Doers: April 17, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2015.

DOERS

DEFINITION:

One who performs something; one who accomplishes a great deal.

SCRIPTURE:

Be doers of the Word and not hearers only. James1:22.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The book of James is an instruction book on Christian living and putting our faith in action. James instructs us to do more than just hear what God says in His Word. He says be a doer of the Word (James 1:22). Faith that is real will result in good deeds. If we merely read God’s Word and do not obey it, it serves no purpose. God has gifted each of us with different abilities and He desires that we use them to further His kingdom.

All of us in our homes, our churches, our neighborhoods and our workplaces have seen what we may call doers. When something needs to be done, they are the first to roll up their sleeves and work at it until the job is accomplished. In contrast there are those who are content to sit on their hands and wait to see if someone else will do it.

We can remember in many of our ministry programs people that always showed up and volunteered when we had a need. We can remember the need before Christmas to wrap several thousand Christmas gifts for inner city children. These children were the poorest of the poor and most would not even have one gift for Christmas. We wanted these children to have a gift. Year after year when we asked for help, many of the same people would return to help. They were the doers and they could be counted on.

It was important for us to train our children to be doers. It made them better people and taught them to respond when someone had a need. We wanted them to see that serving others was putting their faith in action. But the best reward for us is listening to a person share how it blessed their heart to help. Those that are the “doers” in blessing others are the ones that receive the greater blessing.

The world is a better world because of the doers of this world. Are you one of the doers of this world by always being ready to pitch in, to be involved, and even lead if necessary? These are the followers of Jesus who have taken the challenge of James to heart: “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only.”

Are you doing all that God wants you to do to further the good news of the gospel? What you do spiritually for the Lord will give you the crown God has for you in heaven. Start now by reading God’s Word daily and then put into practice what you learned in your reading. You need to first -- hear, and then -- do.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Jeremiah 33:3.

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

PRAYER:

Help me to be a doer of Your Word today. Help me to learn each day as I read the scripture what You want me to accomplish for Your names sake. May others see in me a caring and tender heart willing to reach out at all times to help one in need.

Special Price
Only $10.00
Click Here for More

ONE FINAL SUGGESTION.

If you have not received your FREE BOOKMARK from us, please click on either:

Get your FREE bookmark

or

Write Ken and Dottie a note

And we will send one to you. It includes 10 golden rules for a happy family.

Stress: April 16, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY APRIL 16, 2015.

STRESS

DEFINITION:

A strain, mental pressure, anxiety.

SCRIPTURE:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We live in a stressful world and it is fair to say that we all have stress in our lives. Stress is a serious problem to many individuals and families today. Stress can come from so many sources like our jobs, our family relationships, our health, our friends, our enemies, just to name a few. Thousands of people have recently been put under dire stress as a result of attacks on Christians in countries such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria and so many others. Many people have lost everything. It would be impossible for these suffering people not to feel stress.

The opposite of stress is peace and a sense of well being. How can we find peace when we seem to be overwhelmed with stress? God knows all about us, so He knows all about the stresses in our life and He wants us to turn to Him when the going gets tough.

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus invites us to come to Him saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” He is saying to us that He will give us rest from our stress if we will trust Him and not try to rely on our own strength and abilities.

The promise is given to us in Psalm 29:11 that “The Lord gives strength to His people (those who have their faith in Him) and blesses them with His peace.” There can be no more powerful source of strength available to handle our stress than God almighty who is all powerful and the creator of all things.

Isaiah describes the peace that comes from God as perfect. Isaiah 26:3. “God will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in God.” The key word here is trust. The part we must do is trust in God and He will do the rest.

Paul experienced stress in his life like very few others have. In Philippians 4:4-7 he tells us how he coped with stress and anguish in his life. He said to “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, REJOICE. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

In times of stress Paul recommends that we rejoice. No matter how much stress we are suffering, if we know the Lord we have reason to rejoice. Then he tells us to stop worrying and turn our worries into prayers and ask God to help us with the situations that are causing our stress.

When we are really willing to turn our problems over to God, we will receive a peace that only God can give and that is beyond our own understanding.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Jeremiah 33:3.

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

PRAYER:

Help me to rejoice because I have You in my life.  It is my prayer today that You would eliminate stress from my life and give me your peace.  Help me to always put my trust in You to help me with the stress and frustrations in my life.

Special Price
Only $10.00
Click Here for More

ONE FINAL SUGGESTION.

