UCB Word For Today

Just as Jericho was a stronghold in Canaan, we have strongholds in our lives. Paul wrote: ‘The weapons of our warfare are…mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God’ (vv. 4-5 NKJV). A stronghold is an ‘argument’ or a ‘high thing’ that ‘exalts itself against the knowledge of God’. It is a conviction, outlook, or belief that attempts to interfere with the truth. A stronghold is a false premise that denies God’s promise. It ‘sets itself up against the knowledge of God’ (v. 5 NIV). It attempts to magnify the problem and minimise God’s ability to solve it. Does a stronghold have a strong hold on you? Do you speak the language of impossibility? God could never forgive me (the stronghold of guilt). I could never forgive that person (the stronghold of resentment). Bad things always happen to me (the stronghold of self-pity). I have to be in charge (the stronghold of pride). I don’t deserve to be loved (the stronghold of rejection). I’ll never recover (the stronghold of defeat). I must be good, or God will reject me (the stronghold of performance). I’m only as good as I look (the stronghold of appearance). My value equals my possessions (the stronghold of materialism). Many Christians don’t even recognise the strongholds in their lives. But you don’t have to be among them. God has given you the weapons of prayer, Scripture, the Name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, fellowship, etc. And collectively, they have ‘divine power to demolish strongholds’ (v. 4 NIV).

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

Someone said: ‘The secret of success is to be like a duck – smooth and unruffled on top, and paddling furiously underneath.’ Niccolò Paganini, the well-known nineteenth-century violinist, illustrated the truth of this. His most memorable concert was marked by ‘furious paddling under the surface’ rather than easy success. The concert was performed with a full orchestra before a packed house in Italy. Those who heard him play say his technique was incredible and his tone fantastic. Towards the end of the concert, he was astounding his audience with a very difficult composition, when one string on his violin suddenly snapped and hung limply from his instrument. Paganini frowned only briefly, shook his head, and continued to play, improvising beautifully. Then, to everyone’s surprise, including Paganini’s, a second string broke. Shortly thereafter, a third string snapped. It seemed like a slapstick comedy routine as Paganini stood before the awed crowd with three strings dangling from his Stradivarius violin. But instead of leaving the stage to repair his instrument, he stood firm. He calmly completed the difficult number on the one remaining string – a performance that won him applause, admiration, and enduring fame. Here’s another saying: ‘It’s when the going gets tough, that the tough get going!’ Paul was such a man: ‘Forgetting the past and straining towards what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.’ All of us who are spiritually mature should think this way too. So don’t give up; keep going!

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

Paul asked: ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?’ And the answer is nothing! Then he came up with a laundry list of worst-case scenarios, from trouble to danger and anything in between: ‘Trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword’ (NIV). When Paul wrote ‘hardship’, he was back in the Mediterranean Sea during a terrible typhoon. ‘Persecution’ pinged his memory of being stoned at Lystra and left for dead. ‘Trials’: Paul stood trial before Nero himself. He also went without food, was bitten by a poisonous snake, and had the clothes stripped off his back so he could be flogged. This did not happen only once or twice. Five times he received the maximum sentence – forty lashes minus one. Paul’s back was whiplashed and crisscrossed with 195 scars. Hardship has one of two effects: it either hardens or softens our hearts. And it’s that hardening or softening that makes us or breaks us. Research in psychology shows that between half to two-thirds of people who survive extreme hardship or crisis later experience positive personal changes – a phenomenon known as post-traumatic growth. It’s the tough times that test our love. But that’s also how it’s proved. The love of Christ wasn’t proved by His miracles – it was proved on a Roman cross. And it has proven to be fail proof. So no matter what trouble, hardship, or persecution you face, this too shall pass. More importantly, Jesus is with you and Jesus is for you. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate you from His love!

Thomas Aquinas was one of the most prolific writers and thinkers of the Middle Ages. His Summa Theologica is one of history’s most exhausting and enduring theologies. But Aquinas never finished it because of something that happened on 6th December 1273, that caused him to give up writing. ‘All that I have written seems to be like straw,’ Aquinas said, ‘compared to what has now been revealed to me.’ Exactly what was revealed remains a mystery, but that one revelation surpassed all the knowledge he’d acquired. No matter your IQ, that’s what you need. You are not smart enough to reason your way to God. You need ‘the Spirit of wisdom and revelation’ (Ephesians 1:17 NIV). Nothing will change your outlook, or even alter your personality, like a revelation of God’s love. But it’s so diametrically different from the way we give and receive love on a human level. First of all, His love is unconditional. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less because He already loves you perfectly, eternally. Even when you don’t reciprocate His love, it doesn’t deter, deflect, or diminish His love. It accentuates it. ‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8 NIV). It’s easy to love others when they are at their best. But when they are at their worst? Not so much. But that’s the test of true love. Our love tends to be reactive, but God’s love is proactive. He loves us when we least expect it and least deserve it.

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

In the realm of general relativity, an event horizon is the point of no return. It’s the point at which gravitational pull becomes so great that it’s impossible to escape. The most obvious example is the black hole – a celestial object so massive that light can only enter but never exit its gravitational field. The escape velocity of a black hole is greater than the speed of light, which is impossible to exceed. So, once you cross its horizon, there is no turning back. God’s love is like that. The Bible says, ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8 KJV) The implications of that one statement will take all of eternity to unpack. Nothing pulls stronger or longer than God’s love. Love is an event horizon, and once you cross over, you can’t get back. And who would want to? Logic won’t get you to God’s love. His love is beyond logical – it’s theological. The only way to receive the love of God is via revelation. Paul wrote: ‘I pray that you…may…grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.’ The love of God is measureless. It doesn’t fit in a box, not even a box the size of the universe. And if the universe isn’t big enough, God’s love certainly won’t fit within the confines of our human logic. So how do we get it in our hearts and minds? Through a personal revelation! So, the word for today is: pray for a revelation of God’s love.

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