Jericho was the strongest city in the Promised Land and the first Joshua’s army had to conquer. You could say it represents the biggest challenge you’re facing right now. Because the towering walls of Jericho looked impregnable, it would have been intimidating to any would-be invader. So God told His people to remember and record what He’d done for them in the past. In essence He told them, ‘Before you look forward to Jericho, look backward to Jordan and what God accomplished for you there.’ He said, ‘Take…twelve men…one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, “Take for yourselves twelve stones…out of the midst of the Jordan…And those twelve stones…Joshua set up in Gilgal [as a memorial to the parting of its waters]”’ (Joshua 4:2-3, 20 NKJV). One of your best weapons against Satan’s attacks is a good memory. Don’t forget a single one of God’s blessings! The psalmist says: ‘He forgives your sins – every one. He heals your diseases – every one. He redeems you from hell – saves your life!...God makes everything come out right’ (Psalm 103:3-6 MSG). Create a trophy room in your heart. Each time you experience a victory, place a memory on the shelf. Before you face a challenge, take a quick tour of God’s accomplishments on your behalf. Look at all the pay cheques He has provided, the blessings He has given, and the prayers He has answered. ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3:21-23 NKJV).

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

We share the same inheritance as Christ! Whatever He has, we have! ‘Our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s’ (1 John 4:17 MSG). So, if we are co-heirs with Christ, why do we struggle through life? For two reasons: 1) We don’t know about our inheritance – 'The exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe’ (Ephesians 1:19 NKJV). No one ever told us that instead of fighting for victory, we fight from a position of victory. If you have given your heart to Christ, He ‘has blessed [you] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ’ (Ephesians 1:3 NKJV). Notice the word ‘has’. You already possess everything you need to be everything God desires. You have access to ‘every spiritual blessing’. That also means God will ‘equip you with all you need for doing his will’ (Hebrews 13:21 NLT). 2) We don’t believe in our inheritance. Imagine what would happen if a generation of Christians lived out of their inheritance. They would turn off internet porn. The lonely would find comfort in God, not in the arms of strangers. Struggling couples would spend more time in prayer and less time in anger. Children would consider it a blessing to take care of their ageing parents. ‘God’s power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead’ (Ephesians 1:19-20 NCV). The same indwelling Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will turn every one of your ‘I can’ts’ into an ‘I can’. ‘I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength’ (Philippians 4:13 NCV).

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

A young artist called her aunt one day to let her know she was leaving on a trip to a fashionable resort to try and sell her wood carvings of seabirds to the owner of a gift shop. She asked her aunt to pray that her venture would be successful. Her aunt assured her that she would pray for the largest order she had ever received! That evening, the young artist called her aunt back. Not only had the gift shop owner purchased all of her carvings, but the owner of a chain of gift shops had also ordered as many carvings as she could make! She was filled with wonder at how abundantly God had answered prayer. ‘Now,’ she said to her aunt, ‘pray that I can fill his order!’ Her aunt replied, ‘The Lord doesn’t open a door unless He expects us to walk through it successfully. When we pray for rain, don’t be surprised when you get a cloudburst!’ Are you praying for God to meet a need in your life? What answer are you expecting? Be honest. Bare minimum? Meagre-but-satisfactory? Or are you expecting an abundant, more-than-enough supply? Stand on God’s Word: ‘The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand.’ Jesus said, ‘I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10 NKJV). Paul wrote: ‘God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work’ (2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV). So, believe God for abundance.

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

In her book 30 Days to a Stronger, More Confident You, author Deborah Smith Pegues uses the word ‘pray’ as an acronym: ‘Pause. I stop all activity and focus completely on God. Worship is total preoccupation…The greatest honour and respect we can give to anyone is our undivided attention…Reverence. I express my admiration for all His attributes…At this point, distractions start to pop up like dandelions…I will suddenly remember a task I need to put on my to-do list. I have learned to jot down the task in my journal and ignore the other issues for what they are – mere distractions that can be dealt with later. I have also learned that praying audibly helps to minimise wandering thoughts…Ask. I ask for forgiveness for my sins, making every effort to be specific. I pray for the power to live a Christian life and ask God to give me a passion for His Word and for prayer. I ask for His will to be done in every aspect of my life: spiritually, physically, financially, relationally, vocationally, and emotionally…Yield. I must subordinate my requests to God’s sovereign will, trusting that He knows what is best. I strive to maintain a “nevertheless” attitude. Therefore, I am careful to conclude my prayer by saying, “Nevertheless, not my will, Lord, but Yours be done” [see Luke 22:42]…The old adage that it is not what you know but whom you know that gives you the advantage in a situation is true – especially from a spiritual perspective. When we have a relationship with God, we understand that He is sufficient to handle any demand placed upon us.’

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

To have a personal relationship with someone, there must be two-way communication. Even the most uncommunicative spouse has to grunt every once in a while, or it isn’t a marriage – it’s a monologue. So, the Lord being with you, and you being with the Lord, takes place primarily in your mind. Two people may occupy the same room, but if one of them is sleeping or engrossed in television, they’re not really with each other. There must be interactive awareness. Now, as human beings, we don’t have ‘direct access’ to each other’s thoughts. We can use words, human touch, or hand gestures to guide another person’s thoughts. But God is infinite rather than finite, so He is able to guide our thoughts directly. He can speak to us through Scripture or through the words of another person. But He can also plant His thoughts directly in our minds. ‘We have the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV). And this can happen anytime, anywhere. So, your mind is your meeting place with God! There’s much about God speaking to you that’s a mystery. There are no formulas. You cannot control God’s communication with you. You cannot force Him to speak by being more pious or more sincere or by working hard. Jesus told Nicodemus: ‘The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit’ (John 3:8 NKJV). This much you can be certain of today: God is with you, and He will speak to you if you take the time to listen.

