You say, ‘I don’t have faith to be healed.’ Then find some prayer partners with faith. ‘Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith…He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”’ (vv. 3-5, 10-12 NKJV). Notice two important phrases in this story. First, ‘when they had broken through’. Second, ‘When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic’. If you don’t have faith to be healed, look for those who can carry you into the presence of Jesus in prayer, believe God for you, and who can ‘pray through’ until God answers. This paralysed man needed four friends with faith – you only need two. Jesus said, ‘If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven’ (Matthew 18:19 NKJV). This raises some important questions. How often do you pray? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Only when you have a problem you cannot solve? Are all your prayers self-focused, or do you pray for others? To have prayer partners when you need them, you must be one.

Read these enlargement Scriptures: ‘You enlarged my path.’ ‘Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would…enlarge my territory”’ (1 Chronicles 4:10 NKJV). ‘Enlarge the place of your tent…lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes’ (Isaiah 54:2 NKJV). God wants to enlarge you spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and in every area of your life. But to experience enlargement, you must learn from people larger than you. Dr John Maxwell writes: ‘The first ten years that I was intentionally pursuing personal growth, I was always behind trying to catch up. I had to get over the comparison gap. I recognised I needed to be exposed to bigger and better leaders outside of my own small circle, but when I stepped out of my comfort zone, I was intimidated. It was clear that I was not in their league. Their organisations were six times the size of mine, and they had many more and much better ideas than I did. I felt like I was in over my head and trying to swim. Despite that, I was encouraged. Why? Because I discovered that great men were willing to share their ideas. And I was learning so much. You can only learn if others are ahead of you. It was a difficult transition, but it was well worth it. So if you are aware that others are better than you, don’t be discouraged. Be glad others are there to help show you the way. Growth is not a rocking chair you sit in, it’s a mountain you climb each day. But there is good news. As Jim Rohn said, “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”’

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

The Bible says that God will surround the righteous with favour. If you are trusting in the finished work of Christ, God sees you as ‘righteous’ (see Romans 3:22). So, you qualify; you can pray, ‘Lord, I need your favour in this job interview,’ or ‘in selling this house’, or ‘in making this deal’, or ‘in going on this date’, etc. Be prepared for your old programming to kick in, where you think about the word ‘righteous’; you begin to wonder if your thoughts, words, and deeds are good enough to deserve God’s favour. Here is a truth you need to keep in mind: the only righteousness that God responds to is the righteousness of Christ. And since He has placed you ‘in Christ’, you are always qualified to ask God for favour and believe He will grant it. You are saved by grace. And the word grace means ‘unearned, unmerited, undeserved favour’. The world’s concept of favour is misleading: ‘She owes me a favour,’ or ‘I don’t owe you any favours!’ In other words, the world’s concept of favour is totally performance based. But the only performance God looks at when it comes to granting you His favour is Christ’s performance on your behalf and the fact that you are trusting totally in Him. His life covers all your sins of omission, and His death covers all your sins of commission. And since God always sees you ‘in Christ’, in His eyes you are always qualified for favour. ‘Righteousness…shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus’ (Romans 4:22, 24 NKJV). So, today expect God’s favour.

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

The most powerful incentive to overcoming sin is not our love for Christ, but His love for us. Even with the best of intentions, our love for Him is subject to fluctuations. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, ‘You have left your first love’ (Revelation 2:4 NKJV). He said to the church in Laodicea that their love had become ‘lukewarm’ (Revelation 3:16). Many of us grew up in churches where we were told that the reason we yield to certain carnal traits is because we don’t love the Lord enough. So, we try harder, without success, and get discouraged. That’s like putting the cart before the horse. It should be the other way around. The secret of victorious Christian living is not found in trying to love Jesus more, but in having a revelation of His love for you. That’s why Paul wrote, ‘The love of Christ constraineth us.’ Paul’s actions were governed by the knowledge of Christ’s incredible love for Him. If you’re struggling with sinful habits today, pray for a revelation of God’s love for you. It makes all the difference! Paul writes: ‘I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts…as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvellous love; and may you be able to…understand…how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never…fully…understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself’ (Ephesians 3:17-19 TLB).

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

Carolyn Arends writes: ‘Our expectations are not just unrealistic, they’re anti-gospel…Many of us…distort His promise of abundant life into something that resembles the illusion advertisers sell us every day. How do we resist our sense of entitlement and the distorted expectations that are so deeply ingrained? 1) Check the Definitions. When I read that God “works all things together for good”, I think of the marketers’ definitions…that “good” means “easy”, “youthful”, “desirable”, and “wealthy”. God defines “good” in entirely different terms. New Testament Christians seemed to believe the greatest good is to become more like Jesus. They took it for granted…the process wouldn’t be easy…that the “good” God is working towards is much more expansive than one individual’s personal circumstances. God is establishing His kingdom…“reconciling all things to himself” (Colossians 1:20), and the ultimate good…is to be included in that process…My heavenly father knows more than I do about what I need…His definition of “blessing” is different from mine. 2) Re-evaluate Death: I can point to “dead ends” in my career, or relationships that turned out to be opportunities to change direction. When I think of the energy I’ve expended resisting endings, I wonder what new life I’ve missed. Jesus tells us to die so we can live…to surrender all the illusions about what makes a life good…And then He walks with us…as we die a thousand deaths in the process of letting His life go deeper…into us.’

