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Word For You Today NZ

Word for You Today is a free daily devotional for Kiwi youth and young adults Our page is actively monitored between 9am - 5:30pm.

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• contain personal information. We reserve the right to delete posts of this nature and ban members who repeatedly breach our community guidelines. Please be certain that anything you disclose does not compromise your personal safety. Please don't post your phone number or any other personally identifying information to people you do not know. Don't continue any conversation online that makes you feel uncomfortable. Protect your safety and privacy. By joining our discussions, users agree NOT to:

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29/08/2025

Healing close-range pain (2)

‘God…will hear me and humble them.’ Psalm 55:19 NLT

It’s good and healthy to identify the things weighing on our heart, and commit to working through the painful stuff to experience healing.

What’s the next step? The best thing is to admit our pain to God. It could be that once we’ve acknowledged what’s going on inside of us and taken it to him, we feel immediate closure. Often, all we need to ‘get over’ something is to face it and bring it to God in prayer. God has a way of calming our storms in a moment.

But sometimes he requires us to go deeper to heal our pain. We may need the help and support of others – a trusted, older friend, a pastor, a teacher, a parent. When the hurt goes deep, sometimes the wisdom and perspective of others is just what we need to bring restoration. But then sometimes God knows that our healing will only be complete once we’ve talked to the person/people/organisation we have the issue with, and told them how we are hurting. God’s heart is to bring healing to all people, and it may just be that us confronting the source of our pain is meant to heal them too.

So what now? While you’re going through your pain, it is necessary to keep looking outside of yourself. Taking the focus of yourself gives perspective too. If you find yourself in a coffee shop, ask the person next in the queue what coffee they’d like and pay for it. If you don’t have the cash to do that, strike up a conversation with them instead. Dare you.

28/08/2025

Healing close-range pain (1)

‘It was my closest friend, the one I trusted most.’ Psalm 55:13 CEV

In paintballing, it’s the close-range shots that hurt the most. It’s the same with life stuff: we get wounded if someone close to us, or someone we trust, turns out to be not what we thought or wanted. Betrayal stings (King David felt it – read his story in Psalm 55). Even if we’re not the type to admit to feeling ‘wounded’ when stuff goes wrong, it still affects us. Betrayal and other messy life-stuff throws us off balance.

And, not dealing with pain properly affects our relationship with God. This may be hard to read but… not taking the time to work through our pain separates us from the fullness of God’s grace (see Matthew 6:14-15). Also, not dealing with hurt can lead us to not fully trust him. We may not be yelling at the sky, or raging at God, but perhaps we feel distant in our relationship with him. Whether we realise it or not, what hurts in our hearts affects how we relate to God and others.

There’s only one thing that fixes close-range pain. Honesty, with God, ourselves and others. It’s okay to feel hurt. It’s not un-Christian and it’s not petty. It’s human. And, guess what, we’re human. Let’s learn to hand over our pain and hard stuff to God.

So what now? Give yourself a heart assessment. Is there anything sitting, undealt with, in your heart? Talk to God about it, 100% honestly. Keep nothing back. Invite him to heal you.

27/08/2025

Your yes and no

‘I press on toward the goal…for which God has called me.’ Philippians 3:14 NIV

Believe it or not, even people who have decided to live generously are allowed to say ‘No’. Great, so we can get out of stacking the chairs at church now? Not exactly. In the last two days, we looked at God’s heart for renovation: of us and ultimately the world. Today, let’s look at how we still need checks and balances in our God-given mandate to help God make the world a better place.

We can find ourselves in the Christian habit of saying ‘Yes’ to just about everything we get asked to do, especially when it’s at church. Let’s get one thing straight, making ourselves available to serve is a great thing: in fact, the Bible says God honours anyone who serves Jesus (John 12:26). But when we say ‘Yes’ to too many things, we’re in danger of giving a half-hearted effort and being less effective. Our priorities become out of whack, and it’s our own time with God that usually suffers the most.

