Prosper: February 20, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2015.

PROSPER

DEFINITION:

To be successful or fortunate; thrive; flourish; to make successful or fortunate.

SCRIPTURE:

If you do not obey the Lord your God -- you shall not prosper in your ways. Deuteronomy 28:15&29.

He sought God in the days of Zechariah and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper." II Chronicles 26:5.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. Psalm 122:6

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
III John 2.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We all want to prosper and be successful. Moses was very specific in Deuteronomy chapter 28 in telling the Children of Israel what they must do if they wanted to receive God's blessings and prosper in life. They must obey the Lord their God and carefully follow all His commandments. (Verse 1) In the following verses he lists the blessings they would receive.

In verses 15-68, Moses details the curses that will come on them for disobedience. Moses warned them if they disobeyed God they would not prosper. Are you living in disobedience to God and wondering why everything is going wrong?

Every person wants to prosper today and when they see others prospering and they are not they become envious and many times bitter. We have two thoughts on this for your consideration today.

First, what is meant by “prospering”? God may prosper you with specific talents to do His work. If he has, are you using them as He would desire? God may prosper you with time so that you can help others in their times of need. If so, how do you spend your time? God may prosper you with wealth. Can He trust you with what He has given you? Do you use your money wisely?

Another thought for you to consider is that God will only prosper you, according to the scriptures, when you put Him first place in your life, all of the time! You cannot live for the Lord on Sunday and not on the weekdays and expect God to prosper you. You cannot treat your friends kindly and your family unkindly and expect to prosper. The decision is yours because God wants us all to prosper.

In II Chronicles 26, we read of Uzziah who became King of Judah at the age of 16. It is recorded that as a younger child when Uzziah was living under King Zechariah, he continually sought God in all that he did. When he became King, God said that as long as he sought Him, he would prosper. Notice that the verse says "as long as." For a time Uzziah was obedient to God and did prosper. Unfortunately, he became proud which led him to be unfaithful to God. God afflicted him with leprosy until the day he died.

Psalms 122:6 instructs us as Christians to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The Psalmist here says if we do God will prosper us. Do you pray for Israel each day? God expects us to do this. God's chosen people turned away from Him but God has never turned away from them.

And finally John in his third book writes to Gaius, who he calls the beloved believer in the first century church. Because of his faithfulness to God and his consistent daily walk in truth, John prays that God will prosper him in all things and give him good health. Likewise, we as Christians are to pray for our fellow believers and ask God to bless them in their faithfulness to the Lord.

Our prayer for you today is that God will prosper you in all that you do. But remember it will only happen if you obey God's commands, continually seek God, pray for the peace of Israel and be faithful and truthful in all you do for the Lord.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 4:35.

Do you not say, there are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.

PRAYER:

Thank You for giving me these illustrations from the scripture that challenge me to honor You in all that I do so I may prosper. Help me to understand that prospering means that I will receive Your blessings on my life. As I prosper may my family and my friends see Christ in me and may they give up their worldly traits and honor You in all that they do. Help me to pray daily for my family, my friends, and my fellow believers and for the peace of Jerusalem.

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Foolishness: February 19, 2015

TODAY'S WORD FOR THURSDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2015.

FOOLISHNESS

DEFINITION:

Lacking in good sense, wisdom, judgment or discretion; lacking in meaning or purpose.

SCRIPTURE:

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
I Corinthians 2:14

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him. Proverbs 22:15.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Several times in our lifetime we have made decisions that we looked back on and said to one another, "That was a foolish decision." We then tried to ask ourselves what were the reasons that made us make that decision. Did we see any so called "red flags" --- things that should have been an alert to us to reverse that decision? We also asked ourselves did we learn from it so that we would not repeat a similar decision. If we evaluate foolish decisions properly after they have been made, we learned that the evaluation process became a great learning experience for us.

Foolishness is a word that Paul used several times in the scripture. In the verse above from I Corinthians, Paul reminds us that the "natural man," one that does not believe in Jesus as Lord, feels that the things of the spirit of God are foolishness to him. The natural man lacks understanding and cannot understand spiritual truths. Only the believer can understand the things of the spirit.

Understanding God's message to us and to the world, as given in His Word, has nothing to do with one's intelligence. The message that God sent His Son into the world to die on the cross as a condemned criminal in order to save a world of sinners who rejected and denied Him cannot be comprehended by the human mind, no matter how intelligent a person might be. The spiritual eyes of the unbeliever are blinded and they cannot see the truth.

