UCB UK The Lord!!

04/07/2025

Why can’t we work together? (1)

04 JULY 2025
‘Diotrephes, who loves to have the pre-eminence.’
3 John v. 9 NKJV

Reason one: insecurity. The Florentine philosopher Machiavelli said, ‘The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.’ Insecure leaders are threatened by talented individuals, so they surround themselves with weak people. As a result, the work suffers, and everybody involved suffers too. When a leader responds to a genuine question by saying, ‘How dare you challenge my authority,’ they’re dangerous and often not worth following.

Insecure leaders usually fail for two reasons: they want to maintain control over everything, or they’re afraid of being replaced by someone more competent. Either way, leaders who don’t encourage teamwork weaken their own potential and discourage those around them. President Woodrow Wilson said, ‘We should not only use all the brains we have, but all that we can borrow.’

John the Apostle tells us that Diotrephes, a leader in the church, ‘loves to have the pre-eminence’. What was this man’s problem? He wanted to blow everybody else’s light out in order to let his own light shine. So, John writes: ‘When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the travelling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church. Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God’ (3 John vs. 10-11 NLT). Let God’s approval – which you already have – make you secure!

2 Chronicles 28-29, Acts 27:27-44
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Copyright © Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission.

The UCB Word For Today

04/07/2025

Romans 6:23 in the bible says 'the wages (something we earn) of sin is death but; the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our (your) Lord!

03/07/2025

Amen

03/07/2025

Knowing when not to speak

03 JULY 2025
‘The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge.’
Proverbs 12:23 NLT

Someone else’s need to know shouldn’t determine your need to speak. When a friend of Jesus wanted to stop His arrest, Jesus said, ‘Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’ (Matthew 26:53 NIV). When Jesus stood in Pilate’s judgement hall, Pilate didn’t have the power; Jesus did! Yet, the Bible says that Jesus ‘opened not His mouth’ (Isaiah 53:7 NKJV). He just stood there and said nothing. Why? Because He was not on trial, Pilate was. Jesus knew His destiny, and, more importantly, He knew His heavenly Father intimately. And when you know God, you can face anything with confidence – and feel free to say nothing.

Sometimes the wisest thing is to say, ‘I don’t have the answer right now. But I will think about it, pray, and get back to you.’ ‘The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge, but fools broadcast their foolishness’ (Proverbs 12:23 NLT). When people are anxious for answers, they will try to pressure you into speaking before you have all the facts or have had a chance to pray and consider the situation carefully. If you ask God, He will tell you what to say and when to say it.

His promise is, ‘I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand’ (Isaiah 51:16 NIV). Pride says, ‘Don’t just stand there; say something!’ Wisdom says, ‘Don’t just say something; stand there!’ Quietly ask God for insight. One thought from God can solve the problem in a hurry.

2 Chronicles 25-27, Acts 27:1-26
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Copyright © Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission.

01/06/2025

You are the vessel, not the treasure

01 JUNE 2025
‘We have this treasure in earthen vessels.’
2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV

Be careful to make the distinction between the ‘earthen vessel’ and the ‘treasure’. Paul says, ‘We have this treasure’; he doesn’t say, ’We are this treasure’! Anytime you allow people to think of you as the treasure, God is not pleased, and you’re setting yourself up to fail. When God deposits a treasure within you, it means two things:

1) He expects a return on His investment.

2) You’re called to a higher level of responsibility and accountability.

Sometimes people think leaders are immune to life’s tests and trials. Not so! Because someone has talent doesn’t mean they don’t struggle in certain areas. Their struggles may be unseen, but they’re real. Let’s face it; God uses people we would have censured and thrown away, like Rahab working as a pr******te in Jericho. But when she placed her faith in God, He used her to help win the battle of Jericho. Then He included her in the family line of Christ (see Hebrews 11:31). And how about Jephthah? He was born to an u***d mother, rejected as illegitimate by his half brothers and sisters, and ended up living in a cave with a gang. Yet God used him to deliver Israel and become one of its youngest leaders (see Hebrews 11:32).

God specialises in restoring broken vessels. He takes things that aren’t productive – marriages that don’t work, people with problems – and teaches them how to be victorious and fruitful in His service. Knowing that gives you the strength and tenacity to face whatever comes because you understand that when God places His treasure within you, He protects it, uses it, and blesses it.

Luke 10:1-24 , Psalms 57-59
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Copyright © Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission.

The UCB Word For Today

17/05/2025

Today’s UCB word for today UCB.co.uk/wft
Make time for your spouse. We get busy with kids, jobs, and church activities, and we think we will spend time with our spouse when things calm down. The problem is – they never do. Don’t let the weeds of so-called important things choke your relationship.

When asked if they believed that the Bible was the inspired and the infallible Word of God, a majority of sixteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds in America said, ‘Yes. Give it to me straight. And if you don’t live it, don’t give it!’ It’s an honest response! Think about it: who told the first l...

23/06/2024

Ucb.co.uk/wft

He is there. It’s by being shaken to the core that you develop an unshakable faith in God. When that happens, you can stand on His Word which says, ‘I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go’ (Genesis 28:15 NIV).

If you live long enough, life will bring you bad news. It may be the loss of a loved one, your health, your income, your marriage, your reputation, etc. The psalmist wrote, ‘When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.’ When bad times come, you need to hold on to everything you know about who God is...

21/12/2023

Are you excited yet? It’s time to remember like the line in the Lauren Daigle Song Noelle ‘Come and see what God has done’ PTL!