UCB Word For Today

In Western culture, we think of a day beginning when the sun comes up. But the creation account says: ‘The evening and the morning were the first day’ (Genesis 1:5 NKJV). Each day began with evening. Author Eugene Peterson noted that in this way, the biblical writers help us to remember: ‘Everything doesn’t depend on me. I go to sleep; God goes to work. It’s His day. The world keeps spinning, tides ebb and flow, lives begin and end even though I am not there to superintend any of it. God is present when I sleep.’ So, the psalmist wrote: ‘In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for he grants sleep to those he loves’ (Psalm 127:2 NIV). It’s estimated that sleep deprivation and driver fatigue is a contributing factor in up to one fifth of road incidents. Lack of sleep causes people to argue with spouses and friends, do subpar work, be less loving and more irritable with children and friends, and generally feel miserable. So, here’s how to ‘have a good day’. Before you go to sleep, take a few minutes to review your day with God. Seek to resolve any household conflicts before bedtime. Paul wrote: ‘Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil’ (Ephesians 4:26-27 NLT). Confess any sin that comes to mind and ask for forgiveness. Where you were blessed today, take time to savour it and say thanks. In other words, give God the last word in your day.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

Patience, from the biblical perspective, embodies these four things: 1) Confidence in God’s unfailing love and faithfulness to us: ‘His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV). 2) Confidence that He will keep His promises to us: ‘There has not failed one word…which He promised’ (1 Kings 8:56 NKJV). 3) Confidence that He has everything that concerns us under control: ‘The LORD will vindicate me’ (Psalm 138:8 NIV). 4) Confidence that even in the most difficult of circumstances, He is working for our good. ‘We know that all things work together for good to those who love God’ (Romans 8:28 NKJV). Confidence in God enables us to live by the Word: ‘He that believeth shall not make haste’ (Isaiah 28:16 KJV). Impatience is at the root of so many of our failures. Hence the apostle James wrote: ‘Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.’ Look at Simon Peter: he came close to committing murder in the garden of Gethsemane in a vain attempt to protect Jesus (see John 18:10). Look at Moses: his impatience caused him to strike the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded; hence he forfeited the Promised Land (see Numbers 20:1-13). Look at Abraham: his impatience while waiting for God’s promise of a son to be fulfilled led to the birth of Ishmael and serious complications in the family (see Genesis 16:1-16). Hence Paul wrote: ‘Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope’ (Romans 15:4 NKJV). So, the word for today is – exercise patience!

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

Here are three things you should be clear about before you commit to a lifetime relationship in marriage (if you’re not in this situation yourself, perhaps you could use these points to guide your prayers for others): 1) Does your partner have a strong relationship with Christ? ‘Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?’ (Amos 3:3 NLT). To stay together, you must walk in step and in the same direction. 2) Is your partner growing spiritually? ‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:18 NIV). If you are not growing together, you will eventually grow apart. Looks may bring you together, but a shared faith and values will keep you together for the long haul. 3) What kind of family background does your partner have? God can help us overcome our obstacles caused by family dysfunction. But you need to know what you are dealing with before you vow to love one another ‘for better or for worse’. Paul wrote: ‘Carry each other’s burdens…this way you will fulfil the law of Christ’ (Galatians 6:2 NIV). But you need to know upfront what those burdens are before committing to a lifetime of helping to share them. Do you know about your partner’s past relationships? ‘If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV). But that doesn’t mean you can cover up the past or lie about it. Mutual transparency is the name of the game! When you know the whole truth about one another, the past loses its power to sabotage your present and your future. No spouse is perfect, but don’t settle for less than God’s best.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

Some of the world’s greatest achievers went through life with physical disabilities and overcame incredible adversities. Sir Walter Scott was disabled. John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, was imprisoned. George Washington, America’s first president, almost froze and starved to death in the snows of Valley Forge. Abraham Lincoln played a critical part in ending the scourge of slavery in America, yet he was raised in abject poverty and died prematurely from an assassin’s bullet. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli was subject to bitter religious prejudice. Franklin D. Roosevelt was struck down with infantile paralysis. Ludwig van Beethoven became deaf. Glen Cunningham, an Olympic runner holding many world records, had his legs badly burned in a school fire. Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, Marian Anderson, and George Washington Carver were born into a society filled with racial discrimination. Enrico Caruso was from a large, poor Italian family where only a few children survived past infancy. Itzhak Perlman, concert violinist, lost the function of his legs at age four. In the eyes of his father and family, biblical David wasn’t considered worthy to be Israel’s next king in the place of Saul. Moralists and legalists would surely have disqualified him because of his violation of Bathsheba. Yet God referred to him as ‘a man after my own heart’ (Acts 13:22 NIV). And here’s what David said about God: ‘My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…I have put my trust in the Lord GOD’ (vv. 26, 28 NKJV). The word for today is: with God’s help, you’ll succeed.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

The contemplative pathway. If you relate to God best through the contemplative pathway, you love large blocks of quietness and uninterrupted time alone. It is very likely that when you were a child, your parents would tell you to go outside and play with other kids more. Reflection comes naturally to you. You often feel like an observer in life. Here are some Scriptures you easily identify with: ‘Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still. Selah’ (Psalm 4:4 NKJV). ‘Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret’ (Psalm 37:7 NKJV). ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10 NKJV). ‘Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.’ God is most present to you when distractions and noises are removed. Images, metaphors, and pictures help you as you pray. If you get too busy or spend too much time with too many people hanging around, you begin to feel drained and stretched thin. You do not require much external stimulation. Making time to listen to God in silence and solitude is vital to the health of your soul, and it’s necessary for you to experience a deepening sense of His presence. You need regular, protected, intense, undistracted time alone. But here’s a word of caution: the Bible says, ‘If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another’ (1 John 4:11 NKJV). And love takes time and effort. Sometimes it requires sacrifice. One of the best ways to show your love for God is to show it to the people around you whom God loves.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.