GEMS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR SATURDAY JULY 13, 2013
PROVERB:
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Proverbs 1:8.
PROMISE:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise) that it may go well with you and that you will enjoy long life on earth. Ephesians 6: 1-3.
PRAISE:
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out. Romans 11: 34-35.
July 14, 2013
Value: July 12, 2013
TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY JULY 12, 2013.
VALUE
DEFINITION:
Relative worth or importance; monetary or material worth; the worth of something.
SCRIPTURE:
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
What is of value in God’s sight? God is all knowing and all powerful and has everything He needs. But He puts great value on our soul even though in comparison to God we are nothing. Sometimes we feel worthless and wonder how could we be of any value to God? God wants us to understand value from an eternal perspective.
Jesus often taught using parables. He taught the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 12:12-14. He said that if a shepherd owns a hundred sheep and one gets lost he will leave the ninety-nine to look for the one that is lost. Jesus said that the shepherd is happier about the one sheep when found than the ninety-nine others. This is the way that God feels about us. He places the same value on each of us and like the shepherd; He does not want to lose a single one of us.
Jesus has offered us an eternal inheritance that is ours for the asking. When we recognize the value of what God did for us by sending His son to this earth to pay the penalty for our sins and then to give us eternal life, how can we reject so valuable a gift?
There are many things that are considered of value in life. God talks about the value of His people, the value of life, the value of being rich or poor, the value of a lost sheep, the eternal value of a soul, the value of a widow’s mite, the value of an eternal inheritance and the value of our faith, just to name a few.
Most of us realize the value of a healthy life. If you need to be reminded as to how valuable a healthy life is then go to your local children’s hospital and look at a few sick children. God will do something special to you like break your heart with concern for these that are hurting and you will thank God for your good health.
Most of us understand the difference between being rich or comfortable financially versus poor. If you do not then go and talk to a family living in the slums of the inner city or a homeless man sleeping on the street. God will again move your heart to compassion to help the hurting and you will thank God for the blessings He has given you.
Finally, when we think of the widow’s mite, we realize how valuable it is to our Lord when one person gives whatever he has to further His work. We cannot out give God. It has been our experience that God blesses us when we give with blessings that far and away outweigh the value of what we have given.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the value You have placed on my life. I take time today just to praise You. I praise You for being God, for being all powerful, all knowing and sovereign. I praise You for sending Your only Son to this earth to die in order to pay the penalty for my sins. I praise You for being with me every moment of every day and leading me in the path that You desire for me.
VALUE
DEFINITION:
Relative worth or importance; monetary or material worth; the worth of something.
SCRIPTURE:
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
What is of value in God’s sight? God is all knowing and all powerful and has everything He needs. But He puts great value on our soul even though in comparison to God we are nothing. Sometimes we feel worthless and wonder how could we be of any value to God? God wants us to understand value from an eternal perspective.
Jesus often taught using parables. He taught the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 12:12-14. He said that if a shepherd owns a hundred sheep and one gets lost he will leave the ninety-nine to look for the one that is lost. Jesus said that the shepherd is happier about the one sheep when found than the ninety-nine others. This is the way that God feels about us. He places the same value on each of us and like the shepherd; He does not want to lose a single one of us.
Jesus has offered us an eternal inheritance that is ours for the asking. When we recognize the value of what God did for us by sending His son to this earth to pay the penalty for our sins and then to give us eternal life, how can we reject so valuable a gift?
There are many things that are considered of value in life. God talks about the value of His people, the value of life, the value of being rich or poor, the value of a lost sheep, the eternal value of a soul, the value of a widow’s mite, the value of an eternal inheritance and the value of our faith, just to name a few.
Most of us realize the value of a healthy life. If you need to be reminded as to how valuable a healthy life is then go to your local children’s hospital and look at a few sick children. God will do something special to you like break your heart with concern for these that are hurting and you will thank God for your good health.
Most of us understand the difference between being rich or comfortable financially versus poor. If you do not then go and talk to a family living in the slums of the inner city or a homeless man sleeping on the street. God will again move your heart to compassion to help the hurting and you will thank God for the blessings He has given you.
Finally, when we think of the widow’s mite, we realize how valuable it is to our Lord when one person gives whatever he has to further His work. We cannot out give God. It has been our experience that God blesses us when we give with blessings that far and away outweigh the value of what we have given.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the value You have placed on my life. I take time today just to praise You. I praise You for being God, for being all powerful, all knowing and sovereign. I praise You for sending Your only Son to this earth to die in order to pay the penalty for my sins. I praise You for being with me every moment of every day and leading me in the path that You desire for me.
