JULY 1 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY JULY 1, 2011.
WORLDLINESS
DEFINITION:
Pertaining to this world as contrasted to heaven; devoted to, directed toward, or connected with the affairs, interests or pleasures of this world; the world’s value system.
SCRIPTURE:
And Jesus said unto them, “You are from beneath; I am from above, You are of this world; I am not of this world.” John 8:23.
“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
In this modern day age of telecommunication we can hear and see what is happening in all parts of the world almost instantly right in the comfort of our own home. Unfortunately what we see of the world on television and hear on the radio is more evils of the world than the good of the world.
It is very easy for a person to succumb to the evils of this world. It is a constant temptation because evil is made to look so glamorous and enticing by the evil one. Satan is continually looking for weaknesses in our daily living and uses the enticement of worldliness so that he can woo us away from our love for the Lord. The satisfaction that comes from worldliness is here today and gone tomorrow.
Worldliness is temporary and superficial to say the least. The happiness and the excitement that worldliness brings may sometimes be thrilling but only for a short time. Worldliness captivates you by bright lights, great promises and the glitter of being popular. You can meet friends when you are involved in worldly activities but soon you will find out that those friendships are shallow and temporary.
In Luke 15: 11-32 we read the well known account of the prodigal son. This son, the youngest of his sons, asked his father for his portion of his inheritance and then left home, journeying to a far away country, for the life of worldliness that he desired and thought he must have. The scripture says that soon he wasted all his possessions (his inheritance) with wild living. He ended up with nothing, no food, no friends and nowhere to stay.
The son had to hit the very bottom before he could see the futility and hopelessness of worldly living.
Jesus in this parable tells of the son coming home, repenting and being accepted by his father who welcomed him back with a great feast and celebration. What wonderful hope and assurance there is in the message of this parable, for those who have reached the point of despair in living a life of worldliness. Our Heavenly Father is waiting with welcoming arms for all who repent of their worldliness and come to Him.
Look with us at several verses from the Bible concerning worldliness as we know it today and what God has for us in its place. In John 15:18-19 Jesus tells us, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world (worldliness), the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world (as a believer in Jesus), but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
God calls believers to leave worldliness behind. Once we become a believer we can no longer live according to the world’s value system, therefore the world will hate us because we live by a higher standard --- God’s standard.
Worldliness is a real problem for new believers. They are easily tempted by Satan to want to hold on to some of their worldly sinful pursuits. John tells us in I John 2:15-17 that this is wrong. John says. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.” When any believer genuinely loves the Lord the evil ways of the world will no longer appeal to him or her. What a wonderful promise!
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
Help each of us in our family to be able to distinguish clearly the difference between worldly ideas and spiritual ideas. Help us not to be tempted by Satan’s bright lights and glamour. Make our family instruments of blessing that You can use to bring honor and glory to Your name.
July 3, 2011
Strength: June 30, 2011
JUNE 30 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY JUNE 30, 2011.
STRENGTH
DEFINITION:
The quality or state of being strong; vigor, firmness or courage; power by reason of influence, authority, resources or numbers.
SCRIPTURE:
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9.
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6.
I will love You, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid. Psalm 27:1
He is my strength in time of trouble. Psalm 37:39.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Today’s athletes spend hours every day working on increasing their strength so that they may excel in their sport. In fact it is amazing how many hours they work at this and how committed they are for success.
Have you ever wondered what kind of world we would live in today if believers in Jesus spent the same amount of time daily as these athletes do to increase their personal strength in the Lord and knowledge of God’s Word?
As believers we should learn something from this illustration and be challenged anew to spend more time working on increasing our spiritual strength by not only reading God’s Word but studying His Word and communicating to Him so He can talk to you. Do you have the same dedication for success as athletes do to work this hard at what you believe?
When we think of strength as written about in the Bible, we think of Samson. He was a judge of Israel for some 20 years. He was known for his great strength but later in his life his moral weakness became his downfall.
God promised Manoah, according to the account written about Samson in Judges 13-16, a son that would deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. God instructed Samson parents to raise him to be a Nazirite. A Nazirite could be either a man or a woman who was set apart from the things of the world for the service of God. A Nazarite was to never use a razor on his hair but let it grow long. God then endowed Samson with great bodily strength.
God gave Samson the strength to be victorious when he was up against the Philistines but foolishly Samson yielded to the temptation to use God’s gift of physical strength for his own selfish purposes. Physically Samson had great strength but spiritually he was weak. Samson did not have the strength to resist the seduction of a Philistine woman named Delilah.