In I Corinthians 1:18-19 Paul said, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved (and have accepted Jesus as Savior) it is the power of God. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

In Proverbs 22:15 (above), the writer reminds us that foolishness is in the heart of a child but correction will drive that foolishness from the child. The word foolishness in Hebrew means silliness, perverseness and careless of body. The rod of correction cannot change the sin nature, but it can subdue the foolish desires of our sinful nature because it demonstrates that foolish acts have consequences. Without correction children will continue to do foolish things because they do not understand the danger.

Foolishness is a form of sin according to Proverbs 24:9 and according to Mark 7: 21-23 sin originates in the heart. Ecclesiastics 7:25 tells us that foolishness is a sign of wickedness. Unlike wisdom, the foolishness of sin is inborn. The consequence of foolishness, according to the scripture, brings sorrow to people and keeps us from knowing God and increases our spiritual blindness.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 4:35.

Do you not say, there are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.

PRAYER:

Thank You for opening my spiritual eyes so that I can see that the gospel message of salvation is not foolishness. Help my family today to live a life style that others will see Christ through our actions and words. May foolishness not be seen in our lives. Help us to honor Your name and may we be challenged each moment to serve You to our very best.

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Training: February 18, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2015.

TRAINING

DEFINITION:

To teach so as to make qualified; the education, instruction, or discipline of the one being trained.

SCRIPTURE:

When I call to remembrance the genuine training and faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, I am persuaded that is in you also. II Timothy 1:5.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The verses above are reminders to us of the importance of the training we receive from our parents. It is also a reminder to parents today of their responsibility to train their children in the way that they should go. This means to use the scriptures as your guide in the training of your children. To start with, the Ten Commandments given in the Old Testament and the two great commandments that Jesus gave us in the New Testament are vital to proper training.

The commandment that Jesus gave us in Matthew 22:37 is that we “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus said that this was the first and greatest commandment.

In the training of children a parent’s first priority and greatest responsibility is to teach their children to love the Lord their God. Training children to love and honor God is a vital ingredient in making a happy family. God has given us the Bible as His training manual. Parents have the responsibility of reading it by themselves and to their children.

Most adults need to retrain themselves in some of the basic Biblical principles needed to keep a marriage together and in raising a family. You cannot keep doing and acting the same way you did before your marriage and before you had children. You have God given responsibilities to both your spouse and to your children.

The world would be very confused and chaotic without training. One needs training in almost everything they do. We train people in new jobs, we train people to drive cars, we train people how to uphold the law, we train armed forces personnel, we train bus drivers, and we train our pastors and teachers. Without training children can become very confused and are easily enticed into harmful lifestyles.

Training children can become very difficult at times. Do not be discouraged and do not give up. Instead, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). It takes Godly wisdom to raise children and that requires prayer and lots of it, along with spending time in God’s Word. God is faithful. He will lead you to train your children in the right way.

In Proverbs 22:6 it tells us clearly that we are to train our children in the way that he or she should go and then when he or she grows up they will not depart from it. Remember that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders and they will be able to lead only as parents have trained them. That is why today we have so many poor leaders. They came from a generation that neglected training and this present generation may be worse.

One night we were tucking our two older children into bed after our family time of reading the Bible together. The oldest said, “I want to ask Jesus into my heart.” After he prayed to Jesus asking Jesus to come into his heart a little voice from the bottom bunk piped up saying, “I want to do that too.” He was only four but he completely understood why he needed to have “Jesus in his heart.” We were thankful that God had used the training in God’s Word that we had been giving them to work in their hearts to love God and to want “Jesus in their hearts.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 4:35.

Do you not say, there are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, for my children. Give me wisdom in training them to live and act as God would have them do. Guide me as I teach them Your Word so that they will have a clear understanding of God’s plan of salvation and of His love for them.

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Mercy: February 17, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2015.

MERCY

DEFINITION:

Compassionate leniency toward an enemy or a wrong doer; a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion; withholding of the punishment our sins deserve.

SCRIPTURE:

So then it does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. Romans 9:16

But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. Ephesians 2:4

He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. Titus 3:5

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The dictionary defines mercy as compassionate leniency toward an offender. We have all sinned against God so we are all offenders and in need of God’s mercy. God is truly a God of mercy and of love.

In I Samuel 24 we read of David showing mercy to Saul. David was being pursued by Saul and his army and Saul wanted to kill David. Saul entered a cave where David and his men were hiding. David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave. The scripture tells us that he managed to creep up unnoticed on Saul and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. David could have easily killed Saul, but instead he showed mercy to Saul and let him escape. When Saul was made aware of David’s act of mercy, Saul repented and reconciled with David. Like Saul, we should be so grateful for the mercy God has shown for us that we desire to repent of our sins and be reconciled to God.

