December 24. TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 24, 2010
CHRISTMAS EVE
We encourage you today to start preparing for tomorrow. It is our prayer for you that CHRISTMAS DAY 2010 will be one of the most Christ honoring and special days of your life.
Tonight read the Christmas story in Luke 2:1-14 to your whole family.
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her first-born, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE TO MEN ON WHOM HIS FAVOR RESTS.”
The story goes on with the shepherds going to find Mary, Joseph and the baby. (Luke 2: 15-20) After you have read this account to your family this Christmas then take time to pray together, thanking God for sending His Son to pay the penalty for your sins.
Make tonight and tomorrow a real celebration as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Have a Blessed Christmas and remember that JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!
Your friends;
Ken and Dottie
December 26, 2010
Blame: December 23, 2010
December 23. TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 23, 2010
BLAME
DEFINITION:
To hold responsible; to find fault with; censure; to place the responsibility of.
SCRIPTURE:
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in Love.” Ephesians 1:4.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When we do something wrong we all are inclined to want to blame something or someone else. When our children were young and we caught them doing something wrong they often blamed one of their brothers or sisters. How often we heard --- it was his (or her) fault or he (or she) started it. It is very easy to pass blame to someone to cover a wrong behavior or a lie in order to avoid the consequences.
The “blame game” started long ago after God created Adam and Eve. God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 2-3) and told them not to do only one thing --- “Do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”(Verse 17). But they did and by doing so they sinned against God and the BLAME GAME began. In Genesis 3:7-13, we read that they first tried to avoid having to take responsibility for their actions and attempted to hide from God. When they were discovered Adam first blamed Eve as to why he ate of the tree (verse 12) and even blamed God because God had given him Eve. Then Eve blamed the serpent (verse 13).
The result is that sin came into the world because Adam and Eve were told one thing not to do and they did it. Then to not want God to know what happened, they blamed someone else. To avoid taking responsibility for their own actions, people seem to constantly look for someone to blame.
In Mark 3:2 we read about Jesus and His disciples being in the temple with the Pharisees on the Sabbath. The Pharisees felt that the popularity of Jesus was a threat to them and they wanted to find something that they could blame Jesus for. They were watching Jesus carefully with the intent of criticizing Him for doing something on the Sabbath.
A man with a shriveled hand was in the temple and as the scripture reads: “They watched Jesus closely whether He would heal a man on the Sabbath, so that they may accuse (blame) him.” Jesus was grieved by the hardness of the Pharisees hearts and looked at them with anger and said to the man that needed healing to “Stretch out your hands.” The man obeyed and was healed. The Pharisees immediately left the temple to begin to plot how they might kill Him by blaming Him for healing the man on the Sabbath thus breaking the Jewish law.
Every parent that has raised children has had to live with the “BLAME GAME.” Some of the time a parent has to be the judge as to who is really telling the truth. The scripture gives us a guideline as to how we should handle blame as it happens with our children. It begins with training. In Proverbs 22:6 it reads: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Children must be taught to accept responsibility for their actions and when they do wrong they should confess it and ask for forgiveness. Blaming someone else is not an option.
God always knows our every action and He always knows who is the blame. We might be able to fool others, but we cannot fool God as Adam and Eve found out very quickly. The opportunity to blame others will constantly pop up in our lives. Satan loves to tempt us in this way. The only way to resist the temptation is to seek the Lord’s help by reading His Word and praying and asking Him to give us the desire and the strength to do what is right.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER:
Help me today to do all that I can, with Your help, not to blame people for an issue that I have caused. Give me wisdom and the grace that only You can give to live a Christ honoring life in all that I do. I have the assurance from You that if I live a life honoring You I will have the strength to accept the blame for my own actions.
BLAME
DEFINITION:
To hold responsible; to find fault with; censure; to place the responsibility of.
