Experience: May 15, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY MAY 15, 2015.

EXPERIENCE

DEFINITION:

The process or fact of learning by personally observing, encountering, or testing. The knowledge or skill gained by learning.

SCRIPTURE:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. II Corinthians 1:3-4.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The above scripture reminds us why as Christians we do go through trials and tribulations. One of the reasons God allows this, as it reads in the above scripture, is that we can comfort those going through their trial and tribulation because we have learned by experience -- we have been there.

As we look back on our lives, we have had the privilege of going places, meeting people and seeing things that has given us a world of experience. We both also have had the joy of having Christian parents with experience, both spiritually and with life in general, to train us from our very young ages.

And then having God bless us with six children, their spouses and now 20 grandchildren, we have had wonderful experiences that God is now allowing us to share with friends like you.

We are reminded of the story when the famed pianist Paderewski was walking through a small Connecticut town and came upon a house with a sign in the window --- Miss Jones piano lessons, 25 cents an hour. Listening carefully from the outside he could hear someone playing one of Chopin’s nocturnes, but not playing it very well. The great pianist walked up to the door and knocked and the delighted piano player recognized who he was and asked him in. He stayed for about one hour and assisted her by correcting her mistakes and then moved on.

About two months later he walked by the same house and noticed a new sign that read: Miss Jones (Pupil of Paderewski) Piano Lessons -- $1.00 an hour. What a difference a little experience makes.

There is value in experience and we as Christians need to realize that the value of our experience in knowing Christ can help us share the good news of the gospel to all we know. Having made our decisions to accept Jesus before we were teenagers has allowed us to grow spiritually as children, teenagers, as a young married couple and now as seniors so we can understand the mountains and valley’s that one goes through in life. We have been there and done it, as they say.

The actions and words of Paul the Apostle in Acts 14 reminds us that Paul was persecuted so he could be an encouragement to others who were or would be persecuted because of their faith.

The Apostle John wrote the book of I John to the believers, so that they may be alerted to and to be able to distinguish between truth and error. In the first four verses he talks about the experiences that the believers have seen, heard and touched concerning the Word of Life. John says to the believers that he reminds us of this so that our joy may be full.

In life today, experience is very important. When one has a job interview one of the first questions asked is about your experience. The value of experience can even be seen in the lives of children. We can remember in coaching our little league teams. The children with some experience were looked to as leaders on the team. When it comes to choosing a leader, a pastor or an executive a key qualification is their experience.

As Christians those of us that have known Jesus for some time need to use the experience that God has given us over the years to proclaim the good news of the gospel to those we touch daily.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 3:17.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

PRAYER:

Help me this day to seek Your guidance in making me become more mature in my faith. Help me to see the lessons You want me to learn from the experiences I have in life. Open my eyes so I can see the needs of others so I can share the good news of the gospel with them.

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Oaths: May 14, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY MAY 14, 2015.

OATHS

DEFINITION:

A solemn appeal to God to witness one’s determination to speak truth or to keep a promise.

SCRIPTURE:

Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. Ecclesiastics 8:2

You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. Matthew 5:33.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

An oath is not to be made lightly. As Webster defines an oath, it is a solemn statement or promise made with God as the witness. He expects oaths made with God as our witness to be kept and not broken. It is a sad commentary on our times that oaths are so often broken. It does not seem important to most people that God is the witness when one makes an oath.

We see this happening with marriage vows today, more than at any time in history. In America the oath of marriage is broken more than 50% of the time. The marriage oath is two people making their vows to one another. This is a sacred promise to be honored for a lifetime. We read in Matthew 5:33 (above) that God condemns taking oaths and then breaking them.

Even though oaths are meant to be kept, every day oaths are made with no expectation by one or both parties to keep the oath. People break their oaths because they have a change of heart or something better comes along. Most often that “something better” never becomes a reality. There is an old adage that says: “The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.”

Oaths are promises made that are considered unchangeable. Probably one of the saddest oaths recorded in the scripture was made by Peter when asked if he knew Jesus just after Jesus was arrested and taken to trial. In Matthew 26:72 it reads: “But again he denied with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.”’ Peter denied that he knew Jesus three times and then Peter remembered the words that Jesus said to him (verse 75), “Before the rooster crows, (in other words, before morning), you will deny Me three times”.

Earlier that night Peter had promised Jesus that he would never disown Him even if he had to die for Him. Peter broke this oath and swore with another oath that he did not know Jesus. Not only did he break his first oath but he lied in his second oath. Peter then went and wept bitterly because he was truly repentant for what he had done. We know Peter’s repentance was genuine because he went on to do great things for the Lord.

