Belief: June 5, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY JUNE 5, 2015.

BELIEF

DEFINITION:

Something believed; opinion; confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof; faith; trust; a religious creed or trust.

SCRIPTURE:

God from the beginning chose you for salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. II Thessalonians 2:13, 15.

He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching. Titus 1:9.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The dictionary defines belief as confidence in the truth or existence of something. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” God and Jesus are the source of all truth which gives us the confidence and basis of our belief. Therefore, those that put their trust or belief in Jesus must have confidence in the truth of His teachings.

Paul was the first missionary to travel across the Roman Empire to carry out Jesus’ final command to go into all the world to preach the gospel message. Paul established churches wherever he went. These believers were Gentiles who once believed in pagan gods.

Paul was always concerned that once he was no longer present, the churches would fall away from their belief in Jesus as the true God and the one and only way to be saved from their sins. Paul knew that without his leadership the believer’s faith would be challenged by false teachers and worldly temptations and persecution.

Paul did not want this to happen so he did all he could to see to it that the churches had strong leaders who would effectively preach the truth of God’s Word and would live a life according to their belief in God’s Word and be an example to all in the churches and community.

The book of Titus is a letter that Paul wrote to his friend and disciple Titus. Paul had given to Titus the responsibility of appointing leaders for the churches that Paul had been involved in establishing on the island of Crete. In Titus 1:9 (above) Paul describes to Titus the leadership qualities that leaders in the church should have.

Paul says to Titus and to us today that we must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, and not pursuing dishonest gain. After giving us this list of what we should not do, he gives us a list of what we should do. We must be hospitable, love what is good, be self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. The way we live our life is a testimony to our faith in what we believe.

There are several keys to making our belief a reality in our lives:

• We must TRUST GOD. This must come first no matter what we may face in life. Our belief is in God and our faith is strengthened by trusting God. (Psalm 37:3 and Proverbs 3:5)•    We must DO GOOD. Our faith is demonstrated by the good we do whether it is by word or deed.

• We must at all times RELY ON THE LORD. When we have trouble we must learn to “Cast all of our cares on Him” I Peter 5:7. When we face a difficult situation or even an easy one we are instructed to give it to the Lord and do not endeavor to go at it alone

• We are to COMMIT OUR PLANS TO GOD. The scripture tells us that to begin every day we are to: “Commit to the Lord whatever we are to do and your plans will succeed.”  When our plans go awry it usually is because we did not give them to Jesus to begin the day and seek His direction.

With all the stresses and uncertainties of life, we are certain that if we did not have our strong belief in God and Jesus, we would be in deep despair.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 31:7.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your loving kindness, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul.

PRAYER:

Thank You for giving me strength to live every moment of this day for You. Keep my belief in You strong and help me to trust You, to do good, to cast all my concerns upon You and to commit each situation I face today into Your hands.

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.

Trouble: June 4, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JUNE 4, 2015.

TROUBLE

DEFINITION:

To disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; to annoy, vex, or bother; to disturb or agitate.

SCRIPTURE:

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. Hebrews 13:5.

The genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:7.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Our natural reaction to times of trouble is to find a way out, but as believers we need to understand that God sometimes has something far more important in mind than our immediate release from the trouble we are facing.

When trouble comes our way we need to learn not to focus on escape but to focus on what we can learn from the difficult or painful experience. We must ask what God is trying to teach us. Trials and trouble require wisdom because each one brings with it a choice.

In the verse we have put above from I Peter, Peter was talking to people in the church who were facing persecution because of their love for Christ. He encouraged them by reminding them that what was of upmost importance to them was the imperishable inheritance they would receive in Heaven.  Because of their salvation and future hope they could rejoice in the midst of their trials or trouble.

If pain and difficulty comes our way we need to turn to God for wisdom. There are 4 questions we need to ask ourselves. What is the right thing to do in light of my past experiences? What is the right thing to do in light of my present state? What is the right thing to do in light of my future goals and dreams? What would God have me to do in light of His Word?

We may be tempted to blame others. The only way to solve our problems is to face them and seek the right solution. A wrong solution is worse than no solution. When the going gets tough we need to learn not to walk away. We need to ask ourselves these 4 questions (above) and then seek the Lord’s guidance through prayer.

When our situations seem hopeless and we recognize we are hopeless and we turn to God for a solution that is when God can begin His work in us. What is impossible with us is possible with God. Jesus said in Luke 18:27: “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 31:7.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your loving kindness, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul.

PRAYER:

Help me to learn when I face trouble in my life to first find out what God wants to teach me through the trial. Help me to search the scriptures to see what God is telling me about my trouble. Help me to rejoice in what You are doing for me in the hard times I might be facing.

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.

Able: June 3, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 3, 2015.

ABLE

DEFINITION:

Having the necessary power, skill or qualifications or resources to do something; showing talent, intelligence, skill or knowledge.

SCRIPTURE:

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurability more than all we ask or imagine according to the power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20.

There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and destroy. Who are you to judge another? James 4:12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

It seems that most people today are so self-confident that they truly believe that they are able to do anything they want to do. It reminds us of children. There comes a time in the life of a child that they feel they can do anything. And then the time comes when they fail at something they are certain they can do and it becomes a major catastrophe.