SCRIPTURE:
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in Love.” Ephesians 1:4.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When we do something wrong we all are inclined to want to blame something or someone else. When our children were young and we caught them doing something wrong they often blamed one of their brothers or sisters. How often we heard --- it was his (or her) fault or he (or she) started it. It is very easy to pass blame to someone to cover a wrong behavior or a lie in order to avoid the consequences.
The “blame game” started long ago after God created Adam and Eve. God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 2-3) and told them not to do only one thing --- “Do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”(Verse 17). But they did and by doing so they sinned against God and the BLAME GAME began. In Genesis 3:7-13, we read that they first tried to avoid having to take responsibility for their actions and attempted to hide from God. When they were discovered Adam first blamed Eve as to why he ate of the tree (verse 12) and even blamed God because God had given him Eve. Then Eve blamed the serpent (verse 13).
The result is that sin came into the world because Adam and Eve were told one thing not to do and they did it. Then to not want God to know what happened, they blamed someone else. To avoid taking responsibility for their own actions, people seem to constantly look for someone to blame.
In Mark 3:2 we read about Jesus and His disciples being in the temple with the Pharisees on the Sabbath. The Pharisees felt that the popularity of Jesus was a threat to them and they wanted to find something that they could blame Jesus for. They were watching Jesus carefully with the intent of criticizing Him for doing something on the Sabbath.
A man with a shriveled hand was in the temple and as the scripture reads: “They watched Jesus closely whether He would heal a man on the Sabbath, so that they may accuse (blame) him.” Jesus was grieved by the hardness of the Pharisees hearts and looked at them with anger and said to the man that needed healing to “Stretch out your hands.” The man obeyed and was healed. The Pharisees immediately left the temple to begin to plot how they might kill Him by blaming Him for healing the man on the Sabbath thus breaking the Jewish law.
Every parent that has raised children has had to live with the “BLAME GAME.” Some of the time a parent has to be the judge as to who is really telling the truth. The scripture gives us a guideline as to how we should handle blame as it happens with our children. It begins with training. In Proverbs 22:6 it reads: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Children must be taught to accept responsibility for their actions and when they do wrong they should confess it and ask for forgiveness. Blaming someone else is not an option.
God always knows our every action and He always knows who is the blame. We might be able to fool others, but we cannot fool God as Adam and Eve found out very quickly. The opportunity to blame others will constantly pop up in our lives. Satan loves to tempt us in this way. The only way to resist the temptation is to seek the Lord’s help by reading His Word and praying and asking Him to give us the desire and the strength to do what is right.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER:
Help me today to do all that I can, with Your help, not to blame people for an issue that I have caused. Give me wisdom and the grace that only You can give to live a Christ honoring life in all that I do. I have the assurance from You that if I live a life honoring You I will have the strength to accept the blame for my own actions.
Happiness: December 22, 2010
December 22. TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 22, 2010
HAPPINESS
DEFINITION:
The quality or state of being delighted, pleased or glad; good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.
SCRIPTURE:
“And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.” Proverbs 16:20.
“Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.” Proverbs 3:13
“But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.” Proverbs 14:21
“But happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18
“A happy heart makes the face cheerful.” Proverbs 15:13.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Many times recently we have commented to one another about how many people we see and talk to that are unhappy. Some people just look cranky and you wonder if every day is just a bad day for them. We are living in a society where happiness does not abound. We think we understand why some people just do not know how to be happy. If they do not know Jesus as their Savior they have no hope and no support, so how can they be happy?
Everyone has things going on in their lives that can be real downers and it is easy to let these things get you down. If you focus only on the down things of life it will make you cranky and unhappy. Happy people do not have it any better than anyone else but they focus on the good things in life. Everyone has bad days with seemingly bad things happening to them, but everyone has something to be thankful for so it really depends on “what you focus on.”
Look at the verses we have listed above from Proverbs. These verses are a short outline of what sets apart a happy person from an unhappy one. Happy is the man or woman who trusts in the Lord, keeps the law, (God’s commandments) has mercy on the poor and who finds wisdom and gains understanding (through studying God’s Word).
