March 19. TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY MARCH 19, 2010.
REVIVAL
DEFINITION:
A reawaking or reviving interest in and care for religion; a meeting to promote a religious awakening; restoration to life; the act or effect of reviving.
SCRIPTURE:
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Revelation 2:4.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When we think of a revival we think of several times in our lives when we experienced what we consider to be “revival.” To us revival is a time when people experience a reawakening as to their relationship with God and Jesus. We do not think that a revival can be accomplished by mans own effort but takes place when God through His Holy Spirit works in the heart of believers and emotionally moves them to have a reawaking of their faith.
In Habakkuk 3:1-19 we have the prayer of Habakkuk, a prophet of God, praying for revival some six centuries before Christ was born because he saw that wickedness prevailed and it was his desire to see God’s people return to God and righteousness. He wanted revival. As in his days we experience the same concerns today. God’s people, whether it is a church, a mission, a school, a family or an individual, sometimes leave their “first love” as did the church at Ephesus. (Revelation 2:4)
Difficulties arise, time passes, emphasis change, key people move away and almost unnoticed the life and zeal for the Lord vanishes. When God is forgotten, wickedness prevails. This happened in Habakkuk’s day and we can learn from the elements in his prayer as to how he cried out to God for revival. In this third chapter of Habakkuk he gives us the following guidelines for God to bring revival in our lives today:
• We must first take God’s Word seriously. Do we really believe what God commands us to do and are we willing to do it?
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• There must be a direct request for revival to God. His words were “O Lord revive Your work in the midst of the years.”
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• We need to appeal to God for mercy according to His will and not asking for what we think we deserve.
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• We need to acknowledge the great power of God over all His creation and acknowledge that God can do what is necessary to revive our “first Love’ for Him.
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• An acknowledgement that God punishes sinful man and nations and we deserve that punishment because we were born sinners.
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• We need to affirm that God is our strength, that He is the source of our daily walk, and that He is the source of all of our blessings, that He is in control of our future and that we praise Him for His saving grace.
•
When we were in college we witnessed a unique revival among the students. It began with an ordinary regular chapel which developed into a memorial service in remembrance of former students that attended Wheaton College and went to witness to the Auca Indians in Peru. The result was that they were all killed on January 8, 1956 and were martyrs because they were endeavoring to reach this tribe of Waorani Indians that had never seen a white man nor heard of Jesus or the gospel.
The chapel time continued for hours with student after student getting up to confess their sins, to pray for their needs and to pray for those that needed Jesus. This continued into the night and into the next day. This was true revival because it was not scheduled by man but happened because it was God’s perfect timing to move in the lives of students to give them a revived desire to seek God’s will in their lives in order to serve Him.
In this world we live in today we need a world-wide revival like we experienced over 50 years ago at our college. We leave with you today one verse that is found in II Chronicles 7:14. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
All of us as Christians can become lax in our commitment to our Lord and need to have a revival in our own life. To experience a revival in your life you must come to the Lord in prayer and humbly confess to Him your sins. You must not just repent of your sins but you must quit your sinful ways and recommit yourself to be obedient to what God wants you to do.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Give me this day a reawakening of my faith in You that I may serve You to the best of my ability. Help me to be the testimony You want of me so that my life will be an example and encourage others to have a new and fresh desire to serve You.
March 21, 2010
Backsliding: March 18, 2010
March 18. TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY MARCH 18, 2010.
BACKSLIDING
DEFINITION:
To relapse into bad habits; sinful behavior or undesirable activities; the abandoning of religious principles or practices.
SCRIPTURE:
Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord almighty. Jeremiah 2:19
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
A backslider is a person who made a decision to follow Christ but then relapsed into bad habits that God considers sin. A backslider will soon fall victim to his or her sins and will soon start to fully abandon his or her spiritual beliefs.
Backsliding brought on the downfall of Israel. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to confront the people of Judah with their sins and to warn them of the coming destruction of their nation if they did not repent. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, Jeremiah reminds them of God’s command to them to “obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward not forward.”
When we do not listen to God and pay attention to what He tells us, we will become backsliders just like the Israelites. Instead of going forward with the Lord, we will go backward following our evil desires. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God or they would be punished. The Israelites did not repent and Jerusalem was destroyed.
