UCB Word For Today

Pray for a revelation of God’s love (2) Jun 11, 2026 123 Thomas Aquinas was one of the most prolific writers and thinkers of the Middle Ages. His Summa Theologica is one of history’s most exhausting and enduring theologies. But Aquinas never finished it because of something that happened on 6th December 1273, that caused him to give up writing. ‘All that I have written seems to be like straw,’ Aquinas said, ‘compared to what has now been revealed to me.

Pray for a revelation of God’s love (1) Jun 10, 2026 127 In the realm of general relativity, an event horizon is the point of no return. It’s the point at which gravitational pull becomes so great that it’s impossible to escape. The most obvious example is the black hole – a celestial object so massive that light can only enter but never exit its gravitational field. The escape velocity of a black hole is greater than the speed of light, which is imposs

Practise God-confidence rather than self-confidence Jun 9, 2026 119 Pride promotes self-reliance. It tells us we can indeed do things on our own. In our attempt to walk in self-confidence, we slam the door in God’s face and shut out the work of the Holy Spirit, our Helper. Paul was educated, sophisticated, and consecrated, yet he humbly declared, ‘I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted Go

The whole world must hear God’s Word Jun 8, 2026 127 In 1993, a group called AD2000 United Prayer Track came up with an innovative idea. To help realise their goal of ‘a church for every people and the gospel for every person by AD2000’, they established a programme called ‘Praying through the Window’. The ‘window’ referred to an area on the globe from ten degrees to forty degrees north of the Equator, from North Africa and southern Spain eastward t

The life-giving Word Jun 7, 2026 125 Jesus was called ‘Rabbi’ eleven times in the Gospels. But He wasn’t like any other rabbi. Rabbis quoted others, but Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you…’ In the gospel of John, He said it twice: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you…’ The reason Jesus wasn’t like any other rabbi was because He was God manifested in the flesh. And Paul says, ‘Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’

Developing a spiritual mindset Jun 6, 2026 115 Muscle memory isn’t stored in your muscles. It’s a procedural memory that is stored in your brain any time you repeat a muscle movement. Whether it’s putting a golf ball or playing a violin, the muscle memory becomes stronger the more it is repeated. Have you heard about the 10,000-hour rule? Psychologists say that’s the amount of time it takes to become an expert at anything. That’s encouraging b

How to conquer your Jericho (2) Jun 5, 2026 142 Before conquering Jericho, God told Joshua to ‘circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time’. Six hundred years earlier, God had inaugurated the practice of male circumcision. He told Abraham that it would be ‘a sign of the covenant between Me and you’ (Genesis 17:11 NKJV). What was the message here? Remember whose you are! In a sense, all believers have been circumcised. Paul wrote, ‘When

How to conquer your Jericho (1) Jun 4, 2026 131 Jericho was the strongest city in the Promised Land and the first Joshua’s army had to conquer. You could say it represents the biggest challenge you’re facing right now. Because the towering walls of Jericho looked impregnable, it would have been intimidating to any would-be invader. So God told His people to remember and record what He’d done for them in the past. In essence He told them, ‘Befor

Knowing and enjoying your inheritance Jun 3, 2026 126 We share the same inheritance as Christ! Whatever He has, we have! ‘Our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s’ (1 John 4:17 MSG). So, if we are co-heirs with Christ, why do we struggle through life? For two reasons: 1) We don’t know about our inheritance – 'The exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe’ (Ephesians 1:19 NKJV). No one ever told us that instead of fighting fo

Believe God for abundance Jun 2, 2026 115 A young artist called her aunt one day to let her know she was leaving on a trip to a fashionable resort to try and sell her wood carvings of seabirds to the owner of a gift shop. She asked her aunt to pray that her venture would be successful. Her aunt assured her that she would pray for the largest order she had ever received! That evening, the young artist called her aunt back. Not only had the

