talents,’ you say. Yes, you do. ‘God has also given each of us different gifts to use.’ (Romans 12:6 CEV)

Sixth, take the next step. It’s one thing to notice an opportunity; it’s another to act on it. Somebody once quipped, ‘Everyone has a great idea in the shower. But only a few people step out, dry off, and do something about it.’

Choose the best opportunity you see, pray about it, do the best with it that you can, and keep going until you have done everything possible to make it happen. And when you have done your best—trust God to do the rest. Remember, you will never finish anything you don’t have the courage to start. And where does courage come from? God!

The psalmist said, ‘Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.’ (Isaiah 26:4 ESV)

SoulFood: 2 Chron 25-28, John 12:12-19, Ps 118:10-18, Pro 28:1-4

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2023

‘Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.’ Jeremiah 17:7 NIV

Second, take action. There is an old saying ‘you can if you will’. Initiators don’t wait for others to motivate them. They know it’s their responsibility to move themselves forward beyond their comfort zone, and they make it a practice. American President Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘There is nothing brilliant or outstanding in my record, except perhaps this one thing. I do the things I believe ought to be done. And when I make up my mind to do a thing, I act.’

The Bible says, ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; [take action] dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.’ (Psalm 37:3 NKJV)

Third, learn from your failures and keep moving forward. The good news for initiators is, they make things happen. The bad news is, they make lots of mistakes along the way. The greater your potential, the greater your chance for failure.

Senator Robert Kennedy said, ‘Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.’ Are you constantly on the lookout for opportunity, or do you wait for it to come to you? Are you willing to pray and take a step of faith, or do you endlessly analyse everything? As former chairman of car maker Chrysler, Lee Iacocca said, ‘Even the correct decision is wrong when it was taken too late.’ When was the last time you initiated something substantial [major] in your life? If you haven’t moved yourself forward out of your comfort zone lately, you might have to kick your initiative into life.

The Bible says, ‘He is your helper and your shield.’ (Psalm 115:11 NLT) That means God will help you to succeed. And when you fail, He will protect and redirect you.

SoulFood: 2 Chron 21-24, John 12:1-11, Ps 118:1-9, Pro 27:23-27

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2023

‘Be strong and of good courage, for you must go.’ Deuteronomy 31:7 NKJV

When God gives you an unconditional promise, all you need to do is wait for it. But when He makes a conditional promise, you have a part to play in its fulfilment. Sometimes that calls for taking the initiative. For Israel, it meant being willing to face opposition and drive the occupying nations from the Promised Land so it could be theirs.

‘Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”’ (Deuteronomy 31:7–8 NKJV)

In essence, God was saying, ‘When you take the initiative, I will act on your behalf.’ And He’s saying the same thing to you today. Here is what it means to take the initiative:

(1) Choosing the next step. Humourist and pianist Oscar Levant once quipped, ‘Once I make up my mind, I’m full of indecision.’ We smile, but sadly that’s the way many of us operate. The fact is, you can’t be indecisive and be effective at the same time.

(2) Being willing to take risks. The difference between a believer and a nonbeliever is this: as a believer, God has promised to go before you and arrange the circumstances in your favour. ‘But I’m afraid!’ you say. Faith in God doesn’t eliminate [remove] fear—it overcomes it. So take the initiative.

SoulFood: 2 Chron 18-20, John 11:45-57, Ps 114, Pro 27:20-22

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2023