Are you happy? If not have you asked yourself the question, “WHY NOT?”
The starting point to find happiness is to trust in the Lord. Whether the non- believer understands it or not, there is a void in everyone’s life that only God can fill. People search in all the wrong places and try the wrong things attempting to fill that void. Knowing your sins are forgiven and that you are saved from the penalty of your sins brings peace and contentment which in turn brings happiness to life.
Happiness comes to our lives when we are faithful in studying God’s Word. This gives us wisdom, understanding and knowledge of how we are to live our lives in obedience to what God’s Word teaches us. This keeps us from sinful things and brings true happiness to us.
Sometimes we have so much on our minds we do not take time just to think about how much we have to be happy about. Some of the happiest people we have ever met were in Nairobi Kenya. These dear people had very little material “things.” They lived in what we called “shanty town homes” with no water, no electricity and very little furniture if any. But every time the church doors opened, they were there. Some would literally walk for hours and never complained. The churches were always filled to capacity and many were standing outside looking through the open windows and cracks.
When they sang, their voices radiated their love for God. The smile on their faces showed how happy they were to be worshipping God. And when we talked to them their smiles showed the joy in their hearts for all that God had given them. Their focus was on God and what they did have, not on what they did not have.
True happiness is not based on circumstances. True happiness is based on our relationship with God. When you go to a store, look at the faces of people. Do they radiate happiness? When you go to church, count how many people have a smile on their face. You may be surprised.
We urge you to look to the Lord and let Him fill you with a spirit of happiness in your heart every day. Why should we not? Jesus has promised to be with us in all that we do. In addition it is Christmas week and in just a few days we will be celebrating the birth of our Savior ---- JESUS!
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER:
Thank You Lord for the true happiness that I have in my heart because I know You as my Savior. Help me not to let the pressures and events of this day destroy the happiness that You have given me and my family. Thank You for my salvation and the assurance of spending an eternity with You.
HAPPINESS
DEFINITION:
The quality or state of being delighted, pleased or glad; good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.
SCRIPTURE:
“And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.” Proverbs 16:20.
“Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.” Proverbs 3:13
“But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.” Proverbs 14:21
“But happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18
“A happy heart makes the face cheerful.” Proverbs 15:13.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Many times recently we have commented to one another about how many people we see and talk to that are unhappy. Some people just look cranky and you wonder if every day is just a bad day for them. We are living in a society where happiness does not abound. We think we understand why some people just do not know how to be happy. If they do not know Jesus as their Savior they have no hope and no support, so how can they be happy?
Everyone has things going on in their lives that can be real downers and it is easy to let these things get you down. If you focus only on the down things of life it will make you cranky and unhappy. Happy people do not have it any better than anyone else but they focus on the good things in life. Everyone has bad days with seemingly bad things happening to them, but everyone has something to be thankful for so it really depends on “what you focus on.”
Look at the verses we have listed above from Proverbs. These verses are a short outline of what sets apart a happy person from an unhappy one. Happy is the man or woman who trusts in the Lord, keeps the law, (God’s commandments) has mercy on the poor and who finds wisdom and gains understanding (through studying God’s Word).
Are you happy? If not have you asked yourself the question, “WHY NOT?”
The starting point to find happiness is to trust in the Lord. Whether the non- believer understands it or not, there is a void in everyone’s life that only God can fill. People search in all the wrong places and try the wrong things attempting to fill that void. Knowing your sins are forgiven and that you are saved from the penalty of your sins brings peace and contentment which in turn brings happiness to life.
Happiness comes to our lives when we are faithful in studying God’s Word. This gives us wisdom, understanding and knowledge of how we are to live our lives in obedience to what God’s Word teaches us. This keeps us from sinful things and brings true happiness to us.