Greed: July 11, 2013
TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JULY 11, 2013
GREED
DEFINITION:
Excessive or extreme desire for things; covetousness.
SCRIPTURE:
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice. I Samuel 8:1, 3
His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant, and they are all dumb dogs. Yes they are greedy dogs which never have enough. Isaiah 56: 10-11.
They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray. II Peter 2:14.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
It is interesting to watch children when a plate of cookies is being served. They will look the plate over carefully and select the largest cookie. If they think no one is looking they will take two or possibly a handful. We can say that that is just what kids do, but unfortunately it is not just children that are greedy.
All around us we see greed today. Many people have family members that are driven by greed. They always want more "things" and are never happy with what they have.
We see the same greed in politicians, our government leaders and in the work place among owners, supervisors and workers. Unfortunately, we sometimes listen to people in church that are professing believers and comments of greed come from their mouths. Greed prevails not just in our "worldly society" but also in our churches.
The three verses that we have written above give us three illustrations about how greed affected people in Biblical times. The first verse listed deals with Samuel and his two sons. The second verse deals with Israel and how they lost their way acting like greedy dogs. The third verse above deals with false prophets in the early church.
Samuel was about 60 years old when he appointed his sons as Judges. There is no hint of any kind in the scriptures that Samuel asked the Lord for guidance. As we read in the verse above from I Samuel, his sons allowed greed to corrupt them. We learn that Samuel, although he was a godly man, was human just like us and he put his sons in positions where they were to have spiritual authority and they were spiritually not ready.
As so often happens, when people have power they use their position of authority for personal gain. Greed is the motivating factor in most cases. Greed caused Samuel's sons to "accept bribes and pervert justice" to satisfy their excessive desire for riches. Thus Israel no longer had the spiritual leadership that Samuel had given Israel in the past. As a result of the greed of Samuel's sons, the elders of Israel rebelled against the evil sons and demanded that Samuel give them a king.
Isaiah in the verse we have written above describes the watchmen of Israel as blind and dumb dogs who were greedy and never had enough. These blind watchmen were the preachers of the day and once again the spiritual leadership was corrupted by greed. Isaiah called them dumb dogs because under their leadership Israel turned from God and forfeited all God's blessings. They were like dumb dogs that could not bark, which means they did not preach the truth or warn the Children of Israel about the false doctrine.
Most false teaching is based in greed and appeals to our sinful nature's desire for the riches and pleasures of this world. In II Peter (above) Peter was warning the believers about false teachers that were living among them. These false teachers were not only greedy but they were trained in greed. They took their eyes off the message of the Cross and preached a modern word of faith that contradicted all that Jesus is and all that Jesus taught.
Those that followed these false teachers, Peter said, would be unable to cease from sin. These false teachers were very deceptive and spoke appealing and seductive thoughts, just as false teachers do today. Peter warns us to stay true to the message of the cross and not to let greed entice us to follow the teaching of false teachers.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Help my family today to keep our eyes open to the message of the cross. Help us not to fall to the temptations of the world we live in and to the false teachers that want to lead us away from God. Help us to see and react negatively to greed. May our hope and trust be completely in You this day.
GREED
DEFINITION:
Excessive or extreme desire for things; covetousness.
SCRIPTURE:
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice. I Samuel 8:1, 3
His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant, and they are all dumb dogs. Yes they are greedy dogs which never have enough. Isaiah 56: 10-11.
They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray. II Peter 2:14.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
It is interesting to watch children when a plate of cookies is being served. They will look the plate over carefully and select the largest cookie. If they think no one is looking they will take two or possibly a handful. We can say that that is just what kids do, but unfortunately it is not just children that are greedy.
All around us we see greed today. Many people have family members that are driven by greed. They always want more "things" and are never happy with what they have.
We see the same greed in politicians, our government leaders and in the work place among owners, supervisors and workers. Unfortunately, we sometimes listen to people in church that are professing believers and comments of greed come from their mouths. Greed prevails not just in our "worldly society" but also in our churches.
The three verses that we have written above give us three illustrations about how greed affected people in Biblical times. The first verse listed deals with Samuel and his two sons. The second verse deals with Israel and how they lost their way acting like greedy dogs. The third verse above deals with false prophets in the early church.