When we think of a Biblical example of a backslider we think of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. He fled because he did not want this assignment. Jonah was fleeing on a ship and then in a storm he was thrown overboard by the crew and was swallowed up, as the scriptures tell us by a big fish. We assume that this was a whale. Jonah, the scriptures tell us was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. To say the least he was being “rewarded” for his backsliding.
In Jonah 2:1-9 and the MESSAGE translation there is a very vivid and clear report of what Jonah then did while inside the fish. He cried out to God asking for forgiveness and God heard him. In his prayer to God from the belly of the whale he said, “I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”
The Lord then spoke to the fish, the scripture says and the fish vomited up Jonah. Once again the Lord said to Jonah that he must go to Nineveh and preach the message I tell you. Jonah went to Nineveh and cried out to the people that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown unless the people repented. The people of Nineveh responded and believed in God and God did not destroy them.
God gave Jonah a second chance. He backslid and paid a severe penalty and when he was at his lowest point he prayed to God. God heard his prayer and responded by giving him a second chance and Jonah went to Nineveh with the message that God wanted them to hear.
In the verse we have written above, we are reminded that when one backslides and falls out of a relationship with God, that if one confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. God loves us and wants us to serve Him. We really do serve a wonderful and patient God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Help me today not to backslide away from my relationship with You. Keep me from relapsing into bad habits or sinful behavior that brings dishonor to You. May those that are not following You see through me the joy that I have in my life because of my faith in You.
BACKSLIDING
DEFINITION:
To relapse into bad habits; sinful behavior or undesirable activities; the abandoning of religious principles or practices.
SCRIPTURE:
Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord almighty. Jeremiah 2:19
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
A backslider is a person who made a decision to follow Christ but then relapsed into bad habits that God considers sin. A backslider will soon fall victim to his or her sins and will soon start to fully abandon his or her spiritual beliefs.
Backsliding brought on the downfall of Israel. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to confront the people of Judah with their sins and to warn them of the coming destruction of their nation if they did not repent. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, Jeremiah reminds them of God’s command to them to “obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward not forward.”
When we do not listen to God and pay attention to what He tells us, we will become backsliders just like the Israelites. Instead of going forward with the Lord, we will go backward following our evil desires. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God or they would be punished. The Israelites did not repent and Jerusalem was destroyed.
When we think of a Biblical example of a backslider we think of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. He fled because he did not want this assignment. Jonah was fleeing on a ship and then in a storm he was thrown overboard by the crew and was swallowed up, as the scriptures tell us by a big fish. We assume that this was a whale. Jonah, the scriptures tell us was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. To say the least he was being “rewarded” for his backsliding.
In Jonah 2:1-9 and the MESSAGE translation there is a very vivid and clear report of what Jonah then did while inside the fish. He cried out to God asking for forgiveness and God heard him. In his prayer to God from the belly of the whale he said, “I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”
The Lord then spoke to the fish, the scripture says and the fish vomited up Jonah. Once again the Lord said to Jonah that he must go to Nineveh and preach the message I tell you. Jonah went to Nineveh and cried out to the people that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown unless the people repented. The people of Nineveh responded and believed in God and God did not destroy them.
God gave Jonah a second chance. He backslid and paid a severe penalty and when he was at his lowest point he prayed to God. God heard his prayer and responded by giving him a second chance and Jonah went to Nineveh with the message that God wanted them to hear.
In the verse we have written above, we are reminded that when one backslides and falls out of a relationship with God, that if one confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. God loves us and wants us to serve Him. We really do serve a wonderful and patient God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Help me today not to backslide away from my relationship with You. Keep me from relapsing into bad habits or sinful behavior that brings dishonor to You. May those that are not following You see through me the joy that I have in my life because of my faith in You.
Nedcissity: March 17, 2010
March 17. TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MARCH 17, 2010
NECESSITY
DEFINITION:
A requirement or need for something; something essential to existence; the state or fact of being inevitable; compulsion; something necessary or indispensible.
SCRIPTURE:
Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. Acts 20:34.
For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Philippians 4:16.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
In life we often feel that we have need for many things that we consider necessities. But there are really only two necessities for our physical life and those are water and food. We say this because one of the definitions of necessities is something that is essential to existence. We all feel, though, that we have many other necessities in life. Some of these “things” include a place to live, clothes, money and even a vehicle and a job.