If you have not received your FREE BOOKMARK from us, please click on either:

Get your FREE bookmark

or

Write Ken and Dottie a note

And we will send one to you. It includes 10 golden rules for a happy family.

Stewards: April 15, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, 2015.

STEWARDS

DEFINITION:

A manager or trustee; a chief servant; a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs.

SCRIPTURE:

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. I Peter 4:10.

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. I Corinthians 4:1-2.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

As far back as we can remember our parents trained both of us to be good stewards of our time, our talents and our material possessions. Thankfully, because of this training and the example they were to us, we have strived to be good stewards.

One thing we have learned and passed on to our children is the importance of being a steward of the finances God has given us. We give our 10% tithe back to God plus over and above offerings. Our tithe already belongs to God. An offering is what is given over and above a tithe.

In Malachi 3:8-12 Malachi had to rebuke God’s people because they were not honoring God and were not giving their tithes and offerings. He tells them that they are robbing God when they withhold their tithes and offerings. He also tells them God will bless them if they bring their tithes and offerings to the Lord. Malachi challenges them to test God and see if it is not so. We have tested God concerning the giving of our tithes and offerings over and over again. Paul states in I Corinthians 4:2 (above) stewards are required to be faithful. It is amazing to see how God blesses us when we are faithful in giving our tithes and offerings.

God has always supplied our every need. And, you should know that there have been numerous times that we just did not know how we were going to meet our commitments, but we gave in spite of this concern. We can assure you that God honors this financial stewardship.

The second area of stewardship is the talents that God has given us. One of the saddest things in life is seeing a person just loaded with talent who lets that talent go to waste.  Even worse are those people loaded with talent and abilities who use these for evil purposes. We have learned through the years that God has given us different talents, and He has done this for a reason. We have learned to merge our talents together and Dottie does what she does best and Ken does what he does best. Then together we have seen God do so much more through us than what either one of us could do individually. Whatever our talents might be we are to be good stewards and use them to minister to one another.  (I Peter 4:10)

The third area of stewardship is our time. God expects us to give of our time to others. We have learned that nothing is more important in our lives, except for our relationship with God than to give time to our children and now our grandchildren.  Time given to our children should be a time for bonding, listening, guiding, teaching and learning. God also expects us to give time regularly for building our relationships with our spouses, our extended families, our neighbors and the world we live in. Most people today spend their time on themselves. They watch TV; read the paper, magazines and books; play games on the computer or get on the internet for hours. This is not what God wants from you. He wants you to be a good steward of your time and invest it in people through your family, your church, your workplace, your neighborhood or through a mission project to a needy and hurting world.

In Luke 12:42 Jesus tells a parable about the good and bad stewards and that each one was rewarded according to his faithfulness and obedience. How good a steward we are of what God has given to us will determine our heavenly rewards. A good steward will work diligently and be obedient to his master’s commands. If our gifts and talents are limited, God does not hold us responsible for over and above what He has given us. We are responsible and rewarded for the stewardship of the gifts He has given us.

We learn through this study that we need to be faithful to God as to how we use the talents, time and material blessings that God has given to us. What kind of a steward are you?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Jeremiah 33:3.

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the talent, material blessings and time that You have entrusted to me. Keep me focused on being the good steward You want me to be each and every day. Help me to invest my time and my talent wisely to benefit my God, my family and others. Help me to use what I have to bring honor and glory to Your name.

Special Price
Only $10.00
Click Here for More

ONE FINAL SUGGESTION.

If you have not received your FREE BOOKMARK from us, please click on either:

Get your FREE bookmark

or

Write Ken and Dottie a note

And we will send one to you. It includes 10 golden rules for a happy family.

Ascension: April 14, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY APRIL 14, 2015.

ASCENSION

DEFINITION:

The bodily ascension of Christ from earth to heaven.

SCRIPTURE:

He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. Ephesians 4:10.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

There are two significant events in the life of Jesus while He was here on this earth that is unique to Him and to Him alone. The first is His resurrection from the dead. The second is Jesus ascension into heaven. There are eye witness accounts that testify to the reality of both of these events.

After the resurrection of Jesus He remained on earth for 40 days to give proof that He had risen and that He was still alive. In Mark 16 we are told that three women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome) came to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. And in Matthew 28 we are told that two women (Mary Magdalene and the mother of James) came to the tomb and in John 20 we read of Mary Magdalene coming to the empty tomb and after talking to the two angels turned around and saw Jesus standing in front of her.

