Considerate: August 21, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 21, 2015.

CONSIDERATE

DEFINITION:

Thoughtful or sympathetic; showing kindly regard or respect for the feelings or circumstances of others; courteous.

SCRIPTURE:

Now therefore says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Haggai 1:5

To speak evil of no one; to be peaceable, considerate, gentle, showing all humility to all men. Titus 3:2.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

It doesn’t take much observation to see how inconsiderate our society has become. People push and shove to get ahead in line. Drivers recklessly change lanes cutting off other drivers. People freely criticize others with no consideration of their feelings.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to Titus (above) instructs Titus to remind those who believe in Jesus Christ of the Christian principles that should be evident in a Christians life. Being considerate is one of them.

We have mentioned often that we are living in what many call the “ME” generation. This is a generation that thinks highly of self with very little consideration of others. Our sinful nature leads us to put ourselves ahead of others but one who loves and serves in Jesus should be led to always put others ahead of self. We are put here on this earth to be God’s representatives. God’s priority is for us to obey His commandments and to do His will.

Twenty-five centuries ago God’s people had forgotten God’s priority for them. God had called them to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. They started right away but never completed building it because they had become more concerned about themselves and building homes for themselves. God sent Haggai to them with the message, “Consider your ways.” They were to stop thinking of only themselves and get back to doing the will of God and complete the task of building the temple.

God has given us the task of building His Kingdom. It is good for us to stop and consider our ways. We need to ask ourselves: Are we doing what God wants us to do?

Have you been considerate of those people who you have met or talked to today? Where you considerate to your spouse and children today? If you had issues to deal with what kind of attitude did you have? Was it Christ-like?

Our genuine concern and consideration for others is a true measure of the depth of our relationship with our Lord. In Isaiah 58:7 Isaiah tells us what truly honors God. “It is to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter. When you see the naked, clothe him and do not turn away from your own flesh and blood.” In Proverbs 14:31 we read, “Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:19.

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Enable me to have the heart of a servant and to be kind and considerate of others. Help me to be loving and kind to my spouse, children and friends. May others see Jesus through me in all that I do?

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Conquering: August 20, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2015.

CONQUERING

DEFINITION:

Acquiring by force of arms; overcoming by force; winning at war; to gaining or winning by effort.

SCRIPTURE:

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

When you face the issues of life, both negative and positive, do you face them with the confidence that you are going to conquer?

The Apostle Paul was a man with a conquering spirit and we can learn from him. Throughout his ministry here on earth Paul faced countless obstacles just like we do today but he never gave up or let anyone or anything defeat him.

In the verse above he pictured the Christian life as a race. He was competitive and that drove him to conquer every situation he faced. As believers we need to develop a spiritual desire of competitiveness so we can conquer the tough issues of life just as Paul did. Paul displayed the following characteristics by the way he lived that can help us be conquerors for God.

We need COURAGE. A conquering spirit must be willing to risk failure. Courage is not a lack of fear. Courage comes from knowing we are not alone. When we feel weak and fearful, God delights in empowering us so He can get the glory. Our courage increases as our faith grows.

We need CONFIDENCE. We are likely to falter when we doubt our ability to do what God may be requiring us to do. But when our confidence is in our Lord and not in ourselves we can move ahead with confidence.

We need COMMITMENT. When we are committed to God and run the race of life with Him, He will provide everything we need and will strengthen us all along the way. The key here is our commitment to God. God honors our obedience to Him.

We need PERSISTENCE. Paul advises us to “press on” through adversity. Our life here on this earth will be full of distractions, oppositions and obstacles that tempt us to give up. We need to press on with persistence until we reach our goal of eternal life with our Lord.

We need a FORWARD FOCUS. Forget what lies behind you and reach out to what lies ahead. If we are loaded down with baggage from the past we will lose sight of the goal ahead of us.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:19.

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Give me today a conquering spirit that You alone can give. Strengthen my faith as I read Your Word so that I can serve You with courage, confidence, commitment and persistence, always pressing onward until the day You call me home to be with You for all eternity.

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Confrontation: August 19, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19, 2015.

CONFRONTATION

DEFINITION:

A meeting of people face to face in hostility; an open conflict of opposing ideas.

SCRIPTURE:

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, but I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” Matthew 5:38-39.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Tempers flare quickly. It doesn’t take much to set off a confrontation. Before one confronts someone for something said or done one needs to carefully read what Jesus said in the verse we have written above. It is one’s natural reaction to want to retaliate and confront the one that irritates, speaks untruth, or harms physically. But that is not what God wants from us as believers in Him.

Some years ago we had a wonderful minister friend, who has since gone to heaven that spoke to his congregation after a confrontation in their community. He said that he was hearing from some that they now wanted to retaliate with an eye for an eye. His response to his people in his sermon was that you can never even the score you can only raise the stakes.

