GEMS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2013.
PROVERB:
A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11.
PROMISE:
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12: 18-19.
PRAISE:
The Lord watches over all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise His Holy name forever and ever. Psalm 145: 20-21.
February 24, 2013
Godly Heart: February 22, 2013
TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2013
GODLY HEART
Definition:
The center of our emotions, feelings, affection, and our desires.
SCRIPTURE:
Trust in the Lord and do good. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:2-3.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Most people that believe on the Lord understand that He promises to give us the desires of our hearts. The problem for most people is that they forget that the attitude of their heart plays a vital role in bringing it to fruition.
Psalm 37 gives to us several principles that clearly point out our responsibility to have the necessary commitment to make our heart acceptable to God in order for us to claim and receive promises from God, including receiving the desires of our hearts from the Lord.
To receive the desires of our heart, in Psalm 37:4, we are told to rejoice in the Lord at all times and have a continual desire to walk with Him in obedience. The Lord must have first place in your life before you can claim this promise in this verse.
In Psalm 37:5 the writer, David, tells us to commit our ways to the Lord. We need to be willing daily to change any aspect of our ambition that is not His will. If we are walking with God we will know clearly when we face such a decision. Remember, when you pray asking for something according to God’s will and He does not answer as you desire, it is for a reason that only He knows now.
It is also written in verse 5 that we are to trust in Him. God is merciful, all knowing, kind, and generous. You can trust Him with all of your hopes and dreams if you have a Godly heart, one that is totally in submission to Him.
In Psalm 37:7 we are told to rest in Him. Resting in the Lord means to fully trust Him to answer your prayers in His timing. When you rest in Him, He will also transform your aspirations so that your prayer requests, will conform to His will.
Also in verse 7 we are told in order to have a Godly heart we need to learn to wait on the Lord patiently. This is hard because most of us have mindsets that are impatient. Jesus waited about three decades before beginning His three year ministry. He was God from birth, but it was the will of His father to wait, and He did for 30 years. According to His example, waiting for God’s leading is one of the key principles that we need to learn to live a Godly Christian life.
Do your desires align with God’s purpose and plan for your life? He longs to give every believer abundant blessings and fullness of His joy. Allow your dreams to be conformed to His will and follow His guidance faithfully and patiently and then see what God can do for you.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
Help me to align my life standards with Your purpose for me. Make me an example today so that others that walk and talk with me will experience the joy of the Lord through me. Give me a Godly heart ready to serve You as You desire.
GODLY HEART
Definition:
The center of our emotions, feelings, affection, and our desires.
SCRIPTURE:
Trust in the Lord and do good. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:2-3.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Most people that believe on the Lord understand that He promises to give us the desires of our hearts. The problem for most people is that they forget that the attitude of their heart plays a vital role in bringing it to fruition.
Psalm 37 gives to us several principles that clearly point out our responsibility to have the necessary commitment to make our heart acceptable to God in order for us to claim and receive promises from God, including receiving the desires of our hearts from the Lord.
To receive the desires of our heart, in Psalm 37:4, we are told to rejoice in the Lord at all times and have a continual desire to walk with Him in obedience. The Lord must have first place in your life before you can claim this promise in this verse.
In Psalm 37:5 the writer, David, tells us to commit our ways to the Lord. We need to be willing daily to change any aspect of our ambition that is not His will. If we are walking with God we will know clearly when we face such a decision. Remember, when you pray asking for something according to God’s will and He does not answer as you desire, it is for a reason that only He knows now.
It is also written in verse 5 that we are to trust in Him. God is merciful, all knowing, kind, and generous. You can trust Him with all of your hopes and dreams if you have a Godly heart, one that is totally in submission to Him.
In Psalm 37:7 we are told to rest in Him. Resting in the Lord means to fully trust Him to answer your prayers in His timing. When you rest in Him, He will also transform your aspirations so that your prayer requests, will conform to His will.
