Standards: April 23, 2010

April 23. TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY APRIL 23, 2010.

STANDARDS

Definition:

A basis for comparison; a principle that is used for a basis of judgment.

SCRIPTURE:

What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God with all your heart, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees. Deuteronomy 10:12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

God has set standards for us who love Him to keep. Setting human standards that ignore God and His commandments have no lasting effect. For the non-believers standards are made to be broken.

For those who know Jesus as his or her Savior, a standard has significant importance. A believer in Jesus lives by the standards that Jesus gives us. God first gave the children of Israel His standards that He expected them to live by. We read in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, that there were five things that God expected of them. They were: 1. Reverence God. 2. Walk in all His ways. 3. Love Him. 4. Serve Him with all your heart and soul. 5. Observe His commands.

Jesus, when He was here on earth, lived by and taught these same standards. God does not change. His standards for us are the same that they were for the children of Israel and as they were some 2000 years ago when Jesus was on this earth and taught them personally. Standards are essential in every person’s life. Are you living the way that God expects of you and are you keeping God’s standards?

Here is a list of standards for you to evaluate. Do you set a time daily for reading the Bible, praying to God, spending time with the family and communicating with your spouse?

At the workplace do you set yourself a standard of excellence in your work, completing your work, communicating to the people you work with and living a life that exemplifies the Lord?

What about your church? Do you set examples and a standard for your family, friends and neighbors? Do you attend church and Sunday school? Are you involved in a home bible study group? Do you volunteer to help in some area? Do others during the week see the same standard on Monday that you live by on Sunday?

We are sure that these are enough questions to get you to think about setting standards in your life that honor God. Standards are necessary in life so that we can build our life on a base.

God has given us in the Old Testament TEN standards to build our lives on. We know them today as the Ten Commandments. We urge you to read these today and then print them and put them in a prominent place in your home so you have to read them daily. If you choose to do this and then choose to live by them your life will change dramatically over night. Take time today to set some standards for your life. The TEN COMMANDMENTS are a good beginning and they cover every area of life.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 11:30.

He who wins souls is wise.

PRAYER:

Give me and my family standards in our lives that we can live by and will also honor Your name. Give us a check and balance system so that we can grade ourselves and see those standards that we fail to keep. May we have a new direction and a firm dedication to live our lives in a way that honors and glorifies Your name.