UCB Word For Today

Author Tim Hansel tells about a seminary professor who set up his homiletics class in an unusual way. Each student was required to deliver a sermon on the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). They were to go from classroom to classroom preaching love and compassion for others. Some students had ten minutes between classes, while others had less time, which forced them to hurry in order to stay on schedule. Each student was also required to walk down a designated corridor past a ‘beggar’ who had been deliberately planted there by the professor. What happened that day was a powerful lesson. The number of would-be preachers who stopped to help the beggar was extremely low, especially among those who were pressured for time. They were so busy rushing to preach about the Good Samaritan that they walked right past the beggar at the heart of the parable. Here is a paraphrase of Christ’s words in Matthew 25 that’s designed to make you think, pray, and reach out to hurting people: ‘I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club to discuss it. I was imprisoned, and you stayed home to pray for my release. I was naked, and you debated the morality of my appearance. I was sick, and you thanked God for your health. I was homeless, and you preached to me about the shelter of God’s love. You seem so holy and so close to God, but I’m still hungry, lonely, cold, and in pain. Does it matter to you?’ Don’t just talk about God’s love; show it!

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

Generally speaking, when we’re young, healthy, capable, and socially involved, we can go where we want and do as we please. As the saying goes, ‘The world is our oyster!’ It seldom occurs to us that we’re surrounded by those who, because of age, disability, illness, or social and physical isolation, can no longer enjoy the same benefits we do. They depend on the compassion and care of others to meet their most basic daily needs. Sadly, our self-focused youth-oriented culture often ignores and marginalises such people: in essence, relegating them to the scrap heap of life. Their intrinsic worth is discounted, and their contribution to society largely forgotten. This is certainly not God’s way of doing things. Paul tells us to ‘bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ’. Note: it’s not a suggestion. It’s a law; a divine directive in which we’re all expected to participate. Against the backdrop of final judgement, His law of love is illustrated in Matthew 25:31-46. To the sheep he said, ‘I was hungry…thirsty…a stranger… naked…sick…in prison, and you met my need. Every act of compassion you do for anyone is recorded to your credit as having done it to me.’ To the goats he said, ‘I was hungry…thirsty…a stranger…naked…sick…in prison, and you ignored my needs. Every time you failed to show anyone compassion is recorded as your failure to care for my needs.’ The message is loud and clear: if you truly want to love and follow Jesus, you must intentionally show your love for others in practical ways. In other words – be there when you’re needed.

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

Some people know what they want and have the bravery to ask for it. Others know what they don’t want and have developed the ability of saying it in a way that doesn’t create hostility. If you do not practise asking for what you desire, you will live in frustration. You may also become resentful that people don’t detect your needs or desires without you informing them. Some people let others violate their boundaries while they suffer in silence instead of asking for a change in behaviour. Asking for what you want may be the hardest in a work environment. Never assume that your welfare is topmost in your boss’s mind. This is not a charge against them but an acknowledgment that they’re probably occupied with their own issues. Example: if you’re a salaried employee and have been steadily working lots of hours of unpaid overtime, try asking for a special bonus for some of the amount it would have cost the company if they had paid you for the time. Offer a well-thought-out analysis, or ask for some time off equal to a portion of what the hours would convert to in a number of days. Of course, pray and believe God for favour before you ask. If that fails, keep being excellent at your work and start thinking of Plan B for your career. A businesswoman writes: ‘One of the most unique attributes that God has given to us is the ability to communicate. We do not have to stress out wishing or hoping that someone will read our minds when we could just ask for what we want.’

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

Someone said this about money: ‘You can’t win. If you focus on making it, you’re materialistic. If you try to but don’t make any, you’re a loser. If you make a lot and keep it, you’re a miser. If you make it and spend it, you’re a spendthrift. If you don’t care about making any, you’re unambitious. If you make a lot and still have it when you die, you’re a fool – for trying to take it with you.’ The one way to truly win with money is to hold it loosely…to be generous with it and achieve things of value. In 1889 industrialist Andrew Carnegie wrote an essay entitled the ‘Gospel of Wealth’, in which he said that the life of a wealthy person should have two stages: a season of acquiring wealth and a season of distributing it. The only way to keep an attitude of generosity is to make a habit of giving of your time, talent, attention, resources, and money. So, how can you become generous? 1) Find out what kind of hold your possessions have on you. Choose something you truly treasure, think of someone you care about who needs it, and give it to them. 2) Put your money to work. If you know someone with a vision to do something really excellent, provide the resources for them to do it. Give something greater than yourself. Help those who can’t help you or give you anything in return. As John Bunyan said, ‘You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.’

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

If you want to become a generous person, do these: 1) Be grateful for whatever you have. Generosity rises out of contentment; it doesn’t come from obtaining more. John D. Rockefeller admitted, ‘I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness.’ It’s an inside job; if you’re not content with a little, you probably won’t be content with a lot. And if you’re ungenerous with a little, you won’t abruptly change when you become wealthy. 2) Don’t allow the desire for possessions to control you. Jesus said, ‘Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own’ (v. 15 NLT). Author Richard Foster writes, ‘Owning things is an obsession in our culture. If we own it, we feel we can control it; and if we can control it, we feel it will give us more pleasure. The idea is an illusion.’ If you want to take control of your heart, don’t let your possessions take control of you. 3) Regard money as a resource. The first time popular French author Dominique Lapierre went to India to conduct research for a new book, he rode in a Rolls-Royce he had just bought with a book advance. While there, he learned what he needed for his book The City of Joy. But he also encountered something else: a passion to help the poor. And that discovery transformed his life. Until his death in December 2022, he distributed his time between writing, fundraising, and giving time and money to help people. His attitude can be summarised by these words on the back of his business card: ‘All that is not given is lost.’

