TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 1, 2014
BELIEVE
DEFINITION:
To trust in; to hold a firm conviction about; to have confidence in the truth; to have religious faith.
SCRIPTURE:
That 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. Romans 10:9
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
It is impossible to believe something into existence. The Gospel did not come into being because men believed it. The tomb was not emptied of Christ’s body that first Easter morning because some of His faithful followers believed it. The fact preceded the faith.
We are psychologically incapable of believing without an object of our faith. The object of our faith is Christ. We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are not called upon to believe something that is not credible. But we are called upon to believe in the fact of history that in reality transcends all of history. This is the birth, death and resurrection of our Savior.
God has given us a sixth sense and that is the ability to believe. We do not know Christ through the five physical senses He has given everyone. Our belief is based on faith and faith requires surrender and commitment, for us as believers, to the claims of Jesus Christ.
When you see the word believe in the present tense it means that it is not a onetime event but an ongoing condition. To believe and have a saving faith the writer of Romans in the first 12 chapters tells us that there are three elements to our belief.
The first is mental: It is with the mind that we come to understand the gospel and the truth about Christ. Second, it is emotional: The embracing of the truthfulness of those facts will bring sorrow over sin and joy over God’s mercy and grace. Finally, it is volitional: The sinner must choose to submit his or her will to Christ and trusts in Him alone as the only hope of salvation.
Genuine faith in believing in Jesus always produces authentic obedience. We thank the Lord daily for the ability to believe. Do you?
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
Help me to always keep my eyes on You so that my faith does not waver. Help me not to look down, away from You, and stumble. Thank You for the joy and peace that I have because I believe in You.
August 3, 2014
Cause: July 31, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY JULY 31, 2014.
CAUSE
DEFINITION:
A person that acts or a thing that occurs so to produce a specific result; the reason or motive for some action.
SCRIPTURE:
I planted, Apollo watered, but God was causing the growth.
I Corinthians 3:6.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Recently a television interviewer was walking down a street asking the public one person at a time a simple question. The question was, “Do you have a cause in life that is important enough for you to stand for?” The answers were unbelievable to us. They included to visit the local bar every night, to irritate the person that works with me, to go to at least one rock concert a week and to talk to people about climate control.
The answers showed how confused people are today and how they live for themselves only and care about no one else.
In a book called “The Age of Longing” an American girl married a radical revolutionary in Paris. She had lost her faith at an American University, the little religious faith she had, and all that her parents had taught her concerning their religious faith and Judeo-Christian morals.
She was asked why she married him and she responded by saying that he was the first person she ever knew who believed in something strong enough to die for it. He had a cause to live by. She went on to say that even though she did not believe exactly as he does she was attracted to him because he had found a cause to live for.
Many people today are searching for a cause but do not know what they are looking for. A University student in Moscow was talking to an American Christian, as the story goes, about their faith. The Russian student said “You Christians say that you are going to win the world, but the facts are that we have done more in fifty years than you have done in 2000.”
The Russian student went on to say that there was a reason for what he believed and said. It is because you Christians are really not committed to your cause and we are. Therefore we will win, you’ll see.
As a believer in Jesus, do you have a cause? Are you living every moment of your days for Him? Take the time to evaluate how committed you are to your Lord.
It is the Lord alone who can give the faith to the spiritually ignorant that will allow them to be committed to a cause. Salvation is God’s work of grace to those who choose to receive it. But how can they receive it if no one has made it their cause to tell them of it?
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
Thank You, Father, that You have given me a reason and a purpose in life. Keep me ever strong in my faith and trust in You. Help me to never waver in taking a stand for the cause of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Help me to always live totally committed in love to You.
CAUSE
DEFINITION:
A person that acts or a thing that occurs so to produce a specific result; the reason or motive for some action.
SCRIPTURE:
I planted, Apollo watered, but God was causing the growth.
I Corinthians 3:6.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Recently a television interviewer was walking down a street asking the public one person at a time a simple question. The question was, “Do you have a cause in life that is important enough for you to stand for?” The answers were unbelievable to us. They included to visit the local bar every night, to irritate the person that works with me, to go to at least one rock concert a week and to talk to people about climate control.
The answers showed how confused people are today and how they live for themselves only and care about no one else.