In Matthew 23 when Jesus was talking to the Scribes and Pharisees, He said “Woe to you” several times. This was because of their hypocrisy in their swearing of oaths along with other “things” they were doing that were against God’s teachings. In Hebrews 7:21, the author quotes from Psalm 110:4: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind.” Unlike us, when God makes an oath He keeps His word.

Oaths are to be made with a commitment to keep them. God is a witness to our oaths and God will honor those that keep their oaths.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 3:17.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

PRAYER:

Thank You God for the promises You have made to me. For the salvation that I have because I have accepted into my heart the promise of eternal life given me through Your Son, Jesus. Help me to honor the oaths and promises that I have made. Bless my family and keep us strong in our commitment to You that we made when we accepted You as our Savior.

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Indifference: May 13, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MAY 13, 2015.

INDIFFERENCE

DEFINITION:

Feeling no interest or concern; apathetic, not caring.

SCRIPTURE:

Those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him. Zephaniah 1:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

This verse in Zephaniah gives us an excellent definition of spiritual indifference. There are many people today that call themselves “Believers” and really have turned back from the Lord. They never seek the Lord through prayer or the reading of the Bible. And when you watch their daily living there is no indication of the person walking with God.

In Mark 14: 32-41 we read about Jesus going into the garden of Gethsemane to pray the night before He was betrayed and arrested. He told the disciples that were with Him to “sit here while I pray.” Jesus was agonizing over the terrible suffering He would endure and needed to spend time alone with His Father in prayer. Because of what He was going through He needed those closest to Him to be there with Him, watching over Him and praying for Him.

When He returned to where He had left the disciples, they were sound asleep. The disciples in this situation showed INDIFFERENCE. Jesus asked the disciples “could you not watch for one hour?” You would think that would be a “wake up call” for the disciples but it was not. Jesus went away again to pray and returned and again found the disciples asleep.  The scripture tells us that Jesus went a third time and came back and they were asleep again.  Jesus responded after the third time “IT IS ENOUGH.” In Jesus’ darkest hour, His disciples where not there for Him. They were indifferent to His needs.

Another example of indifference that we can learn from is the story of Jonah. When Jonah was running from God and in the storm at sea, as recorded in Jonah 1:4-9, the crew was afraid and everyone was working hard to save the ship. But Jonah showed indifference, as it was none of his concern,  and went down to the lowest part of the ship and went fast to sleep.

Jonah was a prophet of God and should have been praying for God’s protection from the start. The crew had to wake him up and ask him to help by praying. To Jonah’s credit he admitted that he was the cause of the distress that they were in because he had disobeyed God. He told them to throw him overboard to calm the storm. They did and God calmed the storm and saved Jonah by having him swallowed by a whale.

In many ways today may be called the “Age of Indifference.” Historian Arnold Toynbee has found that nineteen of twenty-one civilizations have died from within and not from outside conquest. Another historian, Dr. Lawrence Gould said that he did not believe that our greatest threat is from bombs and missiles but from our people not caring -- showing indifference.

Edmund Burke said in 1795: “Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference.” If that was true in 1795 it is certainly truer today.

The problem with indifference or an “I just do not care” attitude is that it leads to inaction. Many people that call themselves Christians are indifferent Christians. Just as Jesus told the disciples and the ship crew told Jonah, we need to wake up from our indifference and take action to make a difference in this world.

Take a few moments right now and evaluate your life and where your interests are and ask yourself if you have an inward desire to really serve your Lord. Has indifference set in and do you need to reevaluate your purpose for living? Are you like the “sleeping disciples” or do you have the “I do not care attitude” like Jonah?

IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP IF YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 3:17.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

PRAYER:

Help me today not to be indifferent to God’s leading in my life. May my heart be open to what God is telling me to do. Help me to willingly surrender fully and completely to You. Give me the leadership with my family to instill a new interest in their hearts for You.

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Blood: May 12, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY MAY 12, 2015.

BLOOD

DEFINITION:

The fluid that circulates in the arteries and veins and sustains life.

SCRIPTURE:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is blood that makes atonement for the soul. Leviticus 17: 11.

The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin. I John 1:7b

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

There is the old hymn that we sang often in church years ago. The words of the song began with, “What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus?”

Just as the life we have in the flesh is in the blood we carry in our bodies, so the life of Christianity is in the atoning, life-giving blood of Jesus Christ. If the atoning blood of Jesus is rejected and the rejecter willfully rejects accepting eternal life through the blood of Jesus, there no longer remains a sacrifice for his or her sins and the result is eternity in Hell.

