UCB Word For Today

Do you find yourself wondering if Jesus is willing to heal you? Let’s look at the ministry of Jesus Christ, whom the Bible says is ‘the same yesterday, today, and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV). That means if He did it before, He will do it again. As you read about the many healings and miracles Jesus performed on a continual basis, it will cause your faith to grow and your expectation to rise. ‘Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’ (Romans 10:17 KJV). Throughout the gospels, people with various sicknesses went to Jesus for healing. Some were near death, and some were actually dead. There were people with strong faith, and others who struggled to believe. All the people Jesus healed were unsaved, as Jesus had not yet purchased salvation on the cross. The keys to every one of these miracles are: 1) Those who were sick made sure they were in the presence of Jesus; 2) They willingly received His word and acted on it. Read about some of the miracles Jesus performed: 1) Simon’s mother-in-law healed of a fever (see Matthew 8:14-15); 2) The resurrection of Jairus’s daughter (see Mark 5:21-24, 35-43); 3) Healing of the woman with the issue of blood (see Mark 5:25-34); 4) A deaf man healed (see Mark 7:32-37); 5) A severed ear restored (see Luke 22:47-51); 6) A blind man healed (see John 9:1-41). Jesus never said no to a cry for help and healing: ‘Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all’ (Matthew 12:15 KJV). And what He did for them, He can do for you if you pray and believe His Word.

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

A farmer once caught a young eagle in the forest, brought it home, and raised it among his chickens and turkeys. Five years later, a naturalist came to visit him and saw the bird. ‘That’s an eagle, not a chicken!’ he said. ‘Yes,’ said the farmer, ‘but I’ve raised it to be a chicken.’ The naturalist said, ‘It has a wingspan of fifteen feet. It’s an eagle!’ The farmer said, ‘But it will never fly.’ The naturalist disagreed, and they decided to put their argument to the test. First, the naturalist picked up the eagle and said, ‘Thou art an eagle; thou dost belong in the sky and not to this earth; stretch forth thy wings and fly.’ The eagle saw the chickens and jumped down. The next day, the naturalist took the eagle to the top of the house, said the same thing, and let the eagle go. Again, it spotted the chickens below and fluttered down to join them in feeding. ‘One more try,’ said the naturalist. He took the eagle up a mountain. The trembling bird looked around, and then the naturalist made it look into the sun. As he spoke its true identity once more, suddenly the eagle stretched out its wings, gave a mighty screech, and flew away, never to return. You must know who God created and called you to be. And that takes place in the right environment, the right company, and with the right input – God’s input! ‘He has created us anew in Christ Jesus…[to] do the good things He planned for us.’

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

Consider these examples of resistance to inventions that we now consider commonplace and enjoy every day. In Germany, ‘experts’ said that if trains went as fast as fifteen to twenty miles an hour – considered a frightful speed – blood would spurt from the travellers’ noses and passengers would suffocate when going through tunnels. In America, experts said the introduction of the railway would require the building of many asylums, since people would be driven mad with terror at the sight of the locomotives. When the idea of iron ships was first proposed, experts insisted that they would not float, it would be difficult to preserve the iron bottom from rust, and that iron would play havoc with compass readings. In 1797, when the first cast-iron plough was invented, farmers in New Jersey rejected it, saying the cast iron would poison the ground and stimulate the growth of weeds. When the YMCA in New York welcomed the invention of the typewriter and announced typing lessons for women, protests erupted on the grounds that the female constitution would break down under the strain. Now consider these statements, each of which is a product of a negative mindset: 1) ‘Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible’ (Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895). 2) ‘Man will never tap the power of the atom’ (Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize winner in physics, 1923). 3) ‘Everything that can be invented has been invented’ (Charles H. Duell, U.S. Patent Office Director, 1899). If you want to accomplish great things and be used by God, become an ‘I can’ person.

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

Marian wanted to become a concert singer, a challenge that was doubly difficult because of the colour of her skin. Her mother, however, had a patient trust in God. Marian later said, ‘Mother’s religion made her believe she could receive what was right for her if she was conscientious in her faith. If it did not come, it was because God had not considered it right for her. We grew up in this atmosphere of faith that she created…We believed as she did, because we wanted the same kind of haven in the time of storm.’ When Marian was denied admission to a famous music conservatory on account of her race, her mother said, ‘Someone would be raised up’ to help her accomplish what she hoped to do at the conservatory. That someone arrived a few weeks later. One of Philadelphia’s outstanding voice teachers, Giuseppe Boghetti, made room for her to become one of his students. And Marian Anderson was on her way to becoming one of the most popular singers of the twentieth century. On Easter Sunday in 1939, she sang to seventy-five thousand people at the Lincoln Memorial and gave a performance never to be forgotten by those present. Solomon said these two things about God’s guiding hand in our lives: 1) ‘The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?’ 2) ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take’ (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT).

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

The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom beyond our knowledge, power beyond our strength, and gifting beyond our ability. With His help, we become better than our best effort and better than our best thought. We become the best version of ourselves possible. Of course, this takes a lifetime. Hence, Paul wrote: ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ It’s hard to imagine a farmer planting a crop of beans and then being surprised that it didn’t produce corn. Why? Because you reap what you sow. Yet some of us seem shocked when the seeds of sin yield their crop. So, what are you planting? Love or hate? Joy or ingratitude? Patience or impatience? Self-control or self-indulgence? You cannot break the law of sowing and reaping, but it can break you or make you – if you keep sowing the right seeds. Want a bumper crop? Then you need more of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit can’t fill you if you’re full of yourself. So, a prerequisite to having more of the Holy Spirit is being honest, being humble, and being hungry. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the nine fruits the Holy Spirit produces in our lives. So, if you want more of the Holy Spirit, it means you literally want more love, more joy, more peace, more forbearance, more kindness, more goodness, more faithfulness, more gentleness, and more self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23 NIV). The good news is, you can have as much of the Holy Spirit as you want.

