GEMS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2012
PROVERB
The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to Him. Proverbs 15:26
PROMISE
Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:7.
PRAISE
I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me! Psalm 66:17-20.
September 9, 2012
Investing: September 7, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2012.
INVESTING
DEFINITION:
To commit money in order to gain a profitable return; devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, or energy to achieve something.
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.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
We spent some time recently reading through a newspaper that had numerous 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. 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 from God’s perspective. God is concerned about how we invest our time, talent and treasure. The scripture gives us the best investment advice. Our purpose for investment should not be to amass earthly wealth but to amass heavenly riches. As believers our purpose and desire should be to invest our assets, whether time, talent or money in things that have eternal value.
In the verse above from Matthew six Jesus gives an investment alert when He said where our treasure is, there will be your heart. In other words if you invest your time in getting more money, being more popular or gaining a better position in life then what is most important to you. That is where your heart is. These things are temporary and do not last. They have no value in eternity.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told a parable of the rich fool. A rich man who already had plenty of material things, but he 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 John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER:
Help me and my family to carefully evaluate where we are investing our time, our talents and our 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 profitable return; devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, or energy to achieve something.
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.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
We spent some time recently reading through a newspaper that had numerous 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. 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 from God’s perspective. God is concerned about how we invest our time, talent and treasure. The scripture gives us the best investment advice. Our purpose for investment should not be to amass earthly wealth but to amass heavenly riches. As believers our purpose and desire should be to invest our assets, whether time, talent or money in things that have eternal value.
In the verse above from Matthew six Jesus gives an investment alert when He said where our treasure is, there will be your heart. In other words if you invest your time in getting more money, being more popular or gaining a better position in life then what is most important to you. That is where your heart is. These things are temporary and do not last. They have no value in eternity.
In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told a parable of the rich fool. A rich man who already had plenty of material things, but he 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 John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER:
Help me and my family to carefully evaluate where we are investing our time, our talents and our 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.
Pain: September 6, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2012.
PAIN
DEFINITION:
Physical, mental or emotional suffering. Suffering of body or mind; cause suffering to.
SCRIPTURE:
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:5-6.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
As we are growing older we have aches and pains we never had to deal with before. We learn to live with these aches and pains, understanding they are just part of getting older. Thanks be to God we have not experienced the extreme pain that some of our friends have experienced. Pain profoundly affects us. It causes depression and anxiety. On the positive side pain can make you more sensitive to the pain that others are going through. Pain can help you grow in the Lord because it forces you to lean on the Lord for His comfort and healing.
Often in life when a person goes through a time of suffering and pain they might refer to it as going through a deep valley in their life. When everything is going well in a person's life they might refer to it as being on a mountain top of blessing.
In the Bible, valleys symbolize periods of hardship and suffering. In Psalm 23:4, the Psalmist evokes a particular dangerous and painful image by referring to "the valley of the shadow of death." Physical and spiritual valleys are inevitable in our lives. Even those of great faith in the Lord will experience them.
In times of great pain many feel like they would just as soon die rather than endure more pain. Job experienced such a feeling. Even though Job had strong faith in God, his great pain and suffering brought him to such a depth of despair that he said, "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came out of the womb." Job 3:11
People rarely think of suffering or pain as profitable. God can use the hardship and pain of a valley experience to mature us spiritually. We make discoveries about ourselves when we face pain and trials that point out clearly who we truly are. When our life is interrupted and altered by pain, it often tests our faith. Pain can make us wonder if the Lord cares or has forgotten us. The psalmist assures us that the Lord never forgets us. God’s mercy and goodness fill us “all the days of our lives.”
Valley experiences, like pain, reveal our priorities. God's purpose for us during our pain is to take away from us everything we depend on, our spiritual crutches included, until nothing in our lives competes with Jesus' reign in our lives. When we are down and out the only way to look is up.
Crutches and our personal bravery, that we usually depend on, are to be replaced by a real dependence on God. In the verses we have printed above, believers are encouraged to recall that He provides for our needs. He “prepare(s) a table before me in the presence of my enemies (trials), His rod and staff comfort us (in our pain) and He "anoint(s) our head with oil. (He blesses us).
