UCB Word For Today

Of 150 psalms recorded in the Bible, the dominant recurring theme is ‘praise the Lord’! The book is like a memo from psalmists that says, ‘Today be sure to praise the Lord.’ In Psalm 34, David writes: ‘I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together’ (Psalm 34:1-3 NKJV). In Psalm 113:1-3, the psalmist writes: ‘Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised’ (KJV). In Psalm 118:24, the psalmist says, ‘This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it’ (NKJV). In Psalm 119:164, the psalmist says, ‘Seven times a day do I praise thee’ (KJV). We have coffee and tea breaks; they had praise breaks. Finally we arrive at Psalm 150, the last psalm. In verse 6, the last verse of the last psalm, we are reminded again, ‘Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD’ (KJV). That means as long as you are alive and breathing, you’re to praise the Lord. So whatever else you do, or fail to do today, be sure to praise the Lord.

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

Before Jesus left this earth, He told His disciples, ‘The works that I do [you] will do also’ (John 14:12 NKJV). And they did. ‘Through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done… so that they brought the sick out into the streets… that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people… and they were all healed’ (Acts 5:12, 15-16 NKJV). Someone may say, ‘Oh, that was only in the beginning of Acts, for the purpose of confirming their word regarding Christ’s resurrection.’ Then let’s turn to the last chapter in the book of Acts and read what was happening in the church thirty years later. ‘In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed’ (Acts 28:7-9 NKJV). The New Testament church was following one of the last instructions Jesus gave His apostles before returning to heaven: ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover’ (Mark 16:15, 17-18 NKJV). That means you can pray in faith, and believe God for healing.

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

Juan grew up in Puerto Rico, the son of a sugarcane plantation foreman. One of a family of eight, he lived in a three-room shack with a dirt floor and no toilet. His first job, at age six, was driving oxen to plough the cane fields. He worked eight hours a day and earned one dollar. Juan said it was in the cane fields that he learned important lessons like being on time, work hard, and be loyal and respectful to your employers. His job and small income were a great source of self-esteem. At age seven he got a job at a golf course spotting balls for golfers, and he began to dream of playing golf and earning enough money to buy a bicycle. The more he dreamed, the more he thought, ‘Why not?’ He made a golf club out of a guava limb and a piece of pipe, then hammered an empty tin can into a ball. Next, he dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth between them. He practised his ‘golf’ with the same intensity he put into his job in the cane field, and he got good – very good. In his thirty-one years as a pro golfer, Juan ‘Chi Chi’ Rodríguez won eight PGA tour events and twenty-four major tournaments, and he was the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. What can we learn from him? Two things: 1) Be willing to start small. The Bible says, ‘Do not despise…small beginnings.’ 2) Be willing to think big because you serve a big God (see Ephesians 3:20).

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

In 1881, shortly after Booker T. Washington became head of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama that trained schoolteachers, he was walking past the house of a wealthy family. Assuming that Washington was one of the yard workers her husband had hired, the woman of the house asked him if he would chop some wood for her. Professor Washington smiled, nodded, took off his coat, and chopped the wood. When he carried the armload of wood into the woman’s kitchen, a servant girl recognised him and rushed to her mistress to tell her of his identity. The next morning the woman appeared in Washington’s office. Apologising profusely, she said repeatedly, ‘I did not know it was you I put to work.’ Washington replied with generosity, ‘It’s entirely alright, madam. I like to work, and I’m delighted to do favours for my friends.’ The woman was so taken with his manner and his willingness to forgive that she gave generous gifts to the institute. She also persuaded many of her wealthy friends and acquaintances to do likewise. In the end, Washington raised as much money for the institute from this one act of chopping wood as he did from many other fundraising events. The Bible says, ‘Through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”’ (vv. 13-14 NKJV). What can we learn from Booker T. Washington? Two things: 1) Every seed of kindness you sow brings an eventual harvest of blessing into your life. 2) The way to get ahead in life is to love and to serve others.

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

In the early 1950s, Irwin W. Rosenberg, a junior US naval officer, was discharged from military service after he was diagnosed with cancer – standard military procedure at the time. The loss of his job was quite a blow, but he was determined to get back both his health and his job. With faith and determination, he battled the disease that tried to take over his body. At one point he was given only two weeks to live, but eventually his cancer was brought under control. Irwin then focused his attention on his desire to become a naval officer. He discovered, however, that regulations forbade reinstatement of a person discharged with cancer. Everyone told Irwin, ‘Give up. It would take an act of Congress to get you reinstated.’ That gave him an idea – he would pursue an act of Congress! After months of knocking on doors and jumping through legal hoops, President Truman signed into law a special bill that allowed Irwin to re-enlist in the navy. Then guess what happened? Irwin W. Rosenberg went on to become a rear admiral in the United States Seventh Fleet! The saying goes, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way.’ When you have a relentless faith, and your will lines up with God’s will, all things become possible. ‘Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.’

