Equip: September 18, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2015.

EQUIP

DEFINITION:

To provide with what is needed for use for an undertaking; to furnish with intellectual or emotional resources; fit out with what is needed to execute our understanding; furnish or fit completely.

SCRIPTURE:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God that the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work. II Timothy 3:16-17.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We come into this world completely unequipped intellectually, physically or emotionally. A parent should begin to equip their child when they are mere infants to live in a world as productive people. A loving parent’s greatest desire is to equip their children with the finest of training in order for them to excel in life.

We need more than being intellectually equipped. We are born into a sinful world and we all must come to grips with the spiritual struggle in our lives. There is a war between God and Satan for control of our life.

Believers need something to equip them spiritually for this battle. This is why God gave us His Word, the Bible which is our survival tool for our soul. In II Timothy 3:16-17, the apostle Paul explains how God’s Word equips us to win our battles over Satan. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God, a believer, may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Look what God has given us so that we may be properly equipped as we live in this sinful world. In Ephesians 6:17 Paul describes God’s Word as a sword. God’s Word is a weapon more powerful than any of Satan’s weapons.

The Bible provides spiritual truth in doctrine for us. The scriptures are God’s Word for us and we can be sure it is true. God’s Word reproves us by pointing out our imperfections and sinful failures. It corrects us by teaching us what is right. God’s Word gives us instruction in living a righteous life. There is no better tool than God’s Word to make us fully equipped for spiritual survival and personal growth in the things of the Lord. Are you reading it?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Mark 16:15.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

PRAYER:

Thank You Lord for equipping me through Your inspired Word and for correcting me in my sinful ways and instructing me in Christ-like living. Help my family to take the time to read Your Word and to follow what it tells them.

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End: September 17, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2015.

END

DEFINITION:

Finish; the terminal moment in time; the concluding part; the goal to which something is heading.

SCRIPTURE:

Teaching them to obey all things that I have commanded you: and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Revelation 22:13.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

People often say “All things come to an end. Nothing lasts forever.” We are on earth for a time that will one day come to an end. While we are here on earth God has a job for us to do. Jesus taught that while we are here on earth we are to obey all things that He has commanded us right up to the end and we are to teach others to obey the commandments also.

The “end of the age” refers to the time when our Lord comes again to judge the world and to establish His kingdom here on earth.

We cannot live in the past but we need to look at the past to see if we have lived by the Ten Commandments, spent time reading God’s Word and time communicating to God through prayer as he has taught us to do. We can evaluate our pluses and minuses with our failures and successes and then make the necessary changes to our priorities that are needed to bring our life into compliance with the keeping of all that God has commanded us.

Each of us need to take the time to look at the talent, the treasure and the time that God has given us and use the abilities that He has given us to glorify our Father in heaven until we reach the end of the time that God is giving us.

It is important that with the time God still has given us that we commit our plans to the Lord if we want them to succeed. Proverbs 16:3 reads that we should commit our works to the Lord and then our plans will be established. In Proverbs 19:21 we are told that many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand.

In the message translation of Isaiah 61: 1-2 it reads:

“The spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me, He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the broken hearted, announce freedom to the captives, pardon all the prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of His grace, a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies, and to comfort all that mourn.”

Remember God anointed (chose) you to do His will and be His witness. Make your commitment today to grow daily in His Word and to serve Him with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul. When the end of the age comes all we, as believers, want to hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Mark 16:15.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

PRAYER:

May I grow spiritually each day as I reach out to the world around me so that every person I make contact with sees You through my walk and my talk. Help me to daily commit my plans to You and ask for Your guidance.

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Empathy: September 16, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2015.

EMPATHY

DEFINITION:

The intellectual identification with or experiencing the feelings, thoughts or attitudes of another, identifying with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings or emotions.

SCRIPTURE:

Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” Matthew 15:32.

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.
Romans 8:28-29.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We have learned over the years how difficult it is for parents when one of their children is hurting. Having had 6 children and 20 grandchildren with most of them playing sports, injuries were many. It seems that we learned that parents seem to hurt more than the child. We want the pain to go away and would rather have the pain ourselves than with the child.

Parents have deep empathy for their children when they suffer, whether it is physical pain, sickness or an injury. Sometimes it is emotional and mental pain resulting from the pressures of life or from harmful relationships.

There is a difference between sympathy and empathy. Empathy is a deeper and more complex emotion. Empathy is putting yourself in the place of what another person is feeling or going through. Jesus empathizes with our feelings and all our needs. In Matthew 15:32 (above) Jesus even empathizes with the feeling of hunger pangs which He knew the crowd was experiencing. His empathy compelled Him to feed the crowd of 4,000 by multiplying 7 loaves of bread and a few fish. Jesus empathizes with our every heartache and each and every pain.