Also in verse 7 we are told in order to have a Godly heart we need to learn to wait on the Lord patiently. This is hard because most of us have mindsets that are impatient. Jesus waited about three decades before beginning His three year ministry. He was God from birth, but it was the will of His father to wait, and He did for 30 years. According to His example, waiting for God’s leading is one of the key principles that we need to learn to live a Godly Christian life.
Do your desires align with God’s purpose and plan for your life? He longs to give every believer abundant blessings and fullness of His joy. Allow your dreams to be conformed to His will and follow His guidance faithfully and patiently and then see what God can do for you.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
Help me to align my life standards with Your purpose for me. Make me an example today so that others that walk and talk with me will experience the joy of the Lord through me. Give me a Godly heart ready to serve You as You desire.
Hypocrisy: February 21, 2013
TODAY”S WORD FOR THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2013
HYPOCRISY
DEFINITION:
The false profession of desirable or publically approved qualities, beliefs or feelings; a pretense of having virtues, moral principles, or religious beliefs that one does not really possess.
SCRIPTURE:
For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautifully outwardly, but inside are full of --- all uncleanness Matthew 23:27.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Simply put, hypocrisy is saying one-thing and doing another. Hypocrisy is rampant in today’s world. It is hard to believe what most people say, especially our political leaders. When running for election they make all sorts of promises but after they are elected they do not do what they promised to do. With modern technology most everything a politician says and does is recorded and can be played back later, but this does not seem to hold them accountable.
The hypocrisy we see in our political leaders is bad, but even worse is the hypocrisy we see in the lives of some Christian leaders and many who claim to be Christians. In Matthew 23, Jesus called out the spiritual leaders of that day on their hypocrisy. Three times Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites.”
Many Pharisees took pride, in Jesus day, in showing off their spirituality in public. Jesus knew, as did many others, that on the inside they were guilty of many secret sins. Because of their hypocrisy, Jesus compared them to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are unclean.”
Tombs, in Jesus day, were constantly whitewashed to make them stand out. If a person touched or even accidentally stepped on a grave it caused ceremonial uncleanness (Numbers 19:16). A freshly white painted tomb would be brilliantly white and sometimes spectacularly ornate; however, the inside of these tombs were full of defilement and decay.
We are often tempted to cultivate a false image for others to see in our lives. But God doesn’t look at our outward appearance. He knows our hearts. When hypocrisy begins to seep into our lives we, as believers, through confession and prayer need to open our hearts to God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit. It is then we can experience an inner goodness that is reflected in Godly actions. We need to let Christ transform us from the inside out. Remember, only Christ can transform you. You can hide your hypocrisy from others but you cannot hide it from God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
It is my prayer that You will daily change my life both inside and out so that others will see Christ in us. Help me to be an example to those who are living hypocritical lives so they will see You through my words and my deeds.
HYPOCRISY
DEFINITION:
The false profession of desirable or publically approved qualities, beliefs or feelings; a pretense of having virtues, moral principles, or religious beliefs that one does not really possess.
SCRIPTURE:
For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautifully outwardly, but inside are full of --- all uncleanness Matthew 23:27.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Simply put, hypocrisy is saying one-thing and doing another. Hypocrisy is rampant in today’s world. It is hard to believe what most people say, especially our political leaders. When running for election they make all sorts of promises but after they are elected they do not do what they promised to do. With modern technology most everything a politician says and does is recorded and can be played back later, but this does not seem to hold them accountable.
The hypocrisy we see in our political leaders is bad, but even worse is the hypocrisy we see in the lives of some Christian leaders and many who claim to be Christians. In Matthew 23, Jesus called out the spiritual leaders of that day on their hypocrisy. Three times Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites.”
Many Pharisees took pride, in Jesus day, in showing off their spirituality in public. Jesus knew, as did many others, that on the inside they were guilty of many secret sins. Because of their hypocrisy, Jesus compared them to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are unclean.”
Tombs, in Jesus day, were constantly whitewashed to make them stand out. If a person touched or even accidentally stepped on a grave it caused ceremonial uncleanness (Numbers 19:16). A freshly white painted tomb would be brilliantly white and sometimes spectacularly ornate; however, the inside of these tombs were full of defilement and decay.