Samuel was about 60 years old when he appointed his sons as Judges. There is no hint of any kind in the scriptures that Samuel asked the Lord for guidance. As we read in the verse above from I Samuel, his sons allowed greed to corrupt them. We learn that Samuel, although he was a godly man, was human just like us and he put his sons in positions where they were to have spiritual authority and they were spiritually not ready.
As so often happens, when people have power they use their position of authority for personal gain. Greed is the motivating factor in most cases. Greed caused Samuel's sons to "accept bribes and pervert justice" to satisfy their excessive desire for riches. Thus Israel no longer had the spiritual leadership that Samuel had given Israel in the past. As a result of the greed of Samuel's sons, the elders of Israel rebelled against the evil sons and demanded that Samuel give them a king.
Isaiah in the verse we have written above describes the watchmen of Israel as blind and dumb dogs who were greedy and never had enough. These blind watchmen were the preachers of the day and once again the spiritual leadership was corrupted by greed. Isaiah called them dumb dogs because under their leadership Israel turned from God and forfeited all God's blessings. They were like dumb dogs that could not bark, which means they did not preach the truth or warn the Children of Israel about the false doctrine.
Most false teaching is based in greed and appeals to our sinful nature's desire for the riches and pleasures of this world. In II Peter (above) Peter was warning the believers about false teachers that were living among them. These false teachers were not only greedy but they were trained in greed. They took their eyes off the message of the Cross and preached a modern word of faith that contradicted all that Jesus is and all that Jesus taught.
Those that followed these false teachers, Peter said, would be unable to cease from sin. These false teachers were very deceptive and spoke appealing and seductive thoughts, just as false teachers do today. Peter warns us to stay true to the message of the cross and not to let greed entice us to follow the teaching of false teachers.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Help my family today to keep our eyes open to the message of the cross. Help us not to fall to the temptations of the world we live in and to the false teachers that want to lead us away from God. Help us to see and react negatively to greed. May our hope and trust be completely in You this day.
Generous July 10, 2013
TODAY”S
WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 10, 2013.
GENEROUS
DEFINITION:
Generosity
toward others; showing kindness to others; showing a readiness to give more of
something, such as money or time, than is necessary or expected.
SCRIPTURE:
Only
they would that we should remember the poor. Galatians 2:10
And
though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be
burned, and have not charity, it profited me nothing. I Corinthians 13:3
It
is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35.
KNOWLEDGE
AND EXPERIENCE:
Have
you ever questioned why believers are to be generous to others? Caring for
others and giving to the poor is a repeated theme throughout the Scriptures.
Jesus demonstrated His love and care for others throughout His ministry. Here
are several biblical directives about being generous to others.
God
is a generous God who has given us everything we need and He expects us to be
generous to others. In John13:34 Jesus said, “A new command I give you. Love
one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another.” To love as
Jesus loves requires more than words. It requires action. We show love by being
generous to others and helping those in need.
Giving
to the poor and the needy was a mandate given by God to Moses which he in turn
was to give to the Children of Israel. At harvest time the Israelites were to
leave the edges of their fields un-harvested to provide food for the needy.
In
Galatians 2:10 we read that when Paul was beginning his ministry as an apostle
to the Gentiles, the apostles James, Peter and John instructed him to remember
the poor. In Ephesians 4:28 Paul advises that we do something useful with our
hands so that we are able to have something to share with those in need.
In
Proverbs 25:21 we are told to feed our enemies if they are hungry. We are not
inclined to be generous to our enemies and to do so is most difficult. Jesus
tells us to love our enemies and do good to them as written in Luke 6:35.
In
Philippians chapter four, Paul thanks the church at Philippi for their
generosity in sending him aid when he was in need. In verse 18 Paul says that
gifts to God's servants are "a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice
pleasing to God."
As
believers we are not only expected but commanded by our Lord to be generous to
the poor and needy, to our enemies, and to God's servants.
Our
parents trained us and constantly reminded us that God wanted us to be generous
in helping the poor, the needy, our enemies and those who were God's servants.
Our parents practiced what they preached to us. They were generous in their
giving and this served as a great
example to us. Just as God instructed Moses to teach the Israelites to be
generous we must teach our children to be generous. Children are naturally inclined
to be selfish. They must be taught to share and be generous.