Samson fell in love with Delilah and revealed to her that he was never to cut his hair because of his Nazirite vow to God. Delilah betrayed him and told the Philistines and they captured Samson and cut his hair and he died a slave.
God is the source of our strength and He wants us to rely on His strength not on our own. Samson neglected to give God the glory for his strength and broke His commandment to serve the Lord.
As believers we need to be committed to our Lord in a new and fresh way today and ask Him for new strength to serve Him. Read carefully the verses we have written above and they will give you the assurance that GOD IS YOUR STRENGTH IN ALL YOU DO --- when you put your complete trust in Him.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the confidence we have that You are our strength for all of our activities. Thank You that we can rely on You for wisdom and guidance. Help us to rely on Your strength and in turn may we give You all the honor and glory for all that You accomplish through our family.
STRENGTH
DEFINITION:
The quality or state of being strong; vigor, firmness or courage; power by reason of influence, authority, resources or numbers.
SCRIPTURE:
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9.
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6.
I will love You, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid. Psalm 27:1
He is my strength in time of trouble. Psalm 37:39.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Today’s athletes spend hours every day working on increasing their strength so that they may excel in their sport. In fact it is amazing how many hours they work at this and how committed they are for success.
Have you ever wondered what kind of world we would live in today if believers in Jesus spent the same amount of time daily as these athletes do to increase their personal strength in the Lord and knowledge of God’s Word?
As believers we should learn something from this illustration and be challenged anew to spend more time working on increasing our spiritual strength by not only reading God’s Word but studying His Word and communicating to Him so He can talk to you. Do you have the same dedication for success as athletes do to work this hard at what you believe?
When we think of strength as written about in the Bible, we think of Samson. He was a judge of Israel for some 20 years. He was known for his great strength but later in his life his moral weakness became his downfall.
God promised Manoah, according to the account written about Samson in Judges 13-16, a son that would deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. God instructed Samson parents to raise him to be a Nazirite. A Nazirite could be either a man or a woman who was set apart from the things of the world for the service of God. A Nazarite was to never use a razor on his hair but let it grow long. God then endowed Samson with great bodily strength.
God gave Samson the strength to be victorious when he was up against the Philistines but foolishly Samson yielded to the temptation to use God’s gift of physical strength for his own selfish purposes. Physically Samson had great strength but spiritually he was weak. Samson did not have the strength to resist the seduction of a Philistine woman named Delilah.
Samson fell in love with Delilah and revealed to her that he was never to cut his hair because of his Nazirite vow to God. Delilah betrayed him and told the Philistines and they captured Samson and cut his hair and he died a slave.
God is the source of our strength and He wants us to rely on His strength not on our own. Samson neglected to give God the glory for his strength and broke His commandment to serve the Lord.
As believers we need to be committed to our Lord in a new and fresh way today and ask Him for new strength to serve Him. Read carefully the verses we have written above and they will give you the assurance that GOD IS YOUR STRENGTH IN ALL YOU DO --- when you put your complete trust in Him.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the confidence we have that You are our strength for all of our activities. Thank You that we can rely on You for wisdom and guidance. Help us to rely on Your strength and in turn may we give You all the honor and glory for all that You accomplish through our family.
Call: June 29, 2011
JUNE 29 2011.TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 29, 2011
CALL
DEFINITION:
To cry out in a loud voice; to summon or invite to come; to announce authoritatively; proclaim; to cause to come; to make a request or demand; a divine summons.
SCRIPTURE:
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6.
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14.
“The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” I Thessalonians 5:24.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
As Christians we have a most wonderful and reliable source to call on every moment of every day. God has promised to be with us through every trial and tribulation we have. And He has also promised to be with us through all the good times. All we have to do is call on Him and He is there for us. He is near and He can be found.
When we consider the word “CALL” as referred to in the scriptures there are several considerations for us.
In 1 Samuel chapter three we read of the account of when Samuel was called by God. From the time he was a young child Samuel had ministered in the temple under Eli, the high priest. Samuel was woken up in a dream and heard a voice calling his name. He first thought it was Eli, who was very old and Samuel thought he was calling because he needed him. But Eli told him to go back to his bed.
God called Samuel three times and after the third time Eli realized that it was the Lord calling and he told Samuel that if you are called again, respond by saying: “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.” And that day Samuel was called to serve God as a prophet, priest and judge of Israel. When God calls you, are you ready to answer as Samuel did, “speak Lord your servant hears?”
