Defeat: January 9, 2015

TODAY'S WORD FOR FRIDAY JANUARY 9, 2015.

DEFEAT

DEFINITION:

Conquer or overcome; overwhelm; overthrow or rout; to destroy; to have victory over.

SCRIPTURE:

And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and subscribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present or the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Do you find it difficult at times to believe that your situation can ever be better or that something good can come from it? The disciples who walked with Jesus were completely devastated, doubting and defeated after the crucifixion. The Savior had told them, in the verse above from Mark, what was going to happen with Him.

They simply could not see past their human perceptions or expectations of what was happening. Their expectation and hope was that Jesus had come as a conquering Messiah to defeat their enemies and free them from Roman rule. Now their Messiah was defeated and put to death by the Romans. The disciples were brokenhearted, despondent and feeling absolutely helpless. Deep within their hearts, they believed it was all over. They had seen Jesus suffer and die on the cross with their own eyes. All of their hopes and dreams had been dashed.

How often do you get caught up in this same attitude of defeat? It is because you are overwhelmed by your circumstances because you are focused on your limited comprehension instead of God's awesome purposes for our lives. You need to see past your imperfect understanding of what is happening in your life to our extraordinary Lord and Redeemer and then your heart will be filled with joy. Let us look at the disciples after the resurrection of Jesus to see what they discovered.

First, they were able to realize that God always succeeds in carrying out His plans. Jesus did come as the conquering Messiah but not to conquer the Romans, but to conquer death.  Jesus promised to pay the penalty for our sins and deliver us from the penalty of death and He did. (Luke 24:45-48)

The disciples saw Jesus’ death as the end of Jesus’ plan and as a great defeat. It wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection that they saw a great victory. Jesus defeated death on the cross and fulfilled God’s plan of Salvation for us. In verse 45 it says that “then He opened their eyes so that they could understand.” The same will happen in your life when you accept God’s plan of salvation and ask Jesus to save you. No matter how great your sin, be assured He has defeated death and conquered every sin.

Secondly, the disciples learned that nothing can separate us from God. Paul assures us in Romans 8:31-39 that no matter what hardship or defeat we may suffer it is impossible for those who trust in the Lord to be separated from God. God's love will reach us no matter where we are or what circumstances we are in or even how defeated we think we are. As Christians we will face hardships in this life but not one thing can separate us from the love of God. The disciples thought they had lost Jesus through the crucifixion but the resurrection assured them that they would never be without Him again. We have the same assurance.

Thirdly, the disciples discovered that any adversity we experience is temporary because Jesus has given us eternal life. You may feel that you are facing defeat because your situation is so grave. You may be weary and disheartened, but do not give up hope. Cling to the promise that God acts on behalf of those of us who wait upon Him. Keep seeking Him and you will overcome your feeling of defeat.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 3:16.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

PRAYER:

Thank You heavenly Father, for fulfilling Your promised plan of salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You that I do not have to feel defeated because You are a mighty God who will make me victorious over every evil situation that Satan will use to defeat me. Thank You that nothing can separate me from Your love.

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Mediator: January 8, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JANUARY 8, 2015.

MEDIATOR

DEFINITION:

One who reconciles disagreements between two or more estranged people; one who settles an issue; interceder; peace maker.

SCRIPTURE:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. I Timothy 2:5

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Mediation is not without a price. Just ask someone who has hired a lawyer. Literally millions of dollars are spent on mediation by two parties, to their lawyers who become their mediators, when they face some sort of disagreement.

Has it ever occurred to you that you have a most important case pending when you meet God face to face? It will be YOU versus GOD, no one else. But God has provided a mediator for us in His Son to lead us to a relationship with God so that when we face Him we will have seen our debt owed for our sins paid through the shed blood of Jesus.

Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned.” God is perfect and without sin and our sin separates us from God. In Isaiah 59:2 it reads that “your iniquities have separated you from your God.” This is a universal truth and unchangeable, applying to all men and women, that sin separates people from God. We are in disagreement with God and our relationship with Him is broken. Therefore we need a mediator.

A mediator is someone who intervenes between two parties to resolve a conflict or ratify a covenant. Jesus Christ is the only mediator who can restore peace between God and sinners.

God sent His Son to die on the cross to cover our sins in order that we could be reconciled to God. As we said, mediation comes with a price and Jesus paid dearly giving His life on the cross to cover our sins. In 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul not only instructs Timothy, but reminds us, that the man Christ Jesus is the one and only mediator between us and God. There is no other way to salvation.

We cannot come to God except through Jesus. Jesus said this to us, as recorded in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus declared here that He is the way to God because He is the truth of God. The message here is exclusive and emphatic that Jesus is the only approach that man has to God. There is no other way.

It is through Jesus that God sent us His love and forgiveness. It is only through Jesus, our mediator, that we are able to come before God and ask His forgiveness for our sins and offer Him our thanks and our praises for His goodness. We ask you the question, “Have you met with your mediator today?”