We are often tempted to cultivate a false image for others to see in our lives. But God doesn’t look at our outward appearance. He knows our hearts. When hypocrisy begins to seep into our lives we, as believers, through confession and prayer need to open our hearts to God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit. It is then we can experience an inner goodness that is reflected in Godly actions. We need to let Christ transform us from the inside out. Remember, only Christ can transform you. You can hide your hypocrisy from others but you cannot hide it from God.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
It is my prayer that You will daily change my life both inside and out so that others will see Christ in us. Help me to be an example to those who are living hypocritical lives so they will see You through my words and my deeds.
Meditation: February 20, 2013
TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2013
MEDITATION
DEFINITION:
To reflect upon; to think deeply about; to ponder.
SCRIPTURE:
I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131:2.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Life is very busy. It seems there are more places to go, more people to meet and more things to do than we have time to do. It is true that none of us want a life without meaningful things to do, however, the fast pace of life today for many people threatens to rob them of the quietness that is needed in a person’s life.
It is like driving a car. Some people have their foot on the accelerator all of the time and ignore the slow down and stop signs. This kind of driver hardly knows where the brake is on their car. Stop signs and warning signs to slow down are reminders that to be safe we can’t have our foot on the accelerator all the time.
In all aspects of our life we need to learn to take time out just to reflect on our lives and think about the direction we are going. This is what many know as meditation time. The psalmist, in the verse we have put above, knew the importance of taking time just to be quiet and calm. It goes back to the creation of our world. God took time to be quiet and to rest on the seventh day.
We are told, in Matthew 14:13, that Jesus left the crowds that were listening to His messages and “rested a while.” In Mark 6:31, we find Jesus instructing the disciples “to come away to a desolate place and rest.” We can learn from these accounts. If Jesus and the psalmist David needed rest and a time of quiet, certainly so do we.
When we meditate, God wants us to meditate in the right way and on the right things. In Psalms we are given instruction on what we are to meditate on, and how we are to meditate.
• We are to meditate on God’s commandments day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
•
• Our meditation must be acceptable in God’s sight. (Psalm 19:14)
•
• We are to meditate on God’s unfailing love. (Psalm 48:9)
•
• We are to meditate on all God’s works and mighty deeds. (Psalm 77:12)
•
• We are to meditate on His promises. (Psalm 119:148)
•
• We are to meditate on the glorious splendor of God’s majesty. (Psalm 145:5)
•
Turn off the distractions in life that keep you from listening to the voice of God and let Him speak to you as you read His Word and meditate on our awesome Lord. Let Him refresh your heart and mind with the strength to live life for His glory. There are times every day in our lives when we need to stop and take a break from the busyness of our activities so that we can refresh our soul, as the psalmist says in Psalm 131:2.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
Help me to stop right now and take the time to quiet my soul so You can speak to me from Your Word. Keep me meditating on Your love and mighty works and the glorious splendor of Your majesty.
MEDITATION
DEFINITION:
To reflect upon; to think deeply about; to ponder.
SCRIPTURE:
I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131:2.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Life is very busy. It seems there are more places to go, more people to meet and more things to do than we have time to do. It is true that none of us want a life without meaningful things to do, however, the fast pace of life today for many people threatens to rob them of the quietness that is needed in a person’s life.
It is like driving a car. Some people have their foot on the accelerator all of the time and ignore the slow down and stop signs. This kind of driver hardly knows where the brake is on their car. Stop signs and warning signs to slow down are reminders that to be safe we can’t have our foot on the accelerator all the time.
In all aspects of our life we need to learn to take time out just to reflect on our lives and think about the direction we are going. This is what many know as meditation time. The psalmist, in the verse we have put above, knew the importance of taking time just to be quiet and calm. It goes back to the creation of our world. God took time to be quiet and to rest on the seventh day.
