‘…Your old men shall dream dreams…’ Joel 2:28 NKJV

The Bible says, ‘Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.’ When God gives you a dream, He gives you the resources and relationships needed to fulfil it. Not everybody will believe in your dream. Paul writes, ‘What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar…’ (Romans 3:3–4 NKJV) If your dream is from God, ignore the people who say it can’t be done and give yourself fully to it. Just be sure your dream is from God. It can’t be born out of somebody else’s wishes. Sometimes your dream is actually somebody else’s desire for you. Parents do this. They want to relive some part of their life through you, so they push you to do something they themselves always wanted to do. That sets you up for a lifetime of trying to please your father and mother, to get their approval even though you’re now an adult. Then one day you wake up and realise you’re trying to live somebody else’s dream. It may actually have been God’s plan for your mother or father, not for you! Ask God for your own dream! Your dream can’t be born out of wrong motives such as pride, jealousy, anger, rejection or competitiveness. Are you trying to prove something to somebody? Are you trying to win their approval and respect? Are you trying to make up for being rejected? Acknowledge your motives, ask God to heal your heart, then ask Him for His dream for your life!

SoulFood: Ezra 1–2, John 7:14–24, Ps 104:24–35, Pro 24:28

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

‘I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.’ 3 John 1:2 NKJV

Jesus said, ‘What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?’ (Mark 8:36 NKJV) And to drive home His point, He told the story of a rich man who died and went to hell, while a poor man on his doorstep went to Heaven. Bottom line: nothing is more important than your salvation!

But God also has a plan for your life, and He wants you to succeed. John writes, ‘I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.’ Note the phrase ‘in all things’. That includes your health, your mental and emotional well-being, your family and relationships, your career and finances.

‘All things’ means—all things! There’s not an area of your life that God is not interested in or that He won’t get involved in when you seek Him, obey Him, and honour Him. In the Old Testament, He said, ‘Keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.’ (Deuteronomy 29:9 NKJV) And in the New Testament, Jesus said, ‘But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.’ (Matthew 6:33 NKJV)

Aren’t you totally invested in the success of your children? When they succeed in life, don’t you celebrate with them? Well, as His redeemed child, your heavenly Father is invested in your success and celebrates it with you. So start praying and believing Him today for success in all your endeavours.

SoulFood: 2 Cor 11:16–13:14, Luke 22:39–53, Ps 19, Pr 21:3

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

‘Go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.’ Joshua 1:11 NKJV

When God tells you He has ‘given’ you something, it means your name is on the title. When He tells you to ‘possess’ it, it may mean you have to fight for it. If you don’t, you won’t receive what He promised. Right now lots of people may be living in your ‘dream house’ and working in your ‘dream job’. Don’t resent them, rejoice! God can do the same for you!

If you’re tired of talking about the things you don’t possess, get up and go after them. And when you get them, remember that it wasn’t because you’re so wise and wonderful, but because God gave them to you (see Deuteronomy 8:18). The Bible says He gives us ‘all things that pertain unto life.’ (2 Peter 1:3 KJV) But you must receive the promise inwardly before you can experience it outwardly.

For example, your challenge may be believing in your spirit that you’re being healed before you see it begin to happen physically. Just because something’s not immediately evident doesn’t mean it won’t happen. For example, when we ask God for an oak tree, He gives us an acorn. At this point we may think God didn’t hear and answer our prayer. No, the oak tree is in the acorn; it’s just a matter of time before what’s inside bursts out.

Whatever God has promised you, the seeds are already within you. Water them, nurture them, and don’t let anyone uproot them through unbelief. In other words, begin thanking God for what He’s going to do in your life.

SoulFood: Lev 11:1–13:37, Luke 20:41–47, Ps 32, Pro 9:10–16

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

‘I will praise You seven times a day.’ Psalm 119:164 TLB

A bad attitude is like a flat tyre; you won’t get anywhere until you change it. Few things in life are more important than your attitude, and here are four ways to help you keep a good one:

(1) Realise your attitude needs to be constantly adjusted. Anything you don’t maintain eventually deteriorates [breaks down]. The stronger you naturally lean towards doubt and negativity, the more you will have to work at it. Begin each day with an attitude check, and throughout the day, look for red flags [signs] signalling that you’re not doing so well.

