UCB Word For Today

Before conquering Jericho, God told Joshua to ‘circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time’. Six hundred years earlier, God had inaugurated the practice of male circumcision. He told Abraham that it would be ‘a sign of the covenant between Me and you’ (Genesis 17:11 NKJV). What was the message here? Remember whose you are! In a sense, all believers have been circumcised. Paul wrote, ‘When you came to Christ, he set you free from your evil desires, not by a bodily operation of circumcision but by a spiritual operation’ (Colossians 2:11 TLB). That means you are now God’s child (John 1:12); Christ’s friend (John 15:15); a member of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27); a saint (Ephesians 1:1); redeemed and forgiven of all your sins (Colossians 1:14); complete in Christ, lacking in nothing (Colossians 2:10); free from condemnation (Romans 8:1-2); God’s co-worker (2 Corinthians 6:1); seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 2:6); God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10); a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20); adopted into God’s family (Ephesians 1:5); born of God, and the evil one cannot touch you (1 John 5:18). Again, Paul wrote: ‘Consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God’ (Romans 6:11 NLT). So when the devil draws near, stand up to him and say: ‘What are you doing here? I am dead to you!’ Don’t stand for his accusations, and don’t cower at his attacks. When he dredges up your past mistakes, tell him who you are ‘in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). He has no recourse to this truth. He knows who you are. He just hopes you don’t or that you’ll forget.

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

Jericho was the strongest city in the Promised Land and the first Joshua’s army had to conquer. You could say it represents the biggest challenge you’re facing right now. Because the towering walls of Jericho looked impregnable, it would have been intimidating to any would-be invader. So God told His people to remember and record what He’d done for them in the past. In essence He told them, ‘Before you look forward to Jericho, look backward to Jordan and what God accomplished for you there.’ He said, ‘Take…twelve men…one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, “Take for yourselves twelve stones…out of the midst of the Jordan…And those twelve stones…Joshua set up in Gilgal [as a memorial to the parting of its waters]”’ (Joshua 4:2-3, 20 NKJV). One of your best weapons against Satan’s attacks is a good memory. Don’t forget a single one of God’s blessings! The psalmist says: ‘He forgives your sins – every one. He heals your diseases – every one. He redeems you from hell – saves your life!...God makes everything come out right’ (Psalm 103:3-6 MSG). Create a trophy room in your heart. Each time you experience a victory, place a memory on the shelf. Before you face a challenge, take a quick tour of God’s accomplishments on your behalf. Look at all the pay cheques He has provided, the blessings He has given, and the prayers He has answered. ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3:21-23 NKJV).

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

We share the same inheritance as Christ! Whatever He has, we have! ‘Our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s’ (1 John 4:17 MSG). So, if we are co-heirs with Christ, why do we struggle through life? For two reasons: 1) We don’t know about our inheritance – 'The exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe’ (Ephesians 1:19 NKJV). No one ever told us that instead of fighting for victory, we fight from a position of victory. If you have given your heart to Christ, He ‘has blessed [you] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ’ (Ephesians 1:3 NKJV). Notice the word ‘has’. You already possess everything you need to be everything God desires. You have access to ‘every spiritual blessing’. That also means God will ‘equip you with all you need for doing his will’ (Hebrews 13:21 NLT). 2) We don’t believe in our inheritance. Imagine what would happen if a generation of Christians lived out of their inheritance. They would turn off internet porn. The lonely would find comfort in God, not in the arms of strangers. Struggling couples would spend more time in prayer and less time in anger. Children would consider it a blessing to take care of their ageing parents. ‘God’s power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead’ (Ephesians 1:19-20 NCV). The same indwelling Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will turn every one of your ‘I can’ts’ into an ‘I can’. ‘I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength’ (Philippians 4:13 NCV).

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

A young artist called her aunt one day to let her know she was leaving on a trip to a fashionable resort to try and sell her wood carvings of seabirds to the owner of a gift shop. She asked her aunt to pray that her venture would be successful. Her aunt assured her that she would pray for the largest order she had ever received! That evening, the young artist called her aunt back. Not only had the gift shop owner purchased all of her carvings, but the owner of a chain of gift shops had also ordered as many carvings as she could make! She was filled with wonder at how abundantly God had answered prayer. ‘Now,’ she said to her aunt, ‘pray that I can fill his order!’ Her aunt replied, ‘The Lord doesn’t open a door unless He expects us to walk through it successfully. When we pray for rain, don’t be surprised when you get a cloudburst!’ Are you praying for God to meet a need in your life? What answer are you expecting? Be honest. Bare minimum? Meagre-but-satisfactory? Or are you expecting an abundant, more-than-enough supply? Stand on God’s Word: ‘The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand.’ Jesus said, ‘I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10 NKJV). Paul wrote: ‘God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work’ (2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV). So, believe God for abundance.

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

In her book 30 Days to a Stronger, More Confident You, author Deborah Smith Pegues uses the word ‘pray’ as an acronym: ‘Pause. I stop all activity and focus completely on God. Worship is total preoccupation…The greatest honour and respect we can give to anyone is our undivided attention…Reverence. I express my admiration for all His attributes…At this point, distractions start to pop up like dandelions…I will suddenly remember a task I need to put on my to-do list. I have learned to jot down the task in my journal and ignore the other issues for what they are – mere distractions that can be dealt with later. I have also learned that praying audibly helps to minimise wandering thoughts…Ask. I ask for forgiveness for my sins, making every effort to be specific. I pray for the power to live a Christian life and ask God to give me a passion for His Word and for prayer. I ask for His will to be done in every aspect of my life: spiritually, physically, financially, relationally, vocationally, and emotionally…Yield. I must subordinate my requests to God’s sovereign will, trusting that He knows what is best. I strive to maintain a “nevertheless” attitude. Therefore, I am careful to conclude my prayer by saying, “Nevertheless, not my will, Lord, but Yours be done” [see Luke 22:42]…The old adage that it is not what you know but whom you know that gives you the advantage in a situation is true – especially from a spiritual perspective. When we have a relationship with God, we understand that He is sufficient to handle any demand placed upon us.’

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