Our children, like all children, did not always see eye to eye on issues all the time so they would get into verbal fights with each other. Each one thought that they were right and the other child was wrong. Once in a while it usually ended up that they would have to come to one or both of us to plead their cases. There sometimes was such a serious disagreement between them that the usual loving relationship between them was broken. They needed us to be a mediator to reconcile them.

Children are not the only ones who need a mediator to reconcile broken relationships in life. Most of the problems in our world are related to broken relationships over issues that divide. Mediators are necessary to solve the issues of these broken relationships.

We could not get along it seems, without a legal system of lawyers and judges who serve as mediators in settling disagreements between two parties. Even in churches today, pastors become mediators for those who come for counseling to settle their disagreements. Governments and political leaders have disagreements which are usually solved when a third party mediator comes on the scene.

As a result of our sinful nature, people find themselves constantly in a position where mediation of some sort is necessary. But the most important mediator for those of us who are believers is the mediator that God has provided us through His Son Jesus Christ. Thankfully, Jesus paid the price for us once and for all, and He is alive and interceding for us in heaven so that we can come to God’s throne of grace at anytime and from anywhere.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 3:16.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Jesus, for paying the price that I could never pay and for being the mediator between God and me. Thank You for dying on the cross to save me from all my sins. Thank You for making it possible to come to God in prayer to make my requests known to God and to thank Him for the blessings He has given me.

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Children: January 7, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7, 2015.

CHILDREN

DEFINITION:

A young person between infancy and youth; offspring or descendents.

SCRIPTURE:

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God. And this is what we are beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. I John 3:1-2.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

By God’s design we do not enter this world fully grown and self-sufficient. Therefore we all know what it is like to be a child. Every child has the need to feel like they belong to someone and that someone loves and cares for them. Because God desires a relationship with us, He created this need within us.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are part of a family. John 1:12 tells us that to all who receive Him and believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. It was because of His great love for us (John 3:1-2) that God our Father made it possible for each of us to be a child of God by sacrificing His Son to die on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins.

Throughout the Bible God speaks to us as a loving and caring parent and in that role He gives us His instructions in the parent-child relationship. In Ephesians chapter six as well as in Colossians the third chapter we are told that children are to obey and honor their parents.

In Proverbs 22:6 we are told as parents that we are to train our children in the way they should go and when they grow up they will not turn away from God. In Psalm 127: 3 we are told that children are our heritage. When John the Baptist was a boy we read about him being a joy and delight to his parents. (Luke 1:14-15).

These same attributes of a proper parent child relationship can be related to us as believers in our relationship to God as children of God. We are to obey our Father. We are to honor our Father. We are to read the Bible so that God through His Word can train us so that as we grow as Christians we will mature in our Christian faith. God, our Father considers us as His heritage and wants us to be a joy and a delight to Him.

Child rearing today is a tremendous responsibility for parents. Children are being buffeted by so many outside forces that their parents never faced as children. Self will is the root of most sin and misery and if checked at an early age it promotes future happiness. Children, who are allowed to do as they please, will most likely follow a path in life that leads to their destruction.

As every parent knows, children do not come with instruction manuals, and no two children are alike. In raising children today, many parents struggle with discipline. Some are afraid to discipline their children at all and others are all too harsh to the point of being cruel and abusive.

Proverbs 23:13 tells us “Do not withhold discipline from a child, if you punish him with a rod he will not die.” Just as God disciplines us, we are to discipline our children.

In this day and age parents here in America are fearful that if they “spank or hit” their child, they would be accused of child abuse, so because of this fear they are fearful of using any discipline.  This should not be. Children need just and fair discipline to help them become responsible adults.

As children of God we face many forces of evil in our lives, but the good news is that as children of God, He will be always there for us. Jesus loves His children. In Matthew 19:14, while He was on this earth, we are told that the disciples tried to shield Jesus from the children. But Jesus responded by saying: “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Yes, Jesus loves the little children and as a child of God, we can be assured that He loves us, and He wants us to come to Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 3:16.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

PRAYER:

We are so grateful that You have provided the way for us to be a child of God. Thank You for my children. Help me to be a Godly parent. Help me to teach my children to obey and honor You in all they do.

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Beginning: January 6, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JANUARY 6, 2015.

BEGINNING

DEFINITION:

A point of coming into existence; a starting point; commence; start; take the first step; origin; source.

SCRIPTURE:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:1.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

This world and everything in this world has a beginning. Genesis 1:1 states that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning God was there. In John 1:1 it reads that Jesus (the Word) was also there in the beginning.

Down through history no one has been able to document anyone else who was there in the beginning. Only our triune God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) has existed from the beginning.

We all begin life here on this earth by being born. Birth is a process by which each of us has our beginning. But there is a more important birth for us all to consider in life. God in His Word speaks of our need to be “born again.” There are many people in this world that do not understand what it means to be “born again.”

These words “born again” were spoken by Jesus when He was talking to Nicodemus. Although Nicodemus was a devout Jewish Pharisee, he did not understand what being “born again” really meant. He asked how one can be born more than once. Jesus explained that the first birth is a birth of the flesh, but the second birth is the birth of the Spirit. Our first birth gives earthly life and our second birth gives us eternal life.