(2) Pray because you will need God’s help to maintain a good attitude. The Bible says: ‘Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.’ (Psalm 37:3–5 NLT)

(3) Look for what’s good, and you will find it. Australian author and evangelist Nick Vujicic says, ‘If you can’t get a miracle, become one.’ If God can use Nick, a man without arms and legs, to be His hands and feet, He can use any willing heart. Including yours!

(4) Look for people with faith and spend time with them. Where are they? You will find them soaring above the doubters like eagles. If you’re having a bad day, get close and ‘draft’ behind them the way racers do. If they’re having difficulty, you be the one to get out in front and make things easier. Seven times a day David paused to praise God. Can you imagine what that would do for your attitude?

SoulFood: Lev 16, Lev 23:26-32, Heb 9:1-14, Heb 13:11-16

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

‘The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.’ Genesis 2 2:5 NKJV

Imagine having to offer your child on an altar as a sacrifice to God. And God doesn’t tell you why! Here is what Abraham said to the two young men who accompanied him on the most difficult journey of his life: ‘Stay here … the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.’ (Genesis 22:5 NKJV) Abraham’s commitment to God was unwavering: ‘I will worship my way through this and come back stronger!’

Worry and worship are total opposites. And we will be much happier when we learn to become worshippers instead of worriers. Worry causes an opening for the Enemy to torment us, but worship guides us into God’s presence where we unfailingly find peace, joy, and hope. We were created to worship God (see Revelation 4:11). When nothing else works, worship does because it places our entire focus on Him. God is good even while our circumstances aren’t.

So, stop worrying; give your concerns to God, and live in His grace. Grace isn’t just divine favour; it’s power and divine enablement! Don’t squander another day of your life worrying. Determine what your role is and what it isn’t. Don’t attempt to take on God’s responsibility.

When you do what you can do, God steps in and does what you can’t do. Present yourself and your worries to God, worship Him, and start enjoying the abundant life He provides for you. The moment you recognise you are worrying, disrupt your wrong thought patterns by saying, ‘I will not worry. I will worship you, Lord. You are good, and I completely trust You.’

SoulFood: Exo 16:1-18, John 6:1-15, John 6:25-40, 1 Cor 11:23-24

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024

‘Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.’ Titus  2:13 NKJV

Trusting in Christ’s soon return and our ultimate victory is what will sustain us in these days of disillusionment with some of our national leaders, the devaluing of our money, and the devastation of wars being fought on various continents at the same time. And don’t let some television talk-show host play on your fears in order to promote his or her ratings.

Jesus said, ‘Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.’ (Matthew 24:42 NASB) Admiral James Stockdale was a prisoner of war for eight years in Vietnam. What sustained him? He said: ‘I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.’ When asked, ‘Who didn’t make it out?’ Stockdale replied: ‘Oh, that’s easy. The optimists… they were the ones who said, “We’re going to be out by Christmas.” And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, “We’re going to be out by Easter.” And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.’

The courage needed to stand between the two extremes of current trouble and ultimate triumph is found in these words of Scripture: ‘Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.’ (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV) The One who gave you your start has guaranteed you a glorious finish.

SoulFood: Num 3:1 – 4:33, Matt 9:14-26, Ps 104:1-23, Pro 3:9-10

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024

‘When the right time came, God sent His Son.’ Galatians 4:4 NLT

God doesn’t consult us to make sure His plans line up with our timetable. God sets the schedule. Sometimes we have to run to keep up, and other times we have to slow down in order to get in step with Him.

Mary planned to marry Joseph, then have a child, but God had a different plan. The child had to be without inherited sin, so He needed a perfect father. Therefore, the Holy Spirit overshadowed her.

Humanly speaking, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Mary became pregnant before she got married, and Joseph wasn’t the father. Besides being excluded, the law said she could be stoned to death. How did she respond to the message of the angel? Amazingly: ‘Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”’ (Luke 1:38 NKJV) God has a set plan, and He is always working towards it. The trouble is, we are only working with limited information, so we become impatient and upset when He doesn’t answer our prayers when we think He should, or in the way we think He should.

