Goals: May 27, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016.

GOALS

DEFINITION:

Any object of ambition or desire; the result of achievement to which effort is directed; the aim or end.

SCRIPTURE:

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

Seek the Lord and His strength. Psalm 105:4

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

God has allowed us to be involved through the years in some very exciting and rewarding projects. In all of these projects throughout our lives we have been driven by goals that we have set. Today we urge young people as well as older friends to make a commitment to set goals, both physically and spiritually, in their lives that honor God.

If you have never thought about setting goals for your life, now is the time to begin. Remember that today is the first day of the rest of your life and God wants you to set some life lasting goals serving Him. Without positive practical physical goals in your life you will become stagnant and perhaps lazy.

Of greater priority to the Lord are the spiritual goals we have for our life. We need to have spiritual goals that will help us grow our faith in the Lord and allow Him to work in us and through us.

The above verse from Psalms would be a great first goal for you to commit to today: SEEK THE LORD AND HIS STRENGTH. Consider making this your daily prayer and God will honor you through it. Never underestimate what God is able to do through you.

In the verse above from Philippians the Apostle Paul set a goal that was not made from any hope for earthly rewards. This goal was set because he was totally committed to honor God and work every day for his heavenly rewards. During Paul’s lifetime his goals in life changed dramatically. After Paul had an encounter with God and met Jesus Christ as his Savior, he went from the goal of persecuting Christians to the goal of spreading the good news of the gospel. God called him to spread Christianity to the world he lived in.

This became Paul’s one and only goal for the rest of his life. Even when it meant being persecuted, or being beaten, or being put in prison, Paul never wavered in fulfilling his God given goal for his life.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Zechariah 13:9

I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, This is My people; and each one will say, The Lord is my God.

PRAYER:

Give me the strength as I seek You today to set life-long goals that will honor You. Burden my heart to the extent that I will make today a beginning to reach out to the world around me with the good news of the gospel.

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Enemy: May 26, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY MAY 26, 2016.

ENEMY

DEFINITION:

One who opposes or seeks to inflict injury upon another; foe; one who is against another.

SCRIPTURE:

Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return. Luke 6:35.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Wherever Jesus went He attracted large crowds as he went from one town and one village to another proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. From the time He was a child people were amazed at His words. Sometimes however, the words that Jesus spoke were not what they wanted to hear. In Jesus day the people were living under Roman rule and the Romans were cruel oppressors. The people had no love for the Romans. They were dreaded enemies.

We read in Luke 6:27-36 the sermon of Jesus on how we are to deal with enemies. Jesus starts His comments by saying. “But I say to you who hear.” He states it this way because He knows that many believers will not want to hear what He is going to say about how we are to deal with our enemies. No one likes to hear anything that requires something difficult for us to do.

Jesus begins by telling us to love our enemies and to do good to them that hate you. Jesus is initiating here the most revolutionary lifestyle ever known in the history of mankind. No religion in the world can remotely compare with this. If you study other religions including Buddhism and Islam, they have absolutely no principles even close to this.

In verse 31, Jesus gives us what we know today is the golden rule. He says just as you want men to do to you, you also do to him likewise.  Jesus was restating for the believers today what the law taught as recorded in Leviticus 19:18: You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The natural reaction today is to return good for good and evil for evil. Think of how you have reacted at times when someone does something evil that has hurt you. You immediately want to do something, maybe hurtful, to get back at that person.

In Luke 6:32 Jesus says it is no credit to us if we love those who love us. Even sinners do that. Jesus wants us as believers in Him (verse 33) to do the hard thing and love our enemies. Jesus goes on to say that when we give good we should give it with an attitude of not expecting anything in return. The Lord will repay us, as it is written in Proverbs 19:17: He who has pity on the poor lends unto the Lord; and that which he has given will HE (God) repay him again.

God has been merciful to us and we are in return are to be merciful to others. In everything we do we must follow Christ’s example and be forgiving even as He was forgiving. Jesus loved us even when we were unlovely.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Zechariah 13:9

I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, This is My people; and each one will say, The Lord is my God.