One of the things we had to teach our children was the difference between what they needed and what they wanted. Whenever a new toy came on the market that was popular with their peers and a big seller our children would want one as well. Some of these toys even back then were not cheap. We were raising our six children on a tight budget and couldn’t always get the toy that our children thought they just had to have.
We taught our children through these experiences that in life from time to time we had to make decisions based on needs and not on our wants. So our children learned to adjust their desires to obtain what was really needed but we still always did our best to get each child what they wanted within in the guidelines of being fair and putting needs first.
When our oldest son went from junior high school to senior high school he regularly wore jeans purchased out of the Sears catalogue. A few weeks into the school year Dottie heard one of our son’s friends ask him why he did not wear Levi jeans like everyone else wore. It is important to note that our son never complained but we still decided to get him Levi jeans even though he never asked because he knew that it was only something he wanted but not something he needed. It was not a necessity.
In John 6:1-14 we read about the feeding of the 5000. Large crowds followed Jesus wherever He went and Jesus knew the spiritual needs of these people and He spent time talking to them and giving them His message of love and redemption.
It was nearly time for the feast of the Passover and Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with His disciples and the crowd followed. Jesus looked at the crowd of about five thousand men and the women and children. He saw the necessity of food for the people as they had not eaten for some time.
Jesus asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” Jesus already knew what He was going to do to meet this necessity but He wanted to stretch Philip’s faith. It made Philip realize the impossibility of giving food for so many. You know the rest of the story. Jesus took the five barley loaves of bread and the two fish that a young boy had with him and fed all the people all they needed and still had twelve large baskets with leftovers. Jesus saw the necessity of food and the needs of the 5000 were met. We learn from this that Jesus will supply all of our needs when we put our trust in Him.
The apostle Paul never wanted to be dependent on anyone and no matter where he traveled he worked to provide for his own necessities as we read about in Acts 20:34. Paul did have times when he was in need of help. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:16, while he was in prison in Rome, to thank the church for the gifts they had sent to meet his necessities.
It was because of the giving of others that Paul’s needs were met. In 11 Corinthians 9:7, Paul reminds us of the importance of giving back to God a portion of what He gives to us. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” In this verse Paul says we are not to give out of necessity (feeling we have to) but because we genuinely want to give cheerfully from our heart.
Our Lord has promised to supply all of our needs. He will meet every necessity in our lives and we then should want to give back to Him a portion of what He has given to us cheerfully and with a thankful heart.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Thank You dear Lord, for providing for me and my family all the necessities of life. You have blessed us far and beyond our needs and we are so grateful for Your blessings. Help our family to share with others the gift of life that You have for them to meet their “necessity” to be saved from their sins.
NECESSITY
DEFINITION:
A requirement or need for something; something essential to existence; the state or fact of being inevitable; compulsion; something necessary or indispensible.
SCRIPTURE:
Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. Acts 20:34.
For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Philippians 4:16.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
In life we often feel that we have need for many things that we consider necessities. But there are really only two necessities for our physical life and those are water and food. We say this because one of the definitions of necessities is something that is essential to existence. We all feel, though, that we have many other necessities in life. Some of these “things” include a place to live, clothes, money and even a vehicle and a job.
One of the things we had to teach our children was the difference between what they needed and what they wanted. Whenever a new toy came on the market that was popular with their peers and a big seller our children would want one as well. Some of these toys even back then were not cheap. We were raising our six children on a tight budget and couldn’t always get the toy that our children thought they just had to have.
We taught our children through these experiences that in life from time to time we had to make decisions based on needs and not on our wants. So our children learned to adjust their desires to obtain what was really needed but we still always did our best to get each child what they wanted within in the guidelines of being fair and putting needs first.
When our oldest son went from junior high school to senior high school he regularly wore jeans purchased out of the Sears catalogue. A few weeks into the school year Dottie heard one of our son’s friends ask him why he did not wear Levi jeans like everyone else wore. It is important to note that our son never complained but we still decided to get him Levi jeans even though he never asked because he knew that it was only something he wanted but not something he needed. It was not a necessity.
In John 6:1-14 we read about the feeding of the 5000. Large crowds followed Jesus wherever He went and Jesus knew the spiritual needs of these people and He spent time talking to them and giving them His message of love and redemption.
It was nearly time for the feast of the Passover and Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with His disciples and the crowd followed. Jesus looked at the crowd of about five thousand men and the women and children. He saw the necessity of food for the people as they had not eaten for some time.