A good shepherd, in Jesus day, rubbed oil onto the scrapes of his sheep while in the fields. In doing this the healing began before the animal left the valley floor. When we rely on our Shepherd, Jesus, we experience healing from our pain and a renewed intimacy and a sense of peace that only the Lord can give us. This peace will sustain us through the present trial and far beyond.
Many people are facing pain in their lives today from various causes. It may be physical pain; it may be the pain of a dysfunctional marriage or family. It may be the pain of a lost job, home or some other material item. It may be the loss of a close relationship with God because of the "things" of life taking priority in one's life. Whatever pain we are suffering we can be assured Jesus understands because of what Jesus Himself suffered in His life here on earth and in His death on the cross. He is waiting for you to come to Him so He can show His goodness and His mercy to you.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the words of the Psalmist that have served as a reminder in my life to reach out to You when I go through the valleys of life. Thank You for being my Shepherd and watching over me with such great and loving care.
PAIN
DEFINITION:
Physical, mental or emotional suffering. Suffering of body or mind; cause suffering to.
SCRIPTURE:
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:5-6.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
As we are growing older we have aches and pains we never had to deal with before. We learn to live with these aches and pains, understanding they are just part of getting older. Thanks be to God we have not experienced the extreme pain that some of our friends have experienced. Pain profoundly affects us. It causes depression and anxiety. On the positive side pain can make you more sensitive to the pain that others are going through. Pain can help you grow in the Lord because it forces you to lean on the Lord for His comfort and healing.
Often in life when a person goes through a time of suffering and pain they might refer to it as going through a deep valley in their life. When everything is going well in a person's life they might refer to it as being on a mountain top of blessing.
In the Bible, valleys symbolize periods of hardship and suffering. In Psalm 23:4, the Psalmist evokes a particular dangerous and painful image by referring to "the valley of the shadow of death." Physical and spiritual valleys are inevitable in our lives. Even those of great faith in the Lord will experience them.
In times of great pain many feel like they would just as soon die rather than endure more pain. Job experienced such a feeling. Even though Job had strong faith in God, his great pain and suffering brought him to such a depth of despair that he said, "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came out of the womb." Job 3:11
People rarely think of suffering or pain as profitable. God can use the hardship and pain of a valley experience to mature us spiritually. We make discoveries about ourselves when we face pain and trials that point out clearly who we truly are. When our life is interrupted and altered by pain, it often tests our faith. Pain can make us wonder if the Lord cares or has forgotten us. The psalmist assures us that the Lord never forgets us. God’s mercy and goodness fill us “all the days of our lives.”
Valley experiences, like pain, reveal our priorities. God's purpose for us during our pain is to take away from us everything we depend on, our spiritual crutches included, until nothing in our lives competes with Jesus' reign in our lives. When we are down and out the only way to look is up.
Crutches and our personal bravery, that we usually depend on, are to be replaced by a real dependence on God. In the verses we have printed above, believers are encouraged to recall that He provides for our needs. He “prepare(s) a table before me in the presence of my enemies (trials), His rod and staff comfort us (in our pain) and He "anoint(s) our head with oil. (He blesses us).
A good shepherd, in Jesus day, rubbed oil onto the scrapes of his sheep while in the fields. In doing this the healing began before the animal left the valley floor. When we rely on our Shepherd, Jesus, we experience healing from our pain and a renewed intimacy and a sense of peace that only the Lord can give us. This peace will sustain us through the present trial and far beyond.
Many people are facing pain in their lives today from various causes. It may be physical pain; it may be the pain of a dysfunctional marriage or family. It may be the pain of a lost job, home or some other material item. It may be the loss of a close relationship with God because of the "things" of life taking priority in one's life. Whatever pain we are suffering we can be assured Jesus understands because of what Jesus Himself suffered in His life here on earth and in His death on the cross. He is waiting for you to come to Him so He can show His goodness and His mercy to you.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the words of the Psalmist that have served as a reminder in my life to reach out to You when I go through the valleys of life. Thank You for being my Shepherd and watching over me with such great and loving care.
Pleasure: September 5, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
PLEASURE
DEFINITION
A feeling of enjoyment or delight; a satisfaction derived from something that is to one’s liking; a cause or source of gratification; one's will or desire.
SCRIPTURE
"Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power." II Thessalonians 1:11.
There will be terrible times in the last days, people will be --- lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. II Timothy 3:1-4.
