TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY MARCH 16, 2012.
EMOTIONS
DEFINITION:
A state of mind in which feeling, sentiment, or attitude is predominant; a specific feeling such as love, joy, hate, fear, grief, etc.
SCRIPTURE:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Psalm 23:1-2.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
The book of Psalms is the book of human emotions. The Psalms is a collection of Hebrew poetry, songs, prayers and praises that express the deep emotions and feelings of the writers. Over the centuries these Psalms have been a source of comfort to Christians in their times of distress and heartache. All the shades of emotion that surge in the human soul are reflected in the Psalms. The Psalms have words of encouragement for us that will lift our spirit and bring us hope.
These Psalms were the hymnbook of ancient Israel. Many were written to be sung in public. David is the author of about half of the Psalms. God gave this shepherd-king the inspired gift of capturing the rich emotions of his experiences. Other Psalms were written by Moses, King Solomon and King Hezekiah, to name a few.
We want to share with you some references in Psalms you can read when you have emotions that you want to have scripture that will relate to your needed emotion.
If you are happy and want a Psalm to express your joy, read Psalm 92. If you are grateful and want to express your thankfulness to God, read Psalm 40. If your heart is full of praise and love for God, then read Psalm 84 and 116.
If you are troubled by fear and dread, read Psalm 56 or 23. If you are discouraged read Psalm 42. If you are lonely read Psalm 62. If you are angry read Psalm 13.
Controlling emotions for non-believers is most difficult because they have nothing or no one to rely on. For a believer that faces emotions like depression, sadness, discouragement and loneliness they have their Savior who desires to comfort them and cheer them through His written Word.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is the second of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20:4-6.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them. (Paraphrased)
PRAYER:
Whether I am emotionally up or emotionally down, whether sad or glad, keep me faithful in reading Your Word and give me a song of praise in my heart. Thank You for the words expressed through David that lift me up filling my heart with joy, peace and happiness.
March 18, 2012
Doubt: March 15, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY MARCH 15, 2012
DOUBT
DEFINITION:
An unsettled state of opinion; indecision; uncertainty.
SCRIPTURE:
O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Matthew 14:31
Be merciful to those who doubt. James 22-23.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Why do we doubt? This is the question that Jesus asked and a question each one of us must answer. Doubts come from the great deceiver, the “Father of lies,” Satan himself. Satan uses false teachers to deceive believers in Jesus and this causes them to doubt. Doubt is Satan’s tool. If our faith is little, it is easy for doubt to creep into our lives.
Jude, in his book, deals with the issue of doubt and weak faith that believers have to deal with. Jude tells us (above) that we should be “merciful to those who doubt.” He wants us to be understanding and not judgmental toward those who struggle in their faith.
Believers are often critical of other believers. A person who has questions or doubts about his Christian faith should not be condemned or shunned as an enemy of the faith. Jude tells us that rather than condemning such people we should show them compassion and endeavor to bolster up their faith so that they can be strong and secure in their trust in the Lord.
Not only does Satan use others to deceive us and bring doubts about our faith, but he uses fear that comes when we face difficult circumstances and life gets scary.
In the verse above from Matthew, we read the account of when the disciples were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee being tossed by the waves and saw Jesus, not knowing who He was, walking on the sea. The disciples were troubled feeling it was a ghost that they were seeing and cried out with fear.
But Jesus spoke to them, “Be of good cheer, it is I; do not be afraid (or doubt).” Peter responded by asking if the person they saw was the Lord and, if it was, to command him to come to Him on the water. Jesus said, “Come.” Peter responded and began walking on the water toward the Lord. At that moment Peter was fearless. He was focused only on seeing Jesus.
The wind became boisterous and the waves became huge. Fear caused Peter’s faith to grow weak and doubt began to take hold of him. The scripture tells us Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink and cried out, “Lord save me.” Jesus held out His hand and His words to Peter are so relative for us today “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”
As believers when we have doubts because our faith is weak the words of Jesus challenges us to reach out to Him and focus on Him, not on our circumstances. This is a challenge to all of us that should be a goal that we work toward daily. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not be overcome with doubt.