The
scripture gives us some guidelines on being generous. When we give we are to
give in love. Love for the Lord and love for others should be what motivates
our acts of generosity (I Corinthians 13:3). We are to give cheerfully because
God loves a cheerful giver as recorded in II Corinthians 9:7. In Acts 11:29 we
are first required to be generous to the poor and give according to our
ability. This is what God expects of us. If God has blessed us with time,
talent and or treasures we are to share these, based on what He has given us,
to the needy, the poor, and our enemies and with those that serve Him in the
ministry.
Finally,
the scriptures tell us the blessings of being generous that we can expect when
we give to those He requires us to give to. In Hebrews 13:16 we are told that
when we give with sacrifice, God is well pleased. In the verse above from Acts,
Paul tells us that when we are generous to others we will be blessed by God.
Proverbs 11:25 says that being generous to others, enriches us and in I Timothy
6:17-19 we are told that we will be rewarded.
LEARNING:
Our
memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to
be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Thank
You for the ability that You have given me to be generous with those who are in
need today. Help me to be alert to the leading that Your Holy Spirit gives me
today. May my family be known as a generous family that acknowledges that we
have received so much from You that we cannot help but give and give even more
back to others in Your name.
Wonderful: July 9, 2013
TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JULY 9, 2013.
WONDERFUL
DEFINITION:
Excellent; grand; marvelous and extraordinary.
SCRIPTURE:
Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done. I Chronicles 16:12.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government shall rest on His shoulders; and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Isaiah 9:6.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Chapter 16 in I Chronicles is a prayer of thanksgiving and praise. Jewish tradition strongly suggests that Ezra, the priest (Ezra 7:1-6) who was known as “The Chronicler” was the author. The records in both books of Chronicles were thought to be written between 450-430 B.C.
Remembering all the wonderful things God has done should be a basic element of thanksgiving and praise. In his prayer of thanksgiving Ezra reminds the Children of Israel, as he reminds us today, of the great and wonderful works that God has done in their lives. Look at the miracles that took place in getting them to the Promised Land. Look at the leaders that God gave them including Abraham, Moses and Joshua. For all these things we are reminded by Ezra how great, wonderful and awesome our God is.
Giving God the glory and honor by praise and thanksgiving should come readily on a regular basis to all believers when they think about all the wonderful things God has done.
In Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah foretells the birth and reign of the Prince of Peace, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In verse 6 Isaiah calls Him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of Peace. These four descriptive titles Isaiah ascribed to Jesus have special meaning to us:
WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR: He is most excellent, most extraordinary, without equal, who guides us in the right paths, and gives us right advice.
MIGHTY GOD: He is the one and only God and is Almighty.
EVERLASTING FATHER: He is God our Father in heaven and is eternal.
PRINCE OF PEACE: His rule is one of justice and peace.
These terms elaborate on Immanuel, the child to be born to the virgin.
What a wonderful Savior as proclaimed to us years before His birth.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Thank You for being my wonderful and awesome Savior. May my life be a beacon of light to all those who I meet and see today. May the greatness of You, my Lord, shine brightly through me so others may come to find life and life eternal through you.
WONDERFUL
DEFINITION:
Excellent; grand; marvelous and extraordinary.
SCRIPTURE:
Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done. I Chronicles 16:12.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government shall rest on His shoulders; and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Isaiah 9:6.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Chapter 16 in I Chronicles is a prayer of thanksgiving and praise. Jewish tradition strongly suggests that Ezra, the priest (Ezra 7:1-6) who was known as “The Chronicler” was the author. The records in both books of Chronicles were thought to be written between 450-430 B.C.
Remembering all the wonderful things God has done should be a basic element of thanksgiving and praise. In his prayer of thanksgiving Ezra reminds the Children of Israel, as he reminds us today, of the great and wonderful works that God has done in their lives. Look at the miracles that took place in getting them to the Promised Land. Look at the leaders that God gave them including Abraham, Moses and Joshua. For all these things we are reminded by Ezra how great, wonderful and awesome our God is.
Giving God the glory and honor by praise and thanksgiving should come readily on a regular basis to all believers when they think about all the wonderful things God has done.
In Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah foretells the birth and reign of the Prince of Peace, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In verse 6 Isaiah calls Him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of Peace. These four descriptive titles Isaiah ascribed to Jesus have special meaning to us:
WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR: He is most excellent, most extraordinary, without equal, who guides us in the right paths, and gives us right advice.
MIGHTY GOD: He is the one and only God and is Almighty.
EVERLASTING FATHER: He is God our Father in heaven and is eternal.