In a book called “The Age of Longing” an American girl married a radical revolutionary in Paris. She had lost her faith at an American University, the little religious faith she had, and all that her parents had taught her concerning their religious faith and Judeo-Christian morals.
She was asked why she married him and she responded by saying that he was the first person she ever knew who believed in something strong enough to die for it. He had a cause to live by. She went on to say that even though she did not believe exactly as he does she was attracted to him because he had found a cause to live for.
Many people today are searching for a cause but do not know what they are looking for. A University student in Moscow was talking to an American Christian, as the story goes, about their faith. The Russian student said “You Christians say that you are going to win the world, but the facts are that we have done more in fifty years than you have done in 2000.”
The Russian student went on to say that there was a reason for what he believed and said. It is because you Christians are really not committed to your cause and we are. Therefore we will win, you’ll see.
As a believer in Jesus, do you have a cause? Are you living every moment of your days for Him? Take the time to evaluate how committed you are to your Lord.
It is the Lord alone who can give the faith to the spiritually ignorant that will allow them to be committed to a cause. Salvation is God’s work of grace to those who choose to receive it. But how can they receive it if no one has made it their cause to tell them of it?
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
Thank You, Father, that You have given me a reason and a purpose in life. Keep me ever strong in my faith and trust in You. Help me to never waver in taking a stand for the cause of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Help me to always live totally committed in love to You.
Evidence: July 30, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 30, 2014.
EVIDENCE
DEFINITION:
That which tends to prove or disprove something; grounds for belief; proof.
SCRIPTURE:
Explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” Acts 17:3.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Whenever a law is broken whether it is an accident or planned there are investigations that follow. These investigations look for reasons and evidence that prove that a law was broken. Evidence is looked for in trials in a court room, at the scene of an accident and in situations like forest fires. Everyday situations come and go that require evidence to be found.
Certain laws of evidence hold in the establishment of any historic event. Documentation of the event in question must be made by reliable contemporary witnesses.
There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived, or that Alexander the Great died at the age of 33. It is strange that historians will accept thousands of facts from which they can produce only shreds of evidence and will accept it as valid. But in the case of the overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they cast a skeptical eye and hold intellectual doubts.
The trouble with many people is that they just do not want to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. The Gospels and the book of Acts give us eye witness accounts of Jesus life and death. After His resurrection Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, Cephas, and the twelve disciples. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:6 that Jesus appeared to more than 500 eyewitnesses at one time and that most of them were still alive at the time He was writing I Corinthians. People who do not want to believe are so completely prejudiced that they cannot accept the glorious fact of the resurrection of Christ on Bible testimony alone.
Do you need more evidence that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins. May we remind you that it does not matter what you or other skeptics may think it will not change the evidence or the fact that it happened. Read the 14th chapter of John and I Corinthians 15 and see if there is any evidence in these chapters that would change your mind.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the evidence that You left not only in Your Word but through those who met You after Your resurrection that You are alive. I know You are alive for You live in the hearts of all those who love You.
EVIDENCE
DEFINITION:
That which tends to prove or disprove something; grounds for belief; proof.
SCRIPTURE:
Explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” Acts 17:3.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Whenever a law is broken whether it is an accident or planned there are investigations that follow. These investigations look for reasons and evidence that prove that a law was broken. Evidence is looked for in trials in a court room, at the scene of an accident and in situations like forest fires. Everyday situations come and go that require evidence to be found.
Certain laws of evidence hold in the establishment of any historic event. Documentation of the event in question must be made by reliable contemporary witnesses.
There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived, or that Alexander the Great died at the age of 33. It is strange that historians will accept thousands of facts from which they can produce only shreds of evidence and will accept it as valid. But in the case of the overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they cast a skeptical eye and hold intellectual doubts.
The trouble with many people is that they just do not want to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. The Gospels and the book of Acts give us eye witness accounts of Jesus life and death. After His resurrection Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, Cephas, and the twelve disciples. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:6 that Jesus appeared to more than 500 eyewitnesses at one time and that most of them were still alive at the time He was writing I Corinthians. People who do not want to believe are so completely prejudiced that they cannot accept the glorious fact of the resurrection of Christ on Bible testimony alone.