It’s said that George Müller, evangelist and founder of an orphanage in England, once waited on the dock for a special chair to be delivered; he had a bad back and needed the chair for his ocean voyage. When the time came for the ship to leave and the chair still hadn’t arrived, his friends offered to buy him one. But Müller said, ‘Either God will provide or He will give me the grace to do without.’ Then, just like a Hollywood ending, the chair arrived right on time! Trust God—He knows what He’s doing!

SoulFood: Isaiah 9:1–7, Matt 1:18–25, Micah 5:2–5a, Isa 7:14

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

‘…It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35 NCV

Wendy Pope writes: ‘When God calls me to give, I don’t always feel like I’m being blessed. Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience. He prompts you to prepare a meal for a family hit by illness, and after a long day you’re barely able to prepare one for your own family. Or when you’re exhausted, He nudges you to go get your friend’s children because she needs a break. No matter what the situation, when God calls us to give…we come out blessed…His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. He has the master plan, and all we need be concerned about is doing what He asks without complaining. You may question His reasoning when [He] nudges you to take your rude co-worker to lunch… or teach your child’s Sunday school class and give the teacher a break. The bottom line is, whether we think it or not… it means something to eternity and to the person we’re giving to. Basically, without Jesus I’m a selfish person. I wonder what kind of blessing I’ll get… money, a car or a new home? I’m ashamed of those thoughts, but they came from an infant Christian who didn’t understand that the blessing… is a closer walk with the greatest Giver who ever lived.’

Do you sometimes give out of obligation, or guilt, or to gain other people’s approval? Giving is the true measure of our love for God, and He always blesses us when we do it. So, ‘…don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure…’ (2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT), do it with a willing heart.

SoulFood: Exo 7–9, Matt 5:38–48, Ps 46, Pro 1:32–33

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

‘I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.’ Jeremiah 31:34 NLT

Have you ever watched children draw in the sand? If they make a mess of the picture, all they have to do is brush it over to erase it; then they can start all over again. This is how God handles the mistakes you have made; He wipes it clean. ‘I will never again remember their sins.’ (Jeremiah 31:34 NLT) This has to be one of the most wonderful statements in the Bible—that ‘God forgets’. When we admit our sins and ask God to forgive us, He cancels our past.

He chooses to forget our wrongs, errors, and failures. Even if we died tonight, stood before God in Heaven, and asked Him about a sin we committed yesterday, He would say, ‘What sin?’ Yet—when you deny your sin, you deny God the joy of forgiving you. When you try to excuse your sin, God permits the consequences to become so painful that you will want to turn from it.

The Bible says, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ (1 John 1:9 NIV) The Prodigal Son broke his father’s heart, squandered his inheritance, and ended up in a pigpen. But his is a comeback story! His turnaround began with these words: ‘When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself… “I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned…’”’ (Luke 15:17–18 NLT) And what his father did for him, God will do for you today.

SoulFood: Is 45–48, Jn 8:14–30, Ps 86, Prov 28:21–24

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2025

‘These commandments… Impress them on your children.’ Deuteronomy 6:6–7 NIV

Teach your children to handle money. Your home is a classroom for teaching money-management skills, so teach them that if they honour God financially, He will honour them. ‘Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all… then your barns will be filled…’ (Proverbs 3:9–10 NIV) Before you give your son or daughter money, teach them how to handle it responsibly so that they can avoid the making the mistakes of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32). His attitude towards money and his misuse of it cost him dearly. Give your child Biblical wisdom in four areas—earning, giving, spending and saving. Teach your children God’s Word on borrowing, lending and credit. Our island nation is seeing more and more slick advertising for things and we’re being offered high-interest credit cards so we can buy now and pay later. Our children need to understand the consequences of their financial decisions. The verse ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it’ (Proverbs 22:6 NAS) is not an isolated statement. Read the next verse: ‘The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.’ (Proverbs 22:7 NAS) Teach them that what is advertised as the fast lane to plenty, can become the sure road to poverty. Train them to delay gratification until they can afford what they want. Don’t unwisely guarantee loans for them. The Bible says, ‘Do not be a man who…puts up security for debts… your very bed will be snatched from under you.’ (Proverbs 22:26–27 NIV)

SoulFood: Gen 25:19–27:46, Matt 20:17–28, Ps 77, Pro 6:29

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