The story of Jabez takes up only two Scriptures, but they contain life-changing truth: ‘Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested’ (vv. 9-10 NKJV). That prayer could be reduced to these words: ‘I want to grow; I want to know; I want to go!’ The biggest danger you face is the idea that you will make personal growth a priority later. Don’t fall into that rut. Someone said, ‘The only difference between a rut and a grave is the length!’ If you want to reach your God-given potential, you need to do more than simply experience life and hope you learn what you need to know as you travel along. You must capture growth opportunities as if your future requires it – because it does. Growth doesn’t just occur; you have to pursue it. You might say, ‘But I’m afraid of failing.’ All of us have fears. But there is good news: all of us have faith. ‘God has dealt to each one a measure of faith’ (Romans 12:3 NKJV). The question you must ask yourself is, ‘Which one will I allow to be stronger, my fears or my faith?’ God has great things in store for you, so rise up in faith and begin to seize them.

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

Sam Parker writes: ‘When you decide to cross the line that separates failure from success, you’ll discover that not everyone will applaud your choice. Nor will everything go your way. There are those who have decided they would rather not cross the line and would prefer you didn’t either. And unfortunately, sometimes those people might be your friends. Maybe they will sprinkle a little doubt or withhold a little encouragement at just the right time (or even encourage you to do the wrong thing). Maybe they will be a little less subtle about it and just step directly in your way. And then, every once in a while, there will be you – that inner voice that’s trying to tell you you’re not that special and that making something exceptional happen is for other people. Then there will be the work – hard work. Good things are rarely easy, or cheap. Real effort and attention are the fundamentals behind everything. There are no quick fixes. There are no silver bullets. You have to earn your results and push yourself more often than not. You must also focus. That means eliminate distractions, and minimise your exposure to negative people, thoughts, and things that don’t serve the intent you have to succeed. Time moves quickly, and you can’t get it back. So, take good care of it. And learn to bounce back. Built into every mistake is increased knowledge and understanding.’ Paul put it this way: ‘One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press towards the goal’ (vv. 13-14 NKJV).

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

In his booklet Cross The Line, Sam Parker writes: ‘With everything, there’s a line. On one side of the line is a greater chance to make good things happen (better results, better relationships, more opportunities). This is where you will find all those people you admire. On the other side of the line, there is less of a chance. And with each line, you have a choice. You want to cross the line or you don’t. You want that better chance at making good things happen (meaningful things) or you set off with the lesser chance. Your choice. Then there will be those times when in the short run it will seem like you can’t cross the line (no matter what you do). But then, those misses (those hurdles) in the short run will sometimes help you over the line in the long run (in a way you couldn’t have seen). They will serve as lessons, giving you more depth to your experience – making you stronger and better prepared for the bigger and more important challenges you’ll face in the future. But you won’t know that at the time. At the time, you will just see that line. And it might seem like a wall. But it really is just a line (a line you want to cross). And it’s yours to cross, but you have to decide (make that choice).’ Paul chose to cross that line: ‘I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.’ Note the word ‘upward’. It’s a climb. It calls for total commitment. But in the end, it’s worth it!

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

Jesus told of a shepherd with a hundred sheep. When one of them was lost, he left the other ninety-nine in the fold and searched until he found the one lost sheep. Then he put it on his shoulders and rejoiced as he brought it home. Good shepherds don’t care about some of the flock, or most of the flock, but all of the flock. That becomes most evident when one sheep gets lost. The story is told of a little girl who wandered off into the woods and got lost. As darkness fell, fear clutched her heart. She shrieked and cried until, worn out, she laid down and went to sleep. Her father, his voice husky from shouting her name, had been looking for her for many hours when he found her lying in a grassy area. Crying out to her, he rushed to her side. The little girl woke up, leapt into his arms, hugged him, and said, ‘Daddy, I’m so happy I found you!’ That’s our story. But we don’t find Jesus; He finds us. And He finds us because He is constantly looking for us. Jesus ended His parable in these words: ‘I tell you…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent’ (Luke 15:7 NIV). Every time one lost person is found, heaven celebrates. ‘You mean I matter that much to the Lord?’ Yes. Just as the shepherd left ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that was lost, Jesus loves you and died to save you. So, come to Him today.

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

Jesus told the story of the Jewish traveller who was robbed, beaten, and left to die on the Jericho road. Two Jews, both in the ministry, walked past him without helping. Then a Samaritan rescued him. No race of people was more hated by the Jewish people than the Samaritans. They were openly cursed in the synagogue and were barred from temple worship. What this Samaritan does is nothing less than incredible. He utilises all his resources – personal clothing, oil, wine, his time, animal, money, and energy – to attend to this Jewish man in the best way possible. Then he risks his life by taking the wounded man to lodging in a Jewish area. On top of it all, he pays the innkeeper for the man’s food and room for many days and promises to return and pay for anything more the man owes. This was crucial because anyone who could not pay their bill could be sold as a slave by the innkeepers so that they could receive full payment for a debt. Jesus ends His story in these words: ‘Which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?’ No law will ever cause you to be a good neighbour, but the love of Christ will. You see, a neighbour is not identified by colour or creed; a neighbour is identified by the nearest need. So, here is a prayer for you to pray: ‘Lord, give me the courage to recognise and help a neighbour in need.’ That’s a prayer He will answer!