God blesses those who answer His call, as Samuel did, and makes them a blessing to others. The scripture tells us that those who reject God’s call will be held accountable. In Isaiah Chapter 66:4 it reads: “Because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke you did not hear.” Then the Lord will bring judgment and “you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and wail for grief of spirit” (Isaiah 65:14). And in Psalms 81:11-12 we are told that when “My people would not heed my voice [call]; I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.” And finally in Jeremiah 7:13 and 15 we read that the Lord said: “but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, and so I will cast you out of My sight.”
God is patient and gives us ample opportunity to respond to His call. When we continually reject His call, He let’s us continue in our stubborn ways satisfying our evil desires but there are always consequences when we turn a deaf ear to God. We not only lose God’s blessings on our life, but we bring God’s judgment on our lives.
In contrast to those who do not respond to God’s call we read about how the disciples responded [Mark 1 and 2] to the call of God. They did not ask questions. They immediately left what they were doing and followed Jesus. They were moved by the call of God and responded not knowing all that Jesus had for them. They responded as Samuel did --- YES LORD, HERE AM I.
And we are told in the book of Acts 16:9-10 how Paul responded to the vision calling him to Macedonia to preach the gospel. Paul answered the call of God without reservation. He got ready at once and left for Macedonia to preach the gospel.
When God calls we can be sure that “He is faithful and will do all that He has promised” (I Thessalonians 5:24). How we respond to God’s call is a matter of our will. We can stubbornly cling to our will to do what we want to do or we can respond to God’s call to follow His will for our life. Now it is your decision as to how you respond when God calls you.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
I commit my life to You today, dear Lord willing to answer Your call for my life. Give me an open heart to listen and a willing heart to respond. Unite my family as together we search for Your best for our lives. Bless us, challenge us and lead us in the paths of Your righteousness today.
CALL
DEFINITION:
To cry out in a loud voice; to summon or invite to come; to announce authoritatively; proclaim; to cause to come; to make a request or demand; a divine summons.
SCRIPTURE:
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6.
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14.
“The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” I Thessalonians 5:24.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
As Christians we have a most wonderful and reliable source to call on every moment of every day. God has promised to be with us through every trial and tribulation we have. And He has also promised to be with us through all the good times. All we have to do is call on Him and He is there for us. He is near and He can be found.
When we consider the word “CALL” as referred to in the scriptures there are several considerations for us.
In 1 Samuel chapter three we read of the account of when Samuel was called by God. From the time he was a young child Samuel had ministered in the temple under Eli, the high priest. Samuel was woken up in a dream and heard a voice calling his name. He first thought it was Eli, who was very old and Samuel thought he was calling because he needed him. But Eli told him to go back to his bed.
God called Samuel three times and after the third time Eli realized that it was the Lord calling and he told Samuel that if you are called again, respond by saying: “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.” And that day Samuel was called to serve God as a prophet, priest and judge of Israel. When God calls you, are you ready to answer as Samuel did, “speak Lord your servant hears?”
God blesses those who answer His call, as Samuel did, and makes them a blessing to others. The scripture tells us that those who reject God’s call will be held accountable. In Isaiah Chapter 66:4 it reads: “Because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke you did not hear.” Then the Lord will bring judgment and “you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and wail for grief of spirit” (Isaiah 65:14). And in Psalms 81:11-12 we are told that when “My people would not heed my voice [call]; I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.” And finally in Jeremiah 7:13 and 15 we read that the Lord said: “but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, and so I will cast you out of My sight.”
God is patient and gives us ample opportunity to respond to His call. When we continually reject His call, He let’s us continue in our stubborn ways satisfying our evil desires but there are always consequences when we turn a deaf ear to God. We not only lose God’s blessings on our life, but we bring God’s judgment on our lives.
In contrast to those who do not respond to God’s call we read about how the disciples responded [Mark 1 and 2] to the call of God. They did not ask questions. They immediately left what they were doing and followed Jesus. They were moved by the call of God and responded not knowing all that Jesus had for them. They responded as Samuel did --- YES LORD, HERE AM I.
And we are told in the book of Acts 16:9-10 how Paul responded to the vision calling him to Macedonia to preach the gospel. Paul answered the call of God without reservation. He got ready at once and left for Macedonia to preach the gospel.