P.R.A.Y. (Pause, Reverence, Ask, Yield) Jun 1, 2026 132 In her book 30 Days to a Stronger, More Confident You, author Deborah Smith Pegues uses the word ‘pray’ as an acronym: ‘Pause. I stop all activity and focus completely on God. Worship is total preoccupation…The greatest honour and respect we can give to anyone is our undivided attention…Reverence. I express my admiration for all His attributes…At this point, distractions start to pop up like dande

Today God is ‘with you’ May 31, 2026 118 To have a personal relationship with someone, there must be two-way communication. Even the most uncommunicative spouse has to grunt every once in a while, or it isn’t a marriage – it’s a monologue. So, the Lord being with you, and you being with the Lord, takes place primarily in your mind. Two people may occupy the same room, but if one of them is sleeping or engrossed in television, they’re not

Ask God for a dream May 30, 2026 122 Job the patriarch said: ‘For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night…while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men’ (Job 33:14-16 NKJV). A dream can be an important message from God or an answer to your prayer. God gave Paul a dream in which a man from Macedonia appeared to him saying, ‘Come over and help us’ (see

God is working in you, with you, and through you May 29, 2026 124 Just before He was arrested and taken to the cross, Jesus prayed: ‘[Father], I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.’ When it comes to recognising and responding to God’s presence in our lives, Christian author, John Ortberg, says he lives by these twelve truths: 1) God is always pres

Go on a complaining fast May 28, 2026 132 Whatever you keep doing becomes a habit. That’s why James says, ‘do not complain’. Author Jon Gordon says, ‘A complaining fast won’t just make everyone around you happier…you’ll experience more joy, peace, success and positive relationships.’ So instead of complaining when things go wrong: 1) Practise gratitude. Giving thanks for three blessings every day energises you and makes you feel happier.

Christ can satisfy your soul May 27, 2026 113 She lived in Samaria, had been married five times, and was now living with a man who was not her husband. Maybe gossipers wagged their tongues about her. How else would you explain her midday appearance at the well? Other women fill their buckets at sunrise, but this woman opted for noon, preferring the heat of the sun over the heat of their scorn. Were it not for the appearance of a stranger, her

The touch of His hand May 26, 2026 110 In her book A Slow and Certain Light, Elisabeth Elliott wrote: ‘When I lived in the Forest of Ecuador, I usually travelled on foot…Trails often led through streams and rivers which we had to wade, but sometimes there was a log high above the water which we had to cross. I dreaded those logs and was always tempted to take the steep, hard way down into the ravine and up the other side. But the [loca

Overcoming workaholism May 25, 2026 115 One of Satan’s tactics is to take us from one extreme to the other – from laziness to workaholism. Understanding the difference between being a hard worker versus a workaholic is key. Hard workers have the wisdom to set limits on how much they will do in the course of a day. In her book 30 Days to a Stronger, More Confident You, Deborah Smith Pegues wrote: ‘I was in denial about my propensity towa

God is ‘at work in you’ May 24, 2026 121 God is at work ‘in you’. What is He working on? Your ‘will’. What does He want you to do? ‘Act according to His good purpose.’ How does He accomplish this? Through your mind: ‘Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 2:5 NKJV). God can speak to you audibly, through circumstances, or through another person. But because God can give you His thoughts or guide your thoughts

He’s the God of new beginnings May 23, 2026 113 Our God is the God of new beginnings! The Bible says: ‘Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.’ It is never too late for a new beginning. And what’s even more remarkable is that God uses people like us to help others find a new beginning. The Bible contains many accounts of men and women who got a second chance and, by God’s

Know who you are May 22, 2026 115 Who are you? It seems like a simple question but is often one of the most challenging to answer. To know who you are and what you stand for, to be aware of how you’re perceived by others and how you present yourself to the world, is one of the most important aspects of a well-lived life. This could be called your ‘personal brand’. Your brand consists of attributes that are present for every encoun

You have full forgiveness May 21, 2026 121 How many times must the apostle Paul, who was once known as Saul the persecutor of Christians, have had flashbacks to Stephen’s stoning? Or the countless other Christians he hunted down like animals? Paul was an eyewitness, which means those snapshots were sealed into his visual cortex. When he closed his eyes, those images could have haunted him for the rest of his life. By today’s standards, Sau