Jesus asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” Jesus already knew what He was going to do to meet this necessity but He wanted to stretch Philip’s faith. It made Philip realize the impossibility of giving food for so many. You know the rest of the story. Jesus took the five barley loaves of bread and the two fish that a young boy had with him and fed all the people all they needed and still had twelve large baskets with leftovers. Jesus saw the necessity of food and the needs of the 5000 were met. We learn from this that Jesus will supply all of our needs when we put our trust in Him.
The apostle Paul never wanted to be dependent on anyone and no matter where he traveled he worked to provide for his own necessities as we read about in Acts 20:34. Paul did have times when he was in need of help. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:16, while he was in prison in Rome, to thank the church for the gifts they had sent to meet his necessities.
It was because of the giving of others that Paul’s needs were met. In 11 Corinthians 9:7, Paul reminds us of the importance of giving back to God a portion of what He gives to us. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” In this verse Paul says we are not to give out of necessity (feeling we have to) but because we genuinely want to give cheerfully from our heart.
Our Lord has promised to supply all of our needs. He will meet every necessity in our lives and we then should want to give back to Him a portion of what He has given to us cheerfully and with a thankful heart.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Thank You dear Lord, for providing for me and my family all the necessities of life. You have blessed us far and beyond our needs and we are so grateful for Your blessings. Help our family to share with others the gift of life that You have for them to meet their “necessity” to be saved from their sins.
Grace: March 16, 2010
March 16. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY MARCH 16, 2010.
GRACE
DEFINITION:
Mercy; clemency and pardon; freely given unmerited favor; Divine favor.
SCRIPTURE:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. Lamentations 3:22-25.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Most people cannot give a good definition of grace from a Biblical perspective. This is because they really do not understand that true grace from a Biblical perspective is the clemency and pardon that God offers us to save us from our sins. It is given freely to us even though it is unmerited if we will admit that we are sinners. Simply stated, grace is God’s unmerited favor. God sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and we then can be saved from our sinful nature by GOD’S GRACE!
Many times in church we have sung a hymn with the words “Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sins.” There is no sin that God by His grace has not forgiven.
Raising children takes a lot of grace. As a parent, no doubt, you have said, “How many times do I have to tell you?” We said that to our children more often than we can remember. Our children did try our patience but because we loved them we forgave them. Because they were our children we gave them our unmerited favor.
God freely gives to us, by grace, our salvation because He loves us. Yes, salvation is given to us by grace and not by the works we do as the scripture above tells us. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn our salvation. It is God’s gift to us. When we have accepted the salvation that God offers us by His grace we should be so grateful for what He has done for us that we will want to do good works for Him.
Especially in our times of crisis we need to grasp the importance of every hour and dare not forget that God’s grace (mercy) everyday gives us a second chance to serve Him. His compassion fails not (Lamentations 3, above) and He has new mercy for us every day.
In John 5:1-18 we read the account of the sick man at the pool of Bethesda. This pool was near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. Hundreds of sick people, blind, crippled and paralyzed sat and lay by this pool because they believed that when the water stirred, the first sick person that got in the pool would be healed.
One man had been an invalid there for 38 years. When Jesus saw this man stretched out by the pool and He knew how long he had been there, He said to the sick man, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man responded to Jesus by saying. “Sir, when the water is stirred, I do not have anyone to put me in the pool and by the time I get in, somebody else is already in the pool.”
Jesus responded by saying, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. Usually Jesus healed in response to faith. In this case the man did not even know who Jesus was nor did he ask Jesus for help. His healing was unmerited but because of Jesus mercy on him he was healed by grace. Later Jesus saw the man in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning.” The man only saw his need for physical healing but God saw his need to be spiritually healed.
This is a wonderful example of God’s grace. This man never asked to be saved but God through His grace not only healed him but gave him by grace eternal life. Jesus healed him to show that He had the power to save by grace those that want to know Jesus.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Thank You that You have saved me by your grace. Help me to learn by the experiences that we read in Your Word as to how to share our faith with those who do not know You. Give me the strength and courage today to lead my family to a closer relationship with you knowing that we need to begin in our home to serve You daily.
GRACE
DEFINITION:
Mercy; clemency and pardon; freely given unmerited favor; Divine favor.