LEARNING:
We are memorizing the Ten Commandments. This week’s commandment is found in Exodus 20: 4-6:
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them. (Paraphrased)
PRAYER:
Help me to eliminate doubt in my life by putting my eyes on Jesus in all that I do. May my family learn this lesson so that we can stand strong in our faith and reach out to strengthen the faith of others who are dealing with doubt.
DOUBT
DEFINITION:
An unsettled state of opinion; indecision; uncertainty.
SCRIPTURE:
O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Matthew 14:31
Be merciful to those who doubt. James 22-23.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Why do we doubt? This is the question that Jesus asked and a question each one of us must answer. Doubts come from the great deceiver, the “Father of lies,” Satan himself. Satan uses false teachers to deceive believers in Jesus and this causes them to doubt. Doubt is Satan’s tool. If our faith is little, it is easy for doubt to creep into our lives.
Jude, in his book, deals with the issue of doubt and weak faith that believers have to deal with. Jude tells us (above) that we should be “merciful to those who doubt.” He wants us to be understanding and not judgmental toward those who struggle in their faith.
Believers are often critical of other believers. A person who has questions or doubts about his Christian faith should not be condemned or shunned as an enemy of the faith. Jude tells us that rather than condemning such people we should show them compassion and endeavor to bolster up their faith so that they can be strong and secure in their trust in the Lord.
Not only does Satan use others to deceive us and bring doubts about our faith, but he uses fear that comes when we face difficult circumstances and life gets scary.
In the verse above from Matthew, we read the account of when the disciples were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee being tossed by the waves and saw Jesus, not knowing who He was, walking on the sea. The disciples were troubled feeling it was a ghost that they were seeing and cried out with fear.
But Jesus spoke to them, “Be of good cheer, it is I; do not be afraid (or doubt).” Peter responded by asking if the person they saw was the Lord and, if it was, to command him to come to Him on the water. Jesus said, “Come.” Peter responded and began walking on the water toward the Lord. At that moment Peter was fearless. He was focused only on seeing Jesus.
The wind became boisterous and the waves became huge. Fear caused Peter’s faith to grow weak and doubt began to take hold of him. The scripture tells us Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink and cried out, “Lord save me.” Jesus held out His hand and His words to Peter are so relative for us today “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”
As believers when we have doubts because our faith is weak the words of Jesus challenges us to reach out to Him and focus on Him, not on our circumstances. This is a challenge to all of us that should be a goal that we work toward daily. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you will not be overcome with doubt.
LEARNING:
We are memorizing the Ten Commandments. This week’s commandment is found in Exodus 20: 4-6:
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them. (Paraphrased)
PRAYER:
Help me to eliminate doubt in my life by putting my eyes on Jesus in all that I do. May my family learn this lesson so that we can stand strong in our faith and reach out to strengthen the faith of others who are dealing with doubt.
Conversion: March 14, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MARCH 14, 2012.
CONVERSION
DEFINITION:
Change; to change from one belief or view to another.
SCRIPTURE:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
As young people we both can remember listening to adults, youth and even children tell about their conversion. They would say, “The greatest thing that ever happened to me was the day I met Jesus Christ.” Neither of us had a shattering emotional experience at our conversion even though it was an experience we never have forgotten. It was a response to the moving of God’s Holy Spirit in our life. We look back now on all that has happened to us during our lifetime and without a doubt, the decision we made to accept Jesus as our Savior stands out today as the greatest decision of our lives.
Peter in I Peter chapter one deals with the subject of conversion. Peter reminds us that the experience of the new birth is so important. First, it gives us a hope of heaven when we die. And secondly, our conversion gives us a living hope to carry us through this life
In the gospel of John, third chapter, Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. The Pharisees thought of Jesus as an enemy therefore Nicodemus came to Jesus by night so that his fellow Pharisees would not know about his visit. He said to Jesus that he knew that He was a teacher come from God because no one could do the signs He had done unless God was with Him.
