Chasten: July 8, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY JULY 8, 2016.

CHASTEN

DEFINITION:

Punish; reprimand; to inflict suffering or punishment upon; to humble or improve; to discipline; to refine.

SCRIPTURE:

If you endure chastening, God deals with you just as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten. Hebrews 12:7.

Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction. Proverbs 19:18.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The word chasten as used in the Bible means to use methods of discipline for the purpose of teaching or improving a person. God is our heavenly Father and He deals with us as His children. As our Father He desires that we love Him and be obedient to Him. We are all sinners and are naturally not inclined to be obedient.

God must chasten us just as a parent must chasten a child. He must correct us when we sin in order to improve our character. When we break God’s laws, God chastens us allowing us to suffer the consequences of our sin.

As children we were chastened by our parents and as parents we chastened our children. We set boundaries and when the boundaries were crossed a penalty and explanation followed. Times of disciplining were not happy times but were necessary to teach our children right from wrong and the importance of obedience, not to just us as their parents but more importantly to God and His commandments.

God does the same with us as believers in Him. In the verse above from Hebrews, we are reminded that God will deal with us as His sons just as a father chastens his son (or daughter). We need the discipline that God gives us and when we break His rules we will be chastened by God. This is a certain fact and cannot be negotiated.

In Hosea 10:10 the prophet Hosea tells us about God chastening the Children of Israel. He says, “When it is My desire, I will chasten them. Peoples shall be gathered against them when I bind them for their two transgressions.” Hosea does not say maybe God will respond but he says that He will respond when He desires. We all know that we learned to do what was right through the punishments and reprimands of our parents. God is not vindictive when He chastens us, but it will not be a pleasant experience. He chastens us to correct us and to refine us. It should always be a learning experience that molds us into being more Christ-like.

One final word: Parents have a responsibility to chasten their children. The writer of Hebrews gives us two warnings. The first is not to wait until it is too late to chasten your child. The second is a reminder that those parents who over-indulge their child and refuse to correct them can bring about their child’s destruction. Children who are not disciplined by their parents feel their parents do not really love them because they do not care what they do.

Discipline is never pleasant, nor is it easy. Children do not like to be corrected or punished and it is often hard as a parent to chasten a child. Often when a child is young, parents find the child’s misbehavior cute or even humorous. But who shows greater love for the child? The parent who allows a child to do whatever he or she wants or the parent who corrects and chastens the child in order to teach the child what is right?

God is never amused by our sinful behavior and He does not turn a blind eye to our disobedience. When God chastens us it is because He loves us so much. We must ask Him to show us what needs to be corrected in our life and learn the lesson He is teaching us.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:13.

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.

PRAYER:

Help me to learn through the chastening You choose to give me when I am disobedient and sin. Help me to learn to be more Christ-like in order for my life to be an example to those that I meet or see today.

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Branch: July 7, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JULY 7, 2016.

BRANCH

DEFINITION:

Member; bough; limb; offshoot; descendant.

SCRIPTURE:

I am the true vine and My father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1-2.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Jesus uses the illustration in John 15 of the grape vine and the branches to depict the believer’s relationship with Christ. Jesus is the vine and the branches are all those who claim to be believers in Jesus. God is the cultivator who cares for the branches to enable them to be fruitful.

In verse two of chapter 15 Jesus speaks of two kinds of branches. There are those who bear fruit and those that do not. The branches that do not bear fruit are useless. Jesus compares the believer that does not bear fruit to the unfruitful branches of the grape vine that are dead. The gardener gets rid of the dead wood so that the living fruit bearing branches will bear fruit.

The dead branches depict Christians that are not living a Christ filled life, because they never really genuinely believed in Jesus. They will be cut off and face their reward on judgement day.

Just as the gardener prunes a branch to make it more productive, Jesus prunes a believer. He removes all of the things in the believer’s life that will hinder the fruit bearing of the believer. He cuts away sin and hindrances that would drain the spiritual strength of the believer.

The stronger a branch is attached to the vine the more nourishment a branch is able to draw from the vine and the more fruit it bears.

In Galatians 5:22 the apostle Paul lists for us the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are all fruit produced in the life of those who are true believers in Jesus.

In John 15:15 Jesus puts emphasis on abiding in Him which means to remain or stay around. The believer who abides in Jesus recognizes that apart from Jesus, he or she can do nothing. It is only by abiding in Jesus that a believer can be fruitful. We urge you to let Jesus work in you to prune you daily so that you can live a life that is fruitful and honors Him.

This requires that you study God’s Word and spend time in prayer talking to Him, and seek His will for your life. Then the Holy Spirit will work in your heart to prune away all the things that hinder you from bearing fruit for the Lord.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:13.

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.

PRAYER:

As a branch attached to You as a child of God, help me to be willing to be continually pruned by You. May the pruning You do in my life make me a fruit-bearing child that honors and glorifies Your name.

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Character: July 6, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 6, 2016.

CHARACTER

DEFINITION:

The aggregate of properties and qualities that distinguishes one person or thing from another; a moral or ethical quality.

SCRIPTURE:

But we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Other than knowing Jesus as one’s Savior, nothing is more important in life than to have proven character that is honest and trust worthy. When a person’s character is questioned it is very hard for that person to ever be completely trusted.

As a believer we have even a greater responsibility to have an upright character because what we do and what we say affects what others see in us and how we represent our Lord. As believers we are subject to a higher standard because of our faith.

When we think of character we think of Job. In the book of Job we read about a man of upright character and great faith in God. He was also very prosperous. Satan came before God and challenged that Job’s faith was related to his prosperity. God allowed Satan to test Job. Satan took away all of Job’s flocks, all of his possessions, all of his servants, and even all of his children. When all of this did not cause Job to turn against God, Satan afflicted him physically. Even then Job’s faith never wavered.

