UCB Word For Today

When he became campaign manager for President George Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee, Lee Atwater had accomplished the two things he wanted to do by the time he was forty years of age. Then he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. Shortly before he died, he wrote these sobering words: ‘I acquired more wealth, power and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it’s a truth that the country…can learn on my dime. I lie here in my bedroom, my face swollen from steroids, my body useless…The doctors still won’t answer that nagging question: how long do I have? Some nights I can’t go to sleep, so fearful am I that I will never wake up again. I’ve come a long way since the day I told President Bush that his “kinder, gentler” theme was a nice thought, but it wouldn’t win us any votes. I used to tell the President that he might be kinder and gentler, but I wasn’t going to be. How wrong I was. There is nothing more important in life than relationships, and nothing sweeter than the human touch.’ If you’re wise, your priorities in life will be God first, your family second, and your career third. ‘Teach us to realise the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.’

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

A series of illustrations in a popular magazine once depicted the life story of a ‘one-note musician’. From frame to frame, the tale revealed how the woman followed her daily routine of eating and sleeping until the time came for the evening concert. She carefully inspected her violin, took her seat, arranged her music, and tuned her instrument. First the conductor skilfully cued one group of musicians, then another, until finally her moment arrived. It was time for her one note to be played! The conductor turned to the violinist and signalled her to sound her note. She did, and then the moment was over. The orchestra played on, and the ‘one-note’ woman sat quietly through the rest of the concert – not with a sense of disappointment that she had played only one note, but with a sense of contentment that she had played her one note in tune, on time, and with all her ability. Jesus told the story of a business owner who gave three of his employees some talents of silver to be invested on his behalf. One was given five talents, another two talents, and another one talent, ‘to each according to his own ability’ (Matthew 25:15 NKJV). The Bible says we will be rewarded in heaven for our service to Christ here on earth. How will God decide what your reward should be? Jesus said it’s ‘to each according to his own ability.’ Or as Solomon put it, ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.’ In other words, do the best you can with what God gave you.

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

Every experience in our past has prepared us for some future opportunity. God doesn’t redeem only our souls; He also redeems our experiences, both good and bad. He does it by refining our character, developing our gifts, and teaching lessons that we can’t learn any other way. We learn the most important lessons in the classroom of life through first-hand experience. The tests are challenging, but no curriculum is more effective. And how you pass the test is by growing in character, developing the gift, or learning the lesson God is trying to teach you through that experience. God is at work in your life. He is helping you get ready for your date with destiny. And He is doing it in ways that are practically imperceptible. David realised that slaying the lion and the bear prepared him to bring down Goliath. And it’s not until you face your biggest challenge that God identifies how, when, and where He prepared you. That’s when you realise that the battle was won long before you stood on the battlefield. It was necessary for Moses to tend sheep for forty years before he could lead the flock of Israel. The disciples had to fish for fish before they could fish for men. A time of preparation precedes every divine appointment. And if we surrender to the preparation, God will execute His promise. If we don’t, He won’t. This is because God never sets us up to fail. The time you spend in the shadows is preparing you for the time when you will be in the limelight. The time you spend on the sidelines is preparing you to be on the front lines – and win.

Peter describes the life of Jesus in these words: ‘Who went about doing good’ (Acts 10:38 NKJV). So, becoming more Christlike means looking for opportunities to do good. An anonymous author wrote: ‘When people are unreasonable, illogical, self-centred, and arrogant, love them anyway. When people insist that your goodness contains selfish motives, do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win both false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest, some will seek to twist your words against you. Be honest anyway. If you do good today, some may forget it by tomorrow. Do good anyway. If you show yourself to be a big person with big ideas, don’t be surprised if you are opposed by small people with small minds. Think big anyway. What you have spent years building, some may seek to destroy overnight. Build anyway.’ President Theodore Roosevelt said: ‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man [or woman] who points out…where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man [or woman] who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again…who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself [or herself] in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst…at least fails while daring greatly, so that his [or her] place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.’ So, look for opportunities to do good.

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

Here are two stories from history that illustrate how the power of your words can affect others: 1) One day an altar boy was serving the priest at a mass at the country church in his small village. The boy, nervous in his new role, accidentally dropped the cruet of wine. The priest struck him sharply on the cheek. Then in a gruff voice the congregation could hear, he shouted, ‘Leave the altar and don’t come back!’ That boy became Marshall Tito, the Communist dictator who ruled Yugoslavia with cruelty for decades. 2) One day in a large city cathedral another boy was serving a bishop at Sunday mass. He also accidentally dropped the cruet of wine. The bishop turned to him, but rather than responding in anger, he gently whispered with a warm twinkle in his eyes, ‘Someday you will be a great priest.’ And he was. That boy grew up to become Archbishop Fulton Sheen, whose weekly televised sermons were heard by millions across America each week. Your words have the power to build up or tear down, enlighten or confuse, bring peace or cause division. The childhood phrase, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,’ simply isn’t true. Your words can hurt. They can wound – sometimes deeply. But they can also build self-esteem, create friendship, give hope, render blessing, and bring healing: ‘Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones’ (Proverbs 16:24 NASB). So, pray like David: ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD’ (Psalm 19:14 NKJV).

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