Nicodemus had knowledge about Jesus but knowledge does not save. Nicodemus came seeking, probably out of curiosity, to learn more, but did not know what he was seeking. Nicodemus had not really asked a question but Jesus, who knows the heart of all of us, knew what Nicodemus was seeking.
Jesus answered his unasked question saying: “I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus and Jesus had a lengthy conversation about being born again or conversion (verses 4-15). In the 16th verse Jesus said what many feel is the most significant verse in the Bible. This verse concisely tells us of God’s plan of salvation: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
We are all sinners but God loves all of us and loves us so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life if we believe in Him. This is the only way we can have a spiritual conversion. It is God’s act of spiritual regeneration in us whereby we receive eternal life.
In recent weeks we have had numerous of our friends who are reading our devotionals ask how they can know Jesus or expressed that they want to become a Christian. If you want to know more about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus, just drop us an email with your mailing address and we will send you material that will help you understand how to accept Jesus as your Savior and make Him part of your life.
LEARNING:
We are memorizing the Ten Commandments. This week look at Exodus 20:4-6.
Here it is paraphrased: You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them.
PRAYER:
Never have I been more thankful for the certainty that I have knowing personally my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The conversion process that changed my life is real and what I want to share with all those that I meet.
CONVERSION
DEFINITION:
Change; to change from one belief or view to another.
SCRIPTURE:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
As young people we both can remember listening to adults, youth and even children tell about their conversion. They would say, “The greatest thing that ever happened to me was the day I met Jesus Christ.” Neither of us had a shattering emotional experience at our conversion even though it was an experience we never have forgotten. It was a response to the moving of God’s Holy Spirit in our life. We look back now on all that has happened to us during our lifetime and without a doubt, the decision we made to accept Jesus as our Savior stands out today as the greatest decision of our lives.
Peter in I Peter chapter one deals with the subject of conversion. Peter reminds us that the experience of the new birth is so important. First, it gives us a hope of heaven when we die. And secondly, our conversion gives us a living hope to carry us through this life
In the gospel of John, third chapter, Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. The Pharisees thought of Jesus as an enemy therefore Nicodemus came to Jesus by night so that his fellow Pharisees would not know about his visit. He said to Jesus that he knew that He was a teacher come from God because no one could do the signs He had done unless God was with Him.
Nicodemus had knowledge about Jesus but knowledge does not save. Nicodemus came seeking, probably out of curiosity, to learn more, but did not know what he was seeking. Nicodemus had not really asked a question but Jesus, who knows the heart of all of us, knew what Nicodemus was seeking.
Jesus answered his unasked question saying: “I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus and Jesus had a lengthy conversation about being born again or conversion (verses 4-15). In the 16th verse Jesus said what many feel is the most significant verse in the Bible. This verse concisely tells us of God’s plan of salvation: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
We are all sinners but God loves all of us and loves us so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life if we believe in Him. This is the only way we can have a spiritual conversion. It is God’s act of spiritual regeneration in us whereby we receive eternal life.
In recent weeks we have had numerous of our friends who are reading our devotionals ask how they can know Jesus or expressed that they want to become a Christian. If you want to know more about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus, just drop us an email with your mailing address and we will send you material that will help you understand how to accept Jesus as your Savior and make Him part of your life.
LEARNING:
We are memorizing the Ten Commandments. This week look at Exodus 20:4-6.
Here it is paraphrased: You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them.
PRAYER:
Never have I been more thankful for the certainty that I have knowing personally my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The conversion process that changed my life is real and what I want to share with all those that I meet.
Contentment: March 13, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY MARCH 13, 2012.
CONTENTMENT
DEFINITION:
Satisfied; happy; the feeling of being satisfied with one’s possessions, status or situation.
SCRIPTURE:
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. Philippians 4:11
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 19.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
The more we talk to people we realize that they are not content. When we think of contentment we go back many years and remember the contentment we saw on the face of all our children after feeding them and watching them fall asleep. Babies have that look of contentment because they have no concerns about life.