Sometimes we have so much on our minds we do not take time just to think about how much we have to be happy about. Some of the happiest people we have ever met were in Nairobi Kenya. These dear people had very little material “things.” They lived in what we called “shanty town homes” with no water, no electricity and very little furniture if any. But every time the church doors opened, they were there. Some would literally walk for hours and never complained. The churches were always filled to capacity and many were standing outside looking through the open windows and cracks.
When they sang, their voices radiated their love for God. The smile on their faces showed how happy they were to be worshipping God. And when we talked to them their smiles showed the joy in their hearts for all that God had given them. Their focus was on God and what they did have, not on what they did not have.
True happiness is not based on circumstances. True happiness is based on our relationship with God. When you go to a store, look at the faces of people. Do they radiate happiness? When you go to church, count how many people have a smile on their face. You may be surprised.
We urge you to look to the Lord and let Him fill you with a spirit of happiness in your heart every day. Why should we not? Jesus has promised to be with us in all that we do. In addition it is Christmas week and in just a few days we will be celebrating the birth of our Savior ---- JESUS!
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER:
Thank You Lord for the true happiness that I have in my heart because I know You as my Savior. Help me not to let the pressures and events of this day destroy the happiness that You have given me and my family. Thank You for my salvation and the assurance of spending an eternity with You.
Burden: December 21, 2010
December 21. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 21, 2010
BURDEN
DEFINITION:
That which is carried; load; borne with difficulty; trouble.
SCRIPTURE:
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22.
“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Mathew 11:30.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
I (Ken) was born in China but left with my parents when I was only six months old. About three years ago we were privileged to go back to China and we saw where I was born and what life was like today in that country. One of the things that stood out to us was the heavy burdens that men and women would carry on their bikes. We saw items stacked dangerously high on bikes and some of the women even carried their young child in a sling as they rode a loaded bicycle to their destination.
Over the years we have seen many times in many other areas of the world people carrying heavy loads on their heads, on their backs or in hand pulled carts. This has given us a real understanding of the word “burden.”
When we think of burden we think of two definitions. First, is the burden of carrying a load both physically and spiritually. Secondly, we think of one being a burden to someone else.
Most people we meet today are carrying heavy burdens in their hearts. It may be a spousal concern, a parent/child problem, a family issue, a problem at work, financial stresses or much more. These are burdens that basically are too heavy for one to carry alone. Some times we hear the saying that a person is “carrying a lot of baggage.”
A person that does not know Jesus has no one to help carry his or her burden. But the person that knows Jesus can give “ALL” that burden to Him. In fact the verse we have listed above instructs us to give our burdens to Him. He wants to carry our burdens. The Lord says to “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain you.” “Sustain” means to support or bear the weight of or keep from giving way. What a comfort to know that God not only wants to bear the weight of our burdens but He will uphold us in our struggles and the burdens of life that weigh us down.
Paul in writing to the church in Thessalonica said in I Thessalonians 2:9, “For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring day and night, that we not be a burden to any of you while we preached to you the gospel of God.” Paul traveled from town to town to preach the gospel but he did not want to be financially dependent on others. He was a tent maker, so wherever he went, he worked to pay his way so that he was not a burden to anybody.
In his letter to the Thessalonians he wanted them to remember how he had worked hard not to be a burden to them. He lived his life as an example to them to live lives pleasing to God. We also should follow Paul’s example and be willing to work and not be a burden on others.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER:
Help me today to give the burdens I carry to You. Give me the insight to see others that are carrying burdens so that I can show them the way to You. Thank You for the assurance I have that You are with me every moment of every day waiting to carry my burdens if I am willing to give them to You.
BURDEN
DEFINITION:
That which is carried; load; borne with difficulty; trouble.
SCRIPTURE:
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22.
“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Mathew 11:30.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
I (Ken) was born in China but left with my parents when I was only six months old. About three years ago we were privileged to go back to China and we saw where I was born and what life was like today in that country. One of the things that stood out to us was the heavy burdens that men and women would carry on their bikes. We saw items stacked dangerously high on bikes and some of the women even carried their young child in a sling as they rode a loaded bicycle to their destination.