If we really do want to press on toward God’s goal for us (see Philippians 3:14), we must make sure we’re not going to burn out. Reaching out always takes effort. Let’s use our Spirit-led desires to discern what we need to say ‘Yes’ to and what we need to put on a back burner, or even turn down completely.

So what now? Encourage a generous friend today. Take them for coffee and steer the conversation towards how they’re doing. Make sure they’re not saying ‘Yes’ to more than they should.

26/08/2025

God renovations (2)

‘God is at work within you.’ Philippians 2:13 TLB

Yesterday we looked at renovation in us from God. Today we’re looking at how God wants to use our renovation for his masterplan for creation. In his word it says that God works in us ‘in order to fulfil his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:13 NIV). Inviting Jesus into our lives makes us his ambassadors, the ones in this world to translate God’s will into action.

The more we seek God, the more we desire him and his purpose. His desires become ours, and they’re achieved through the individual and unique talents he’s given us. Jesus said ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5 NIV). Our desires must stem from our desire for God. When we seek God, whether it’s through his word or time spent in worship or prayer, we learn to listen to God’s heart.

‘Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalm 37:4 NIV). When our heartbeat gets in step with God’s heart, amazing, powerful stuff happens, and the world learns about God through us.

So what now? Think about which of the world’s problems you’d solve if you could. Plan two actions: make one practical (e.g. if your heart is for the homeless, pray for or give to someone homeless); and the other action political (e.g. write a letter to your MP about improving homeless facilities in your area). Help God to renovate the world.

25/08/2025

God renovations (1)

‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.’ Philippians 1:6 NKJV

Ever watch those daytime TV shows where they try to decorate a house before the owners come back? They’re always the same: the stressful middle bit, the overly emotional ending, and at least two ‘feature walls’. Our lives can be the same: full of ups and downs, stresses, emotional fallouts, happy outcomes.

We can sometimes be so keen to make ourselves over – to quit that habit, to behave more Jesus-like, to pursue what’s holy (all good things) – that we forget it’s only possible with God’s Spirit. We try it alone, we stress and pressure ourselves to improve, but it’s usually temporary change that frustrates us even further.

Just like the makeover shows, God wants to ‘renovate’ us. Look at what’s on offer in Philippians 1:9-11: ‘depth of insight’, ‘pure and blameless’, ‘filled with the fruit of righteousness.’ Sounds kind of huge. But God’s the renovation expert. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can renovate and refresh us, and make us more like the Christian we desire to be. When we allow God’s Spirit to work on the stuff that we can’t, we’ll begin to see real and lasting change.

So what now? Think about things that need renovating in your own heart. Then find something to renovate and present to someone else: spruce up something you don’t use – a techie or kitchen gadget lying in a drawer, decent clothes you’ll never wear – and give it to someone who really will use it. Renovation starts from the heart.

24/08/2025

Rejoice!

‘I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.’ Philippians 4:13 NLT

A stubbed toe as we go to the bathroom, an empty milk bottle as we get breakfast, and by lunchtime we realise we’ve been in a foul mood all morning. Sometimes, the little things that go wrong can make us grumpy. And that’s not adding the more serious stuff that goes wrong!

How could the apostle Paul say that he ‘learned the secret of being content in any...situation’ (Philippians 4:12 NIV)? Had he created a bubble wrap sock that protected his toes from ever getting stubbed? Or had he taken to hiding the milk to ensure there was enough left for his bowl of Weetbix? Doubt it! We reckon it’s probably more to do with the spiritual choices he made. He chose to spend time praising God, even when things were looking bleak. He believed in a God who was greater than his circumstances and more powerful than his emotions.

Paul’s secret to being content, no matter what was happening, was: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (Philippians 4:4 NIV). The original Greek for rejoicing, ‘chairo’, is often translated as ‘to experience God’s grace’, or to be ‘conscious of his favour’. Let’s stay conscious of that grace and, like Paul, go about our day rejoicing.