"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
We are spending ever-increasing amounts of money each year on pleasure. Statistics tell us that Americans give $35 billion each year to churches and spend $150 billion on pleasure. That is over 4 times more spent on worldly pleasure than income to churches.
There is nothing evil or wrong with wholesome relaxation and recreation, but there is something wrong when the pursuit of pleasure becomes a major obsession to a person or a family. It is so easy to get caught up in the frenzies of this life and forget that heaven will be a place for "pleasures forevermore."
Personally we enjoy the times we set aside for pleasure. Sometimes we are with family and other times we are alone just with the two of us. These are always important times in our lives because it gives us time to relax, regroup, and get to know family and each other better. It is also valuable time when we can look clearly at what we consider our priorities and reevaluate them.
There is pleasure to be found in meeting new people, seeing new sites and going to new places. There is pleasure in doing what is to one’s liking. Some people find pleasure in playing golf. For others playing golf is frustrating. Whatever we find pleasure in it must not interfere with our relationship with God. We must not become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God II Timothy 3:4.
Henry David Thoreau once said: "The pleasures of the intellect are permanent; the pleasures of the heart are transitory." He spoke of the mental and emotional pleasures but he left out the spiritual. He never considered eternity where our pleasures will be forever with the Lord.
We are reminded of the account recorded in the book of Nehemiah of the building of the wall around the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a common man but he led a comfortable and secure life. He was the cupbearer to the king of Persia. He was in the position where he had opportunity to take advantage of all the pleasures of the world, but that was not his desire. He was a man of God who wanted to be used by God. When he heard from others who had been to Jerusalem, that the wall and gates of the city had been broken, it distressed and saddened him.
Nehemiah was a man of action and vision and when he saw a need he took the responsibility to do something about it. The first thing he did was to go to the Lord in prayer. Then he went to the king and asked for permission to go to Jerusalem so that he could rebuild the walls. With the king's approval and help he went to Jerusalem. He organized the people and assigned them specific sections of the wall and completed the project in just 52 days.
Nehemiah is known as a man of prayer. Eleven times in this book of Nehemiah, we find Nehemiah praying for direction and guidance. His pleasure was doing the will of God. Nehemiah was a man that was willing to sacrifice and give up his easy life style and forego the pleasures of life to do the pleasures of the Lord.
Nehemiah was also a man that lived his life according to the "Law of Moses.” In Chapter 8 verse 8, he informs us that he had it read and explained to the people. Nehemiah did God's work and did it God's way. He was a master builder that clearly followed the plan of "THE MASTER BUILDER."
Later in Nehemiah 8:9-10 it is written that Nehemiah was governor and Ezra was the priest and scribe of that day. After the people had the scriptures read to them and explained by Ezra they were told to go eat, give portions to those that had nothing prepared and then have pleasure by rejoicing in the Lord. They had reason to celebrate. They had not only completed the hard work of rebuilding the wall, but they now understood the words from the “Law of Moses” that were declared unto them.
We should learn that when we communicate with God by reading His Word and praying then we should have pleasure in rejoicing in what the Lord is doing through our lives.
LEARNING
Our memory verse today is found in John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER
Thank You Lord for all that You have given me that enables me to enjoy the pleasures of this life, but help me to realize that lasting and true pleasure is found in serving You as my Lord.
PLEASURE
DEFINITION
A feeling of enjoyment or delight; a satisfaction derived from something that is to one’s liking; a cause or source of gratification; one's will or desire.
SCRIPTURE
"Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power." II Thessalonians 1:11.
There will be terrible times in the last days, people will be --- lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. II Timothy 3:1-4.
"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
We are spending ever-increasing amounts of money each year on pleasure. Statistics tell us that Americans give $35 billion each year to churches and spend $150 billion on pleasure. That is over 4 times more spent on worldly pleasure than income to churches.
There is nothing evil or wrong with wholesome relaxation and recreation, but there is something wrong when the pursuit of pleasure becomes a major obsession to a person or a family. It is so easy to get caught up in the frenzies of this life and forget that heaven will be a place for "pleasures forevermore."
Personally we enjoy the times we set aside for pleasure. Sometimes we are with family and other times we are alone just with the two of us. These are always important times in our lives because it gives us time to relax, regroup, and get to know family and each other better. It is also valuable time when we can look clearly at what we consider our priorities and reevaluate them.
