‘We prayed to our God and posted a guard.’ Nehemiah 4:9 NIV

God’s sovereignty doesn’t negate our responsibility. Just the opposite. It empowers it. When we trust God, we think more clearly and react more decisively. Like Nehemiah, who said, ‘We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.’ Note the words: ‘We prayed… and posted a guard.’ Nehemiah did two things. He trusted God for success, and acted on what God had told him to do. Prayer invites God to do what you cannot do.

Paul wrote, ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV) Why? Because God comes by invitation. Until you’ve looked for God’s guidance you’re at the mercy of your own thoughts, and everybody else’s. When you don’t know what you don’t know, you’re in a dangerous place. Why settle for human knowledge when you can have Papa God’s input? God says, ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV)

And when God reveals His will to you, don’t delay and don’t debate—do it! Before God gives you His next set of instructions, He wants to know that you have obeyed His last set of instructions. Why? Because He cannot bless you beyond your last act of disobedience. So stop and take an inventory. If you’ve done the wrong thing, repent, make a course correction, and get back on the right path as quickly as possible. ‘But this is what I commanded them, saying, “Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.”’ (Jeremiah 7:23 NKJV)

SoulFood: 2 Sam 12:1–14:20, John 2:12–25, Ps 89:1–14, Pro 23:10–14

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honour. Give all your worries and cares to God.’ 1 Peter 5:6–7 NLT

Somebody jokingly said, ‘The trouble with success is that the formula is the same as the one for a nervous breakdown.’ The Bible gives us the real formula for successful living. It includes three areas: authority, attitude, and assurance. ‘Accept the authority of the elders… humble yourselves under the mighty power of God… Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.’ (1 Peter 5:5–7 NLT) Let’s look at each of the three areas:

(1) Submit yourself to those who are wise. Listen to their counsel, become accountable, accept correction, take suggestions, respect experience, and follow a worthy example. Only when you can take advice will you be qualified to give it. Only when you respect and submit to leadership will you be qualified to lead others.

(2) Humble yourself. In Scripture the ‘hand’ of God symbolises two things: His discipline and His deliverance. When you humble yourself before Him, you’re accepting His discipline as being for your good. You’re also acknowledging His willingness to answer your cry for help and deliver you by whatever means He chooses.

(3) Throw yourself on God’s mercy and care. Trouble and disappointment will surely come, and when they do you need to throw yourself on the Lord. The situation may be too big for you, but it’s never too big for Him. Does that mean there’s no place for planning, goal-setting, and hard work? No, it just means you’re willing to do things God’s way, which is always best.

SoulFood: 1 Sam 27–31, Matt 28:11–20, Ps 63, Pro 22:17–23

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘There is only one thing worth being concerned about.’ Luke 10:42 NLT

Here are two enemies that threaten your spiritual life:

(1) Boredom. Missionary and educator Frank Laubach said, ‘If you’re weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are.’ Walking with God is the most rewarding life possible. ‘In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’ (Psalm 16:11 NKJV)

(2) Busyness. Jesus told Martha, ‘You are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it.’ (Luke 10:41–42 NLT) And what was Mary doing? Sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to Him! Martha loved Jesus and she couldn’t do enough for Him. But she was so busy serving Him that she didn’t know how to relax and enjoy being with Him.

Maybe like Martha, you think that unless you do the job yourself, it won’t get done properly. And you may be right. But God will never ask you to do anything that takes His place in your life. He wants to be your top priority. Sometimes we approach God with a list of requests the length of our arm because we’re more interested in His presents than His presence. David said, ‘The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His Temple.’ (Psalm 27:4 NLT)

Can you imagine having ‘one thing’ at the top of your agenda at all times: needing and desiring to spend time with God? Think how that could revolutionise your life.

SoulFood: Dan 11–12, Mark 3:7–19, Ps 16, Pr 10:15

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes.’ Matthew 21:42 NIV

Sometimes the rejection of others, turns out to be ‘the Lord’s doing.’ After Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers and slandered by Potiphar’s wife, he said, ‘You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.’ (Genesis 50:20 NKJV)

How often has something happened in your life, that you later realised was necessary? If you hadn’t sustained this, or walked through that, you wouldn’t be ready for the blessings you’re enjoying right now. It’s when you see the hand of God in it that you begin to understand what the enemy meant for your destruction, God used for your development.

Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone, was continually rejected. And His example shows us the way forward. To be more than a conqueror means to stand up and say, ‘Here’s how I see it. It took all I’ve been through to make me who I am today, and to teach me what I know. I choose to be better, not bitter. I trust the faithfulness of God more than ever. If faith doesn’t move the mountain, it will give me strength to endure until tomorrow. And if it’s not gone by tomorrow, I’ll still believe that God is able and trust Him to come through.’

Rejoice! Your steps, and your stops, are being arranged by God. They’re also being observed by Him. When you get through this, you’ll realise that ‘the worst thing that could have happened’ is, in reality, ‘the Lord’s doing’ and it’ll become marvellous in your eyes.

SoulFood: Job 29-31, Luke 21:12-24, Ps 38:13-22, Pro 8:24-26

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2023

‘By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.’ Ephesians 2:8 NASB

To understand how God sees you, try to think of these two things:

(1) A $10 note. What makes it more valuable than any other piece of paper of equal size? The wealth and stability of the government whose treasurer’s signature is on it. You can crumple that $10 note up, step on it, even cut it in two and tape it back together again, and it’s worth is still the same.

(2) A diamond. If you rub a diamond in the dirt, it’s still a diamond, although a dirty one. But it has not lost its value. Now, it must be pointed out that in order to truly appreciate the beauty of the diamond, you would have to get the dirt off it and then restore it back to its original shine.

What’s the point of these two illustrations? That your value in God’s eyes as His redeemed child doesn’t get less when you get dirty, or stepped on, or torn apart by life and circumstances. That’s because your true worth is determined not by your own efforts but by the price Jesus paid for you on the cross. There, the great exchange took place. All your sins from the cradle to the grave were laid on Him. And when you accept Him as your Saviour, all His righteousness is transferred to you. You don’t have to work for it; it’s a ‘gift’.

‘By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.’

SoulFood: Gen 7–9, Matt 16:1–12, Ps 33:13–22, Pr 5:15–20

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘A house is built by wisdom.’ Proverbs 24:3 NLT

The storms of life will test whether or not you’ve done a good job with your family. And an important key to succeeding at home is communication. So, ask yourself these four questions:

(1) How well do I communicate with the people I love? You may unwittingly have adopted a style that doesn’t work well for you. For example: do you retaliate? That has a degrading effect. Do you dominate? That has an intimidating effect. Do you isolate? That has a frustrating effect. Or do you co-operate? That has an encouraging effect. If you’re in the habit of using any communication style other than a co-operative one, you must work to change it if you want to build a good relationship with your family.

(2) Have I identified my communication killers? The internet, mobile phones, texting and TV are among the main culprits. Would it surprise you to know the average couple spends less than one hour a week in meaningful conversation, and approximately five hours a day watching television?

(3) Do I encourage everyone to speak their mind? And when they do speak freely do you criticise, pout, or retaliate? Differences of opinion can be healthy. The Bible says, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ (Proverbs 27:17 NKJV) Handled respectfully, different opinions can make things better for everyone.

(4) Do I think creatively? Do you spend time together as a family? Do you call your spouse during the day and try to meet sometimes for lunch? Do you walk your kids to school or sports/church activities so you can talk to them? Communication can happen anywhere, but it only happens when you make it a priority.

SoulFood: Deut 18–21, Luke 10:38–42, Ps 78:40–55, Pr 16:32

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’ John 15:12 NKJV

If love was a sentiment that depended on someone else’s actions and reactions, or an emotion over which you had no control, Jesus wouldn’t have said, ‘This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’ That means love is a choice you make. It’s initiated by your will.

Jesus also said, ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.’ (Luke 6:27–28 NKJV) And what He commands you to do, He will give you the grace to carry out.

For thousands of years (and to this day in some Eastern cultures), parents arranged their children’s marriages. Many brides and bridegrooms never saw each other until their wedding day. A certain young lady from India was to be married to a man she didn’t know. One day she received a letter from her fiancé, designed to acquaint her with him prior to the wedding. But the bride-to-be returned the letter unopened, saying she believed love should be developed after marriage, not before. ‘When we’re born,’ she wrote, ‘we don’t get to choose our mother, father, brothers and sisters, yet we learn to live with them and to love them. So it is with a husband or wife.’ In societies that endorse this philosophy, divorce is almost non-existent.

