Latest News and Updates

‘But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.’ Galatians 5:15 CSB

Every worthwhile relationship can experience problems. With that in mind, it’s important to recognise this:

(1) Problems are inevitable, normal, and potentially beneficial. They’re inevitable because relationships bring together very different people. They’re normal because all relationships, including great ones, go through ups and downs. And they’re potentially beneficial because, handled effectively, the relationship can grow through problems.

(2) Generally speaking, there are three problem-solving styles.

(a) The avoid style. These are the ‘don’t-rock-the-boat’ kind of people. They bury their feelings without realising those feelings will undoubtedly rise again. They go from clam up, to build up, to blow up, inviting mental, emotional, and physical side effects. Meanwhile, the problem keeps growing, and the unfinished business erodes the relationship.

(b) The attack style. These are the ‘get-them-before-they-get-you’ people. They’re fighters who refuse to concede, so they inflict wounds on each other, wounds from which it can be hard to recover. The Bible says, ‘But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.’ (Galatians 5:15 CSB) Why? Because attack begets counterattack, and nothing gets resolved.

(c) The approach/assert style. These are the ‘no-price-is-too-high-to-maintain-a-good relationship’ people. They’re sensitive to other people’s feelings while insisting that both parties deal directly with the important issues. They avoid blame fixing, attack the issue instead of the individual, and invite others to partner with them in solving the problem and strengthening the relationship. Try it—it works!

SoulFood: Ezra 1–2, Matt 27:57–66, Ps 1, Pro 19: 9–11

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2026

‘“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.”’ John 4:34 NIV

No one had more energy than Jesus. He got up early, stayed up late, and sometimes pulled all-nighters. Where did He get all that energy from? The answer is found in a fascinating dialogue. ‘His disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then His disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought Him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.”’ (John 4:31–34 NIV)

When you see the word ‘food’, you think energy because that’s what food is. And Jesus makes an insightful point here: God’s will is energising. So, how do you keep yourself energised? By staying in the will of God. Engaging in God-ordained passions and pursuing God-sized dreams is how we produce energy. Nothing energises us more. Don’t just repent of doing what is wrong; replace it with what is right.

Paul writes: ‘Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ (1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV) If sin is a waste of energy, which it is, then discovering and fulfilling your God-given assignment in life is the most energising thing that you can do.

SoulFood: Zeph 1–3, Matt 27:45–56, Ps 65, Pro 19:5–8

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2026

‘Were made strong out of weakness’ Hebrews 11:34 ESV

The so-called ‘secret’ to success is really no secret at all! It’s simply getting back up when life has knocked you down and taking with you into the future the lessons you have learned. In talking about heroes such as Samson and David, the Bible says they ‘were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.’ (Hebrews 11:34 ESV) Notice these people weren’t always strong, but they became strong. They didn’t win every battle, but they went on to win the ones that mattered.

In 1928, a 33-year-old American named Paul Galvin found himself staring at failure… again. By this point, he had failed twice in industry, his competitors having forced him to fold up his latest venture in the storage-battery business. Convinced, however, that he had a remarkable idea, Galvin attended the auction of his own business. And with the $750 he had managed to raise; he bought back the battery eliminator portion of the inventory. With it, he built a new company, one in which he succeeded, one from which he eventually retired, and one which became a household word: Motorola. You have probably heard of it.

Business innovator Roger von Oech said: ‘Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn’t work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach… Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they both are products of the same process.’ Failure is delay, not defeat. We all make mistakes, especially those who act. It’s only when you become unwilling to risk failure that you stop learning, you stop growing, and you stop succeeding.

SoulFood: 2 Tim 1–4, Matt 27:33–44, Ps 14, Pro 19:1–4

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2026

‘Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.’ Colossians 1:10 NASB

To bear fruit, you must dedicate yourself to the process. Whether it’s in your job, your marriage, your ministry, or your walk with God, once you dedicate yourself to ‘increase in the knowledge of God’ and a lifestyle of planned improvement, it becomes normal to you. And you realise when you’re not making progress that something is missing. It’s been reputed that the classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein refused to listen to recordings of his playing. Even only a few months afterwards, he was unhappy with what he heard. Why? Because he had changed and improved—but his recordings had not.

Stop and think about the non-negotiables in your life. What are you willing to live and die for? Write down what you want to hold on to at any cost and fully explain why. After you have done that, everything else should be open to change. Here is how Paul prayed for the Christians in the Colossian church: ‘For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.’ (Colossians 1:9–12 NASB)

SoulFood: 1 Tim 4–6, Matt 27:27–32, Ps 146, Pro 18:23–24

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2026

‘Search me, O God, and know my heart.’ Psalm 139:23 NKJV

Change must happen inside you before it can happen around you. In an old Peanuts comic strip, Lucy tells Charlie Brown she would like to change the world. So, Charlie asks her, ‘Where would you start?’ In typical Lucy fashion, she replies, ‘I would start with you.’ Think about it: when we have marital problems, we sometimes pray, ‘Lord, help my spouse to change!’ But maybe things will improve when you’re willing to pray, ‘Lord, help me to change!’ Changing the atmosphere and dynamics in your home usually starts with changing your own actions and reactions. The Bible says, ‘Be tender-hearted, and keep a humble attitude… Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will bless you for it.’ (1 Peter 3:8–9 NLT) When we don’t like something, we want everybody—except us—to change! The truth is, we’re resistant to change.

In The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett puts it like this: ‘At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, and then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done—then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.’ To change your world, you must first change yourself. The psalmist prayed, ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ (Psalm 139:23–24 NKJV)

As you begin to change for the better, others will notice and react to you accordingly. So, make this your prayer today: ‘Lord, let the change I seek begin in me!’

SoulFood: Matt 5:10, 2 Cor 4:8–10, Rom 12:14

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2026