Although we are undeserving, because we are all sinners, God showed His mercy to us by sending His Son to this earth to save us from death, which is the punishment we deserve.  He sacrificed His only Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and then Jesus arose from the grave and soon went to Heaven to prepare for us a place to live for eternity. God further showed His mercy to us by sending His Holy Spirit to guide us as we live on this earth until His return or until He takes us home.

All through the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, God’s mercy is displayed. Yes, we must agree with Paul, “God is rich in mercy!” (Ephesians 2:4)

In Genesis 18 we read of Sarah laughing at God’s promise, to give her a son in her old age, because she doubted God. God had mercy on her, in spite of her doubt, and gave her the promised son. Time after time the people of Israel turned away from God and sinned against Him, but God had mercy on them and continued to love them and bless them. This was the standard of mercy that God continued to give all the generations that followed.

In Psalm 18:21 it reads that God gives mercy to the merciful. God wants us to be merciful to those our lives touch each day and in return He promises to be merciful to us. We as Christians serve an awesome God who continually shows unmerited mercy to us. All of us can be so thankful that God’s mercy does not depend on our desires or efforts (Romans 8:16). There is nothing we can do to earn it; because God’s mercy does not depend on the righteous things we have done (Titus 3:5).

Our children loved to participate in sports. We coached several of their teams because it gave us a chance to teach important life values to our children and their peers. We taught them about teamwork and what it meant to win and lose. We taught how to play fair, the value of practice and hard work. And on a few occasions we even dealt with mercy. In some youth sports there is a “MERCY RULE” which brings a game to an early end when one team has such a big lead that it is evident the losing team has no chance to win. This spares the losing team the humiliation of suffering a greater defeat. We taught them to think about how they would feel if they were the losing team so that they would understand that it was the right and the compassionate thing to show mercy to them.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 4:35.

Do you not say, there are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.

PRAYER:

How grateful I am for the mercy that You showed me and my family by giving us the blessed hope of spending an eternity with You in heaven. Help each of us in my family today to show mercy to others just like You have shown us mercy.

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Morals: February 16, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2015.

MORALS

DEFINITION:

The principles of right conduct; distinguishing between right and wrong based on ethical grounds and not on legal; ethics; standards.

SCRIPTURE:

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
Proverbs 21:2

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit (motives).
Proverbs 16:2

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Many people today feel that they can set their own moral standards. They do not understand that God is the source of morality. In His Word he has given us His standard for morals. As a result of our sinful nature man likes to do what he wants to do. We can rationalize that almost anything is “OK” and then proceed in doing it and feeling that is all right and justified.

The writer of Proverbs in the verses above tells us that the way man sees it is, “every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” and “all the ways of man are pure in his own eyes.” The writer tells us that God sees it differently. God sets the standards of what is right and He will judge us accordingly. We can be certain that if our way does not measure up to God’s moral standard, as given in His Word, that our way is not right. Man can be self deceived but God determines man’s real motives and whether they are moral or not.

We are living in a world where people live for their own self interests and could care less about their morals if they stand in the way of what they want to do. They prefer to be popular with the world than to be right with God. Integrity seems to be more and more lacking in the lives of people. There is a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that we read recently, that we would like to share with you. As you read this compare it to what we seem to read and hear about our friends, neighbors and leaders.

“My desire is to so conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall have at least one friend left, the friend deep down inside of me. I do the very best I know how; the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing that until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me will not amount to anything. If the end brings me out all wrong then a legion of angels swearing that I was right will make no difference.”

Abraham Lincoln was willing to do the right thing no matter what the cost, even if it meant he lost every one of his friends. He left us a heritage to build upon and unfortunately, as a people today, we are departing from that heritage. He always trusted God for the wisdom that God alone could give to make the correct moral decisions in life. In the eyes of many, slavery was all right. Abraham Lincoln recognized that in the eyes of God it was wrong and must be abolished.

An army officer recently told of his first night in a tent on the battlefield. Most of the troops were swearing and telling filthy stories. Finally the officer spoke and said to all in the tent; “I have heard your rough talk but now I am going to talk to God. Out of respect to Him I ask you all to please be quiet.” The place grew quiet; the officer prayed alone and never again had to contend with immoral talk in that tent.

We share these stories and quotes with you to encourage you to stand firm in honoring God in all you do. Take a look at your morals and see if they measure up to God’s standards.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 4:35.

Do you not say, there are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.

PRAYER:

We are grateful for the heritage that Abraham Lincoln left us in that we are to do the right thing at all times no matter what the cost is. Thank You, as well, for giving us Your Word, the Bible, so that we have a guidebook to show us the difference between right and wrong.

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