When God calls we can be sure that “He is faithful and will do all that He has promised” (I Thessalonians 5:24). How we respond to God’s call is a matter of our will. We can stubbornly cling to our will to do what we want to do or we can respond to God’s call to follow His will for our life. Now it is your decision as to how you respond when God calls you.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
I commit my life to You today, dear Lord willing to answer Your call for my life. Give me an open heart to listen and a willing heart to respond. Unite my family as together we search for Your best for our lives. Bless us, challenge us and lead us in the paths of Your righteousness today.
Investing: June 28, 2011
JUNE 28 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY JUNE 28, 2011
INVESTING
DEFINITION:
To commit money in order to gain a financial return; a thing invested in; a particular instance of investing.
SCRIPTURE:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15.
“For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” Matthew 13:12
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
We spent some time recently reading through a newspaper that had literally pages of reports, suggestions and recommendations about investing. We read about good investments, shaky investments and bad investments.
We read about investing in land, in real estate, in gold, in banks, and in the stock market to name some listed on the pages of the newspaper. The so called “professionals” gave varied opinions with very few agreeing on what to invest in.
We read reports on why some investments were successful in the past and why some failed. But the one thing that we read continually was the uncertainty of all the investments.
When you think of the word INVESTMENT, what comes to your mind? Over the years we have met many people that live in cultures where the word investment would never be discussed and for most people could not even be defined. All of their thoughts each and every day were centered in survival.
We want to share with you today some thoughts from the scripture that deals with investment on a spiritual level. This means to us how are we investing our time, talent and treasure. The scripture gives us the best investment advice as to how we are to invest our time talent and treasure but most people today do not heed the words of Jesus.
In the verse above from Matthew six Jesus gives an investment alert when He said that where our treasure is, there will be your heart. In other words if you spend your time in investing your time in getting more money, being more popular or gaining a better position in life then that is where your heart is. But God expects us as believers to invest our time, talent and treasure in spiritual things.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told a parable of the rich fool. A rich man who already had plenty of material things, tore down his barns and built bigger barns so he could store up more of this world’s goods. The parable has a sad ending. He died with his barns full leaving it all to someone else. He had put all of his effort in preparing for his life before death but had neglected to prepare for life after death.
This man was rich in possessions but he was not rich toward God. This is the warning that we read in Luke 12:15 (above). We must “WATCH OUT!” and be on guard that we do not make the purpose of our life be to obtain worldly possessions.
We become rich toward God when we invest our time, talent and treasures in serving Him. We store up treasures in heaven by our acts of obedience and faithfulness in doing His will.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
Help me and my family to carefully evaluate where we are investing our time talents and treasures. Give us the wisdom that only You can give to help us be in Your perfect will concerning our investment of our time, talent and treasure.
INVESTING
DEFINITION:
To commit money in order to gain a financial return; a thing invested in; a particular instance of investing.
SCRIPTURE:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15.
“For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” Matthew 13:12
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
We spent some time recently reading through a newspaper that had literally pages of reports, suggestions and recommendations about investing. We read about good investments, shaky investments and bad investments.
We read about investing in land, in real estate, in gold, in banks, and in the stock market to name some listed on the pages of the newspaper. The so called “professionals” gave varied opinions with very few agreeing on what to invest in.
We read reports on why some investments were successful in the past and why some failed. But the one thing that we read continually was the uncertainty of all the investments.
When you think of the word INVESTMENT, what comes to your mind? Over the years we have met many people that live in cultures where the word investment would never be discussed and for most people could not even be defined. All of their thoughts each and every day were centered in survival.
We want to share with you today some thoughts from the scripture that deals with investment on a spiritual level. This means to us how are we investing our time, talent and treasure. The scripture gives us the best investment advice as to how we are to invest our time talent and treasure but most people today do not heed the words of Jesus.
In the verse above from Matthew six Jesus gives an investment alert when He said that where our treasure is, there will be your heart. In other words if you spend your time in investing your time in getting more money, being more popular or gaining a better position in life then that is where your heart is. But God expects us as believers to invest our time, talent and treasure in spiritual things.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told a parable of the rich fool. A rich man who already had plenty of material things, tore down his barns and built bigger barns so he could store up more of this world’s goods. The parable has a sad ending. He died with his barns full leaving it all to someone else. He had put all of his effort in preparing for his life before death but had neglected to prepare for life after death.
This man was rich in possessions but he was not rich toward God. This is the warning that we read in Luke 12:15 (above). We must “WATCH OUT!” and be on guard that we do not make the purpose of our life be to obtain worldly possessions.