Do you need more evidence that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins. May we remind you that it does not matter what you or other skeptics may think it will not change the evidence or the fact that it happened. Read the 14th chapter of John and I Corinthians 15 and see if there is any evidence in these chapters that would change your mind.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the evidence that You left not only in Your Word but through those who met You after Your resurrection that You are alive. I know You are alive for You live in the hearts of all those who love You.
Wisdom: July 29, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY JULY 29, 2014.
WISDOM
DEFINITION:
Discernment and judging properly as to what is true or right; discretion.
SCRIPTURE:
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Psalm 111:10a.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
In the verse from James above, the wisdom James is referring to is not a wisdom of philosophical speculation but a wisdom contained in the pure and peaceable absolutes of God’s will revealed in His Word and then in turn lived out in a believers life. Only such divine wisdom enables believers to be joyous and submissive in the trials of life.
When life gets tough God does not expect us to muddle through as best as we can. We need Godly wisdom to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances.
James tells us that if we lack this wisdom we are to ask of God. This instruction given to us by James from God is a necessary part of the believer’s prayer life. God intends that the trials we face as believers will drive us to a greater reliance and dependency on Him. As with all His riches, God has wisdom in abundance that is always available to us when we seek Him and seek wisdom.
In order to receive wisdom from God we must know the way to God. In the 14th chapter of John we read the account that included the words of a doubting Thomas, one of His disciples. Thomas asked how we could know the way. Jesus answered with a very simple yet profoundly deep response: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
As the way, Jesus is our path to God. As the truth He is the fulfillment of all God’s promises. As the life He is the giver of eternal life.
Within this one sentence from the lips of the Son of God there was enough comfort to encourage the sufferings of the tormented, enough wisdom to satisfy those who yearned for understanding, and enough power to set the great Christian movement in motion.
Theologians have evaluated these words down through the centuries and yet many have never completely understood the mighty depth of what our Savior said. In one majestic sweep these words silenced Thomas’ questioning tongue and encouraged believers through the centuries.
It is by Christ alone that we come to the Father and our prayers go to the Father and His blessings come to us.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
PRAYER:
Thank You Father that You have provided the way for me to come to you. Thank You for sending Your only Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth and the life. Thank You that through Jesus I can come to You to ask for wisdom and through Him I can receive Your blessings. Give me wisdom to help me learn more about Your love for me.
WISDOM
DEFINITION:
Discernment and judging properly as to what is true or right; discretion.
SCRIPTURE:
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Psalm 111:10a.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
In the verse from James above, the wisdom James is referring to is not a wisdom of philosophical speculation but a wisdom contained in the pure and peaceable absolutes of God’s will revealed in His Word and then in turn lived out in a believers life. Only such divine wisdom enables believers to be joyous and submissive in the trials of life.
When life gets tough God does not expect us to muddle through as best as we can. We need Godly wisdom to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances.
James tells us that if we lack this wisdom we are to ask of God. This instruction given to us by James from God is a necessary part of the believer’s prayer life. God intends that the trials we face as believers will drive us to a greater reliance and dependency on Him. As with all His riches, God has wisdom in abundance that is always available to us when we seek Him and seek wisdom.
In order to receive wisdom from God we must know the way to God. In the 14th chapter of John we read the account that included the words of a doubting Thomas, one of His disciples. Thomas asked how we could know the way. Jesus answered with a very simple yet profoundly deep response: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
As the way, Jesus is our path to God. As the truth He is the fulfillment of all God’s promises. As the life He is the giver of eternal life.
Within this one sentence from the lips of the Son of God there was enough comfort to encourage the sufferings of the tormented, enough wisdom to satisfy those who yearned for understanding, and enough power to set the great Christian movement in motion.
Theologians have evaluated these words down through the centuries and yet many have never completely understood the mighty depth of what our Savior said. In one majestic sweep these words silenced Thomas’ questioning tongue and encouraged believers through the centuries.
It is by Christ alone that we come to the Father and our prayers go to the Father and His blessings come to us.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
PRAYER:
Thank You Father that You have provided the way for me to come to you. Thank You for sending Your only Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth and the life. Thank You that through Jesus I can come to You to ask for wisdom and through Him I can receive Your blessings. Give me wisdom to help me learn more about Your love for me.
Light: July 28, 2014
TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY JULY 28, 2014.
LIGHT
DEFINITION:
Something that makes things visible or affords illumination; the radiance from a particular source.
