UCB Word For Today

• Do you believe this?

  Author Chuck Swindoll tells about a couple whose marriage had been a fifty-year battle. The husband died, and it fell to the wife to choose a gravestone. She contacted a stonemason and told him, ‘I don’t want to be fancy or spend a lot of money. Just engrave the words: “TO MY HUSBAND” in a suitable place on the stone.’ She went to visit his grave and, to her horror, read these words: ‘TO MY HUSBAND…IN A SUITABLE PLACE.’ Swindoll writes: ‘A humorous story helps mask the pain and confusion surrounding death, but in the end, the laughter stops because death still comes. Humour, as good as it makes us feel, is powerless to stop the grim reaper. Remember the bumper sticker: “Don’t take life too seriously, you won’t get out alive”? Well, the truth is, we should take life and death seriously because we do get out alive. We all face life after death because we all have eternal souls. We’ll live forever somewhere. The question is where. And the “where” depends on how we answer this question of Jesus: “Anyone who believes in me…will never ever die. Do you believe this…?” Jesus alone has the power of resurrection. And our assurance of spending forever with Him in heaven depends on our response…If we say, “Yes,” by asking Jesus to forgive our sins and commit to following Him as Lord – then and only then do we have His power for living at our disposal…only then can we face life’s end with a calm…joyous expectation.’© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Double jeopardy

  In the legal system, there is something known as ‘the law of double jeopardy’. It means that, except in some very specific circumstances, you can’t be tried twice for the same crime. Now, let’s apply this principle to your salvation. Jesus has already been tried and punished for your sins – all of them! So don’t let Satan, the accuser, convince you that God will also punish you for them and send you to hell. Christ’s last words on the cross, ‘It is finished,’ are translated in the Greek text as ‘paid in full’. All your sins – past, present, and future – were atoned for at Calvary. Think of the word ‘finished’. Imagine a master carpenter putting the finishing touches to a beautiful table. Would you take a wood plane and say, ‘I think I can make this look a little better and give it a little more value?’ The carpenter would say, ‘Stop; if you touch it, you will ruin it!’ And they would be right. The same goes for your salvation. You can add nothing to it, but by trying to merit it by your performance and good works, you can definitely take something away from it. The word justified simply means declared or made righteous in the sight of God. The moment you place your trust in Christ as your Saviour, that’s how God sees you. ‘Therefore, having been justified by faith [not works, human effort, or performance], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand’ (vv. 1-2). How can you stand before God clothed in grace? By faith in Christ alone and nothing else.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Embracing uncertainty and following God

  A part of us feels as if something is spiritually wrong with us when we experience uncertainty. But that is precisely what Jesus promised us when we are born of the Spirit and start following Him. ‘The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit’ (John 3:8 NLT). When it comes to being led by God’s Spirit, the operative phrase is ‘You can’t explain how.’ Even when you have given your best thinking to the problem, the Bible says, ‘“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine”’ (Isaiah 55:8 NLT). So, when you follow God, anything can happen. You never know who you will meet, where you will go, or what you will do. And the sooner you come to terms with that spiritual reality, the more you will enjoy the journey. To do otherwise is to end up with a self-absorbed spirituality that leaves you feeling empty. Instead of following the Spirit, you’re inviting the Spirit to follow you. Instead of serving God’s purposes, you want Him to serve your purposes. While this may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference. Here are your choices: 1) Follow the path of certainty, which keeps you in control but robs you of the adventure God has in mind. 2) Accept the uncertainty of the ‘how’ and ‘when’ that comes from following God, and stand on this promise: ‘Great is Your faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3:23 NKJV).© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Change your routine

  As attested by the law of requisite variety, the continued existence of any system requires the ability to cultivate variety in its internal structures. In physical exercise, for example, routines eventually become useless. If you exercise the same way each time you work out, your muscles begin adapting and stop developing. You have to change your routine. You have to disorient them. This is true spiritually. One author writes: ‘When I’m in a spiritual slump, nine times out of ten, something sacred has become routine. I’m sure it differs by personality, but one of the ways I snap out of a spiritual slump is by disturbing my routine and experimenting with spiritual disciplines. Sometimes all it takes is a small change in routine. Volunteer at a local homeless shelter. Start keeping a gratitude journal. Get plugged into a small group or Bible study. Take a day off and do a personal retreat. Or just get up a little earlier in the morning and spend a little extra time with God. One of the small changes in routine that has helped me rejuvenate my devotional times is picking up a new translation of Scripture. New words help me think new thoughts.’ In order to grow spiritually, you need consistency, structure, and discipline. But when you go through a spiritual dry spell, try changing your spiritual routine. Instead of doing things the way you have always done them, try doing things differently. ‘I will lead them in paths they have not known.’ God doesn’t change, but He moves! And in order to get to where God wants to take you, you must be willing to move with Him.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Fear is the enemy of growth

  If you want to grow, you need to get over any fear you may have of making mistakes. As author and professor Warren Bennis states, ‘A mistake is simply another way of doing things.’ So, expect to make mistakes along the way, and embrace them as a sign that you are going in the right direction. With the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s chariots behind them, the children of Israel panicked. ‘The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward”’ (v. 15 NKJV). When they did, the Red Sea became a pathway to victory and a burial ground for the enemy they feared. If you have to find ‘the best way’ or ‘the perfect way’, you will never get anywhere. It’s like driving on an unknown road at night. Ideally, you would like to see your entire route before you start out. Instead, you see it little by little. As you keep going, a little more of the road is revealed to you. So, if you want to see more of the way, get moving. Make a commitment to yourself to start on your growth plan and keep at it for at least twelve months. If you do, you will develop a love for the process, and at the end of the year, you will be able to see how far you have come. ‘Enlarge the place of your tent…stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left’ (Isaiah 54:2-3 NKJV).© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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