SCRIPTURE:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. Lamentations 3:22-25.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Most people cannot give a good definition of grace from a Biblical perspective. This is because they really do not understand that true grace from a Biblical perspective is the clemency and pardon that God offers us to save us from our sins. It is given freely to us even though it is unmerited if we will admit that we are sinners. Simply stated, grace is God’s unmerited favor. God sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and we then can be saved from our sinful nature by GOD’S GRACE!
Many times in church we have sung a hymn with the words “Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sins.” There is no sin that God by His grace has not forgiven.
Raising children takes a lot of grace. As a parent, no doubt, you have said, “How many times do I have to tell you?” We said that to our children more often than we can remember. Our children did try our patience but because we loved them we forgave them. Because they were our children we gave them our unmerited favor.
God freely gives to us, by grace, our salvation because He loves us. Yes, salvation is given to us by grace and not by the works we do as the scripture above tells us. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn our salvation. It is God’s gift to us. When we have accepted the salvation that God offers us by His grace we should be so grateful for what He has done for us that we will want to do good works for Him.
Especially in our times of crisis we need to grasp the importance of every hour and dare not forget that God’s grace (mercy) everyday gives us a second chance to serve Him. His compassion fails not (Lamentations 3, above) and He has new mercy for us every day.
In John 5:1-18 we read the account of the sick man at the pool of Bethesda. This pool was near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. Hundreds of sick people, blind, crippled and paralyzed sat and lay by this pool because they believed that when the water stirred, the first sick person that got in the pool would be healed.
One man had been an invalid there for 38 years. When Jesus saw this man stretched out by the pool and He knew how long he had been there, He said to the sick man, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man responded to Jesus by saying. “Sir, when the water is stirred, I do not have anyone to put me in the pool and by the time I get in, somebody else is already in the pool.”
Jesus responded by saying, “Get up, take your bedroll, start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off. Usually Jesus healed in response to faith. In this case the man did not even know who Jesus was nor did he ask Jesus for help. His healing was unmerited but because of Jesus mercy on him he was healed by grace. Later Jesus saw the man in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning.” The man only saw his need for physical healing but God saw his need to be spiritually healed.
This is a wonderful example of God’s grace. This man never asked to be saved but God through His grace not only healed him but gave him by grace eternal life. Jesus healed him to show that He had the power to save by grace those that want to know Jesus.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Thank You that You have saved me by your grace. Help me to learn by the experiences that we read in Your Word as to how to share our faith with those who do not know You. Give me the strength and courage today to lead my family to a closer relationship with you knowing that we need to begin in our home to serve You daily.
Life: March 15, 2010
March 15. MONDAY MARCH 15, 2010
LIFE
DEFINITION:
Duration of existence; a living being; human existence; a career; a condition or course of living.
SCRIPTURE:
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139: 13-14.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6.
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. Deuteronomy 30:19
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
God created us to live a life that is productive and full. Real life comes from a total commitment to God. It is not an easy commitment because it requires discipline and a willingness to yield oneself to God.
Many never find happiness in life, like the believer does, because they look for it in gratification of getting possessions and material things that they feel will make them “happy.” The problem with this philosophy is that things really do not satisfy. They always want more and their lives are empty and they do not understand why.
Contrast this with the life of one that has put his or her faith in the Lord. Even though we were born as sinners and into an evil world with sinful influences all around us, God provided a substitute for us who paid our penalty for our sins. The result, as believers, we can live a life of hope knowing that we have God walking with us through all the ups and downs of life. As it says in the verse we have listed below for you to memorize this week, “God is with you wherever you go.”
David recognized that God is life and the creator of life. In Psalms 139, David describes God as fashioning his tiny body together in the darkness of his mother’s womb. God knew and loved David before he ever existed. God designed the person that David was to be and brought him into being according to His predetermined plan.
David was shaped by his Heavenly Father into a unique creation and David chose life and lived a life of obedience to God. This means that all of us are unique productions of our Creators genius. All life is created by God and bears His autograph and it is our choice if we choose to have life by serving God.
Moses in his last days just before he put Joshua in command of the Children of Israel urged the people to renew their covenant with God. They had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness because they had broken their covenant with God. He gave them a choice of life and prosperity or death and destruction.
In the verse above from Deuteronomy Moses told the children of Israel to make the right choice and choose LIFE! In the next verse Moses says that God is their life. In choosing life they were choosing to love the Lord, obey His voice and cling to Him. And Moses continued by telling the Children of Israel that if they chose life they were to be obedient to God and that they would live longer and would dwell in the land that God promised them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Forty years earlier they had not chosen life. They chose death and destruction and because of their disobedience they suffered greatly. And because of their choice not one person in that generation saw the Promised Land.