The words of the old hymn above are the key to what has happened to one who first of all recognizes that he or she is a sinner and then confesses that sin and asks Jesus to forgive them and come into one’s heart. The reason that we can have that privilege is because of the blood of Jesus.

God sent His Son to this earth to be born as a babe in a manger, to teach us His plan of salvation and then die on the cross, and after three days, rise again. He is now in heaven preparing a place for us. It was His death on the cross and the shedding of His blood that paid the penalty for our sins once and for all and when one accepts Jesus as Savior the result is an eternity in Heaven with Him.

Today, unfortunately, you do not hear many sermons in our churches about the shed blood of Jesus and why it is important for our salvation. Pastors seem to be fearful to preach this kind of sermon, but again as the old hymn stated: “Nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins.

The Hebrew word for blood, “dam”, is found 360 times in the Old Testament. Most of these references concern animal bloodshed in making a sacrifice for a person’s sins. In the Old Testament one needed to make a sacrifice of an animal for forgiveness of their sin. This was God’s temporary provision since He had not yet sent His Son to die for our sins. The shedding of the blood of the lamb (animal) represented the giving of one life for another. When Jesus came and gave His life for ours there was no longer the need for the sacrificing of an animal.

In Deuteronomy 12:23 it reads that, “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat.” This verse makes it clear that blood is a sacred fluid. It represents life itself. On the altar, shed blood pictures a substitute making the offerer right with God.

As we stated above, when Christ came and died on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins through the sacrifice of His blood. There is a crimson thread that begins in the Old Testament and runs through the New Testament. The New Testament focuses our attention on the “blood of Christ,” and does so in the context of Christ’s crucifixion at Calvary. The sacrifices of ancient time foreshadowed Christ’s self-sacrifice.

One of the happiest times in our lives was when our children, and now our grandchildren, made their personal decisions to ask Jesus into their hearts. This is the most significant life changing decision and experience that one can make in life. Now is the time for you to make that decision, if you have not already. Remember: “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” There is no other way!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 3:17.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

PRAYER:

Thank You dear God for sending Your Son to this world to pay the penalty of my sins through His shed blood. May my life be an example to those that do not know You and may my words and deeds exemplify Your love for them.

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Grief: May 11, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY MAY 11, 2015.

GRIEF

DEFINITION:

Deep mental anguish; deep sorrow; painful regret.

SCRIPTURE:

Who comforts us in all our tribulation (grief), that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. II Corinthians 1:4.

Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. Ecclesiastes 7:3.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

One of the most difficult experiences that one faces in life is the death of a family member or a close friend or acquaintance. We have experienced this several times in our immediate family losing dearly loved family members including our parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, a sister, a daughter-in-law and a nephew. The cause of the sorrow that comes with death is grief. We have experienced that the grief for one who has died knowing Jesus is entirely different from one who does not know Jesus.

As a minister we have witnessed, first hand, both situations. When a Christian is grieving for a person who never knew Jesus, the grief includes personal feelings as to whether you did all you could to see that that person knew the Lord. If that person never accepted Jesus as his or her Savior they will spend an eternity separated from God.

But when a believer dies, we as believers have the assurance that they are in a far better place. They are with their Lord and Savior in their heavenly home and we have the blessed hope of spending an eternity in heaven with them.

Job lost all his children and in his time of deepest grief he saw his Lord as never before. In Job 42:5 Job said “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You.”

In first reading the verse above from Ecclesiastes it is hard to understand how the writer could say, “Sorrow is better than laughter.” There is a lot for us to learn from this passage. Sometimes we only learn through grief. There is wisdom to be learned in sorrow that is not experienced from carefree times of pleasure. The writer of Ecclesiastes teaches us that sorrow does a work in one’s heart that will make one a better person in the Lord. It is in times of grief that we need Jesus the most.

Isaiah describes Jesus as “a man of sorrows intimately acquainted with grief. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus was perfect and without sin, yet He came to bear the consequences of the sins of all mankind and to bear all of our griefs and sorrows. How blessed every believer is to have such a wonderful Savior.

We have traveled to many areas of our world and have seen suffering and grief that has moved us to tears but what we have learned through these many experiences is that God used sorrow and grief to soften our hearts so that we would be more sensitive to the needs of the suffering. It taught us to pray for those living in sorrow and made us aware of a hurting world that Jesus died for. God wants each of us to remember that in times of grief and sorrow He is in control and is our comforter and He wants us to be available to comfort others in their time of need as Paul wrote in the above verse from II Corinthians 1:4.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 3:17.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

PRAYER:

Help me today to be an encouragement to anyone that is facing grief and sorrow. Give me an opportunity to remind them that when all seems to be lost that they have not lost You. Help me to remember that I can learn more from sorrow than from laughter.

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