We become rich toward God when we invest our time, talent and treasures in serving Him. We store up treasures in heaven by our acts of obedience and faithfulness in doing His will.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
Help me and my family to carefully evaluate where we are investing our time talents and treasures. Give us the wisdom that only You can give to help us be in Your perfect will concerning our investment of our time, talent and treasure.
Weakness: June 27, 2011
JUNE 27 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY JUNE 27, 2011.
WEAKNESS
DEFINITION:
Lack of strength, firmness, vigor or feebleness; an inadequate or shortcoming; not able to withstand temptation; a defective quality.
SCRIPTURE:
And He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for you; for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Throughout the life of Simon Peter, he has been described as a fragile stone and as a rock. In Peter’s life we see that he was both a fragile stone and a rock. He displayed at times moments of unbelievable courage and then in a moment of time showed spiritual failure.
After Peter declared Jesus as Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said to him as recorded in Matthew 16:18, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Jesus saw the strength of Peter’s faith but He also knew Peter’s weaknesses. Peter often reacted on impulse without thinking. When Jesus told the disciples He must suffer and die, Peter took Jesus aside to argue with Him saying, “Never Lord! This shall never happen to You.” (Matthew 6:22)
Peter had strong faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, but seemed to think that he knew better than Jesus as to what should happen. Peter was weak in his understanding. While Jesus was on trial Peter showed himself to be weak when he denied he knew Jesus not once, but three times, just as Jesus had warned him that that was what he would do.
Peter’s name means, “a small stone,” and he proved to be fragile when he tried to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross and when he denied Jesus three times after His arrest. Even though Peter had his weaknesses he was made perfect in God’s strength and proved to be a strong rock as the foundational leader of the church.
Peter reminds us that no amount of personal strength or talent can make us adequate for this life and its challenges. We are all, FRAGILE STONES, and need to put our total dependence on our Lord for our strength. Yes, Christ’s strength can empower us in our own weaknesses to be able to deal with the troubles we face in this world.
God uses our weaknesses to reveal to us His sufficiency. It is when we acknowledge our weaknesses that we see our need to rely on God’s strength and not our own. This is what the Lord said to Paul in the verse we wrote above, that His grace is sufficient and his strength is made perfect in weakness. Our weaknesses keep us humble and allow God to demonstrate His power.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
Help our family today to realize that in the natural we are fragile stones and we need to rely on Your strength and enabling power. Help us to grow spiritually each day by reading Your Word and communicating to You through prayer. Give us a blessed day today
WEAKNESS
DEFINITION:
Lack of strength, firmness, vigor or feebleness; an inadequate or shortcoming; not able to withstand temptation; a defective quality.
SCRIPTURE:
And He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for you; for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Throughout the life of Simon Peter, he has been described as a fragile stone and as a rock. In Peter’s life we see that he was both a fragile stone and a rock. He displayed at times moments of unbelievable courage and then in a moment of time showed spiritual failure.
After Peter declared Jesus as Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said to him as recorded in Matthew 16:18, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Jesus saw the strength of Peter’s faith but He also knew Peter’s weaknesses. Peter often reacted on impulse without thinking. When Jesus told the disciples He must suffer and die, Peter took Jesus aside to argue with Him saying, “Never Lord! This shall never happen to You.” (Matthew 6:22)
Peter had strong faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, but seemed to think that he knew better than Jesus as to what should happen. Peter was weak in his understanding. While Jesus was on trial Peter showed himself to be weak when he denied he knew Jesus not once, but three times, just as Jesus had warned him that that was what he would do.
Peter’s name means, “a small stone,” and he proved to be fragile when he tried to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross and when he denied Jesus three times after His arrest. Even though Peter had his weaknesses he was made perfect in God’s strength and proved to be a strong rock as the foundational leader of the church.
Peter reminds us that no amount of personal strength or talent can make us adequate for this life and its challenges. We are all, FRAGILE STONES, and need to put our total dependence on our Lord for our strength. Yes, Christ’s strength can empower us in our own weaknesses to be able to deal with the troubles we face in this world.
God uses our weaknesses to reveal to us His sufficiency. It is when we acknowledge our weaknesses that we see our need to rely on God’s strength and not our own. This is what the Lord said to Paul in the verse we wrote above, that His grace is sufficient and his strength is made perfect in weakness. Our weaknesses keep us humble and allow God to demonstrate His power.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 4:26.
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
PRAYER:
Help our family today to realize that in the natural we are fragile stones and we need to rely on Your strength and enabling power. Help us to grow spiritually each day by reading Your Word and communicating to You through prayer. Give us a blessed day today
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