We have met and seen adults that have experienced the same disaster. When we rely on self this is what happens. But when we know Jesus as our Savior and build our relationship with Him the story changes. Throughout the scripture we read many times that God is able.

As believers we know that God is all powerful, nothing is impossible for God, and He has the power, skill, qualifications, resources, talent, intelligence, and knowledge to be able to do what we would consider the impossible.

Look at all that God says in the scriptures that He can do. He can save. He sent His Son into this world to seek and save we who were lost. He is able to stand between us and any crises. It is written in Deuteronomy 11:25 that, “No man shall be able to stand against you.”

In Joshua 23:9 God reminded Joshua that He had driven out from before him great and strong nations, but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you. God alone is able to deliver us from the evils of the world, whether it be people, things or events. He is able to deliver us from all evil and able to lead us to a life of joy, happiness, kindness and love. YES, GOD IS ABLE!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 31:7.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your loving kindness, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul.

PRAYER:

Thank You dear Lord that You are able to do immeasurably more than I could ever ask or even imagine. I rejoice in Your power and ability to save me from my sins and to help me stand tall for You. Thank You for delivering me this day from the temptations of the devil that I will face today.

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.

Waiting: June 2, 2915

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JUNE 2, 2015.

WAITING

DEFINITION:

Expecting something; patient anticipation; a delay; a stay.

SCRIPTURE:

But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

How do you handle waiting? When you are in a grocery store and all the checkout lines have 8-10 people. What about traffic. You want to get home or to a meeting and the traffic is bumper to bumper and moving about 10 miles an hour. When you get into these situations does waiting bother you?

The greater question for today is, have you learned to wait on the Lord? Many people will tell you that a situation came into their life which they prayed about but the Lord never responded. But they do not understand that if they have a relationship with the Lord, He will answer but in His time.

Waiting on the Lord takes patience especially when waiting means enduring hardships. A good example from the scriptures is David. As a young boy God directed Samuel to anoint David to be king after Saul. David had to wait many years before taking the throne and during those years he had opportunities to kill Saul which would speed up the time table for him to become king. David chose to wait on the Lord for His timing and by waiting David received special blessings from God. In Psalm 40:1 David said, “I waited patiently for the Lord”.

When a situation arises that demands you to wait, choose to learn patience and trust in the Lord to give you His plan. He will protect us from making mistakes and His plan is always better for us than ours.

Often blessings that come from waiting on the Lord are missed when we choose our timing over the Lord’s. Most of us can look back and see in retrospect that things we desired for our life would have been a mistake if we had had our way and not waited on the Lord.

Wait upon the Lord and be ready to listen and He will respond in His perfect timing and will reward your patience with blessing.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 31:7.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your loving kindness, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul.

PRAYER:

Help me to learn to wait patiently upon You with an attitude of expecting Your best for my life even when waiting is difficult. Help our family to prayerfully make decisions together in our home as You lead us. Thank You for protecting us from making mistakes and help us to learn to wait upon 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.

Mercy: June 1, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY JUNE 1, 2015.

MERCY

DEFINITION:

Forgiveness; compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward a defender. An act of kindness or favor.

SCRIPTURE:

And loving kindness is Yours, O Lord, for You recompense a man according to his work. Psalm 62: 12.

For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon You. Psalm 86:5.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

It is recorded in the Old Testament (Exodus 34:6-7) when God came to Mount Sinai to give to Moses the writing on two stone tablets that God proclaimed who He was to Moses: “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth; who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished”.

God proclaimed to Moses that He was a God of mercy. God has not changed since that day when Moses met God on the mount. Mercy was part of God’s character when He was with Moses. And His mercy is available to you and I today.

Let us begin this devotional by looking at how the mercy of God is described in the scriptures: In Psalm 86:5 we are told that His mercy is abundant. So there is plenty of mercy available to all, even the worst of sinners. In both Psalms 106:1 and 107:1 we are told that God’s mercy is everlasting. Although this was expressing God’s mercy for Israel, the same mercy is offered to us today.

In Psalm 119:64 we are told that the world is full of His mercy. His mercy is everywhere. Isaiah 54:7 tells us that His mercy is great and in Lamentations 3:22-23 we are told that His mercy is new every morning. God’s mercy for us is rich, sure and tender.

The scriptures also tell us how God manifested His mercy to us. First of all, and most important, is what God did for us in sending His Son to this earth to die on the cross and pay the penalty for all of our sins. Can you think of any greater mercy?

We deserve to die but God in His mercy has offered us mercy and the gift of eternal life. A good definition of mercy is “not getting what we deserve.”

God also manifests His mercy today to those who we may call backsliders. He is willing to welcome anyone back into the fold. What great mercy. He offers His mercy to repentant sinners. This includes not only backsliders mentioned above, but even those who once rejected Him. He offers His mercy with everlasting kindness --- not just for today, for a month but for everlasting.

What a great God we serve. We need to pray daily for His mercy to surround us as a child of His. We must seek His mercy for others and rejoice in the mercy that we experience through Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 31:7.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your loving kindness, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul.

PRAYER:

Thank You for Your love and mercy that has freed us from the penalty of the sin we deserve and for giving us eternal life. Your loving kindness is overwhelming. Make my life today an example that You can use to communicate to others the wonderful joy in my heart that I have because of all You have done for me according to Your great mercy.

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.