We are told, in Matthew 14:13, that Jesus left the crowds that were listening to His messages and “rested a while.” In Mark 6:31, we find Jesus instructing the disciples “to come away to a desolate place and rest.” We can learn from these accounts. If Jesus and the psalmist David needed rest and a time of quiet, certainly so do we.
When we meditate, God wants us to meditate in the right way and on the right things. In Psalms we are given instruction on what we are to meditate on, and how we are to meditate.
• We are to meditate on God’s commandments day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
•
• Our meditation must be acceptable in God’s sight. (Psalm 19:14)
•
• We are to meditate on God’s unfailing love. (Psalm 48:9)
•
• We are to meditate on all God’s works and mighty deeds. (Psalm 77:12)
•
• We are to meditate on His promises. (Psalm 119:148)
•
• We are to meditate on the glorious splendor of God’s majesty. (Psalm 145:5)
•
Turn off the distractions in life that keep you from listening to the voice of God and let Him speak to you as you read His Word and meditate on our awesome Lord. Let Him refresh your heart and mind with the strength to live life for His glory. There are times every day in our lives when we need to stop and take a break from the busyness of our activities so that we can refresh our soul, as the psalmist says in Psalm 131:2.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
Help me to stop right now and take the time to quiet my soul so You can speak to me from Your Word. Keep me meditating on Your love and mighty works and the glorious splendor of Your majesty.
Confession: February 19, 2013
TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2013
CONFESSION
DEFINITION:
The act or statement of admitting to having done something wrong; acknowledging guilt; admitting one’s sin to God.
SCRIPTURE:
Be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
How many times in your life have you done something wrong and never got caught? It happens to all of us. When our wrong is discovered, several options come to our mind. One may opt to deny knowing anything about the issue and try to hide it. Another choice would be to blame someone else or something else for the problem. The right way is to admit and confess.
Confession is also the key for one who desires to have a relationship with Christ. Romans 10:9 reads, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
In Joshua 7, the children of Israel had a problem with a hidden sin that few knew about. God had given the Israelites an easy victory over Jericho which was so well fortified that it seemed unconquerable. The Israelites obeyed God and did just as He commanded them and God caused the walls to come tumbling down so Israel could charge right in and take over the city.
In their next battle the Israelites were soundly defeated by Ai, a small unfortified city. Why? It was because of hidden unconfessed sin. (Joshua 7)
God had commanded Israel to take all the silver, gold, bronze and iron items and bring them to the treasury of the Lord. However, Achan took some of these things that were to be devoted to the Lord. He had hidden them by burying them in the ground. Consequently, his hidden sin brought trouble on all the Israelites. Only when that hidden sin was discovered and Achan confessed could Israel win the victory.
Confession to God ensures forgiveness. This is a principle that we as believers must acknowledge and make part of our life. Sin does great damage and unless we confess our sin and deal with it, we will face certain defeat.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
Help me to understand my need for confessing my sins. Help me not to be controlled by any hidden sin. May my relationship with You be such that I live a life each day that is according to Your will.
CONFESSION
DEFINITION:
The act or statement of admitting to having done something wrong; acknowledging guilt; admitting one’s sin to God.
SCRIPTURE:
Be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
How many times in your life have you done something wrong and never got caught? It happens to all of us. When our wrong is discovered, several options come to our mind. One may opt to deny knowing anything about the issue and try to hide it. Another choice would be to blame someone else or something else for the problem. The right way is to admit and confess.
Confession is also the key for one who desires to have a relationship with Christ. Romans 10:9 reads, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
In Joshua 7, the children of Israel had a problem with a hidden sin that few knew about. God had given the Israelites an easy victory over Jericho which was so well fortified that it seemed unconquerable. The Israelites obeyed God and did just as He commanded them and God caused the walls to come tumbling down so Israel could charge right in and take over the city.