PRAYER:

Help me and my family to always to do good even to those who treat us badly. Help us by Your grace to love our enemies and pray for them that they will soon return to You.

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Complacent: May 25, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MAY 25, 2016.

COMPLACENT

DEFINITION:

Self-satisfaction, often while unaware or unconcerned with unpleasant realities; pleased with one’s advantages or accomplishments.

SCRIPTURE:

For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. Proverbs 1:32.

And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency or stagnant in spirit. Zephaniah 1:12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The writer of Proverbs, in the verse we have put above is giving us words of wisdom. He is telling us that willful carelessness in our faith and indifference toward doing God’s will in our life or lack of appropriate care will destroy us.

In the verse above from Zephaniah the writer is talking about the coming Day of Judgment on Jerusalem. He is saying none will escape the punishment of the Lord on that day. The people were indifferent toward the Lord and their indifference has led them to regard God as morally indifferent.

Sadly we see far too much complacency in the church today. Just like the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14 they had become lukewarm. They had become self-satisfied and no longer had a vital relationship with the Lord. They were doing nothing for Christ. Complacency leads to indifference toward God and is the first step toward shutting God out of our life. The verses from Proverbs and Zephaniah that we have put above strongly warn us of the danger of complacency toward the Lord. It will destroy us and bring God’s judgement and punishment upon us.

James admonishes us in chapter 4, verse 16, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” If you are among those who have become complacent in your faith and have become indifferent toward God, here are some suggestions:

•    Reestablish your relationship with the Lord. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8. He wants you to come to Him.

•    Read the Bible every day. The Word of God will instruct you and guide you to come to Him.

•    Spend time in prayer every day communicating to God.

•    Flee from the temptations of the world.

•    Hold fast to your Biblical standards. Do not compromise your faith to become politically correct.

•    Trust the Lord and obey His commandments.

•    Seek His righteousness.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Zechariah 13:9

I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, This is My people; and each one will say, The Lord is my God.

PRAYER:

Help me not to be complacent about my faith in You. Make me alert to every opportunity You give me to share my faith with someone who is hurting or hungry.

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Reckless: May 24, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY MAY 24, 2016.

RECKLESS

DEFINITION:

Utterly unconcerned about consequences; careless

SCRIPTURE:

He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die. Proverbs 19:16

There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment. Proverbs 12:18-19.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In the second verse we have put above from Proverbs, we see a contrast between using harsh words that are spoken recklessly and bring harm and wise words spoken thoughtfully bring healing. Reckless words are often spoken out of anger and out of anger come reckless actions. Reckless words and actions have consequences as we find demonstrated in the account in the failings of Moses and the Israelites recorded in Numbers 20:2-13.

The children of Israel often rebelled against God and constantly complained to Moses about the lack of food and water. In Numbers 20:3 it says the Israelites quarreled with Moses because they had no water. They were angry so there is no doubt harsh words were spoken. Their rebellion against God and against Moses angered Moses. Nevertheless Moses interceded for them and God instructed Moses to gather the people before the rock and told Moses to speak to the rock to bring forth water. In his anger Moses first spoke harshly to the people calling them rebels. Then he recklessly struck the rock, not speaking to it first as God commanded Moses thus disobeying God’s instructions. Water came forth from the rock but because of Moses disobedience God did not allow him to enter the Promised Land. Disobedience is reckless and always has consequences.

This is contrasted with one who speaks thoughtful words that will bring healing. In Ephesians 4:29-20 the apostle Paul writes, Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

The word for “unwholesome” refers, in this verse from Ephesians, to that which is foul or rotten, such as spoiled fruit or putrid meat. Paul is reminding us that foul language of any kind should never pass a Christian’s lips, because it is totally out of character with the life one has in Christ. The Christian’s speech according to Paul should be at all times instructive, encouraging, uplifting (even if it needs to be corrective), and suited for the moment and above all they should be truthful.

