Boundaries: April 26, 2010

April 26. TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY APRIL 26, 2010

BOUNDARIES

DEFINITION:

Rules to enforce standards; something that indicates limits.

SCRIPTURE:

Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22: 37-39.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Jesus put it right on the line for all believers when He gave us His standard to love the Lord thy God and love our neighbors. This sets up the boundary we need if we are going to honor Him and serve Him. When we love Jesus and our neighbors it puts us in a position of honoring God in all that we do. Webster defines boundaries as rules to enforce standards. The boundaries we have are what God has given us, the Ten Commandments, His Word and our personal experience with Him.

The prophet Nehemiah was governor of Jerusalem after he returned from exile. God had spoken to him and directed him to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah responded because he knew that God knew that the Jewish people living in Jerusalem needed a boundary around them to protect them from their enemies. (Nehemiah chapters 3-4)

Just like those that lived in Jerusalem during Nehemiah’s time needed a boundary in the form of a wall to protect them from invaders, we as believers need a boundary of protection to protect us from the invasion of sin that we face daily.

Take a moment right now and think about the enemies we face as Christians. We live in a culture that basically ignores God and thus we face evil influences everywhere we turn. When we live out our faith we face times when our faith is questioned. We are asked such things as “How can you believe that there is a God when all these bad things are happening?”

We face temptations daily. How many times a day are you tempted to do something that is not honest or at least borders on being dishonest. This is Satan at work in this world and the temptations we face begin with little things and then they get bigger and bigger and soon God is forgotten.

Our children face the evils of drugs, alcohol, sex and plain dishonesty and a philosophy of living for self glorification. Just sit down with a young person and get them to talk to you about the things they face in life and you will be appalled.

A boundary according to Webster indicates limits. In the Christian life it is like a line dividing right from wrong, what is pleasing to God and what is not. When we cross the line and do what is not pleasing to God, it is wrong and a sin and we have breached the boundary that the Lord has set for us. So often we make excuses like what is wrong if it is only a little white lie, or it will never be missed if I steal it, or if nobody knows about it, how can extramarital sex be bad?

How many drug addicts became addicted because they thought it would never hurt to try an illegal drug just once? How many drunkards started with just one drink? Once the boundary between right and wrong is breached, no matter how small the breach, it is like a tiny crack in a dam. The breach continues to expand until the floodgates are let loose and causes a disaster. We have only to look at the shattered lives all around us and the broken homes with families in total disarray to see the tragic results of crossing God’s boundaries.

This is why we need as believers, for ourselves and our families, to build boundaries that will protect us from the evils of this world. We need support systems. We need family communication daily. We need time praying alone and as a family asking God to give us the protection we need from the enemies we face. We need time alone and as a family to read God’s Word. This is the only way God can communicate with us. His Word is vital for the stabilization of the boundaries built around us as believers.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Isaiah 53:6.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

PRAYER:

It is my prayer today that You will help me build around me boundaries that will protect me from the evils of this world that I live in. I ask the same for my family and my friends. Give each one of us the strength and courage to live a shining life for You today in all that we do. Protect us from the evils of Satan who is in this world and give us a new dedication to live for You.