Concerns and pressures along with schedules and being lonely all cause people to have a feeling of discontent. The apostle Paul shared some thoughts that are most relevant to us today about how he felt about contentment in his life.
Before his conversion Paul was not in need for anything. He had it all, the best of education, prestige, and power and was living in plenty. Paul willingly gave it all up to follow the Lord and preach the gospel. As a result he often lived in need.
In the verse above from Philippians 4:11, Paul tells us that he has learned to be content in any and every situation. Apparently, Paul was not naturally inclined to be content. He had to learn to be content. Being in need was new to him. He continues in verse 12 to tell us that he learned to be content “whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
In verse 19 (above) Paul tells us what it was that he learned. Paul said the secret of contentment is knowing that “God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
The message for us today is that when we know Jesus as our Savior and put our total trust in Him and rely on His power and strength then we will learn that we can be content in all situations.
Our Lord is our strength, our energizer, the supplier of all our needs, and the one who enables us to keep going and going and going. In truth, we are no different from Paul. The same One who lived in Paul now lives through us. Christ is our life. He is our confidence and our energizer and we can be totally content in Him.
Many people feel empty inside. Often the desire for more possessions is a longing to fill that emptiness. That emptiness is a God-shaped void. It can only be filled by accepting Christ into our life and allowing God to fill that empty place in our life.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week continues to challenge us to memorize the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20: 4-6. (Paraphrased)
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them.
PRAYER:
Help me and my family to be content in Christ throughout this day. May we learn from the apostle Paul that whatever situation we are in to trust in God’s promise to supply all our need according to Christ’s glorious riches.
CONTENTMENT
DEFINITION:
Satisfied; happy; the feeling of being satisfied with one’s possessions, status or situation.
SCRIPTURE:
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. Philippians 4:11
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 19.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
The more we talk to people we realize that they are not content. When we think of contentment we go back many years and remember the contentment we saw on the face of all our children after feeding them and watching them fall asleep. Babies have that look of contentment because they have no concerns about life.
Concerns and pressures along with schedules and being lonely all cause people to have a feeling of discontent. The apostle Paul shared some thoughts that are most relevant to us today about how he felt about contentment in his life.
Before his conversion Paul was not in need for anything. He had it all, the best of education, prestige, and power and was living in plenty. Paul willingly gave it all up to follow the Lord and preach the gospel. As a result he often lived in need.
In the verse above from Philippians 4:11, Paul tells us that he has learned to be content in any and every situation. Apparently, Paul was not naturally inclined to be content. He had to learn to be content. Being in need was new to him. He continues in verse 12 to tell us that he learned to be content “whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
In verse 19 (above) Paul tells us what it was that he learned. Paul said the secret of contentment is knowing that “God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
The message for us today is that when we know Jesus as our Savior and put our total trust in Him and rely on His power and strength then we will learn that we can be content in all situations.
Our Lord is our strength, our energizer, the supplier of all our needs, and the one who enables us to keep going and going and going. In truth, we are no different from Paul. The same One who lived in Paul now lives through us. Christ is our life. He is our confidence and our energizer and we can be totally content in Him.
Many people feel empty inside. Often the desire for more possessions is a longing to fill that emptiness. That emptiness is a God-shaped void. It can only be filled by accepting Christ into our life and allowing God to fill that empty place in our life.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week continues to challenge us to memorize the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20: 4-6. (Paraphrased)
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them.
PRAYER:
Help me and my family to be content in Christ throughout this day. May we learn from the apostle Paul that whatever situation we are in to trust in God’s promise to supply all our need according to Christ’s glorious riches.
Redemption: March 12, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY MARCH 12, 2012.
REDEMPTION
DEFINITION:
The act of buying back by paying a ransom; restoration; to free from the consequences of sin.
SCRIPTURE:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Many people not only do not understand what redemption is, but do not know why they need redemption. So the question that we want to answer is, “Why do we need redemption?”
