Praise: April 24, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY APRIL 24, 2015.

PRAISE

DEFINITION:

Commend warmly; glorify the attributes of God; the offering of great homage in words or song as an act of worship.

SCRIPTURE:

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude. Colossians 3:16.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. Psalm 145:3

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

What better way to end a week and to begin a weekend then to talk about praise. The apostle Paul tells us, in this verse above found in Colossians, to admonish one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratitude in our hearts to the Lord.

These words remind us of what we experienced when we visited Kenya some years ago now, for a two day conference with the pastors, church leaders, choirs and people from the 75 churches we established there through our mission and the leadership of two dedicated missionaries, Rev. and Mrs. Rhoads.

Some of these people, who were the poorest of the poor, walked miles to attend this conference. But what we remember more than their poverty was the way they sang their praises to God. Although these people had very little of worldly treasures, the gratefulness of their hearts put us to shame in the way they praised God.

Because we had the privilege of leading a mission for 30 years we have been honored to have visited many places in our world. We visited scores of ministry programs we were sponsoring or assisting by giving supplies too. Many times we would hear an individual humming a song. This was their way to praise God. They sang and worshipped God even though they had so little. (Read Psalm 145:3 above)

We also remember our association with a ministry helping to establish churches for the deaf in the Philippians. You will never be the same when you sit in one of their churches and see these dear deaf people singing praises to God in sign language. They did not let their physical handicap keep them from praising God and expressing the gratitude and joy in their hearts. No matter how worried or depressed you are feeling now, you can lift your spirits if you cultivate an attitude of praise.

When we think of God’s goodness to us and consider all He has done for us how can we not praise Him? When we are praising God we won’t be complaining about our problems. Think about what an impact and testimony it is to others when they see the joy believers have in the Lord.

When our children were young we often sang children’s songs of praise that they learned in Sunday school, as we were driving places in the car. Children need to learn to be grateful to God and they learn from their parents. Whether it is through song or conversation, let your joy for the Lord reverberate to others. You will be surprised as to how many you will encourage just by praising the Lord.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Matthew 5:9.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

PRAYER:

Help me to continue to praise You today no matter what the day may bring. May my praising You whether even by humming a song or speaking an encouraging word to others bring honor to You and bless Your name. Lord, I praise You today for Your goodness to me. You are a great God and worthy of all praise. Help me to lead my children in praising You each day.

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Honor: April 23, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY APRIL 23, 2015.

HONOR

DEFINITION:

To treat with respect or reverence; to worship.

SCRIPTURE:

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and desires. Deuteronomy 10:12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The Word of God leaves no doubt that we are to honor God. God’s first commandment to us is: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The God of the Bible is the one and only God and we are to honor Him as God and we are to worship Him only.

Jesus reaffirmed this commandment when the devil offered to give Jesus the world if Jesus would bow down and worship Him. Jesus replied, “For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

How do we honor the Lord? The answer is found in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, and it consists of five things we are to do:

1.    Fear the Lord your God. (have reverence for Him)
2.    Walk in all His ways.
3.    Love Him.
4.    Serve Him with all your heart and soul.
5.    Obey His commandments.

Jesus teaches in John 5:23 that we are to honor the Son just as we honor the Father and those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father who sent Him. We honor Jesus in the same way we honor God, by serving Him. Jesus gives a wonderful promise to those who honor Him: “My Father will honor the one who serves Me.” (John 12:26)

REMEMBER: We cannot over honor our God!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Matthew 5:9.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, that You are a Holy and righteous God and above all other gods. Thank You for Your Son who You sent to be my Savior. Keep me faithful in honoring You, my heavenly Father, and Your Son, my Savior.

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Esteem: April 22, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 2015.

ESTEEM

DEFINITION:

Set a high value on; regard favorably; to have respect or admiration for.

SCRIPTURE:

He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised and we did not esteem Him. Isaiah 53:3.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Jesus is the Son of God and God could have sent Him to this earth in all His Majesty as our glorious King. Instead, He came into this world as a humble and suffering servant. Isaiah describes Christ in Isaiah 53:2 as” having no majesty and no beauty that would attract us to Him.” He was an ordinary man. The Jewish people did not esteem Him as their Messiah because He did not meet their expectations.

We would think that God would send Jesus in His majesty and in His glory. God, however, does not do things in ways that we would expect them to be done. What He does, He does to accomplish His purpose. His purpose was to provide a way for us to escape the punishment that we deserve for all of our sins. God sent Jesus into this world to be our sacrificial lamb.

“He was oppressed and afflicted. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). When we think of all that Jesus suffered for us and His great gift of forgiveness and eternal life, how can we not esteem Him as our Lord and Savior. Nevertheless, many do not acknowledge and esteem Jesus. He is despised and rejected by many today, just as He was despised and rejected by those who knew Him while He was here on earth.