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

Your internal picture of God decides how you see everything else. The majority of our troubles are not circumstantial; they are perceptual. We can trace our biggest problems back to an insufficient understanding of who God is. God says, ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ A best-selling author informs us: ‘Astronomers have spied galaxies 12.3 billion light-years from earth. To put that distance into perspective, consider the fact that light travelling at 186,000 miles per second only takes eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles between the sun and planet earth. Sunlight is only eight minutes old. But light from the farthest galaxy takes 12.3 billion light-years to get here. That distance is virtually incomprehensible. And God says that is about the distance between His thoughts and our thoughts. Your best thought about God on your best day falls 12.3 billion light-years short of how great and how good God really is…Maybe it’s time to stop placing four-dimensional limits on God. Maybe it’s time to stop putting God in a box the size of your cerebral cortex. It’s time to stop creating God in your image and let Him create you in His.’ The more we grow, the bigger God should become. And the bigger God becomes, the smaller our troubles will become. The hymnist Oscar C. Eliason wrote: ‘Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through? God specialises in things thought impossible. He can do just what none other can do.’

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

Way before God set earth’s foundations, He had you in mind. He thought of all you could conceivably need. Mind-boggling, isn’t it? A respected author writes: ‘God planned for every contingency you might ever encounter, before the beginning of time…It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the sovereignty of God, but let me put it in chess terms. In 1997 a team of IBM engineers designed and developed Deep Blue, the computer that out-manoeuvred chess grand master Garry Kasparov. Deep Blue was equipped with thirty-two processing engines that could calculate 200 million chess moves per second…I have a tough time with the fifty-fifty stuff. True or false. Right or left. Chocolate or vanilla. I can’t even imagine contemplating 200 million contingencies in a split second. [That’s] laughable compared to the Omniscient One who took every contingency into consideration before a nanosecond had even ticked off the clock of time. Think of your life as a game of chess. You are the pawn and God is the Grand Master. You have no idea what your next move should be, but God already has the next 200 million moves planned out.’ God says, ‘I make known the end from the beginning’ (Isaiah 46:10 NIV). Are you grappling with knowing God’s will for your life? Here is the simple truth: God wants you to arrive where He wants you to go more than you want to arrive where God wants you to go. And if you keep in step with the Spirit, God will make certain you arrive where He wants you to go.

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

When it comes to growth, you never ‘arrive’. It’s not a place you reach; it’s a pathway you walk. ‘The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.’ A pastor writes: ‘Many people learn only from the school of hard knocks. Difficult experiences teach them lessons “the hard way”, and they change – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. The lessons are random and difficult. It’s much better to plan your growth intentionally. You decide where you need or want to grow, you choose what you will learn, and you follow through with discipline going at the pace you set. Think about what it is that you want to do. Whom do you want to be? Make a list of things that will help you reach that goal and be that person. Is there something on that list you can do now? Today? Do it. Whether you feel prompted to or not, now is the time to start growing…You will never get much done unless you go ahead and do it before you are ready. If you’re not already intentionally growing, you need to get started today. If you don’t, you may reach some goals, which you can celebrate, but you will eventually plateau. But once you start growing intentionally, you can keep growing and keep asking, “What’s next?” When you start working actively towards your goal, you will find that the door of personal growth opens a crack. Through that crack, you’ll begin to see more growth opportunities everywhere. Your world begins to open up. You accomplish more. You learn more. Other opportunities begin to present themselves.’

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

One of the greatest missionaries in the history of the church was Mary Slessor, although she started out as a most unlikely candidate. Because of her father’s drinking problem, eleven-year-old Mary was working twelve-hour shifts in the mills, assisting her family in paying their bills. She discovered she could prop books on her loom as she worked. While she read about the land of Calabar (modern Nigeria), Mary grew convinced she should go there as a missionary. In 1876, she sailed for West Africa aboard the S.S. Ethiopia, which, ironically, was loaded with hundreds of barrels of whiskey. Remembering how alcohol had harmed her family, she said, ‘Scores of barrels of whiskey, and only one missionary.’ But what a missionary! Mary was a combination of circuit preacher, nanny, nurse, village teacher, and negotiator who alone transformed three pagan regions by preaching the gospel. She deflected tribal wars and rescued women and children by the hundreds. For forty years she toiled as God enabled her. God loves to use people the world overlooks or discards. Mary Slessor was one of them. So was Paul. ‘He…appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus’ (vv. 12-14 NLT). The God who used the apostle and Mary Slessor can use you too – if you surrender your life to Him.

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

People who desire to beautify themselves with diamonds use the timeless counterfeit – cubic zirconia. But now, scientists can create real diamonds in a laboratory. And they are so good that gemologists have trouble recognising laboratory diamonds from mined ones. To tell them apart, an expert’s checklist is used: weight, colour, clarity, and brilliance. Without it, an imposter could pretend a two-day-old diamond is one that took thousands of years to develop. The same is true with spiritual truth. If Christians don’t know their Bibles, spiritual imposters can pass off all manner of lies as truth. It’s not enough for someone to do miracles in Jesus’ name. ‘Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not…done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me”’ (Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV). The Bible says that even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. Paul warns: ‘For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths’ (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT). The Bible uses the word ‘doctrine’ fifty-five times. That’s how important it is. We need to have the desire of a diamond expert – a desire not to be deceived. If careful examination, study, and care are taken in determining the quality of a precious stone, how much more should the same effort be applied to the precious Word of God?

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