There is pleasure to be found in meeting new people, seeing new sites and going to new places. There is pleasure in doing what is to one’s liking. Some people find pleasure in playing golf. For others playing golf is frustrating. Whatever we find pleasure in it must not interfere with our relationship with God. We must not become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God II Timothy 3:4.
Henry David Thoreau once said: "The pleasures of the intellect are permanent; the pleasures of the heart are transitory." He spoke of the mental and emotional pleasures but he left out the spiritual. He never considered eternity where our pleasures will be forever with the Lord.
We are reminded of the account recorded in the book of Nehemiah of the building of the wall around the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a common man but he led a comfortable and secure life. He was the cupbearer to the king of Persia. He was in the position where he had opportunity to take advantage of all the pleasures of the world, but that was not his desire. He was a man of God who wanted to be used by God. When he heard from others who had been to Jerusalem, that the wall and gates of the city had been broken, it distressed and saddened him.
Nehemiah was a man of action and vision and when he saw a need he took the responsibility to do something about it. The first thing he did was to go to the Lord in prayer. Then he went to the king and asked for permission to go to Jerusalem so that he could rebuild the walls. With the king's approval and help he went to Jerusalem. He organized the people and assigned them specific sections of the wall and completed the project in just 52 days.
Nehemiah is known as a man of prayer. Eleven times in this book of Nehemiah, we find Nehemiah praying for direction and guidance. His pleasure was doing the will of God. Nehemiah was a man that was willing to sacrifice and give up his easy life style and forego the pleasures of life to do the pleasures of the Lord.
Nehemiah was also a man that lived his life according to the "Law of Moses.” In Chapter 8 verse 8, he informs us that he had it read and explained to the people. Nehemiah did God's work and did it God's way. He was a master builder that clearly followed the plan of "THE MASTER BUILDER."
Later in Nehemiah 8:9-10 it is written that Nehemiah was governor and Ezra was the priest and scribe of that day. After the people had the scriptures read to them and explained by Ezra they were told to go eat, give portions to those that had nothing prepared and then have pleasure by rejoicing in the Lord. They had reason to celebrate. They had not only completed the hard work of rebuilding the wall, but they now understood the words from the “Law of Moses” that were declared unto them.
We should learn that when we communicate with God by reading His Word and praying then we should have pleasure in rejoicing in what the Lord is doing through our lives.
LEARNING
Our memory verse today is found in John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER
Thank You Lord for all that You have given me that enables me to enjoy the pleasures of this life, but help me to realize that lasting and true pleasure is found in serving You as my Lord.
Backsliding: September 4, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2012.
BACKSLIDING
DEFINITION:
To relapse into bad habits; sinful behavior or undesirable activities; the abandoning of religious principles or practices.
SCRIPTURE:
Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord almighty. Jeremiah 2:19
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
A backslider is a person who made a decision to follow Christ but then relapsed into bad habits that God considers sin. A backslider will soon fall victim to his or her sins and will soon start to fully abandon his or her spiritual beliefs.
Backsliding brought on the downfall of Israel. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to confront the people of Judah with their sins and to warn them of the coming destruction of their nation if they did not repent. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, Jeremiah reminds them of God’s command to them to “obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward not forward.”
When we do not listen to God and pay attention to what He tells us, we will become backsliders just like the Israelites. Instead of going forward with the Lord, we will go backward following our evil desires. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God or they would be punished. The Israelites did not repent and Jerusalem was destroyed.
When we think of a Biblical example of a backslider we think of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. He fled because he did not want this assignment. Jonah was fleeing on a ship when in the midst of a storm he was thrown overboard by the crew and was swallowed up, as the scriptures tell us, by a big fish. We assume that this was a whale. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. To say the least he was soundly rebuked for his backsliding.
In Jonah 2:1-9 and the MESSAGE translation there is a very vivid and clear report of what Jonah did while inside the fish. He cried out to God asking for forgiveness and God heard him. In his prayer to God from the belly of the whale he said, “I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”
The Lord then spoke to the fish, the scripture says and the fish vomited up Jonah. Once again the Lord said to Jonah that he must go to Nineveh and preach the message God would give him. Jonah went to Nineveh and cried out to the people warning them that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown unless the people repented. The people of Nineveh heeded Jonah’s message and believed in God and God did not destroy them.
