UCB Word For Today

• Pray for God to heal you

  If you’re wondering, ‘How can I be sure God is willing to heal me?’, read this: ‘And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed…and they came to him from every quarter’ (Mark 1:40-42, 45 KJV). Not only is God willing to heal us, but He responds to our sickness and suffering with compassion. ‘He departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion towards them, and he healed their sick’ (Matthew 14:13-14 KJV). One day two blind men were sitting on the roadside when they heard that Jesus was passing by. Immediately they cried out: ‘“Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.”…And Jesus…said, “What will ye that I shall do unto you?” They say unto him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him’ (Matthew 20:30, 32-34 KJV). Has Christ’s power diminished? No. Does He have less compassion towards His redeemed children today than He had for the multitude back then? No. So, come to Him with confidence, praying and believing for your healing. © 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

  --------  

  2:06

  --------

  2:06
• Embrace your disadvantages

  A pastor writes: ‘Around the turn of the twentieth century, a pioneering psychologist named Alfred Adler proposed the counterintuitive theory of compensation. Adler believed that perceived disadvantages often prove to be disguised advantages because they force us to develop attitudes and abilities that would have otherwise gone undiscovered. And it’s only as we compensate for those disadvantages that our greatest gifts are revealed. Seventy per cent of the art students that Adler studied had optical anomalies. He observed that some of history’s greatest composers, Mozart and Beethoven among them, had degenerative traces in their ears. He cited a…wide variety of vocations, of those who leveraged their weakness by discovering new strengths. Adler concluded that perceived disadvantages, such as birth defects, physical ailments, and poverty, can be springboards to success. And that success is not achieved in spite of those perceived disadvantages. It’s achieved because of them…In one study of small-business owners…35 per cent of them [self-identified as having dyslexia]…That disadvantage forced this group of entrepreneurs to cultivate different skill sets. Some of them became more proficient at oral communication because reading was so difficult. Others learned to rely on well-developed social skills to compensate for the challenges they faced in the classroom. And all of them cultivated a work ethic that might have remained dormant if reading had come easy for them…Our greatest advantages may actually be hidden in our greatest disadvantages, if we learn to leverage them.’ That’s sufficient reason to praise God for your perceived disadvantages and challenges. © 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

  --------  

  2:02

  --------

  2:02
• The ultimate test of your discipleship

  Designer clothes brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren are recognised by their designs and by their trademarks. These trademarks make them immensely visible and identifiable. Sometimes workers in certain industries are identified by their attire, such as a surgeon who wears scrubs, or a policeman who wears a uniform, or a judge who wears robes. And Jesus has given to us something as irrefutable evidence that we are close to God – a test whereby you can evaluate your own spiritual growth. In fact, so amazing is this trademark that He said it would be the foremost declaration of your faith. Jesus said it like this: ‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ (vv. 34-35 NKJV). Francis Schaeffer, the great Christian apologist, said, ‘Love is the final apologetic. It is the defence for which there is no defence.’ When a woman is pregnant with a child, there comes a point where we say that she is ‘showing’. The life growing inside her begins to grow and show on the outside. Likewise, the Bible says, ‘The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us’ (Romans 5:5 KJV). And John writes, ‘Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another’ (1 John 4:11 NKJV). Love; it’s the ultimate test of your discipleship. © 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

  --------  

  1:52

  --------

  1:52
• Your mission: to serve

  Who am I? What’s my calling? The apostle Paul, who considered himself ‘not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles’ (2 Corinthians 11:5 NASB), answers simply: ‘I am Paul. My role is serving. I am a servant to the gospel and the body of Christ.’ Certain people in the early church tried to determine which of the apostles were the greatest. Some claimed Paul, and others Apollos. But Paul challenged them, ‘What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe’ (1 Corinthians 3:5 NIV). Whatever your calling, be it pastor of a megachurch or a lay member, you’re no more – and no less – than a servant. In God’s kingdom class distinctions don’t count. ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek…slave nor free…male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28 NASB). We’re servants called to do the will of God, wherever He appoints us to serve. And that’s a good thing! In being a servant there’s relief from ‘the pressure to perform’. No one has the right to judge you except your Master. ‘Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls’ (Romans 14:4 NASB). We should be concerned about what pleases God, not people. He alone can evaluate our service. Jesus came to serve His Father, saying, ‘I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me’ (John 5:30 KJV). And He has also sent you to do God’s will, promising that, ‘If any man serve me, him will my Father honour’ (John 12:26 KJV).© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

  --------  

  2:07

  --------

  2:07
• A prayer for deliverance from guilt

  ‘Heavenly Father, although I’ve repented and genuinely regret my actions, the guilt of my sin continually torments me. The burden of it is too heavy for me to bear any longer, so I am turning to you for deliverance. Your Word declares that you are ready to forgive me (see Nehemiah 9:17), and that you have an abundance of mercy for all who call upon you (see Isaiah 55:7). The problem is, I’m having a hard time accepting your forgiveness and releasing myself from the remorse of my sin. Help me to comprehend and receive your promise that says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 KJV). You said in your Word, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Isaiah 43:25 KJV). Drawing on the power of your Spirit, I choose to no longer let thoughts of guilt and condemnation rob me of the peace and joy you offer. I stand on your Word which says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far you have removed my transgressions from me” (see Psalm 103:12). You have said, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17 NKJV). Since you have chosen not to remember it, help me to forget it and stop rehearsing it. Beginning today I declare, “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses me from all sin!”’ (see 1 John 1:7).© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

  --------  

  2:00

  --------

  2:00

More Religion & Spirituality podcasts

Trending Religion & Spirituality podcasts

About UCB Word For Today

UCB Word For Today: Podcasts in Family