Over the forty days after His resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples many times and also appeared to many others. In I Corinthians 15 Paul tells us, He was seen by over 500 at one time, probably when He went back to Galilee. Yes, we can be assured that Jesus is not in the tomb but He is alive and we serve a risen Savior. During those 40 days Jesus gave many convincing proofs that He was alive (Acts 1:3). He continued to meet with his disciples to instruct them and reassure them. He even ate with them. (Acts 1:4) Jesus was very much alive.

Forty days after the resurrection of Jesus He ascended into heaven. Jesus’ ascension was witnessed by the disciples. In Acts 1:9 it says, “He was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid Him from them.” Jesus ascension into the sky removes any doubt that He was God and that He had come down from heaven.

The scripture above from Ephesians reminds us that He who ascended into heaven is the same One that descended to this earth. This is a portrayal of Jesus being not only our deliverer but now our Mediator. Jesus is in Heaven not only preparing for us as believers a place to spend eternity with Him (John 14:1-6) but He is our Mediator between God and us.

What a day it will also be for us as believers when Jesus comes to take us to be with Him. We too will be resurrected and join our Lord and Savior in the air. Then we will begin our eternity with Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Jeremiah 33:3.

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

PRAYER:

We thank You for Your death, resurrection and ascension back to Your home in Heaven. Thank You for being my mediator between God and me. I thank You that because of Your death, resurrection, and ascension back to heaven, I will be spending eternity with You.

Special Price
Only $10.00
Click Here for More

ONE FINAL SUGGESTION.

If you have not received your FREE BOOKMARK from us, please click on either:

Get your FREE bookmark

or

Write Ken and Dottie a note

And we will send one to you. It includes 10 golden rules for a happy family.

Distraction: April 13, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY APRIL 13, 2015.

DISTRACTION

DEFINITION:

Having the attention or the mind drawn away or diverted.

SCRIPTURE:

Each one is tempted when he is drawn away (distracted) by his own desires and enticed. James 1:14.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Do you know that Satan’s greatest goal for your life is not destruction but distraction?  Satan wants to daily distract you from doing what the Lord expects of you. When Satan cannot get you to succumb to out and out temptation he works in more subtle ways to draw you away from the Lord. Corrie Ten Boom said that, “When the devil cannot make us bad he makes us busy.” That is so true.

Consider how busy your life is now. Typically in our homes today both spouses work and many have children to care for along with all that goes into running a household. Then, of course, we have all the electronic diversions to keep us busy when we have a few extra minutes on our hands. We have TV’s, computers, DVD’s, texting, the internet and I-pod’s. Satan can get us so involved in using these devices that we have no time to read God’s Word or to communicate to Him through prayer or to go to church.

Satan will use whatever he can to distract us from having a relationship with the Lord. It is not that everything that consumes our time and keeps us busy is bad in and of itself. What is bad, is letting distractions, like the things we have listed, keep us so busy that we are not spending time with our Lord and Savior.

As you know we raised six children and we were a very active family. We didn’t have all the modern technology that we have available today so the distractions were different when we were raising our children. As every parent knows raising children is time consuming and makes for a busy schedule. We had to set guidelines on the use of our time to keep from becoming so distracted by family activities and household chores that we neglected to do what was most important, spending time with the Lord. You will have to work at this just as we had to.

When Jesus was visiting Martha in her home He had to explain to her the importance of spending time with Him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He was saying. Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made with the arrival of Jesus in their home. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me.” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better.”

James tells us that God is not to blame for our distractions. In James 1:13 it reads; “Let no man say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

So when we are distracted and do not do what God would ordain for our life, who is to blame? The verse above under scripture makes it clear that we are distracted when we are drawn away from the Lord by our own desires. Just as a fisherman uses bait to lure the fish to his hook, the devil uses the bait of our sinful desires to distract us from doing what God wants us to do. As Jesus told Martha, we make the choice.

When we disobey God and make the wrong choice, do not try to shift the blame or justify your actions by saying that the devil made you do it. Instead take the full responsibility, confess your sin and pursue living a Christ exalting life. God will hear you, forgive you and honor you for honoring Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Jeremiah 33:3.

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

PRAYER:

Give me the strength that only You can give today that I might not be distracted to the evil things in this world. Give me wisdom and decisiveness to live a life that totally honors You.

Special Price
Only $10.00
Click Here for More

ONE FINAL SUGGESTION.

If you have not received your FREE BOOKMARK from us, please click on either:

Get your FREE bookmark

or

Write Ken and Dottie a note

And we will send one to you. It includes 10 golden rules for a happy family.