God gave Jonah a second chance. He backslid and paid a severe penalty. When he was at his lowest point he prayed to God and repented. God heard his prayer and responded by giving him a second chance. Jonah responded in obedience and went to Nineveh with the message that God wanted them to hear.
From the scripture text above, we are reminded that our own wickedness punishes us and our back-sliding rebukes us when we turn away from the Lord. Life becomes evil and even bitter for us and that is bad news. The good news is that if one confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. Even when we are backslidden God loves us and wants us to come to Him so He can forgive us and make us righteous. We really do serve a wonderful and patient God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name.
PRAYER:
Help me today not to backslide away from my relationship with You. Keep me from relapsing into bad habits or sinful behavior that brings dishonor to You. May those that are not following You see the joy that I have in my life because of my faith in You.
BACKSLIDING
DEFINITION:
To relapse into bad habits; sinful behavior or undesirable activities; the abandoning of religious principles or practices.
SCRIPTURE:
Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord almighty. Jeremiah 2:19
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
A backslider is a person who made a decision to follow Christ but then relapsed into bad habits that God considers sin. A backslider will soon fall victim to his or her sins and will soon start to fully abandon his or her spiritual beliefs.
Backsliding brought on the downfall of Israel. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to confront the people of Judah with their sins and to warn them of the coming destruction of their nation if they did not repent. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, Jeremiah reminds them of God’s command to them to “obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward not forward.”
When we do not listen to God and pay attention to what He tells us, we will become backsliders just like the Israelites. Instead of going forward with the Lord, we will go backward following our evil desires. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God or they would be punished. The Israelites did not repent and Jerusalem was destroyed.
When we think of a Biblical example of a backslider we think of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. He fled because he did not want this assignment. Jonah was fleeing on a ship when in the midst of a storm he was thrown overboard by the crew and was swallowed up, as the scriptures tell us, by a big fish. We assume that this was a whale. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. To say the least he was soundly rebuked for his backsliding.
In Jonah 2:1-9 and the MESSAGE translation there is a very vivid and clear report of what Jonah did while inside the fish. He cried out to God asking for forgiveness and God heard him. In his prayer to God from the belly of the whale he said, “I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”
The Lord then spoke to the fish, the scripture says and the fish vomited up Jonah. Once again the Lord said to Jonah that he must go to Nineveh and preach the message God would give him. Jonah went to Nineveh and cried out to the people warning them that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown unless the people repented. The people of Nineveh heeded Jonah’s message and believed in God and God did not destroy them.
God gave Jonah a second chance. He backslid and paid a severe penalty. When he was at his lowest point he prayed to God and repented. God heard his prayer and responded by giving him a second chance. Jonah responded in obedience and went to Nineveh with the message that God wanted them to hear.
From the scripture text above, we are reminded that our own wickedness punishes us and our back-sliding rebukes us when we turn away from the Lord. Life becomes evil and even bitter for us and that is bad news. The good news is that if one confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. Even when we are backslidden God loves us and wants us to come to Him so He can forgive us and make us righteous. We really do serve a wonderful and patient God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name.
PRAYER:
Help me today not to backslide away from my relationship with You. Keep me from relapsing into bad habits or sinful behavior that brings dishonor to You. May those that are not following You see the joy that I have in my life because of my faith in You.
Inadequate: September 3, 2012
TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2012.
INADEQUATE
DEFINITION:
Not equal to the requirement; insufficient.
SCRIPTURE:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. II Corinthians 3:5.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Everyone has times in their life when they feel inadequate. No one likes feelings of inadequacies because they cause us to fear we will fail.
Feeling inadequate is not a sin, but using it as an excuse is. When the Lord challenges you to do something that you feel is beyond your abilities you have two options. You can focus on Christ and proceed in triumph or focus on yourself and withdraw in defeat.
No one is adequate to do the Lord’s work in their own ability. It can only be done with God’s help and through the power of His Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul never claimed that he was capable of accomplishing all that God called him to do. In his letter to the church at Corinth Paul acknowledged that if he was left to his own abilities, he would be useless to God. He clearly recognized that his ability to reason, judge or assess truth was dependent on divine revelation and the power of the Holy Spirit.
This was a lesson Paul learned in a very dynamic and extraordinary way. When Paul was still Saul, before his conversion, he was determined to destroy the church. Full of his self-sufficiency he went from house to house dragging off followers of Jesus and putting them in prison because of their faith (Acts 8:3).
