The Word for Today in Asia and the Pacific

‘No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.’ John 15:4 NIV

Jesus said: ‘My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch… that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me… If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.’ (John 15:1–5 NIV)

What does God want from you today? Spiritual fruit! And He will do two things to produce it in your life. First, He will show you the habits, relationships, and activities that make it impossible for you to bear spiritual fruit, and then begin to cut them off. But He can only do that if you let Him. Second, He will reveal to you the things that drain you spiritually and keep you from bearing more fruit. And His favourite pruning knife is His Word, which is ‘sharper than any double-edged sword.’ (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)

As you read God’s Word, He cuts away the bad so that it doesn’t impede the good. Then He prunes the good so that it doesn’t obstruct the best. This explains why He allows difficult times to come into our lives. As James Merritt puts it: ‘Trials may simply be pruning shears in the hands of the divine Gardener—tools He uses to cut away dead wood, fruitless branches, and sap-sucking shoots so that we might bear more fruit.’

SoulFood: Jer 33:1–36:26, Luke 4:14–30, Ps 102:1–11, Pr 14:35–15:2

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

‘Follow the Lord’s rules for doing His work.’ 2 Timothy 2:5 TLB

Are you so eager to stay in everybody’s good graces that you comply with their every demand? You’re not alone—good people burn out every day because they can’t set boundaries. And once that happens, it’s hard to fix because none of us, not even those ordained by God, can break His natural laws without suffering.

Ray Comfort writes: ‘Once when I was complaining about my heavy schedule, I heard God’s Spirit say, “You’re the one who makes the schedule; if you don’t like it, do something about it!”’ Paul told Timothy, ‘Follow the Lord’s rules for doing His work… just as an athlete… follows the rules or is disqualified.’ (2 Timothy 2:5 TLB)

Not every problem is spiritual, some are physical. Furthermore, you can’t blame the devil for things that are your own fault. We resent people who pressure us, yet we keep doing what they want, which feeds our silent anger. You’re allowing yourself to be pressured by not taking responsibility for your own life. The fact is, many well-intentioned people are walking around each day stressed out and depressed because they can’t say no. They forget that Jesus is their example, and that He had regular times of rest and renewal. The answer lies in:

(1) putting your life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit

(2) learning to put first things first

(3) realising you, too, have needs

(4) not expecting everybody to understand when you set boundaries.

The Bible says, ‘A friend loves at all times’ (Proverbs 17:17 NIV), not just when you comply with their wishes. So to fulfil God’s will for your life, you must learn to set boundaries.

SoulFood: Jer 31–32, Luke 4:1–13, Ps 98, Pr 14:34

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

‘Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all day.’ Psalm 119:97 NRS

One of the most powerful tools God has given you for conquering fear and worry is memorising Scripture. Your memory is like a muscle; the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Seneca, the ancient Roman teacher of rhetoric, would impress his class of 200 by asking each student to recite a favourite line of poetry. He would then recite all 200 lines from memory—in reverse order. Saint Augustine had a friend who could recite all the poet Virgil’s words—backwards!

Ok, maybe those guys were particularly gifted—but there are lots of things most of us can recite from memory too. Things like birthdays and anniversaries, addresses, phone numbers, bank account details and certain passwords. These items have two characteristics in common: we use them frequently, and we need them constantly. In other words, we have memorised them because we use them so often, and we can’t get along without them.

Similarly, you can begin to conquer your worries by confronting them each time they arise with a Scripture you have memorised. It’s powerful! It’s effective! It works! Why? Because God’s power is greater than your problems, and God’s Word is greater than your worries. Understand this: God is committed to keeping His Word. So when you speak Scriptural words instead of anxiety-filled words, God goes to work on your behalf. He has made you this promise: ‘I will hasten My word to perform it.’ (Jeremiah 1:12 KJV)

So if you’re serious about wanting to conquer stress and worry, begin to memorise and verbalise God’s Word each day.

SoulFood: Jer 28–30, Luke 3:21–38, Ps 95, Pr 14:29–33

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

‘Casting all your care upon Him.’ 1 Peter 5:7 NKJV

When it comes to dealing with your fears and worries, you have two choices; cast them on the Lord, or keep them and try to handle them yourself. When the communists came to power in China, missionary Isobel Kuhn decided to escape on foot across the snow-covered mountains into Burma. There she was—stranded in unknown territory, with no money and no way to get home.

‘I cannot tell you the dismay and alarm that filled me,’ she wrote. But she made two decisions. ‘The first thing is to cast out fear,’ she said. ‘The only fear a Christian should entertain is the fear of sin. All other fears are from Satan, sent to confuse and weaken us.’ So Isobel prayerfully trusted God, and rejected panic. Second, she sought His guidance as to the next step, and eventually she arrived home safely.

Here’s an important key to victory: instead of living with your fears and allowing them to take root within you, identify them and confront them the moment you become conscious of them. Next, turn each fear into a prayer and give it to God, refusing to take it back, confident that He will handle it for you. And don’t just do it with some of your fears and worries, do it with all of them.

‘Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.’ (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC) You’ll never be entirely free of fear and worry, but by God’s grace you can do a lot better than you have in the past.

SoulFood: Jer 25–27, Luke 3:11–20, Ps 64, Pr 14:25–28

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

‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.’ Matthew 5:9 KJV

Lesson one: sometimes the best resolution to a conflict is a separation, even if it’s temporary. When emotions run high, you need space to think clearly. And God can use this time of separation for His glory. Because Paul and Barnabas parted, the Gospel was preached in even more cities. But when a temporary separation is the best option, you need to agree on how long it will be. In some friendships, one person may have outgrown the relationship. But this should be handled with love and wisdom, realising that we can all learn from our mistakes and grow through them. Later Paul wrote, ‘Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.’ (2 Timothy 4:11 NKJV)

Lesson two: when you realise that you’ve been wrong, you need to acknowledge it. For a single-focused leader like Paul, this called for humility. Indeed, it’s a comfort to us to know that someone as anointed and brilliant as Paul could rethink his position and come to a different conclusion. Mistakes may be bad; but they’re not as bad as the pride that seeks to defend them and not change.

Lesson three: you must learn to disagree without being disagreeable. It’s noteworthy that nowhere in Scripture do we find a time when Paul talked publicly about their disagreement. Both Paul and Barnabas focused on their respective missions. The only behaviour you have the power to change is your own. And this should be your reason for doing so: ‘We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ.’ (Ephesians 4:15 NLT)

SoulFood: Jer 22–24, Luke 3:1–10, Ps 59:9–17, Pr 14:23–24

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