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

Some people think we’re not supposed to ask God for too much; otherwise, it’s selfish. But God wants you to ask. ‘You do not have because you do not ask.’ If you’re not asking – then you’re not releasing your faith. Jesus said, ‘According to your faith be it unto you’ (Matthew 9:29 KJV). You need to learn to pray bold prayers and expect and believe God for greater things. ‘Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession’ (Psalm 2:8 NKJV). That’s a bold prayer! But if God tells you to pray it, it’s because He is willing to answer it. You may have a dream in your heart but don’t see how it could ever happen. Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. He is a God of multiplication. He can multiply your time and help you to get more done. He can multiply your wisdom and help you to make better decisions. He can multiply your finances: ‘May He who supplies seed to the sower…multiply the seed you have sown’ (2 Corinthians 9:10 NKJV). Instead of being satisfied with merely surviving, God wants you to thrive. A survival mentality will keep you from God’s best. Shake it off and say, ‘God, you promised that what was meant for my harm, you would use to my advantage (see Romans 8:28). I may have been through the fire, the famine, and the flood, but I know it’s my time of favour. It’s my time to see more of your goodness in my life.’ Believe God for greater things.

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

The word ‘edify’ means ‘to build up, strengthen, encourage, and motivate’. There are probably people in your life right now who need someone to speak blessing over them. You don’t know how much it will mean when you give them your approval and let them know you are proud of them and that you think they can do great things. Everyone needs to be edified. So, what kind of seeds are you planting in your children, in your husband or wife, in your friends? Do you believe in anyone? Have you let them know? Are you taking an interest to find out how you can improve their life? Have you listened to their dreams? Have you found out what they believe God has put in their heart? Have you let them know that you’re behind them? That’s what an edifier does! Henry Ford was introduced to Thomas Edison as ‘the man trying to build a car that runs on gasoline’. When Edison heard it, he said, ‘A car that has its own power plant; that’s a brilliant idea.’ Until then, no one had encouraged Ford, and he had just about decided to give up. And then Edison stepped in, who spoke faith into him. That was a decisive moment in Henry Ford’s life. He said, ‘I thought I had a good idea, but I started to doubt myself. Then along came one of the greatest minds that’s ever lived and gave me his complete approval.’ You don’t understand the power you hold or how much it means when you tell somebody, ‘I believe in you. You have what it takes. I’m behind you 100 per cent.’

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

The historian Edward Gibbon tracked the speedy progress of Christianity in the days of the Roman Empire, and points to five reasons for it: 1) The fervour of the early Christians. 2) The power of miracles. 3) The pure morals of the Christians. 4) The compact church organisation. 5) The belief in future rewards. The Bible often speaks about our rewards in heaven. Here are a few examples: ‘Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice…for great is your reward in heaven’ (vv. 11-12 NKJV). ‘The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works’ (Matthew 16:27 NKJV). ‘Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name…will by no means lose his reward’ (Mark 9:41 NKJV). ‘Let no one cheat you of your reward’ (Colossians 2:18 NKJV). ‘Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work’ (Revelation 22:12 NKJV). Here is the sequence of events: the Lord will come in the air, the dead in Christ will be resurrected, the redeemed still alive on earth will be caught up with them, and we will receive our glorified bodies and then our eternal rewards. ‘The fire will test each one’s work…If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward’ (1 Corinthians 3:13-14 NKJV). ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour…is not in vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:58 NIVUK).

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

Jack Welch, who guided the General Electric Company through some of its most profitable years, wrote a book called Winning. Compiling many of the different questions people had asked him along with his answers, he wrote a book of management principles. One question was this: ‘Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?’ In response, Jack listed some of the mistakes he had made in business and in life, including two divorces. Then he said, ‘So as far as heaven, who knows? But if there are any points given out for caring for people with every fibre of your being and giving life all you’ve got every day, then I suppose that I might have a shot!’ But going to heaven is not about caring for people or giving life all your energy every day. It’s about putting your trust in Jesus Christ – and in Him alone. Maybe understanding this truth is harder for successful business people than for others, due to their own drive, vision, and energy that have helped them attain success. But when it comes to heaven, those traits don’t count. No one earns heaven; it is a gift. ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23 NKJV). Hebrews 6:4 calls it ‘the heavenly gift’. And the apostle Paul writes, ‘By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV).

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

In preparation for a dinner party, a woman stopped by a small butcher’s shop to buy meat for the meal. She had decided to stuff and roast a chicken as the main course. When she asked the man at the counter for the largest chicken he had, he reached into the cold-storage compartment, grabbed the last chicken he had, and placed it on the scale. ‘This one weighs four pounds, madam,’ he said. The woman thought for a moment and then said, ‘I’m not sure that will be enough. Don’t you have a bigger one?’ The attendant put the chicken back into the compartment, pretended to search through the melting ice for another bird, and then brought out the same chicken. This time when he weighed it on the scale, he discreetly applied some finger pressure to the scale. ‘Ah,’ he said with a smile, ‘this one weighs six pounds.’ The woman frowned, and making some mental calculations, brightened as she said, ‘I’m just not sure. I’ll tell you what – wrap them both up for me!’ There is no doubt about it, ‘honesty is the best policy’. And that is so in this life, and the life to come. Concerning this life, the Bible says, ‘People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.’ And here is what the Bible says about the life which is to come: ‘Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts’ (1 Corinthians 4:5 NKJV).

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