Paul even volunteered to travel to Damascus to capture the believer’s there (Acts 1:9). He felt quite adequate for this task. However, while on the way to Damascus Paul unexpectedly met Jesus. What a change there was in Paul from that moment. All the self-sufficiency he thought he had was gone in the light of God’s glory and might.
Only God can make a person adequate to do His work and Paul realized it so clearly. As Paul did, we also need to do, and that was to look beyond our own inadequacy to the sufficiency of Christ. If we do this we can discover the hidden blessings in our own experiences of inadequacy. Look at these few thoughts that come to our minds.
Our insufficiency humbles our pride and brings us on our knees to Christ. This will happen when a situation comes our way that we realize is bigger than what we can handle so we quickly open the Bible and read, pray for guidance and power and then wait to see what God says. Now the Lord has us right where He wants us and that is at the end of our rope with no one to go to but Him.
The inability to do something motivates us to rely on divine power. We will never be adequate until we draw strength from the Holy Spirit. He will do through us what God never intended that we do on our own.
God actually delights in choosing unlikely, weak and inadequate individuals to carry out His purposes. The Lord said to Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” II Corinthians 12:9. There is no limit what God can do through someone willing to give Him full control of his or her life.
Our adequacy comes from God and inadequacy will challenge our faith. If we will focus on the reliability of this fact and step out in obedience we will grow in faith.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER:
It is our prayer that You will make our family adequate to accomplish the things that You want us to accomplish while we are here on this earth. Take away our fear, pressure and frustrations that seem to overpower us when we face opportunities to serve and represent You to our friends and neighbors.
INADEQUATE
DEFINITION:
Not equal to the requirement; insufficient.
SCRIPTURE:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. II Corinthians 3:5.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Everyone has times in their life when they feel inadequate. No one likes feelings of inadequacies because they cause us to fear we will fail.
Feeling inadequate is not a sin, but using it as an excuse is. When the Lord challenges you to do something that you feel is beyond your abilities you have two options. You can focus on Christ and proceed in triumph or focus on yourself and withdraw in defeat.
No one is adequate to do the Lord’s work in their own ability. It can only be done with God’s help and through the power of His Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul never claimed that he was capable of accomplishing all that God called him to do. In his letter to the church at Corinth Paul acknowledged that if he was left to his own abilities, he would be useless to God. He clearly recognized that his ability to reason, judge or assess truth was dependent on divine revelation and the power of the Holy Spirit.
This was a lesson Paul learned in a very dynamic and extraordinary way. When Paul was still Saul, before his conversion, he was determined to destroy the church. Full of his self-sufficiency he went from house to house dragging off followers of Jesus and putting them in prison because of their faith (Acts 8:3).
Paul even volunteered to travel to Damascus to capture the believer’s there (Acts 1:9). He felt quite adequate for this task. However, while on the way to Damascus Paul unexpectedly met Jesus. What a change there was in Paul from that moment. All the self-sufficiency he thought he had was gone in the light of God’s glory and might.
Only God can make a person adequate to do His work and Paul realized it so clearly. As Paul did, we also need to do, and that was to look beyond our own inadequacy to the sufficiency of Christ. If we do this we can discover the hidden blessings in our own experiences of inadequacy. Look at these few thoughts that come to our minds.
Our insufficiency humbles our pride and brings us on our knees to Christ. This will happen when a situation comes our way that we realize is bigger than what we can handle so we quickly open the Bible and read, pray for guidance and power and then wait to see what God says. Now the Lord has us right where He wants us and that is at the end of our rope with no one to go to but Him.
The inability to do something motivates us to rely on divine power. We will never be adequate until we draw strength from the Holy Spirit. He will do through us what God never intended that we do on our own.
God actually delights in choosing unlikely, weak and inadequate individuals to carry out His purposes. The Lord said to Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” II Corinthians 12:9. There is no limit what God can do through someone willing to give Him full control of his or her life.
Our adequacy comes from God and inadequacy will challenge our faith. If we will focus on the reliability of this fact and step out in obedience we will grow in faith.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in John 1:12.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
PRAYER:
It is our prayer that You will make our family adequate to accomplish the things that You want us to accomplish while we are here on this earth. Take away our fear, pressure and frustrations that seem to overpower us when we face opportunities to serve and represent You to our friends and neighbors.
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