‘Overnight success’ usually takes many years May 20, 2026 118 Country-music star Randy Travis and his manager, Lib, remember the lean days of his career – all 3,650 of them. For ten years, Lib did whatever it took to keep her club open long enough for somebody to discover Travis’s talent. For his part, Randy sang his heart out. And when he wasn’t singing, he was frying catfish and washing dishes in the kitchen. Then it happened. His break came, and everythin

Are you washing your nets? May 19, 2026 118 Why would fishermen wash nets that hadn’t been used? The answer is they were quitting because of an overnight problem. ‘We have fished all night and caught nothing’ (see v. 5). Their expectations had been destroyed. They believed that the way things were was the way they’d be. They were beaten! That’s when Jesus showed up. He came to where they were; He walked right into the middle of their disapp

The worst failure…is failure to try May 18, 2026 124 It’s impossible to live successfully without taking risks. Leo Buscaglia wrote: ‘To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement…To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk being called naïve. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair, and to t

The way up is down May 17, 2026 126 God will not tolerate pride from anyone. If self-exalted ones refuse to humble themselves, they leave God no other choice than to do it for them. One day, pride got the better of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon: ‘As he looked out across the city, he said, “Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic s

Live like you believe it! (2) May 16, 2026 117 The Archbishop of Canterbury was acquainted with an actor named Mr Butterton. One day he asked Butterton, ‘What is the reason you actors on stage can affect your congregations with the speaking of things imaginary, as if they were real, while we in church speak of things real, which our congregations only receive as if they were imaginary?’ Butterton replied, ‘We actors on stage speak of things im

Live like you believe it! (1) May 15, 2026 119 A fascinating experiment was conducted a half century ago. Three men tested their strength on a gripping machine, with an average measure of 101 pounds of pressure. Then the participants were hypnotised, and the experimenter told them, ‘You cannot grip because you are weak.’ Under the power of suggestion, their average grip strength fell to 29 pounds of pressure. Then the experimenter said, ‘Now y

Will you hear Christ, or the crisis? May 14, 2026 125 Jesus told His disciples: ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Next, we read: ‘A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat’ (v. 37 NIV). The disciples turned to Jesus and found Him sound asleep! They screamed, ‘Don’t you care if we drown?’ (v. 38 NIV). Jesus woke up, commanded the storm to shut up, and then said to the disciples, ‘Do you still have no faith?’ (v. 40 NIV). What a stu

God will give you knowledge and understanding May 13, 2026 116 Bill Gates predicted: ‘There will be “two societies” in the future; high-paid knowledge workers and low-paid service workers.’ The saying ‘knowledge is power’ is true. And it’s even more dynamic in the spiritual realm. The more you know about God, the more confident you’ll be. Knowledge of God’s Word can give clarity to the puzzling issues of life. When a certain religious sect tried to pull Jesus

When you long for companionship May 12, 2026 117 God recognised our need for companionship when He said, ‘“It is not good for the man to be alone”…Then…God made a woman…and he brought her to the man’ (vv. 18, 22 NIV). Most of us are social beings who are at our best around others. We garner energy and support from them. But there are those who feel a sense of shame over admitting their loneliness. They long for people to share their lives with b

God’s answer to anxiety (1) Oct 18, 2025 116 Anxiety is the curse of the modern era, but it’s not a new trend. Throughout Scripture, Jesus talked a lot about anxiety, stress, and fear. In fact, He mentioned them repeatedly in His teachings. In Matthew 6:25-27, He said, ‘Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or…what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; the

Be guided by wisdom, not impulse Mar 26, 2025 131 If you are impulsive, you tend to lack discipline. You can be thoughtless, or insensitive to others, or driven by appetite. You may have a hard time with delayed gratification. You have a low frustration tolerance. You get bored easily. You can fly off the handle. If this describes you, here are six principles you should try to incorporate into your life: 1) Ask counsel from wise friends before pl

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