In order to be “born again” we must go through the process of realizing that we are sinners and ask God for forgiveness and then after asking God for forgiveness we need to ask Jesus to come into our heart and then accept Jesus as our Savior.

By our first birth we all were born into this world as sinners because of the fall of Adam and Eve. The penalty for the sins we committed in life is death. Because we are born sinners we need to pay the price for our sins. God has provided a way for us to escape paying the penalty by accepting Jesus as Savior.

By our faith in Jesus, our second birth, we are made a new creation. In II Corinthians 5:17 it reads, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.” As a new creation we have a new beginning and our heart will be changed and our life-style will be changed. This is one of the first things a new believer will experience.

When we make the decision to accept Jesus as our Savior and to begin our new life with Him, we must be ready to expect the unexpected. Your own plan for your life is limited because of who you are. You do not know the future or even what will happen later today. God has His own plan for your life and a new beginning. Your new life in Christ is unlimited because of who He is.

It may be God’s plan to change your plan for your life completely. Paul could never have expected how completely God was going to change the direction of his life. Paul was transformed from being a persecutor of those who believed in Christ into a preacher for Christ. Instead of halting the spread of the gospel he would do more than any other individual to spread the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire.

Secondly, we must be prepared to believe the unbelievable. The message of the gospel is the first unbelievable action that we must believe. Jesus did die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus was buried in a tomb. Jesus did rise from the dead. Jesus, as your risen Savior, wants a relationship with you so you can spend an eternity with Him no matter how great a sinner you once were.

Thirdly, in our new beginning with Jesus we must discover the undiscoverable. For example as one who puts his or her trust in Jesus you will discover that you can experience joy at the moment you are troubled or in fear. You can express worship to God at the moment you are most vulnerable to the evils around you in this world. And you can find purpose at the moment you are the most confused about any given situation that has changed the direction of your life. Knowing the Lord changes things and when God is in control of our life nothing is impossible.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 3:16.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

PRAYER:

I thank You Lord for forgiving all my sins. I thank You Lord for making me a new creation. My prayer is that You will change me completely so that I will be what You want me to be.

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Instruction: January 5, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY JANUARY 5, 2015.

INSTRUCTION

DEFINITION:

Teaching that calls for obedience; an order; direction; advice; education.

SCRIPTURE:

Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; guard it well. Proverbs 4:13

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. II Timothy 3:16

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Think of all the times in your life when you were given instruction regardless of whether you wanted it or thought you needed it. When you were a child you needed instruction from your parents. When you went to school you received instruction from your teachers. When you went to Sunday school you received instruction about the Bible from your Sunday school teacher. When you had a new job, you received instruction from your employer as to your responsibilities.

The reality is that there is never a time in our life that we cannot benefit from instruction if it is the right kind of instruction. That is why Solomon says, “Take firm hold of instruction, do not let it go.”

We learned from an early age from our parents the value and importance of instruction. As children we did not always like the instruction that was given us. With children, correction is a necessary element in instruction. Children often rebel at corrective instruction but if it is given consistently and in love soon the rebellion will be overcome. As we grew older we realized the value of the instruction given to us by our parents.

We also learned at an early age the value of the instruction we received in school. Our teachers and our parents taught us to study and to accept instruction as to how we were to study and learn. Without proper instruction how can a child succeed in life? Today many children do not get encouragement at home to do well in school. The result is that children then feel if no one feels what they learn and how well they learn is important then why should they?

Many books have been written that provide instruction as to how to do things. They are all written from the limited scope of the human mind. With time they must be changed and updated. The Bible is not a human book. It is different from all other books. The Bible is the “inspired Word of God.” This means that what the scripture speaks to us it is God speaking to us. God’s Word never changes.

Paul tells us that because scripture is given by inspiration of God it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for instruction in righteousness.

The above scripture verse found in II Timothy reminds us that the Bible was given to us as God’s inspired word for instruction as to how we are to live our lives in this world as believers in the Lord. God’s Word provides for us positive training information in godly behavior. The instruction that we receive as we read God’s word at times seems hard to understand and many wonder if it is even realistic in today’s culture. But when one accepts Jesus as his or her Savior the heart and mind changes and the instruction we receive from the Bible can be understood. We must understand that the instruction that God has given us in the Bible has never changed through the centuries, only people and cultures change.

We are to take hold of the instruction that God gives us and we are not to let it go. (Above verse from Proverbs) We are to guard it with all we have got. In this Proverb the father is commanding his son to acquire wisdom and instruction and in this verse he is strongly suggesting for the son to guard the scriptures and to obey the instruction he has received from the scriptures. We encourage you today to use discernment about what others do or what others say if it conflicts with the instruction given to us in God’s word.

As parents we have the responsibility to instruct our children in the ways of the Lord and as children we must learn from the God-given instruction that our parents give us. Remember others learn from our words and our deeds. Make sure that what you do and say today is consistent with the instruction given to you in God’s Word.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 3:16.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

PRAYER:

Thank You for giving us Your Word to instruct us as to how we are to live our lives so that we will honor You. Thank You that You never change nor does Your Word. Make my heart receptive to Your instruction for my life.

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