UCB Word For Today

• See yourself as valuable (2)

  If you want to be a 10 but your self-esteem is a 5, you will never achieve at the level of a 10. You will achieve a 5 or lower. Why? Because you cannot surpass the image you have of yourself. Low self-esteem puts a cap on your potential. So where does our low self-esteem come from? Other people. When the most important people in your life repeatedly tell you that they expect you to go nowhere and achieve nothing of worth, that’s what you eventually start believing about yourself. And it’s like downloading a virus into your computer; it destroys your God-given potential. What’s the answer? Instead of believing what others say about you, find out what God says about you. After all, who knows the value and potential of a product better than the manufacturer who made it? When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nation of Israel, Jeremiah said, ‘I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!’ (Jeremiah 1:6 NLT). Perhaps you can identify with Jeremiah: ‘I’m too young, or too old, or not the right nationality, or not educated enough, or not rich enough.’ Note what God said to Jeremiah next: ‘Don’t say, “I’m too young,” for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you’ (vv. 7-8 NLT). Changing your self-image begins with changing your self-talk. In order to see yourself as valuable, begin to see yourself as God sees you.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• See yourself as valuable (1)

  When God made the first man, He saw that his creation was ‘very good’. That means every person that has ever been born, including you, has seeds of success within them. All you need to do is water them and feed them, and they will grow. So why do many people fail to reach their God-given potential in life? One of the key reasons is low self-esteem; they don’t believe in themselves. They possess hundreds of possibilities, but they never nurture them because they have persuaded themselves that they’re incapable of learning and growing into something amazing. If you don’t believe you’re valuable and worth investing in, you will never spend the time and effort necessary to develop into what God made you to be. Zig Ziglar said, ‘It’s impossible to consistently behave in a manner inconsistent with how we see ourselves. We can do very few things in a positive way if we feel negative about ourselves.’ Paul was humble. He was aware of his total dependence on God. But He also had a healthy sense of self-worth. Here is what he wrote to those who believed in him and supported his ministry: ‘I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. But it was right and commendable and noble of you to contribute for my needs and to share my difficulties with me’ (vv. 4:13-14 AMPC). So, the word for today is – see yourself as valuable, because God does.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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• Just sow the seed

  One day when Charles Colson was scheduled to preach to three hundred inmates at San Quentin prison, a lockdown was called and most of the prisoners were confined to their cells. To the few who were allowed to attend, Colson decided to go ahead and give the complete message he had prepared. Later when he expressed disappointment that the three hundred were unable to attend, he was told, ‘We videotaped your message and will be showing it numerous times to all twenty-two hundred prisoners.’ What if Colson had given way to disappointment and just delivered a short devotional instead of the full evangelistic message he had prepared? More than two thousand prisoners would not have heard the gospel. An occasion may arise when you are the only person available to speak for God. Will you be faithful in such a moment? You are the most important person in the world to God when you are the one He has called to do something for Him. And the message is more important than the messenger. Paul writes: ‘We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work’ (vv. 5-8 NLT).© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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  1:46
• Group guidance

  A group of believers met together and dedicated significant time to pray, fast, and worship. And as a result, ‘the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”’ How did they know the Spirit told them this? The passage doesn’t say. It may have been a dramatic moment. Or it may be that later, looking back, they recognised that the Spirit had guided them. But what is certain is that they received guidance from God together. When it comes to guidance, one of the mistakes we make is called ‘narrow framing’; we miss the whole range of options God has before us because of our limited thinking. A Christian author explains: ‘We ask things like “Should I end this relationship or not?” instead of, “How might I make this relationship better?” Or “Should I buy that or not?” rather than, “What’s the best way I can use this money?”…On our own, we tend to suffer from confirmation bias. We seek out information that confirms what it is we already want rather than looking for the unvarnished truth. People watch cable channels that reinforce their political bias. We pretend we want the truth…but what we really want is reassurance of the positions we have already staked out.’ Isaiah told about people ‘who say to the seers, “Do not see”; and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions”’ (Isaiah 30:10 NRSV). In seeking guidance, operate according to the H.O.W. principle. In other words, be Honest, Open, Willing.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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  2:01
• Don’t avoid – engage

  Jesus prayed in John 17:14-18: ‘I have given them your word…My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world’ (NIV). Where did Jesus dispatch His disciples? Into the world. He didn’t say, ‘Try to avoid the world. Just hang out with Christian people in the church, and keep your distance from people who use bad language and are bad people.’ He says being sent as a representative of God into your job, your neighbourhood, your circumstances, and your situations is why you’re on this planet. He says, ‘As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’ (John 20:21 NIV). We’re not called to avoid the world, but to engage it. You say, ‘But I don’t feel comfortable around such people.’ Then ask God to make you more like Jesus, who was known as ‘a friend of sinners’ (see Luke 7:34). Jesus told His disciples, ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves’ (Matthew 10:16 NIV). It takes two things for a sheep to operate among wolves: courage and wisdom. It also takes total commitment. Albert Schweitzer gave up his standing as a superb theologian and world-class musician to serve the poorest people on another continent. Whatever God has called you to do, it will involve loving people and giving yourself to them.© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

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