Now, we’re not advocating arranged marriages, but the notion of ‘romantic love’ that’s so prevalent today has little to do with a successful marriage. When you endeavour to love someone unconditionally the way Christ loves you, you experience joy and fulfilment.

SoulFood: Job 29–31, Matt 24:36–51, Ps 55:1–11, Pr 8:17–18

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘To be conformed to the likeness of His Son.’ Romans 8:29 NIV

The Bible says, ‘Those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.’ When you read from the beginning of Romans 8 you discover God does this through prayer. This should encourage you to pray. Many times we don’t pray because we don’t think anything’s happening. But with God, something’s always happening!

We wonder, ‘When is He going to work?’ What we fail to understand is—He’s always working. When it comes to prayer He’s either answering the way you hoped, or changing your heart through the Spirit’s intercession to bring your prayer into harmony with His will.

You say, ‘But I don’t see anything happening.’ When you plant a seed, you don’t come back the next day expecting green shoots and leaves. Does that mean nothing’s happening? No, a lot of necessary processes are taking place below the ground where you can’t see them. Don’t make the mistake of thinking because you don’t see the evidence that nothing’s happening. It’s just not harvest time yet.

One way in which God is making us more like Jesus is by helping us to pray the way Jesus prayed, ‘Not My will, but Yours, be done.’ (Luke 22:42 NIV) That means when your prayer lines up with His will, He’s already working on it even though you can’t see it. And if your prayer isn’t in accordance with His will, He’s working to change your request by changing you. Unanswered prayer can be as big a blessing as answered prayer, when it keeps us from violating God’s will. And what is God’s will? To make you more like Jesus!

SoulFood: 2 Ki 10–12, Mark 12:28–44, Ps 132:11–18, Pro 13:7–8

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ Genesis 1:1 NKJV

A growing number of educators and scientists around the world believe the Biblical account of creation. They point us back to the truth of these words: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ The question ‘evolution or creation?’ becomes clearer when you rephrase it as ‘accident or design?’

Self-declared atheist Sir Fred Hoyle, professor of astronomy at Cambridge University, said: ‘The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way [through evolution] is comparable to the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein.’ He continued: ‘The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a number with 40,000 noughts [zeroes] after it… It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole theory of evolution. There was no primeval soup, neither on this planet nor on any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence.’

Even evolutionist Stephen Hawking, one of the most respected scientists since Einstein, acknowledged: ‘The universe and the laws of physics seem to have been specifically designed for us. If any one of about 40 physical qualities had more than slightly different values, life as we know it could not exist: either atoms would not be stable, or they wouldn’t combine into molecules, or the stars wouldn’t form the heavier elements, or the universe would collapse before life could develop.’

As a Bible believer, never apologise or compromise when it comes to the truth that says, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’

SoulFood: Rom 15–16, Matt 14:1–12, Ps 145:1–13, Pr 4:20–22

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘In the multitude of counsellors there is safety.’ Proverbs 11:14 NKJV

To succeed in life, you need wise and competent people around you, informed people with a proven track record who can assist you. But be advised: the best people with the most knowledge will challenge, stretch, and confront your previously held viewpoints. That doesn’t mean you should avoid them. On the contrary—that’s exactly why you need them! You must get over your fear of people who are smarter, more talented, and more experienced than you are, and learn from them instead. What stops many of us from approaching competent people is that we feel ignorant when we’re around them. It’s ok to be ignorant—but it’s not ok to stay that way! Don’t keep running back to familiar, mediocre interactions with people who don’t challenge you to grow.

The more you move into new arenas in life, the more you need ‘the multitude of counsellors’ who will push you to be more than you are, even if it’s uncomfortable at first. Go where they are, listen to what they say, and evaluate their opinions. If you’re going to build yourself up spiritually, emotionally, and financially, you must go outside your comfort zone. If you don’t, you won’t have the information you need to move beyond the familiar and attain your future goals. Only those who are willing to be stretched achieve their dreams. And remember, the people you need most are usually busy people. Generally speaking, they won’t reach for you, so you must reach for them. And be prepared; some of them may turn you down, while others, recognising your hunger for wisdom and knowledge, will respond and help you to succeed.

SoulFood: Dan 5–7, Mark 2:23–28, Ps 103:1–12, Pr 10:13

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©