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

Our definition of ‘good’ is different from God’s. ‘It was the Father’s good pleasure…to reconcile all things to Himself…through the…cross.’ Carolyn Arends writes: ‘During a jubilant Easter service, our pastor said something that stopped me in my mental tracks: “The world offers promises full of emptiness. But Easter offers emptiness full of promise.” Empty cross, empty tomb, empty grave clothes…all full of promise. If I were writing the Easter story, I don’t think I’d choose emptiness as my symbolic gesture. But then, I also wouldn’t be talking about strength being made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), foolish things confounding the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27), the meek inheriting the earth (Matthew 5:5), or the poor in spirit getting…the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). And I certainly wouldn’t be talking about dying in order to live [see John 12:24]…I don’t understand the way God thinks. But on those days when I feel hollowed out and broken…it makes me glad to remember that for Easter people, even death is full of promise…I’m writing this…during a particularly long Good Friday season in my own life. My mom is battling cancer, and I’d be lying if I said I was able to…“count it all joy”.…I pray for healing and hope desperately it will come here on earth…I vacillate wildly between…faith and doubt, openness, and bitterness. But…we do not suffer alone, because the God of the universe wore our skin and died our death and removed its sting forever…And even when I’m…sad, I look at my mom and remember: without Good Friday, there would be no Easter morning. So, I pray through the night, and I wait for the resurrection.’

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

Author Chuck Swindoll tells about a couple whose marriage had been a fifty-year battle. The husband died, and it fell to the wife to choose a gravestone. She contacted a stonemason and told him, ‘I don’t want to be fancy or spend a lot of money. Just engrave the words: “TO MY HUSBAND” in a suitable place on the stone.’ She went to visit his grave and, to her horror, read these words: ‘TO MY HUSBAND…IN A SUITABLE PLACE.’ Swindoll writes: ‘A humorous story helps mask the pain and confusion surrounding death, but in the end, the laughter stops because death still comes. Humour, as good as it makes us feel, is powerless to stop the grim reaper. Remember the bumper sticker: “Don’t take life too seriously, you won’t get out alive”? Well, the truth is, we should take life and death seriously because we do get out alive. We all face life after death because we all have eternal souls. We’ll live forever somewhere. The question is where. And the “where” depends on how we answer this question of Jesus: “Anyone who believes in me…will never ever die. Do you believe this…?” Jesus alone has the power of resurrection. And our assurance of spending forever with Him in heaven depends on our response…If we say, “Yes,” by asking Jesus to forgive our sins and commit to following Him as Lord – then and only then do we have His power for living at our disposal…only then can we face life’s end with a calm…joyous expectation.’

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

In the legal system, there is something known as ‘the law of double jeopardy’. It means that, except in some very specific circumstances, you can’t be tried twice for the same crime. Now, let’s apply this principle to your salvation. Jesus has already been tried and punished for your sins – all of them! So don’t let Satan, the accuser, convince you that God will also punish you for them and send you to hell. Christ’s last words on the cross, ‘It is finished,’ are translated in the Greek text as ‘paid in full’. All your sins – past, present, and future – were atoned for at Calvary. Think of the word ‘finished’. Imagine a master carpenter putting the finishing touches to a beautiful table. Would you take a wood plane and say, ‘I think I can make this look a little better and give it a little more value?’ The carpenter would say, ‘Stop; if you touch it, you will ruin it!’ And they would be right. The same goes for your salvation. You can add nothing to it, but by trying to merit it by your performance and good works, you can definitely take something away from it. The word justified simply means declared or made righteous in the sight of God. The moment you place your trust in Christ as your Saviour, that’s how God sees you. ‘Therefore, having been justified by faith [not works, human effort, or performance], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand’ (vv. 1-2). How can you stand before God clothed in grace? By faith in Christ alone and nothing else.

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

A part of us feels as if something is spiritually wrong with us when we experience uncertainty. But that is precisely what Jesus promised us when we are born of the Spirit and start following Him. ‘The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit’ (John 3:8 NLT). When it comes to being led by God’s Spirit, the operative phrase is ‘You can’t explain how.’ Even when you have given your best thinking to the problem, the Bible says, ‘“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine”’ (Isaiah 55:8 NLT). So, when you follow God, anything can happen. You never know who you will meet, where you will go, or what you will do. And the sooner you come to terms with that spiritual reality, the more you will enjoy the journey. To do otherwise is to end up with a self-absorbed spirituality that leaves you feeling empty. Instead of following the Spirit, you’re inviting the Spirit to follow you. Instead of serving God’s purposes, you want Him to serve your purposes. While this may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference. Here are your choices: 1) Follow the path of certainty, which keeps you in control but robs you of the adventure God has in mind. 2) Accept the uncertainty of the ‘how’ and ‘when’ that comes from following God, and stand on this promise: ‘Great is Your faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3:23 NKJV).

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

As attested by the law of requisite variety, the continued existence of any system requires the ability to cultivate variety in its internal structures. In physical exercise, for example, routines eventually become useless. If you exercise the same way each time you work out, your muscles begin adapting and stop developing. You have to change your routine. You have to disorient them. This is true spiritually. One author writes: ‘When I’m in a spiritual slump, nine times out of ten, something sacred has become routine. I’m sure it differs by personality, but one of the ways I snap out of a spiritual slump is by disturbing my routine and experimenting with spiritual disciplines. Sometimes all it takes is a small change in routine. Volunteer at a local homeless shelter. Start keeping a gratitude journal. Get plugged into a small group or Bible study. Take a day off and do a personal retreat. Or just get up a little earlier in the morning and spend a little extra time with God. One of the small changes in routine that has helped me rejuvenate my devotional times is picking up a new translation of Scripture. New words help me think new thoughts.’ In order to grow spiritually, you need consistency, structure, and discipline. But when you go through a spiritual dry spell, try changing your spiritual routine. Instead of doing things the way you have always done them, try doing things differently. ‘I will lead them in paths they have not known.’ God doesn’t change, but He moves! And in order to get to where God wants to take you, you must be willing to move with Him.

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