So what now? Sing! Seriously. Sing the most cheerful worship song you know, out loud and with passion. And, contact some church friends and organise a worship time. Share your ‘chairo’ with the world, and let them witness how God brings contentment into your life, despite its challenges.

23/08/2025

Family: not perfect but real

‘God places the lonely in families.’ Psalm 68:6 NLT

White picket fence, cute little porch, dinner table laughs and not an argument in sight. Ahh, family. And that’s the end of today’s reading. What! That’s not how it goes? Yes. Family life can be tough. In fact, every family is different. Maybe we do have a picket fence, or perhaps our reality is far from picket-fence perfect. Whatever our experience of family, our choice to become a Christian is the choice to adopt, and be adopted into, another (huge) family.

In John 1:12 we’re described as ‘children of God.’ Now this definitely still isn’t a perfect 1950’s family advert with little Jimmy and his dad playing catch in the back yard. There will be times when we get frustrated, upset and disappointed by other ‘family members’.

Being part of God’s family means reflecting God’s character. We’re expected to honour and respect others (see 1 Timothy 5:1-2), and we need to look out for one another (Galatians 6:10). Being a part of God’s family is always going to be a challenge, but when we work together to see lives changed, we learn to reflect the heart of God.

So what now? Think about a family member, friend or someone at church who you’ve felt disconnected from recently. Get in touch with a note to say hi or an invitation to catch up. If you need to set things right, do so. If you need to forgive, do so. Thank God that you can reflect who he is and bring restoration.

22/08/2025

Act now!

‘Don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”' Proverbs 3:28 NLT

Proverbs is a good ‘go-to’ book in the Bible, full of wisdom and verses short enough for helpful, encouraging texts to friends and family. But every now and again, we read a Proverb that makes us just a little uncomfortable. This is conviction – when we read something that God tells us to do or not do, and our minds instantly flick to a challenging person or situation in our lives.

Here’s one of those convicting Proverbs: ‘Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbour, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you” – when you already have it with you’ (Proverbs 3:28 NIV). Being a Christian is tough; we want to help people, but it can take time, money and energy. Have a look at Luke 9:57-62 to see how Jesus reacted to people’s excuses.

So, here’s the challenge: stop making excuses and start seizing those God-prompted opportunities and convictions to build his Kingdom now.

So what now? As much as possible, do what God asks or prompts you to as soon as you can. If your mum asks you to call her urgently, drop what you’re doing and phone her right then. If someone at work needs help with lifting something, do it for them right away, if you’re able. Do you get the idea? No more excuses! Build God’s Kingdom, through big and small acts!

21/08/2025

Know God better

‘By faith Noah…built an ark to save his family.’ Hebrews 11:7 NIV

Let’s talk Noah. Picturing Sunday school drawings of rainbows and old toy sets with missing giraffes? The story of Noah has been retold so many times most of us will know it by heart, but have a read of Genesis 6-9 for a recap.

There’s one thing in this story that often gets missed: Noah was probably seen as a bit of a nutter. Imagine a guy building a massive boat, on land, inviting pairs of wild animals to climb aboard and then getting in there himself with his family. Strange, right? But Noah’s focus wasn’t on what people were thinking, his focus was on what God was doing. We’re told in Genesis 6:9 NIV that he ‘…walked faithfully with God.’ He knew God well and was willing to follow his instructions every step of the way, because he trusted that God would protect him. In Genesis 7:16 it says, ‘Then the Lord shut him in.’

How can we follow God’s instructions and live knowing that he’s protecting us? What would give us the confidence to live like Noah: trusting in God for an unknown future? Surely he could give us a manual that outlines the pitfalls of life and instructs us how to live for him. We have this… through God’s leading and in the Bible.