Over the years we have seen many times in many other areas of the world people carrying heavy loads on their heads, on their backs or in hand pulled carts. This has given us a real understanding of the word “burden.”
When we think of burden we think of two definitions. First, is the burden of carrying a load both physically and spiritually. Secondly, we think of one being a burden to someone else.
Most people we meet today are carrying heavy burdens in their hearts. It may be a spousal concern, a parent/child problem, a family issue, a problem at work, financial stresses or much more. These are burdens that basically are too heavy for one to carry alone. Some times we hear the saying that a person is “carrying a lot of baggage.”
A person that does not know Jesus has no one to help carry his or her burden. But the person that knows Jesus can give “ALL” that burden to Him. In fact the verse we have listed above instructs us to give our burdens to Him. He wants to carry our burdens. The Lord says to “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain you.” “Sustain” means to support or bear the weight of or keep from giving way. What a comfort to know that God not only wants to bear the weight of our burdens but He will uphold us in our struggles and the burdens of life that weigh us down.
Paul in writing to the church in Thessalonica said in I Thessalonians 2:9, “For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring day and night, that we not be a burden to any of you while we preached to you the gospel of God.” Paul traveled from town to town to preach the gospel but he did not want to be financially dependent on others. He was a tent maker, so wherever he went, he worked to pay his way so that he was not a burden to anybody.
In his letter to the Thessalonians he wanted them to remember how he had worked hard not to be a burden to them. He lived his life as an example to them to live lives pleasing to God. We also should follow Paul’s example and be willing to work and not be a burden on others.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER:
Help me today to give the burdens I carry to You. Give me the insight to see others that are carrying burdens so that I can show them the way to You. Thank You for the assurance I have that You are with me every moment of every day waiting to carry my burdens if I am willing to give them to You.
Assurance: December 20, 2010
Today's Word for Monday December 20, 2010
ASSURANCE
DEFINITION
A positive declaration intended to give confidence; support; promise or pledge; freedom from doubt; certainty; freedom from timidity.
SCRIPTURE
"Everyone that calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13.
"Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." Romans 10:11.
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1.
"And we desire that each of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end." Hebrews 6:11.
"That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ." Colossians 2:2.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
What a wonderful word for us to begin Christmas week with. Our prayer is that for this Christmas every person that reads our daily devotionals will have the personal ASSURANCE in their lives that they know Jesus as Savior.
We both can remember the day that we made our decision to accept Jesus as our Savior. Dottie was five years old and Ken was nine. The one thing we wanted, other than knowing Jesus as our Savior, was that we had ASSURANCE of eternal life. Even though it was many years ago and we were young, we felt the uncertainty of the future. We wanted to know where we were going if we died. We had both been raised in a conservative Christian Biblical based environment. We both attended churches where we heard messages and testimonies that made us realize that in order for us to go to heaven, and not to hell, we needed to act and ask Jesus to come into our hearts.
Assurance is the opposite of uncertainty. We live in a world filled with uncertainty. Things are moving at such a rapid pace that we can not be certain what tomorrow will bring. If anyone had told us the day before that 9/11 attack that terrorists would fly jet airlines into the world trade center we would most likely have said that that would never happen. This example has made us realize that nothing is assured or for certain.
In today's world people need assurance. Many have very low self esteem. There is no one or nothing in their lives that can give them assurance for their future. The general mood of our culture has put a spirit of fear in the life of a person that does not know Jesus. People are experiencing anxiety and depression and then are turning to alcohol, drugs or sexual pleasures which in turn lead to broken marriages, abandoned children, illness and even death. Although those of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior must face the same uncertainties of life, we have the assurance that God is guiding and protecting us through every event of each day. We also have the assurance of spending eternity with Him.