It happens every day. A student insults a school mate, a sibling takes something belonging to another sibling, or a driver of a car cuts off another driver. Situations such as these often grow quickly into a fight. It is a process of retaliation, confrontation and escalation that results from an attitude of revenge. Revenge is the desire to even the score.

In the verses above from Matthew, Jesus tackles this key relationship issue. Jesus tells us to accept personal injury without retaliation. In His illustration in this verse we must understand that most people slap with their right hand so in order for them to strike the right cheek they must use the back of that hand. In Jesus day hitting with the back of the hand was a way to insult or show disrespect rather than physically hurting or injuring a person. By telling us to turn the other cheek, Jesus was teaching that we are not to retaliate when we are mistreated.

Before Jesus was crucified He was insulted, mocked, spit upon and beaten and yet He never retaliated. By reacting in this manner we as believers today can send a message of love and forgiveness. To return good for good is natural but to return good for evil is supernatural.

At all times turn your confrontations over to Jesus and He will bring justice in His way.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:19.

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Help me Lord, not to retaliate when someone wants to pick a fight by harassing or insulting me. Instead give me the strength to show forgiveness and to turn the other cheek so Your love will shine through me.

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Crown: August 18, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 18, 2015.

CROWN

DEFINITION:

Any of various types of headgear worn by a king or monarch as a symbol of sovereignty or royalty; an award for a great achievement.

SCRIPTURE:

There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. II Timothy 4:8.

He will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12.

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. I Peter 5:4.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The crown of life, which James refers to, is eternal life that will be the ultimate award for all believers. The crown of life is a crown of victory. On the cross of Calvary Jesus defeated Satan and won the victory over death.

The crown of righteousness, which Timothy tells us about in the verse we have put above, represents the eternal righteousness we receive through Jesus Christ as a result of our Salvation.

The crown of glory we read above in I Peter is a reward Christ will award at His second coming, when all must appear before Him at the judgment seat where He will evaluate the faithful service of believers. What a glorious day that will be.

Recently we read about a man who was dying. When asked by a friend about death, he responded by saying he had no fear about dying and going to heaven. He went on to say that he had sent on before all the things of importance.

Someone then asked him if he was concerned about losing his inheritance? His response was simple and direct when he said that NO because he had sent his inheritance to heaven already. This wonderful man concluded by saying that there was one crown in heaven that God has made for him and it will only fit his head and even the Apostle Paul could not wear it because it will fit only him.

We cannot lose our inheritance as a believer in Jesus.  God has a crown waiting for us who have been faithful and hold fast to our faith in Jesus Christ.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:19.

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, for the valuable inheritance which will be mine in heaven. Help me today to make a priority of doing what God expects of me to receive my crown when I arrive in heaven. Help me and my family to put our priorities in serving and doing what will count for eternity.

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Why: August 17, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY AUGUST 17, 2015.

WHY

DEFINITION:

For what cause or reason

SCRIPTURE:

You of little faith, He said, why did you doubt? Matthew 14:31

He said to them, why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your mind?
Luke 24:38.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

“WHY” is the question Jesus asked His disciples? Jesus, who knows all of our thoughts, knew when His disciples had doubts and He asked them the question, “Why?” “Why” is a good question and serves a good purpose: it makes us search for truth and God is the source for all truth.

We ask you today, “Why do you waver in your faith?” and “Why do you doubt?” Many wonderful people who are believers are up one day and down another day when it comes to the strength of their faith. Genuine faith is the confident conviction that God will do what He promised.

But when we take our eyes off of Him and start looking at our circumstances, our confidence in our Lord will start to wobble. Let us assure you that all of us will face times when our faith will wobble because the Lord will test our faith in order to make it stronger.

When we start doubting, we are driven and tossed about like the surf of the sea. In the first chapter of James it reads that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. To be double-minded is to go back and forth in our thinking. We may begin a day full of confidence in the Lord but when we are faced with a difficult situation our faith wavers. The question is WHY?

For some people this is doubting and for others questioning. Questioning is seeking to gain further information and knowledge that enables us to understand what we are hearing from the Lord. Doubting, on the other hand leads us wanting to believe what we think, see, or hear rather than what we know God has said.

There are reasons we doubt. Certain conditions may cause our faith to waver. Maybe a situation goes against our reasoning. Sometimes we allow our feelings to overcome our faith. Or we listen at times to negative counsel that goes against our faith in God.

We also may be ignorant of God’s ways because we are not reading the scriptures and praying. We also may feel so much guilt over our past sins that we are hopelessly lost in sin. Doubt causes us to listen to the devil.

When you begin to waver in your faith and wonder why ask yourself these questions: Where does my doubt come from? Has God ever failed me in the past? Didn’t the Lord in Philippians 4:19 promise to meet all my needs, not just some? Didn’t God promise me in Hebrews 13:5 to be with me all the time? And finally, is there anything too difficult for God?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:19.

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

I pray that You would increase my faith daily and keep me from doubting or wavering in what I believe. Teach me to grow in my love for You and my understanding of Your Word.

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