So what now? God ‘shut Noah in’ on the ark for over a year. So, a short time each day should be easy for you, right? Shut your door, and spend time praying, reading the Bible, worshipping… dedicate regular time to meeting with God, getting to know him better.

20/08/2025

You always have help (3)

‘God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil.’ 1 John 4:4 NCV

The apostle John was writing to believers in Asia Minor who were experiencing heavy persecution on every side. They were afraid and tired, and may have been starting to feel like this ‘living for God’ just wasn’t worth it. How could they keep going back to God when all they seemed to do was fail and get attacked by outsiders? And we can ask the same question.

The answer, like to any good Sunday School question, is Jesus. When Jesus stretched out his nail-pierced hands on the cross, he ‘stripped the rulers and authorities of their power and made a public spectacle of them’ (Colossians 2:15 GWT). Satan wants us to be separated from God, but to do that he has to get through Jesus. Nothing can separate us from Jesus. Because of Jesus, ‘the one who is in the world’ (see 1 John 4:4), whose aim is to harm us, has already been defeated.

We are assured: God has ‘given [us] authority over all the power of the enemy’ (Luke 10:19 NLT). Whatever it is we’re facing, we can declare our authority over it, through Jesus – something Satan would rather we forgot, dismissed or ignored.

So what now? Feeling that life is a bit hard? You can start afresh today, knowing that Jesus won your battles on the cross. Imagine Jesus right next to you as you tackle any hard relationships or situations. Wherever you are, take Jesus with you – he gives you victory.

19/08/2025

You always have help (2)

‘Make no provision for the flesh.’ Romans 13:14 NKJV

In Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome, he brings up a crucial factor in the battle against our enemy Satan: it’s about not allowing ourselves to indulge in anything that doesn’t honour God.

Each day, we’re faced with a choice to ‘get rid of the things that belong to the dark’ (Romans 13:12 GWT). If we have a ni**le that something may be a hindrance to us, it probably is. We can all think of things that we don’t want to (or don’t know how to) let go of. That website? That ego-boosting slice of gossip? Those thoughts? Beyond the temptations is the much better life that God has called us to as a ‘new creation’ in him (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).

It’s vital to build our relationship with God, regardless of how well or badly we feel we’re doing – he invites us to ‘pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion’ (Ephesians 6:18 NLT). This makes it harder for ‘just-this-one-time’ temptations to slip under the radar. God doesn’t need us to be perfect, but making the decision to shut out the things that hinder us will change our lives.

So what now? Today’s task may be uncomfortable… Find an accountability partner, a Christian who you trust and who you can be honest with. Commit to regularly keeping each other in check about those things-to-stop-doing. Pray for each other. God means for us to lean on him and on his people. Remember, you always have help.

18/08/2025

You always have help (1)

‘Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.’ 2 Timothy 2:3 NIV

There are certain tactics that the enemy, Satan, uses to get under every Christian’s skin. He uses family and friends, or our own heart and head, to fill us with doubts, anxieties and temptations. The remedy is to stick close to God for strength to resist Satan. The next few days are committed to helping us triumph when the carrot of compromise is dangled in front of us.

Sometimes the world’s moving goalposts of morality can be a constant temptation. Jesus taught a lot about not being drawn in by temptation; and instead being an influence as ‘salt and light’ (Matthew 5:13-14). As hard as it is, ‘pure, unstained religion, according to God our Father, is to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer and to remain uncorrupted by this world’ (James 1:27 GWT). Corruption leads to distancing from God.

Not one of us can survive on our own. In a letter to Timothy, a young Christian preparing to face the difficulties of leading a church and staying faithful to God’s call, Paul reminds him that, just as a good soldier will share the burdens and struggles of their fellow soldiers, he should do the same. It’s an encouragement to know that we can call on other Christians to step up and support us, and to have our backs.

So what now? Know someone going through a tough time? Catch up and offer them support and comfort. Don’t let them go through this time alone.

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