UCB Word For Today UCB

Satan will use half-truths to trap you. He took Jesus to ‘the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you.’”…Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God’”’ (vv. 5-7 NLT). Satan will tell you, ‘Your spouse doesn’t understand you or meet your needs, you’re lonely, go ahead and have that affair. God will understand and forgive you.’ God may forgive you, but the Bible also says, ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap’ (Galatians 6:7 KJV). When Satan comes calling, you had better know what the Word of God actually says – not just selected snippets. Paul writes, ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching…in righteousness’ (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV). We like to hand-pick Scriptures that suit our lifestyle and facilitate our wants. But when the Enemy manipulates God’s Word and uses it against you, you need to be able to say, ‘The Scriptures also say.’ In other words, you need to know what else God has to say. The Bible says Satan ‘will speak against the Most High…oppress his holy people and try to change…times and…laws’ (Daniel 7:25 NIV). He knows God’s Word is a ‘double-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12 NCV), but he will still try to engage you in a sword fight! Don’t let him bamboozle you with distortions and half-truths! Get into God’s Word, get God’s Word into you, and tell Satan, ‘Get thee behind me’ (Matthew 16:23 KJV).

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

Author Brennan Manning tells the story of how he got the name ‘Brennan’. Growing up, his best friend was Ray. The two of them did everything together: bought a car together as teenagers, dated together, went to school together, and so forth. They even enlisted in the army together, went to boot camp together, and fought on the front lines together. One night, sitting in a foxhole, Brennan was reminiscing about the old days in Brooklyn while his friend Ray listened and ate a chocolate bar. Suddenly a grenade landed in the foxhole. Ray smiled at Brennan, dropped his chocolate, and threw himself on the live grenade. It exploded, killing Ray, but Brennan’s life was spared. Later Brennan was ordained as a priest, and at that time it was customary to take the name of a saint. He thought of his friend, Ray Brennan, and chose the name ‘Brennan’. Years later, he visited Ray’s mother in Brooklyn. They were sitting up late one night drinking tea when Brennan asked her, ‘Do you think Ray loved me?’ Mrs Brennan got up off the sofa, shook her finger in his face, and shouted, ‘What more could he have done for you?’ Brennan says that right then he experienced an epiphany. He imagined himself standing before the cross of Jesus wondering, ‘Does God really love me?’ And Jesus’ mother pointing to her son, saying, ‘What more could He have done for you?’ When Jesus said, ‘It is finished,’ the price of your salvation was paid in full. The question is – will you accept Him today as your Saviour and Lord?
© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International. 

The word ‘love’ isn’t just a noun, it’s a verb (an action word). And it’s not demonstrated simply by what you say but by what you do. In a small Jewish town in Russia, there is a rabbi who reputedly doesn’t show up for several hours every Friday morning. His followers claim that during this time he goes up to heaven and talks to God. A stranger moved into town and was sceptical about all this, so he decided to check things out. He hid and watched. The rabbi got up in the morning, said his prayers, then dressed in peasant clothes. He grabbed an axe and went off into the woods and cut firewood, which he hauled to a shack on the outskirts of the village where an old woman and her sick son lived. He left them enough wood for a week, then crept back home. Having observed the rabbi’s behaviour for himself, the newcomer became his disciple. Now when he hears the villagers say, ‘On Friday morning our rabbi ascends all the way up to heaven,’ he quietly adds, ‘If not higher.’ You can’t earn salvation by doing good works, but if you are truly saved, your actions and attitudes will prove that you are truly a recipient of salvation. Paul wrote these two Scriptures to Titus: ‘In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works’ (Titus 2:7 NKJV); ‘These things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men’ (Titus 3:8 NKJV).

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

When you encounter someone who tries to ‘cut you down to size’, remind yourself they are probably trying to cut you down to their size. So, what should you do? Love them, but don’t be overly influenced by what they say. As a rule, instead of staying where you’re tolerated, go where you’re appreciated! The Japanese bonsai tree is tiny, growing only about eighteen inches tall. To create a bonsai, a young sapling is pulled from the soil. Then the taproot and some of the feeder shoots are tied off. Thus, the growth of the bonsai tree is deliberately stunted. By contrast, the California sequoia tree grows large. For example, the General Sherman in California’s Sequoia National Park stands 275 feet and measures 100 feet in circumference at its trunk. If felled, it would provide enough lumber to build over 30 five-room homes! The sequoia begins life as a small seed, no bigger than the bonsai seed. So, what makes the difference? The sequoia sapling is allowed to be nourished in the rich California soil and sunshine. Now, neither the bonsai nor the sequoia has a choice in determining how large it will become – but you do! For instance, you can’t go through life blaming others – including your parents – for what they may or may not have done in the past. So, here are your options: Stay where you are and suffer, or move to a rich, fertile, nourishing environment where you can grow. Is that always easy? No. But if you believe what Jesus said – ‘My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life’ (John 10:10 NLT) – you will be willing to do it.

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

Failure doesn’t mean you will never succeed; it just means it may take a bit longer. John Wayne coined a great line in the movie The Train Robbers. He said, ‘You’re going to spend the rest of your life getting up one more time than you’re knocked down, so you’d better start getting used to it.’ That’s what success is – getting up one time more than you were knocked down. You have no idea how close you may be to what you want to achieve. But if you give up, you will never know – plus you guarantee that you will never get there. Author Ben Stein said, ‘The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated. It is finished when it surrenders.’ Time magazine conducted a survey among people who had lost their jobs. Everyone expected them to be crestfallen and disheartened, but they found them to be extremely resilient. Why? The survey showed that people who had lost jobs and found new ones were better prepared to deal with adversity than those who had been with the same company for years without ever having had to deal with unemployment. When you have experienced failure, you’re actually in a better position to achieve success than people who have not. When you fail and fail again – and keep bouncing back and learning from your failures – you’re building character, strength, tenacity, experience, and wisdom. And people who develop these qualities are capable of sustaining their successes, unlike those for whom good things come too early and too easily. As long as you don’t give up, you’re in a good position. So the word for today is – ‘Stand firm. Let nothing move you.’

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

Don’t allow what’s wrong with you to keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. With their feet locked in stocks, their backs lacerated with whips, and the unjust contempt of society heaped upon them, the Bible says, ‘At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.’ They decided to stop focusing on what was wrong with their circumstances and start focusing on what is right with God. They could have complained, but they made a choice to worship God despite their external circumstances. And that is often the most challenging and crucial choice we can make. It’s similar to hitting the refresh key on your computer. Doing so restores the joy of your salvation, recalibrates your spirit, and renews your mind. And it empowers you to discover something good to praise God about, even when everything seems to be going wrong. Is it simple? Definitely not. But one of the purest forms of worship is praising God when you don’t want to. ‘Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name’ (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV). Note the words ‘sacrifice of praise’. And it’s a sacrifice that moves God and brings results: ‘Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed’ (Acts 16:26 NKJV). When you’re in a situation with no way out, praise opens doors. When you’re shackled by lack and limitation, praise breaks chains. So, worship your way through it.

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