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UCB Word For Today

UCB Word For Today

UCB

With daily readings based on Scripture, articles, and things to pray about, the UCB Word For Today is designed to help you get into the habit of spending time with God every day.

1653 - Quitters don’t win. Winners don’t quit.
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  • 1653 - Quitters don’t win. Winners don’t quit.

    Persistence and a refusal to abandon your vision kept you coming back and back and back again until you finally succeeded. Try to imagine what life would be like without the light bulb or the polio vaccine. Yet Thomas Edison and Jonas Salk lived through endless chapters of trial and failure before they succeeded. Successful people take note of their failures and learn from them. They examine them carefully, work out what went wrong, and use them to correct their errors going forwards. So often, we begin new projects with excitement and enthusiasm. The newness of what we are doing compels us to keep moving forwards. Then something goes wrong, and we stop. The project looked easier than it turned out to be, and we are not prepared to work at it and stay at it, so we give up. But quitters don’t win, and winners don’t quit. And as a redeemed child of God, you have a big plus: ‘My help comes from the Lord’ (Psalm 121:2 NKJV). Think about that! With the Lord of every situation and circumstance helping you, you will eventually prevail. You have a source of unfailing strength and guidance to draw on. Moses lived through criticism, betrayal, and constant complaining, yet he led the greatest migration of people in the history of mankind. How did he do it? The Bible gives us the answer in two phrases: ‘He was looking ahead to his reward…he persevered because he saw him who is invisible’ (Hebrews 11:26-27 NIV). So keep your eyes on the Lord, keep looking ahead to your promised reward, and you will win.


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

    Thu, 14 Nov 2024
  • 1652 - Plan for the best, be prepared for the worst

    Unexpected events can knock us off our feet. And while some of us get knocked down and out, others get back up and go on. They refuse to accept defeat as being permanent. They’re like the man who said, ‘I’m never down; I’m either up, or I’m getting up.’ They see everything that happens in life as a learning experience. Losing a loved one is heart breaking, but it can also be a wake-up call to live every day of your life to the fullest. Losing a job can be traumatic, but it can also bring to the surface talents and abilities you never knew you had. Struggling to overcome a bad habit can lead to reprioritising your life and instituting healthy habits. You can prepare for the worst by saving money for emergencies, taking classes about new products and technology, keeping your relationships and contacts current so when you need to call someone for help, someone will willingly pick up the phone. Doing so is like having a spare tyre and tools in your boot for changing a flat. You hope you never need to use them, but you keep them ready to go in the event you hit a bump in the road. Above all, keep your relationship with God in good repair! ‘The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand’ (Psalm 37:23-24 NIV).


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

    Wed, 13 Nov 2024
  • 1651 - A spiritual ECG

    Just as an ECG can measure the health of our physical heart and blockages that can threaten it, it’s helpful to have an instrument that can measure the level of our zeal, commitment, and wholeheartedness when it comes to serving the Lord. The following six questions will do just that: 1) Do I talk openly and frequently about my commitment to Christ in order to create a kind of public accountability for my actions? 2) Do I accept the responsibility to grow? Do I read books and practise skills and get together with those farther down the road who can help me improve? 3) Do I complain about problems in a way that cleverly rationalises a half-hearted involvement? 4) Do I handle discouragements by talking with God and requesting strength to persevere? 5) Do I acknowledge and celebrate even my small steps in the right direction? 6) The apostle Paul writes, ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.’ Zeal describes passion, persistence, and power. And these are things I am able to track and guard. Am I honest about my level of zeal these days? When my zeal is flagging, do I take steps to renew it? Think about each of these questions carefully and prayerfully. Be honest with God and with yourself. And if you don’t like the answers, decide today to take action. Spend more time alone with God in prayer and reading His Word. Having a burning zeal for God is like tending a fire; it requires constant fuelling and maintenance. And no one else can do that for you.


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

    Tue, 12 Nov 2024
  • 1650 - Strive for wholehearted devotion to God

    The Bible says, ‘Amaziah…did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly’ (vv. 1-2 NIV). Contrast that with what God said about David: ‘I have found David…a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’ (Acts 13:22 NIV). This can be a little bewildering because when you read about David’s life, you find chapters of adultery, murder, and cover-up. He’s a disaster as a husband and inferior as a dad. But his heart is devoted to God. How do we know? Because when he makes mistakes and sins, he repents and desires to get right with God again. When David guided the return of the ark of the covenant to Israel, he danced before the Lord ‘with all his might’ (2 Samuel 6:14 KJV). He put his whole self into it. If you wonder how that dance looked, the text reveals it involved King David ‘leaping and dancing before the Lord’ (v. 16 KJV). The heart, in early history, was the core of a person. It meant not only feelings, as we many times think of the heart, but the centre of a person’s being, especially the will. So, wholehearted devotion to God reveals what you choose to embrace with all your energies. Amaziah lived twenty-nine years of his life finessing his commitment to God. He did what was right, but his heart was elsewhere. David, in spite of his flaws, pursued God with all his heart. So the word for today is – strive for wholehearted devotion to God.


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

    Mon, 11 Nov 2024
  • 1649 - Forgiveness comes first, feelings afterward

    Small offences can be forgiven easily. But when someone hurts us badly and seems to be getting away with it, forgiveness is a real challenge. Until you forgive the offence and let it go, you will constantly feel the weight of it weighing you down. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to forgiving is thinking that if your feelings don’t immediately change towards someone, you haven’t really forgiven them. No, forgiveness is a decision. It’s an act of your will. You may continue to struggle with feelings of hurt and resentment. That doesn’t invalidate your decision to forgive; it just means healing takes time. And your healing begins the moment you decide to forgive. The Bible says, ‘Let all bitterness…be put away from you…And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you’ (Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV). Once you have done your part, which is to forgive, trust God to do His part, which is to heal your emotions and restore your peace and joy. You have the power to make the decision to forgive, but only God has the power to change your feelings towards the person who hurt you. So, trust God to change your heart. Eventually, your feelings will follow and line up with your decisions. In the meantime: ‘Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself – it tends only to evildoing’ (Psalm 37:7-8 AMPC).


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

    Sun, 10 Nov 2024
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