God commended Job for his character. In Job 1:8 God said to Satan, have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and shuns evil.

Our character is the sum total of our personal values and qualities. Character is a large factor in determining the life we lead here on earth. In Genesis 49 we read about Jacob gathering all of his twelve sons together to give them his blessing before he died. He made a prediction on their future based on the way they had lived and the character they portrayed. Of the twelve, only Joseph was described as having a commendable character. Joseph was the only son that Joseph predicted would have God’s blessing in the future.

The Bible also tells us of great men and women of virtuous and Godly character. We think of Abraham, Enoch and Noah. All of them were known to walk with God. They knew that character was highly important in God’s sight.

Have you ever given thought about whether God is being glorified by your character or would He be ashamed of your character? When you tell someone that you are a Christian, do they see you as Christ-like? Is it time for a character analysis in your life?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:13.

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.

PRAYER:

Lord, enable me to have an upright character and to always strive to do what is right. Help me to bring glory to Your name and represent You with honor and obedience so that others will see You in me. Keep me strong when Satan tempts me to do any evil that would harm my testimony and hinder my relationship with You.

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Blessed: July 5, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JULY 5, 2016.

BLESSED

DEFINITION:

Praiseworthy; consecrated; sacred; sanctified; invoke God’s favor upon; made happy, fortunate or prosperous.

SCRIPTURE:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Every person that lived before Christ died on the cross were to live under the Old Testament law based on the Ten Commandments. The purpose of the law was to show God’s people, specifically the Children of Israel, the way to practical holiness and to reveal to them God’s nature and His plan for how they should live. The law was designed to protect all of us from the evils of the world by defining sin.

And when Christ came into the world He fulfilled the law by taking upon Himself the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him. During Christ’s earthly ministry, He gave us His promise of the BLESSED HOPE of His return to get those of us that have put our trust in Him.

This BLESSED HOPE is the most uplifting aspect of our knowing Jesus as our Savior. Every believer that has accepted Jesus as their Savior looks for the BLESSED HOPE of His coming again to take us with Him. This BLESSED HOPE is prophesied many times. In fact, for every prophecy recorded in the Bible concerning the first coming of Christ, there are eight prophecies on His second coming, which is our BLESSED HOPE.

To make sure that we understand that Jesus was coming again, the second time, there are 2,163 references in the scriptures. God fulfills all of His promises so all of us as believers can look forward to that special day with great assurance --- no doubt at all.

In Matthew five we read the words of Jesus as He preached the now famous sermon known as the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those that mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are the hungry, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peacemakers, and blessed are the persecuted.

Jesus, in this sermon, was describing the traits he wanted in His followers. Jesus said that those who lived out these traits would be blessed. He knew what He was asking because He lived out these traits in His life while on this earth. Today He blesses us when we follow His examples and make it our goal to become more like Him.

It is written in James 1:17 that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Because of this we should give praise to God for all the ways He has blessed us as we look forward to that BLESSED HOPE of spending eternity with Jesus.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:13.

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.

PRAYER:

Help me to count my blessings every day. Thank You for the way You have blessed my life and the lives of my family. Help me to be a blessing to others today. Thank You for the assurance we have in the scriptures of the BLESSED HOPE of Your coming again to establish us in Your glorious Kingdom.

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Patriotism: July 4, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY JULY 4, 2016.

PATRIOTISM

DEFINITION:

Devoted; love; support and defense of one’s country.

SCRIPTURE:

But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:16.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Here in America we celebrate the 240th anniversary of the founding of our country. It is a big day of celebration with flags flying, parades and summer feasts in many back yards. Our forefathers, who signed the Declaration of Independence, were patriots who were willing to give their lives in the fight to obtain freedom from the British. They had a cause, they were united and they were willing to sacrifice their very lives to be free of oppression.

The freedoms we enjoy today in America came at a very heavy cost for our forefathers. The courage and patriotism of all those who put their lives on the line for all of us today should inspire patriotic loyalty to our country by all citizens of America.

The heart of the foundation of America was the faith that our founding fathers had in God. They built this country on Judeo-Christian principles and God honored them for their faith. Over the past 240 years our country had not strongly maintained those principles.

Take a moment and carefully evaluate what America has done over the last few years. Prayer is no longer allowed in schools. The Ten Commandments have been removed from the walls in Washington D.C. our states capitals and our schools. What has happened to the standards of American political leaders and our corporate leaders? Honesty and integrity is a thing of the past. Think about what is happening to the family in America. Moral values have declined to the point that nothing shocks us anymore and everyone does what is right in his own eyes.

God has given us standards to live by called the Ten Commandments. He has not left our conduct up to us. We however are choosing more and more as a nation to live as we see fit. Sure condemnation is coming from God unless America wakes up very soon.

Fortunately for believers this world is only our temporary home. Believers are not at home in this evil world. We desire a better country. The writer of Hebrews in the verse we have put above assures us that God has prepared a better country, a heavenly country. God paid a heavy cost to provide for us as believers a heavenly home. He sent His only Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and gave us the wonderful opportunity to accept Jesus as our Savior so we can spend an eternity in heaven with our Lord.

We challenge you today, no matter what country you live in to be loyal and courageous in sharing our faith to a world that needs to know our Savior. Patriotism will come and go in this world. Events and situations will affect many people but our patriotism to our Lord should never waver. Our sure foundation in our belief in God and His saving grace will take us to our heavenly home where we will spend an eternity.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:13.

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.

PRAYER:

We thank You for the freedom we have to worship You in spirit and in truth. May our patriotism to the Judeo-Christian principles of our country and more importantly to our Lord be strengthened daily. May we be courageous and bold in defending our faith to all that we walk with and talk with today.

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