{"id":25852,"date":"2023-02-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/?p=25852"},"modified":"2023-06-07T13:26:55","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T03:26:55","slug":"focus-on-the-inward-instead-of-the-outward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/twft\/focus-on-the-inward-instead-of-the-outward\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus On The Inward Instead Of The Outward"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u2018Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.\u2019 2 Corinthians\u00a04:16\u00a0NKJV<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Next time you\u2019re at a supermarket checkout, notice the magazine covers. Airbrushed faces, toned bodies\u2014ads for diets and products that promise you can look that way too. Now, there is nothing wrong with looking your best and taking care of your body. After all, it\u2019s the temple of the Holy Spirit and you are responsible for maintaining it. But there is much more to you than clothes and a hairstyle. It\u2019s a mistake to focus on the outside and not appreciate and cultivate the inner qualities God has given you.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible says, <i>\u2018Beauty is \u2026not lasting.\u2019<\/i> (Proverbs\u00a031:30\u00a0AMPC) When God made you, He didn\u2019t just decorate the outside; He gave you inner beauty that is<i> \u2018unfading\u2026 a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.\u2019<\/i> (1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:4\u00a0NLT)<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Paul reminds us<i> \u2018the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal\u2019<\/i> (2\u00a0Corinthians\u00a04:18\u00a0KJV), a gentle reminder that whatever nature gives, time takes away! The truth is, Paul is not remembered for his good looks. His enemies said, <i>\u2018His bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.\u2019<\/i> (2\u00a0Corinthians\u00a010:10\u00a0NKJV)<\/p>\n<p>But what he will be remembered for are these words: <i>\u2018I have fought the good fight\u2026 finished the race\u2026 kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.\u2019<\/i> (2\u00a0Timothy\u00a04:7\u20138\u00a0NKJV) So, the word for today is\u2014focus on the inward instead of the outward.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/soulfood\/todays-readings-05Feb2023\/\">SoulFood<\/a>: Ps 23, John 6:1-15<\/p>\n<p><em style=\"color: #41423d; font-family: arial, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 18px;\">The Word for Today<\/em><span style=\"color: #41423d; font-family: arial, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 18px;\"> is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright \u00a9 2023<\/span><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.\u2019 2 Corinthians\u00a04:16\u00a0NKJV Next time you\u2019re at a supermarket checkout, notice the magazine covers. Airbrushed faces, toned bodies\u2014ads for diets and products that promise you can look that way too. Now, there is nothing wrong with looking your best and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[200,49,201,202,47],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25852"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucbasiapacific.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}