PRINCE OF PEACE: His rule is one of justice and peace.
These terms elaborate on Immanuel, the child to be born to the virgin.
What a wonderful Savior as proclaimed to us years before His birth.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Thank You for being my wonderful and awesome Savior. May my life be a beacon of light to all those who I meet and see today. May the greatness of You, my Lord, shine brightly through me so others may come to find life and life eternal through you.
Hospitality: July 8, 2013
TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY JULY 8, 2013.
HOSPITALITY
DEFINITION:
The reception of guests in a generous and kindly way.
SCRIPTURE:
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:2.
Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When you read travel magazines and newspaper real estate adds you notice offers for travelers to rent a bedroom in a local family home. When you look up on the internet for such services you will notice one program, founded by Casey Fenton, that alone has well over 250,000 homes available with bedrooms to rent. Some call this opening one's home to offer hospitality to travelers.
This service sounds a little like biblical hospitality. In the verse above the writer of Hebrews instructed believers to practice their faith in Jesus Christ through hospitality. This was defined by the early Christ followers as acts of generosity towards strangers.
In the first century, hospitality often included housing a guest. This was hardest to do during days that Christians were being persecuted. Believers who offered this hospitality would not know if the guest was a spy or fellow believer. But the writer of Hebrews was suggesting that when they hosted a guest they well could be inviting a blessing into their home.
In today's world things are much different. We have hotels, motels and guest houses for people who travel. Also because of the great evil in the world offering a room in your house to someone you do not know could bring one who will bring disaster into your home. As God's people, we are called to be hospitable to others as part of our gratitude for the salvation we have received from God.
In the verse from Romans (above) Paul in this 12th chapter, verses 9-21, gives the people in the Church at Rome and us a comprehensive and mandatory list of traits that characterize the Spirit-filled life. Paul presents these characteristics for us under 4 categories. They are our personal duties, duties to others, family duties and to those who consider us as enemies.
Times have changed from that first century but you can show hospitality today by helping a person in need, giving encouragement to the lonely, praying for the sick and much more. People who have a heart for God have a heart for people. As we have opportunity we as believers must make ourselves available to those who are in need of Christ-like love and kindness. The apostle Paul reminds us of the words spoken by Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Help my family to be a caring and loving family that is willing to show hospitality to the needy, hurting, lonely and sick people that our lives touch today. We thank You for the many blessings that You have given us. Make us willing to help others that are in need out of all that You have given to us.
HOSPITALITY
DEFINITION:
The reception of guests in a generous and kindly way.
SCRIPTURE:
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:2.
Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When you read travel magazines and newspaper real estate adds you notice offers for travelers to rent a bedroom in a local family home. When you look up on the internet for such services you will notice one program, founded by Casey Fenton, that alone has well over 250,000 homes available with bedrooms to rent. Some call this opening one's home to offer hospitality to travelers.
This service sounds a little like biblical hospitality. In the verse above the writer of Hebrews instructed believers to practice their faith in Jesus Christ through hospitality. This was defined by the early Christ followers as acts of generosity towards strangers.
In the first century, hospitality often included housing a guest. This was hardest to do during days that Christians were being persecuted. Believers who offered this hospitality would not know if the guest was a spy or fellow believer. But the writer of Hebrews was suggesting that when they hosted a guest they well could be inviting a blessing into their home.
In today's world things are much different. We have hotels, motels and guest houses for people who travel. Also because of the great evil in the world offering a room in your house to someone you do not know could bring one who will bring disaster into your home. As God's people, we are called to be hospitable to others as part of our gratitude for the salvation we have received from God.
In the verse from Romans (above) Paul in this 12th chapter, verses 9-21, gives the people in the Church at Rome and us a comprehensive and mandatory list of traits that characterize the Spirit-filled life. Paul presents these characteristics for us under 4 categories. They are our personal duties, duties to others, family duties and to those who consider us as enemies.
Times have changed from that first century but you can show hospitality today by helping a person in need, giving encouragement to the lonely, praying for the sick and much more. People who have a heart for God have a heart for people. As we have opportunity we as believers must make ourselves available to those who are in need of Christ-like love and kindness. The apostle Paul reminds us of the words spoken by Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 2:15.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
PRAYER:
Help my family to be a caring and loving family that is willing to show hospitality to the needy, hurting, lonely and sick people that our lives touch today. We thank You for the many blessings that You have given us. Make us willing to help others that are in need out of all that You have given to us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