SCRIPTURE:
If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. I John 1:7.
For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord, walk as children of Light. Ephesians 5:8.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
The artist Peter Milne hung one of his paintings he drew in the church he founded on the little Island of New Hebrides in Nguna. Under the picture were the words, “When He came, there was no light. When He died there was no darkness.”
When Christ came into this world, there was no light. Matthew, quoting Isaiah, said, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” Matthew 4:16.
Harry Lauder said that during his boyhood, he could tell where the city lamplighter was by the trail of light he left behind him. Christ was the heavenly Lamplighter that came to this earth to bring us Light. Everywhere He went the midnight gloom of sin and despair disappeared before Him.
In Genesis 1:3 God said let there be light. God is light and God is the creator of light. The word light is divinely rich, a symbol of all that is good, pure, holy and true. In I Timothy 6:16, Paul tells us that God dwells in light unapproachable. No one has seen God, because no one can look on the light of God’s holiness and live (Exodus 30:20).
A genuine Christian walks habitually in the Light of truth and holiness that Christ has given us, not in the darkness of sin and falsehood that we were born into. The believers walk also results in cleansing from sin as the Lord continually forgives those who believe in Him and acknowledge that He is their light and their salvation.
Since those believers who walk in the Light share in the character of God, they are habitually characterized by His Holiness indicating their true fellowship with Him. A genuine Christian does not walk in the dark but only in the light, and according to the verse above from I John, cleansing from sin continually occurs in the life of the believer.
Darkness describes the character of the unbeliever which is void of truth and virtue in intellectual and moral matters. The realm of darkness that they live in is presided over by the power of darkness. Tragically, sinners love the darkness and it is from this darkness that God has offered Salvation through His Son to sinners.
May we encourage you today, as the verse above from Ephesians says, if you are living in darkness you need to come to Jesus who was sent by God to be the light to the world and begin your walk with the Lord and walk as a child of Light.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
My soul and heart praises You, my risen Redeemer, for the light that pervades the deepest gloom that I may face and transforms my life with Your Love. Thank You for this reality. May my life shine brightly the light that You have radiated through me.
LIGHT
DEFINITION:
Something that makes things visible or affords illumination; the radiance from a particular source.
SCRIPTURE:
If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. I John 1:7.
For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord, walk as children of Light. Ephesians 5:8.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
The artist Peter Milne hung one of his paintings he drew in the church he founded on the little Island of New Hebrides in Nguna. Under the picture were the words, “When He came, there was no light. When He died there was no darkness.”
When Christ came into this world, there was no light. Matthew, quoting Isaiah, said, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” Matthew 4:16.
Harry Lauder said that during his boyhood, he could tell where the city lamplighter was by the trail of light he left behind him. Christ was the heavenly Lamplighter that came to this earth to bring us Light. Everywhere He went the midnight gloom of sin and despair disappeared before Him.
In Genesis 1:3 God said let there be light. God is light and God is the creator of light. The word light is divinely rich, a symbol of all that is good, pure, holy and true. In I Timothy 6:16, Paul tells us that God dwells in light unapproachable. No one has seen God, because no one can look on the light of God’s holiness and live (Exodus 30:20).
A genuine Christian walks habitually in the Light of truth and holiness that Christ has given us, not in the darkness of sin and falsehood that we were born into. The believers walk also results in cleansing from sin as the Lord continually forgives those who believe in Him and acknowledge that He is their light and their salvation.
Since those believers who walk in the Light share in the character of God, they are habitually characterized by His Holiness indicating their true fellowship with Him. A genuine Christian does not walk in the dark but only in the light, and according to the verse above from I John, cleansing from sin continually occurs in the life of the believer.
Darkness describes the character of the unbeliever which is void of truth and virtue in intellectual and moral matters. The realm of darkness that they live in is presided over by the power of darkness. Tragically, sinners love the darkness and it is from this darkness that God has offered Salvation through His Son to sinners.
May we encourage you today, as the verse above from Ephesians says, if you are living in darkness you need to come to Jesus who was sent by God to be the light to the world and begin your walk with the Lord and walk as a child of Light.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 3:11.
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
My soul and heart praises You, my risen Redeemer, for the light that pervades the deepest gloom that I may face and transforms my life with Your Love. Thank You for this reality. May my life shine brightly the light that You have radiated through me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