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

Job the patriarch said: ‘For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night…while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men’ (Job 33:14-16 NKJV). A dream can be an important message from God or an answer to your prayer. God gave Paul a dream in which a man from Macedonia appeared to him saying, ‘Come over and help us’ (see Acts 16:9). And Paul went there and preached the gospel. Solomon’s reign as king of Israel begins with these words: ‘In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee’ (1 Kings 3:5 KJV). Solomon asked God for great wisdom, and God gave him wisdom, honour, and riches. Would God still speak to us today in dreams? Yes. He says: ‘I am the LORD, I change not’ (Malachi 3:6 KJV). The Hebrew word for dream is ‘chalom’. It has five meanings: 1) ‘To bind firmly.’ This pictures you being wrapped securely in God’s love. 2) ‘To be or make plump.’ In the Bible, fatness or plumpness is a picture of health, well-being, and prosperity. 3) ‘A sense of dumbness.’ When God gives you a dream, He is sharing with you information about things of which you are ignorant. 4) ‘To be in good liking.’ When God gives you a dream, He is showing favour towards you. 5) ‘To recover.’ When God gives you a dream, He is working on restoring what you have lost. So, ask God for a dream.

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

Just before He was arrested and taken to the cross, Jesus prayed: ‘[Father], I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.’ When it comes to recognising and responding to God’s presence in our lives, Christian author, John Ortberg, says he lives by these twelve truths: 1) God is always present and active in my life, whether or not I see Him. 2) Coming to recognise and experience God’s presence is learned behaviour; I can cultivate it. 3) My task is to meet God in this moment. 4) I’m always tempted to live ‘outside’ this moment. When I do that, I lose my sense of God’s presence. 5) Sometimes God seems far away for reasons I don’t understand. Those moments, too, are opportunities to learn. 6) Whenever I fail, I can always start again right away. 7) No one knows the full extent to which a human being can experience God’s presence. 8) My desire for God ebbs and flows, but His desire for me is constant. 9) Every thought carries a ‘spiritual charge’ that moves me a little closer to or a little further from God. 10) Every aspect of my life, work, relationships, hobbies, errands – is of interest to God. 11) My path to experiencing God’s presence will not look quite like someone else’s. 12) Straining and trying too hard do not help. So, the word for today is – God is working in you, with you, and through you!

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

Whatever you keep doing becomes a habit. That’s why James says, ‘do not complain’. Author Jon Gordon says, ‘A complaining fast won’t just make everyone around you happier…you’ll experience more joy, peace, success and positive relationships.’ So instead of complaining when things go wrong: 1) Practise gratitude. Giving thanks for three blessings every day energises you and makes you feel happier. It’s impossible to be grateful and negative at the same time. 2) Encourage others. Instead of complaining about what people do wrong, focus on what they’re doing right. ‘Encourage the people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone’ (1 Thessalonians 5:14 NCV). It’s okay to criticise people’s weaknesses as long as you balance it with three times more praise. 3) Focus on your success. Start a success journal. Every night before you go to bed, write down something great about your day. It could be an uplifting conversation…or an accomplishment you’re proud of. There’s truth to the old saying, ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’ When you focus on success you set the stage for more to follow. 4) Learn to let go. Instead of obsessing about what you can’t change, focus on what you can influence. When you stop trying to control everything and place your life in God’s hands, things have a way of working out. 5) Use the power of prayer. Paul says, ‘Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.’ (Ephesians 6:18 NIV). Prayer reduces stress, boosts positive energy, and promotes health. When you’re under pressure, instead of complaining, plug in to God’s power and recharge your batteries.

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

She lived in Samaria, had been married five times, and was now living with a man who was not her husband. Maybe gossipers wagged their tongues about her. How else would you explain her midday appearance at the well? Other women fill their buckets at sunrise, but this woman opted for noon, preferring the heat of the sun over the heat of their scorn. Were it not for the appearance of a stranger, her story would have been lost in the Samaritan sands. But He entered her life with a promise of living water that would quench the thirst of her soul. He wasn’t put off by her past. He told her: ‘“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst”…The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him…And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did”’ (John 4:13-15, 28-39 NKJV). No one else was willing to give her a chance, but Jesus gave her the chance of a lifetime. And what He did for her, He will do for you.

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

In her book A Slow and Certain Light, Elisabeth Elliott wrote: ‘When I lived in the Forest of Ecuador, I usually travelled on foot…Trails often led through streams and rivers which we had to wade, but sometimes there was a log high above the water which we had to cross. I dreaded those logs and was always tempted to take the steep, hard way down into the ravine and up the other side. But the [local guides] would say, “Just walk across, senorita,” and over they would go, light-footed and confident. I was barefoot as they were, but it was not enough. On the log, I couldn’t keep from looking down at the river below. I feared I would slip. I had never been any good at balancing myself…so my guide would stretch out a hand, and the touch of it was all I needed. I stopped worrying about slipping. I stopped looking down at the river or even the log and looked at the guide, who held my hand with only the slightest touch. When I reached the other side, I realised that if I had slipped, he would have held me. His being there, and his touch, were all I needed.’ That’s all you need too: to experience God’s presence and feel His touch. Daniel wrote: ‘The one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said…”Beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me”’ (vv. 18-19 NKJV).

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