Where does this assurance that believers have come from? The verses in Romans and Hebrews that we have listed above are the basis for the assurance believers have for the future.
• Believers have called on the name of the Lord and have been saved.
• Believers are assured that those who believe in Him will not be disappointed.
• Believers have the assurance of understanding the truth about God and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.
• Although we cannot see the future we know who holds the future and our faith assures us that what God has promised will actually happen.
Having this assurance in our lives gives us hopeful anticipation of what God will do through us on any given day. We never know what the day will bring us but we have peace and joy in our hearts knowing that God will get us through the tough times. We both wake up every morning with a positive attitude and a joyful spirit of excitement wondering what God will do through us this day. Do you have this same anticipation? We truly hope so!
LEARNING
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER
Give me today a new spirit of excitement knowing that I have the assurance of spending eternity with You. Help me to have an effect on each person I meet today so that they know that I have hope, peace and joy in my heart because of my trust in You. Bless my family and together may we honor and glorify Your name in all that we do.
ASSURANCE
DEFINITION
A positive declaration intended to give confidence; support; promise or pledge; freedom from doubt; certainty; freedom from timidity.
SCRIPTURE
"Everyone that calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13.
"Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." Romans 10:11.
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1.
"And we desire that each of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end." Hebrews 6:11.
"That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ." Colossians 2:2.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
What a wonderful word for us to begin Christmas week with. Our prayer is that for this Christmas every person that reads our daily devotionals will have the personal ASSURANCE in their lives that they know Jesus as Savior.
We both can remember the day that we made our decision to accept Jesus as our Savior. Dottie was five years old and Ken was nine. The one thing we wanted, other than knowing Jesus as our Savior, was that we had ASSURANCE of eternal life. Even though it was many years ago and we were young, we felt the uncertainty of the future. We wanted to know where we were going if we died. We had both been raised in a conservative Christian Biblical based environment. We both attended churches where we heard messages and testimonies that made us realize that in order for us to go to heaven, and not to hell, we needed to act and ask Jesus to come into our hearts.
Assurance is the opposite of uncertainty. We live in a world filled with uncertainty. Things are moving at such a rapid pace that we can not be certain what tomorrow will bring. If anyone had told us the day before that 9/11 attack that terrorists would fly jet airlines into the world trade center we would most likely have said that that would never happen. This example has made us realize that nothing is assured or for certain.
In today's world people need assurance. Many have very low self esteem. There is no one or nothing in their lives that can give them assurance for their future. The general mood of our culture has put a spirit of fear in the life of a person that does not know Jesus. People are experiencing anxiety and depression and then are turning to alcohol, drugs or sexual pleasures which in turn lead to broken marriages, abandoned children, illness and even death. Although those of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior must face the same uncertainties of life, we have the assurance that God is guiding and protecting us through every event of each day. We also have the assurance of spending eternity with Him.
Where does this assurance that believers have come from? The verses in Romans and Hebrews that we have listed above are the basis for the assurance believers have for the future.
• Believers have called on the name of the Lord and have been saved.
• Believers are assured that those who believe in Him will not be disappointed.
• Believers have the assurance of understanding the truth about God and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.
• Although we cannot see the future we know who holds the future and our faith assures us that what God has promised will actually happen.
Having this assurance in our lives gives us hopeful anticipation of what God will do through us on any given day. We never know what the day will bring us but we have peace and joy in our hearts knowing that God will get us through the tough times. We both wake up every morning with a positive attitude and a joyful spirit of excitement wondering what God will do through us this day. Do you have this same anticipation? We truly hope so!
LEARNING
Our memory verse for this week is found in Luke 2:14.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
PRAYER
Give me today a new spirit of excitement knowing that I have the assurance of spending eternity with You. Help me to have an effect on each person I meet today so that they know that I have hope, peace and joy in my heart because of my trust in You. Bless my family and together may we honor and glorify Your name in all that we do.
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