In their next battle the Israelites were soundly defeated by Ai, a small unfortified city. Why? It was because of hidden unconfessed sin. (Joshua 7)
God had commanded Israel to take all the silver, gold, bronze and iron items and bring them to the treasury of the Lord. However, Achan took some of these things that were to be devoted to the Lord. He had hidden them by burying them in the ground. Consequently, his hidden sin brought trouble on all the Israelites. Only when that hidden sin was discovered and Achan confessed could Israel win the victory.
Confession to God ensures forgiveness. This is a principle that we as believers must acknowledge and make part of our life. Sin does great damage and unless we confess our sin and deal with it, we will face certain defeat.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
PRAYER:
Help me to understand my need for confessing my sins. Help me not to be controlled by any hidden sin. May my relationship with You be such that I live a life each day that is according to Your will.
Esteem: February 18, 2013
TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2013
ESTEEM
DEFINITION:
Set a high value on; regard favorably; to have respect or admiration for.
SCRIPTURE:
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves." Philippians 2:3
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Paul wrote to the believers in the church at Philippi to serve with the same attitude of humility as that of Jesus Christ and not to do anything for the sole purpose of bringing glory to themselves. He encouraged them to be like-minded so that they would be one in spirit and purpose. In order to be unified, they would have to be humble and put aside their selfish ambitions and conceit.
When any of us are truly humble, as Christ was humble, it will be evident in how we esteem others. True followers of Christ will esteem others better than themselves.
Many people today think they are better than anyone else. They have such an elevated opinion of themselves that they think they know more about issues than anyone else. They seek to promote their own selfish ambitions with no regard for others. It is more than likely that we all have known such people and we have experienced the discord that is caused by that kind of person.
Many people, Christians included, evaluate themselves by the standards of the world. They are only concerned about how the world esteems them. What should concern us is not how the world esteems us, but how God esteems us. Are we true followers of Christ? If so, we will show Christ-like humility and esteem others better than ourselves.
Esteem is a problem in many families. It is often a problem between spouses. A spouse often thinks that he or she is king or queen of the house which can only result in discord and unhappiness. If one spouse always thinks that his or her way is better than the other spouse, the spouse can lose his or her esteem. The ego of one really affects the esteem of the other and destroys family unity. The self-esteem of children suffers when they are constantly belittled for their mistakes and never praised in a positive way for their successes.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
PRAYER:
Give me the guidance that I might esteem others better than myself. Help me to keep my attitude right before You and may I serve You with a humble heart but with a strong conviction.
ESTEEM
DEFINITION:
Set a high value on; regard favorably; to have respect or admiration for.
SCRIPTURE:
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves." Philippians 2:3
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Paul wrote to the believers in the church at Philippi to serve with the same attitude of humility as that of Jesus Christ and not to do anything for the sole purpose of bringing glory to themselves. He encouraged them to be like-minded so that they would be one in spirit and purpose. In order to be unified, they would have to be humble and put aside their selfish ambitions and conceit.
When any of us are truly humble, as Christ was humble, it will be evident in how we esteem others. True followers of Christ will esteem others better than themselves.
Many people today think they are better than anyone else. They have such an elevated opinion of themselves that they think they know more about issues than anyone else. They seek to promote their own selfish ambitions with no regard for others. It is more than likely that we all have known such people and we have experienced the discord that is caused by that kind of person.
Many people, Christians included, evaluate themselves by the standards of the world. They are only concerned about how the world esteems them. What should concern us is not how the world esteems us, but how God esteems us. Are we true followers of Christ? If so, we will show Christ-like humility and esteem others better than ourselves.
Esteem is a problem in many families. It is often a problem between spouses. A spouse often thinks that he or she is king or queen of the house which can only result in discord and unhappiness. If one spouse always thinks that his or her way is better than the other spouse, the spouse can lose his or her esteem. The ego of one really affects the esteem of the other and destroys family unity. The self-esteem of children suffers when they are constantly belittled for their mistakes and never praised in a positive way for their successes.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
PRAYER:
Give me the guidance that I might esteem others better than myself. Help me to keep my attitude right before You and may I serve You with a humble heart but with a strong conviction.
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