Jesus is worthy of our esteem. All those who do not reject Jesus and accept Him as their personal Savior will one day sing with the angels in heaven:

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, And strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Matthew 5:9.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

PRAYER:

I love You Lord and I esteem You as my Lord and my Savior. Thank You that You willingly left Your home in glory to be despised and rejected by man and to suffer and die for my sins. Guide me as I teach my family to esteem You as Lord of our lives.

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Backsliding: April 21, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY APRIL 21, 2015.

BACKSLIDING

DEFINITION:

To relapse into bad habits; sinful behavior or undesirable activities; the abandoning of religious principles or practices.

SCRIPTURE:

Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord almighty. Jeremiah 2:19

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

A backslider is a person who made a decision to follow Christ but then relapsed into bad habits that God considers sin. A backslider will soon fall victim to the consequences of his or her sins and will soon start to fully abandon his or her spiritual beliefs.

Backsliding brought on the downfall of Israel. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to confront the people of Judah with their sins and to warn them of the coming destruction of their nation if they did not repent. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, Jeremiah reminds them of God’s command to them to “obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward not forward.”

When we do not listen to God and pay attention to what He tells us, we will become backsliders just like the Israelites. Instead of going forward with the Lord, we will go backward following our evil desires. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God or they would be punished. The Israelites did not repent and Jerusalem was destroyed.

When we think of a Biblical example of a backslider we think of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. He fled because he did not want this assignment. Jonah was fleeing on a ship and then in a storm he was thrown overboard by the crew because they were certain he was the cause of their trouble with the storm.

Jonah was swallowed up, as the scriptures tell us, by a big fish. We assume that this was a whale. Jonah, the scriptures tell us was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. To say the least he was being “rewarded” for his backsliding. Backsliding may seem like a small thing which we excuse by saying, “what harm could it be?” When we turn away from God we are the ones who are harmed. Sometimes the consequence is severe, as Jonah learned.

In Jonah 2:1-9 (the MESSAGE translation) there is a very vivid and clear report of what Jonah then did while inside the fish. He cried out to God asking for forgiveness and God heard him. In his prayer to God from the belly of the whale he said, “I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

The Lord then spoke to the fish, the scripture says, and the fish vomited up Jonah onto dry land. Once again the Lord said to Jonah that he must go to Nineveh and “preach the message I tell you.”  This time Jonah was quick to obey. He went to Nineveh and cried out to the people that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown unless the people repented. The people of Nineveh responded and believed in God and God did not destroy them.

God gave Jonah a second chance. He backslid and paid a severe penalty, but when he was at his lowest point he prayed to God. God heard his prayer and responded by giving him a second chance and Jonah obeyed God and went to Nineveh with the message that God wanted them to hear.

In the verse we have written above, we are reminded that when one backslides and falls out of a relationship with God, that if one confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. God loves us and wants us to serve Him. We really do serve a wonderful and patient God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Matthew 5:9.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

PRAYER:

Help me today not to backslide away from my relationship with You. Keep me from relapsing into bad habits or sinful behavior that brings dishonor to You. May those that are not following You see that I am following Jesus and living in obedience to what He commands me.

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Diligence: April 20, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY APRIL 20, 2015.

DILIGENCE

DEFINITION:

Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; perseverance.

SCRIPTURE:

Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer. Proverbs 30:25.

Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise. Proverbs 6:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Ants seem like a small and insignificant creature yet in the two verses we have put above ants are held up by King Solomon as an example of industry for those who tend to be lazy. King Solomon suggests that we would be wise to consider the ways of the ant. Ants have no captain but on their own gather their food in the summer and they store it up for the fall harvest. They are constantly working to find food and bring it back to their nest. The ant prepares for the time when food may be scarce.

The ant is an example of industry, diligence and planning. The ant serves as a rebuke to a sluggard, a lazy person who lacks self-discipline. These Proverbs serve to warn us against laziness. Laziness keeps us from our responsibilities to provide for ourselves and this is not acceptable to God.

It is apparent that King Solomon was a keen observer of God’s creations and of human behavior. From the ant we can see the importance of planning ahead and putting away provisions for the future (Proverbs 30:25).

King Solomon has passed on to us his insights and practical advice for living not only a productive life but a God-honoring life. The lazy person ducks responsibility and procrastinates planning for the future. As a result the lazy person wastes both opportunities and gifts that God has given to him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Matthew 5:9.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

PRAYER:

Help me to be wise and learn from Your marvelous creations valuable life-style lessons. Thank You that Your Word is truth and that the truth of Your Word makes me wise.

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