If we trust earthly doctors to care for our children, how much more should we be willing to trust God, our great physician to heal our broken body and to reset our broken lives?

One of God’s purposes to allow us to have pain is so He can mold us into the image of Jesus. God wants us to weep with those that weep so that we empathize with others in their time of need just as Jesus did.

Next time that you feel pain or even discouraged or broken hearted be assured Jesus knows what you are feeling and He empathizes with you. Just seek Him and praise Him knowing that He is at work in your life. As it reads in Psalm 147:3, “Seek the lord our God who heals the broken hearted and bandages their wounds.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Mark 16:15.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

PRAYER:

Give us the strength to go through any pain or heartache we may face today knowing that You are in control. May the pain we face be a learning time for us to become more Christ-like in our daily walk and talk.

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Meditation: September 15, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2015.

MEDITATION

DEFINITION:

To reflect upon; to think deeply about; to ponder.

SCRIPTURE:

I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131:2

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

As Christians most of us read our Bibles and pray, but are we meditating on God’s Word. Maybe many of us do not even know what it means to meditate on God’s Word.

To meditate one needs to find a quiet location where one can be alone. To meditate we need to shut out the world around us and focus our attention on one passage of scripture.

In order to have effective meditation it must be made a daily priority in a private space and one must have a plan and a purpose. When we look at a verse of scripture so we can meditate on it we need to first know who the writer of that verse is, to whom he is writing and what is the passage saying.

There are several passages of scripture in Psalms that gives us instruction how to meditate and what we are to meditate on. Psalm 1:2 tells us that we are to meditate on God’s commandments day and night. Psalm 19:14 reads: Our meditation must be acceptable in God’s sight.

According to Psalm 48:9, we are to meditate on God’s unfailing love. In Psalm 77:12 it reads we are to meditate on all God’s works and mighty deeds.  In Psalm 119:148 it reads that we are to meditate on His promises and finally in Psalm 145:5 we are told to meditate on the glorious splendor of God’s majesty.

All of us need to remember to turn off the distractions in life that keep us from listening to the voice of God. We need to learn to listen to God as He speaks to us as we read His Word. There are times every day when we need to stop and take a break from the busyness of our activities so that we can refresh our soul.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Mark 16:15.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

PRAYER:

Help me to take the time every day to quiet my soul so You can speak to me from Your Word. Keep me meditating on Your love and mighty works and the glorious splendor of Your majesty.

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Follow: September 14, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2015.

FOLLOW

DEFINITION:

To accept as a guide or a leader; to accept the authority of; to imitate or copy; to pursue or go after; to conform to or comply with.

SCRIPTURE:

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. Exodus 23:2

The Lord said to Moses, speak to the Israelites and say to them: I am the Lord your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you use to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. Leviticus 18:1-3

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Follow means to accept someone as a guide or a leader and do as they do. God allows us to choose who we will follow. Who we follow will determine the course of our life. We have grand-children that like to hike, sometimes backpacking for several days, but they always have a leader that knows the way. Without a knowledgeable leader they could take a wrong turn and be lost for an extended time.

In life it is important to be wise in choosing who we follow and make sure they know the way. Who knows better than God who is all wise and all knowing.

Most people today just follow the crowd but just because everyone is doing something does not make it right. Following the crowd will lead us to think as they think and will cloud our judgment concerning God’s standards of what is right or wrong.

After God called Moses to the mountain top at Sinai to give Moses the Ten Commandments, Moses brought God’s instructions to the Israelites to teach them how God wanted them to live their lives. He said in the verse we have put above, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.”

God’s commandments never change so this admonition is good for us today. It might mean we will find ourselves standing alone but remember God will be with you so you will never be alone.

When raising a family parents must teach their children to live as God commands and that it might mean that they will have to stand alone. Children are followers. In most cases children will follow the example the parents set for them. If parents do not live in obedience to God they cannot expect their children to. Our actions always speak louder than our words.

Let’s look at what God has told us in the scripture about the word follow. Jesus said in John 12:26 that whoever serves Him must follow Him. When Jesus chose His disciples He instructed them in Matthew 4:19 to “Come and follow Me.” When Jesus called James and John, the brothers, they were fishing with their family. They left their father and their boat and in Matthew 4:22 it reads that they left all too completely follow Jesus. They were totally committed to following Jesus.

We too must follow Jesus wholeheartedly. He commands us in Matthew 22:37 to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Mark 16:15.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

PRAYER:

Keep me this day from following the crowd and help me in my desire to follow You completely and wholeheartedly. Help me to live my life so that my children and peers will desire to follow You with all their heart, their soul and their mind.

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