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

For thirty-eight years, this paralysed man waited amongst the sick and disabled at the pool of Bethesda for a supernatural moment that could change his miserable existence. But each time someone got into the pool before him and walked away healed. Time after time, when the opportunity came, there was no one there for him. The story was always the same; he couldn’t rescue himself from his pool of despair and his dwindling stock of hope and faith. Perhaps you can identify. Perhaps you know the story from personal experience. It may be about bodily illness, but it can also be about things like moral failure, addiction, divorce, abortion, remorse, parenting failure, etc. Like the man by the pool, your friends can’t rescue you, and you don’t have what it takes to lift yourself up by your own bootstraps. But Jesus asks you the same question: ‘Will you be made whole?’ He offers you bodily healing – and more. He knows that you can’t do it by yourself. So when He asks, ‘Will you be made whole?’ it’s more than ‘Do you want to be made whole?’ It’s a question of your will. For things to be different, you must invest your will in the process. The faith that will make you whole is not an emotion or feeling. It’s an act of your will that chooses to stand on God’s Word, believing He will do for you what He says and make you whole! ‘Immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked’ (v. 9 NKJV). That can be your story too!

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

When you learn to forgive and accept yourself, it means you have come to terms with your humanity and learned to be at peace with your imperfections. You realise that what you have been through, together with the grace of God, has made you the person you are today. Veronica Shoffstall said: ‘After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul…that love doesn’t mean leaning, and company doesn’t always mean security…that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead, with the grace of [an adult], not the grief of a child, and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much, so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure, you really are strong, you really do have worth…’ Those words can be summed up in one phrase: ‘living life on life’s terms’. Is it easy to do? No. And on days when life’s terms seem too hard to cope with, God’s promise to you is this: ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ And that’s a promise you can stand on!

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

Author Jon Gordon writes: ‘I’d love to share with you the benefits…of two simple words. THANK YOU. They…have the power to transform our health, happiness…and success. Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships. Gratitude…also improves the heart’s rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically. It’s…physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are grateful you flood your body and brain with…endorphins that uplift and energise you…Gratitude…[is] also essential for a healthy work environment…The number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they don’t feel appreciated…Gratitude is like muscle. The more we do with it the stronger it gets. Here are…ways to practise thanksgiving every day: 1) Take a daily…ten-minute walk…and say out loud what you are thankful for. This will set you up for a positive day. 2) At dinner with friends and family, go around the table and have each person…say what they’re thankful for. 3) Psychologist Martin Seligman…suggests that we write a letter expressing our gratitude to someone. Then we visit this person and read them the letter…People who do this are measurably happier and less depressed a month later. 4) Say thank you at work. When Doug Conant was the CEO of Campbell Soup, he wrote approximately 30,000 thank you notes to his employees and energised the company in the process…Organisations spend billions of dollars collectively on recognition programmes but the best and cheapest recognition programme of all consists of a sincere THANK YOU.’

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

In Even Eagles Need a Push, David McNally describes a mother eagle teaching her young to fly: ‘The eagle gently coaxed her offspring towards the edge of the nest. Her heart quivered with conflicting emotions as she felt their resistance to her persistent nudging. “Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling?”…The ageless question was still unanswered for her…Her nest was located high on a shelf of sheer rock face. Below there was nothing but air to support the wings of each child. “Is it possible that this time it will not work?” she thought. Despite her fears, the eagle knew it was time. Her parental mission was all but complete. There remained one final task – the push. The eagle drew courage from innate wisdom. Until her children discovered their wings, there was no purpose for their lives. Until they learned how to soar, they would fail to understand the privilege it was to have been born an eagle. The push was the greatest gift she had to offer…her supreme act of love. And so one by one she pushed them, and they flew!’ The Bible says, ‘Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them…The Lord…led him’ (v. 11-12 NIV). Is God pushing you out of your comfort zone? Have you lost your job and your financial security? Or a relationship you thought would last a lifetime? Do you feel like you’re being pushed out of your nest and over the cliff’s edge? Don’t be afraid; God will catch you. Better yet – He will teach you to fly.

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

Breathing is a complicated process. It requires physiological precision, and the average person takes about twenty-three thousand breaths a day. And while we’re inclined to thank God for everything that takes our breath away, maybe we should also thank Him for all of our other breaths. In 2000, Pastor Ed Dobson was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, a degenerative disease with no known cause or cure. Sharing his ongoing struggle to be thankful while living with an incurable condition, Dobson writes: ‘There are many things for which I am not grateful! I can no longer button…my shirt. I can no longer put on a heavy jacket…[or] raise my right hand above my head. I can no longer write…[or] eat with my right hand. I eat with my left hand, and now even that is becoming a challenge. And over time…these challenges will get worse…So what in the world do I have to be grateful for? So much. Lord, thank you for waking me up this morning…that I can still turn over in bed…that I can still get out of bed…that I can walk to the bathroom…that I can still brush my teeth…that I can still eat breakfast…that I can still dress myself…that I can still drive my car…that I can still walk…Thank you that I can still talk…The list goes on…I have learned…to focus on what I can do, not on what I can’t do. I have learned to be grateful for the small things in life and for the many things I can still do.’ What do you have to be thankful for? ‘Give thanks in all circumstances.’

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