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

Jesus said: ‘The Helper, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.’ When you need to make a critical decision, you need ‘the spirit of wisdom and revelation’ (Ephesians 1:17 NKJV). When you’re in a difficult situation and unsure of what to say: ‘Just say whatever is given to you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit’ (Mark 13:11 NIV). When you find it hard to show love? ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love’ (Galatians 5:22 NIV). The same is true with every fruit of the Spirit. Do you need to overcome an addiction? ‘The fruit of the Spirit is…self-control’ (v. 22-23 NIV). Of course, that’s an oxymoron because it doesn’t come from you. It’s the Spirit who manufactures it, so it’s really Spirit-control. What you need more of is the Holy Spirit. And for the record, the Spirit of God doesn’t just want to fill you; He also wants to stretch you and increase your capacity. If you feel like your life is in chaos today, the Spirit of God is hovering – just as He did at the dawn of creation when He brought light out of darkness, order out of chaos, and beauty out of nothingness (see Genesis 1:1-3). No matter what question you have, the Holy Spirit is the answer. No matter what problem you face, the Holy Spirit is the solution. You need as much of Him as you can get, so you need to yield as much of yourself to Him as you can.

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

When God told Joshua, ‘Be strong and courageous,’ the word be really means become. It’s not like a computer in which you enter a password and ‘hey, presto!’ you’re courageous. Courage is a quality you grow into. Like filling bigger shoes, the more you walk in them, the more comfortable they become. Joshua had already been to the Promised Land. He knew there were seven nations to be conquered. He was well aware of the problems he’d have to face. So, God said: 1) ‘Do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD…is among you, and he is a great and awesome God’ (Deuteronomy 7:21 NLT). The job you’re about to take on may look more like a battlefield than a bed of roses, but God will be with you. He will give you solutions for the problems and strength for the battles. 2) ‘The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you’ (Deuteronomy 7:22 NLT). God will go ahead of you and arrange everything. He will help you make the right connections and provide you with the needed resources. 3) ‘The LORD…will drive those nations out…little by little. You will not clear them away all at once’ (v. 22 NLT). God works in us one area at a time. Life’s not one big battle; it’s a series of small daily struggles required to defeat the enemies that stand in your way. Twenty-three chapters later, God was still telling Israel to be courageous. Courage is like oxygen; you can’t survive without it. It’s not the absence of fear; it’s the conquest of it. Courage means doing it afraid until you conquer your fear.

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

Research showing that love mindsets are the norm while fear mindsets are learned is revolutionary for scientists. But it’s not new if you look at Scripture: ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.’ Over the past several decades, scientists have researched the anatomy and physiology of love and fear. These are two different systems, and at any one conscious moment, we will be operating in one or the other. Science is showing us that there is a massive ‘unlearning’ of negative toxic thoughts when we operate in love. We can unlearn negative fear – it is not part of our innate natural functioning. Recent neuroscientific research suggests that some of the chemicals the brain releases when we are operating in love, including oxytocin, can calm fear and worry, support the brain’s capacity for positive change, and help us form healthier ways of thinking and connecting with others. This chemical also flows when we trust, bond, and reach out to others. So, choosing to operate in love can literally ‘drive out fear’. Research also shows that when we do good things and reach out in love, endorphins and serotonin are also released. These detoxify our brains and increase our motivation and wisdom, helping us handle life more successfully. We see the profound consequences of choosing between love and fear in Scripture: ‘I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life’ (Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV). In Ecclesiastes 7:29 we are told, ‘God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path’ (NLT). The choice is yours: walk in fear or walk in love.

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

In March 1987, Eamon Coughlan was running in the qualifying heat at the World Indoor Track Championships in Indianapolis. He was the reigning world record holder at 1500 metres and was favoured to win the race. Unfortunately, with two and a half laps left, he tripped and fell hard. But he got up, and with great effort managed to catch the race leaders. With twenty yards to go, he was in third place, which would have been good enough to qualify for the final race. Then Coughlan made a fateful mistake – he looked over his shoulder to the inside. Seeing no one there, he relaxed his effort slightly. What he hadn’t noticed was that a runner was charging hard on the outside. This runner passed him just a yard before the finish line, eliminating him from the finals. Coughlan’s great comeback effort ended up being worthless for only one reason: he momentarily took his eyes off the finish line and focused on the would-be competitors behind him. The writer of the book of Hebrews said, ‘Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.’ A ‘weight’ refers to things that are legitimate but can slow you down. A ‘sin’ refers to something illegitimate that you know to be wrong and can cost you the race. So lay them both aside and ‘run with endurance the race that is set before [you], looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith’ (vv. 1-2 NKJV).

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

Prayer Pastor Heidi Scanlon said: ‘God has blessings for us in categories we don’t even know exist.’ That means God can create something out of nothing. He can seemingly come out of nowhere, and just when you need Him most, give you something you don’t even have a category for. God says: ‘“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”’ (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV). You may say, ‘If God has blessings that I don’t even have categories for, how can I ask for them?’ That’s where the Holy Spirit, who dwells within you, comes to your aid: ‘We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…in accordance with the will of God’ (Romans 8:26-27 NIV). And because the Holy Spirit prays in accordance with the will of God, you are blessed with wisdom beyond your knowledge, power beyond your strength, and favour beyond your ability. Paul put it this way: ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen’ (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV). Now you still must do your due diligence, for God cannot bless negligence. But when you know you’ve faithfully done your part and obeyed God, you can trust Him for blessings beyond your imagination.

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