Jesus as God’s Son is life and also the giver of life. In John 4: 46-54, Jesus was asked by a Nobleman, an official from the king’s court, to come to Capernaum and heal his son who was on the brink of death. He came to Jesus believing He could give life.
The crowd around them did not believe so Jesus put him off by saying that “unless you people are dazzled by a miracle you refuse to believe.” But the nobleman would not be put off and he insisted --- “Come down! It is life or death for my son.” Jesus simply said, “Go home. Your son lives.” The father chose to obey Jesus and went home and asked when the son got better. It was the exact time that Jesus said to him that his son lived. As a result the nobleman and his entire household believed in Jesus.
Jesus used this miracle to let us know that Jesus gives us life when we believe and accept Him as our Savior. Each of us has a choice. We choose life or we choose death and what we choose lasts for eternity.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Thank You for the life that You give me here on this earth where I can serve You each day. Help me to share with others today what life is like when they put their trust in You. I look forward to spending an eternity with You because You have given me eternal life. Make my life demonstrate to others the life that You alone can give.
LIFE
DEFINITION:
Duration of existence; a living being; human existence; a career; a condition or course of living.
SCRIPTURE:
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139: 13-14.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6.
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. Deuteronomy 30:19
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
God created us to live a life that is productive and full. Real life comes from a total commitment to God. It is not an easy commitment because it requires discipline and a willingness to yield oneself to God.
Many never find happiness in life, like the believer does, because they look for it in gratification of getting possessions and material things that they feel will make them “happy.” The problem with this philosophy is that things really do not satisfy. They always want more and their lives are empty and they do not understand why.
Contrast this with the life of one that has put his or her faith in the Lord. Even though we were born as sinners and into an evil world with sinful influences all around us, God provided a substitute for us who paid our penalty for our sins. The result, as believers, we can live a life of hope knowing that we have God walking with us through all the ups and downs of life. As it says in the verse we have listed below for you to memorize this week, “God is with you wherever you go.”
David recognized that God is life and the creator of life. In Psalms 139, David describes God as fashioning his tiny body together in the darkness of his mother’s womb. God knew and loved David before he ever existed. God designed the person that David was to be and brought him into being according to His predetermined plan.
David was shaped by his Heavenly Father into a unique creation and David chose life and lived a life of obedience to God. This means that all of us are unique productions of our Creators genius. All life is created by God and bears His autograph and it is our choice if we choose to have life by serving God.
Moses in his last days just before he put Joshua in command of the Children of Israel urged the people to renew their covenant with God. They had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness because they had broken their covenant with God. He gave them a choice of life and prosperity or death and destruction.
In the verse above from Deuteronomy Moses told the children of Israel to make the right choice and choose LIFE! In the next verse Moses says that God is their life. In choosing life they were choosing to love the Lord, obey His voice and cling to Him. And Moses continued by telling the Children of Israel that if they chose life they were to be obedient to God and that they would live longer and would dwell in the land that God promised them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Forty years earlier they had not chosen life. They chose death and destruction and because of their disobedience they suffered greatly. And because of their choice not one person in that generation saw the Promised Land.
Jesus as God’s Son is life and also the giver of life. In John 4: 46-54, Jesus was asked by a Nobleman, an official from the king’s court, to come to Capernaum and heal his son who was on the brink of death. He came to Jesus believing He could give life.
The crowd around them did not believe so Jesus put him off by saying that “unless you people are dazzled by a miracle you refuse to believe.” But the nobleman would not be put off and he insisted --- “Come down! It is life or death for my son.” Jesus simply said, “Go home. Your son lives.” The father chose to obey Jesus and went home and asked when the son got better. It was the exact time that Jesus said to him that his son lived. As a result the nobleman and his entire household believed in Jesus.
Jesus used this miracle to let us know that Jesus gives us life when we believe and accept Him as our Savior. Each of us has a choice. We choose life or we choose death and what we choose lasts for eternity.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 1:9.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
PRAYER:
Thank You for the life that You give me here on this earth where I can serve You each day. Help me to share with others today what life is like when they put their trust in You. I look forward to spending an eternity with You because You have given me eternal life. Make my life demonstrate to others the life that You alone can give.
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