Our Lord set the standard for us. In this verse from Ephesians Paul says that our words should give grace to those that hear them. Because we have been saved by grace and kept by His grace, we should live by grace and speak with grace.

All around us today we hear words from people that do not honor our Lord. It is so easy for us, when we hear these words all the time, to give in, even unconsciously, and begin to use those words. Our Lord warns us not to get reckless but to live for Him making sure that our words and actions honor our Lord.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Zechariah 13:9

I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, This is My people; and each one will say, The Lord is my God.

PRAYER:

Help me always to be truthful and to speak words that are wise and bring healing rather than hurt. Help me to only say and do what will bring honor to Your name.

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Thanks: May 23, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY MAY 23, 2016.

THANKS

DEFINITION:

To express gratitude or appreciation; a grateful feeling.

SCRIPTURE:

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercies endure forever. I Chronicles 16:34.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107: 8-9.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. II Corinthians 9:15.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

During the time the early settlers in America were enduring the hardships of getting established one man suggested that as a group they were dwelling too much on their problems. It was time to focus on their blessings. From this discussion the first thanksgiving celebration in America came about.

We are giving you this reminder today because we believe that for Christians every day should be a day of thanksgiving. We also feel that not only Americans but our friends around the world need to be reminded from time to time to spend time each day thanking God for His many blessings to us.

Just take a moment and list in your mind all the things that God has given you to be thankful for; good health, family, our salvation, a job, a home, friends, church, the Bible, food, material possessions and the list goes on and on.

In Psalm 103: 3-6 David gives us his list of things for which he thanks God for. He forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from death, crowns us with love and compassion, satisfies our desires for good things and gives righteousness and justice to us. All these benefits are ours. When you are feeling down and without anything to be thankful about sit down with your Bible and read David’s list.

Many people in our world, in fact over 85%, do not have anywhere near the many things that we as Americans have to be thankful for. How much more then should we be thankful to God! Take a moment now to read the three scriptures we have written for you above and then reflect on how God has blessed you and give Him thanks.

In Psalm 103:2 it reads: "Praise the Lord, Oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits." When things are going well we often become complacent and take things for granted. We even give ourselves all the credit. It is easy to forget all the benefits God has given us. How often do we really thank God for all He gives us?

As far back as we can remember we were taught to be thankful and as a family spent time every day praying and thanking God for His blessings. Christian parents have the responsibility of teaching their children the benefits they received from the Lord and to be faithful in thanking Him for them.

We are thankful for the marvelous heritage we received from our Christian parents to remember all God’s benefits and be thankful to Him. We passed this heritage to our children. Now it is their responsibility to pass it on to their children.

What about you? If you do not have that heritage now is the time for you to take time every day to thank God for His blessings and establish that heritage with your children and your family. Our God is a loving God and deserving of your gratitude. And He will respond by multiplying His blessings upon your life if you just take the time to thank Him.

Have you thanked God recently for sending His Son to pay the penalty for your sins? Have you thanked God for the assurance that you have that He is in heaven preparing a place for you for eternity? The apostle Paul calls God's gift of salvation and grace that He gave us by giving His only begotten Son to die on the cross as "GOD'S INDESCRIBABLE GIFT." We should be so thankful for this gift that Paul says is above all else.

If you pause to think, you will be aware of how many benefits you have from God that should give you cause to thank God. We should never get too busy or so complacent that we fail to thank God for His many blessings each and every day.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Zechariah 13:9

I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, This is My people; and each one will say, The Lord is my God.

PRAYER:

Give me this day a spirit of gratitude to You dear God for all that You have blessed my life with. As a family may we begin today spending more time just to thank You for all the benefits we receive from You. Thank You for Your goodness in forgiving our sins, for redeeming us and giving us eternal life and for Your wonderful blessings to us. Thank You for satisfying my longing soul and for filling my life with your joy and peace.

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