The theme of the Bible is redemption. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible teaches that the law of God has condemned us all, without exception, because as we read in Romans 3:23 (above) we have all sinned. By sinning we separate ourselves from God and miss the beauty of God’s plan for our life. Because of our sinful nature we stand condemned and we need redemption. Because of the grace of God, He stands ready to rescue us from our sins and redeem us.
In the fourth chapter of Romans the apostle Paul speaks of three phases of redemption. They are justification, sanctification and glorification.
Paul illustrates the meaning of justification by saying that justification means that God gives us a right to stand before Him on the basis of the work of Christ, not because of anything that we have done. Justification is God’s act of declaring us not guilty. He wipes our record clean.
We can stand in God’s presence because another One has died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. Another One is available to meet our needs because in ourselves we are incapable of pleasing God in our own strength with our own shabby ideas of righteousness. Righteousness is not something we earn but only comes to us when we accept the gift that God gave us to pay our penalty for our sins, His Son Jesus Christ.
Redemption also must include sanctification. Many believers stop with justification feeling that all they need is an escape from going to hell. But Paul reminds us in Romans four the necessity for all believers to be set apart for God and God’s plan to deliver our soul, our mind, our emotions and our will from the control of our sinful nature. Being sanctified simply means that we as believers need to be dedicated to God or set apart for God.
And finally when we are redeemed it is the plan of God for us to glorify God through all of our words and actions. Nothing is more important for us today then to be certain that we understand that we all are born sinners and because we are sinners we must pay the penalty for our sins. But God in His great mercy provided His Son to pay the penalty for our sins and for this we should glorify His name.
LEARNING:
This week we continue to memorize the Ten Commandments. This week’s memory verse is found in Exodus 20:4-6 (paraphrased):
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them.
PRAYER:
I am so grateful that You sent Your Son to this earth to pay the penalty for my sins. Help me to completely set apart my life to You so that all that I do and say will glorify Your name.
REDEMPTION
DEFINITION:
The act of buying back by paying a ransom; restoration; to free from the consequences of sin.
SCRIPTURE:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Many people not only do not understand what redemption is, but do not know why they need redemption. So the question that we want to answer is, “Why do we need redemption?”
The theme of the Bible is redemption. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible teaches that the law of God has condemned us all, without exception, because as we read in Romans 3:23 (above) we have all sinned. By sinning we separate ourselves from God and miss the beauty of God’s plan for our life. Because of our sinful nature we stand condemned and we need redemption. Because of the grace of God, He stands ready to rescue us from our sins and redeem us.
In the fourth chapter of Romans the apostle Paul speaks of three phases of redemption. They are justification, sanctification and glorification.
Paul illustrates the meaning of justification by saying that justification means that God gives us a right to stand before Him on the basis of the work of Christ, not because of anything that we have done. Justification is God’s act of declaring us not guilty. He wipes our record clean.
We can stand in God’s presence because another One has died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. Another One is available to meet our needs because in ourselves we are incapable of pleasing God in our own strength with our own shabby ideas of righteousness. Righteousness is not something we earn but only comes to us when we accept the gift that God gave us to pay our penalty for our sins, His Son Jesus Christ.
Redemption also must include sanctification. Many believers stop with justification feeling that all they need is an escape from going to hell. But Paul reminds us in Romans four the necessity for all believers to be set apart for God and God’s plan to deliver our soul, our mind, our emotions and our will from the control of our sinful nature. Being sanctified simply means that we as believers need to be dedicated to God or set apart for God.
And finally when we are redeemed it is the plan of God for us to glorify God through all of our words and actions. Nothing is more important for us today then to be certain that we understand that we all are born sinners and because we are sinners we must pay the penalty for our sins. But God in His great mercy provided His Son to pay the penalty for our sins and for this we should glorify His name.
LEARNING:
This week we continue to memorize the Ten Commandments. This week’s memory verse is found in Exodus 20:4-6 (paraphrased):
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness. You shall not worship them or serve them.
PRAYER:
I am so grateful that You sent Your Son to this earth to pay the penalty for my sins. Help me to completely set apart my life to You so that all that I do and say will glorify Your name.
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