The Cross: July 22, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY JULY 22, 2016.

THE CROSS

DEFINITION:

A structure consisting of an upright post with a cross beam which was used as an instrument of death. The means by which atonement was made between God and humanity.

SCRIPTURE:

For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Romans 6:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The cross is of the utmost significance to Christians. For all who have accepted Jesus as their Savior it is the symbol of atonement and represents Jesus victory over death and sin. The cross reminds us of God’s love in sacrificing His own Son to pay the penalty for our sins.

The cross is always about Jesus. Without Jesus dying on the cross we would continue to be sinners without any hope for eternal life with our Lord. Only those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord can truly comprehend the significance of the cross.

Do you understand that when you make a decision to accept Jesus as your Savior you are destined for death? The meaning is that death to self happens at the moment we accept Jesus as our Savior. The verse we have put above tells us that when we decided to accept Jesus as our Savior then our old self, our sinful nature, was crucified with Him.

The old self dies and we are given a new nature as the Holy Spirit comes to live with us all because of the cross. We hand over to God all the worldly things we love and value. God does not stop changing us at the point of our decision to accept Jesus. He continues to work in our lives. He gives us a new mind set and puts a new desire in our heart. Romans 8:29 tells us that He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

God’s perfect will for us is to become more like Christ. Christ was without sin and His sole desire was to obey the Father in all He commanded Him.

God gives us a new nature when we become His and enables us to no longer be slaves to sin. We are set free from our old sinful nature because Jesus has triumphed over sin and made us new. When we make Jesus the center of our lives the Lord will call us to the cross every day to lay down the things that hinder our devotion to Him and distract us from serving and following Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 14:3.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

PRAYER:

Thank You Jesus for sacrificing Your life on the cross to set me free from sin so that I can have eternal life with You. Help me to lay down before You at the cross all of the worldly attachments in my life that keep me from becoming completely new and becoming conformed to Your image.

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Covetousness: July 21, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JULY 21, 2016.

COVETOUSNESS

DEFINITION:

Long for; desire enviously; wrongfully desire to another; a desire for an unjust gain; greed.

SCRIPTURE:

And Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. Luke 12:15.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Children playing with other children always seem to want the toy that the other child is playing with. It doesn’t seem to matter if there are over a dozen other toys on the floor near them; they want the toy that the other child is playing with.

As parents we know that this is not right so we should intervene and solve the problem but unfortunately many parents do not face the issue which only reinforces a child’s natural trait of selfishness and entitlement. Children must be taught to share and treat others with kindness.

Adults are covetous just like children. In many cases we do not think of wanting something until a friend gets one. When this happens and we covet what someone else has we are breaking God’s Tenth Commandment. Jesus warns us strongly to “Watch out! Be on guard against all kinds of greed” in Luke 12:15.

In the verse we have put above we are reminded that life does not consist in the abundance of things we possess. This is the exact opposite of what we see in practice in our society. Most people think if they just had a bigger home, a newer car, the latest electronic devise and whatever else they desire, that they would be so much happier.

The believer’s goal should not be to accumulate riches but to be rich in God by seeking His kingdom as written in Luke 12:31. Seeking the kingdom of God means making Jesus the Lord and King of your life. Jesus further warns us against covetousness and greed in the story of the rich young man, in Luke 12:16-18, who stored up great riches but died before he could use them, and left it all behind. Our greatest desire should be to store up riches in heaven. We become rich toward God by faith and obedience and by serving Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 14:3.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the assurance that You have given us that You will provide all of our needs. Help my family not to covet the things of this world but help us to seek the riches that God has for us. Thank You that when we seek You, You will protect us from evil and bless us with your goodness meeting all of our needs.

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Sibling Rivalry: July 20, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 20, 2016.

SIBLING RIVALRY

DEFINITION:

Seeking to achieve the same object or goal as a brother or sister; trying to equal or outdo a brother or a sister.

SCRIPTURE:

Whoever hates his brother is in darkness and walks around in darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. I John 2:10.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Sibling rivalry is very common and often results in bitter disputes even in the most loving of families. Having raised six children we are well aware of this concern. We were very fortunate because sibling rivalry, even though it existed often, never became a serious issue.

We believe that early training helped derail situations that could have been very disrupting to our family. From an early age we taught all of our children to love God first, then their parents and then their siblings. When any of these areas broke down we faced it and discussed it. We also encouraged our children to support each other in all of their activities including school, church and sports. Each of our children had five cheer leaders all the time and they were taught to complement one another. The older siblings even helped as coaches or assistant coaches on sports teams that the younger ones played on.

Sibling rivalry is not new. It began in the family of Adam and Eve with the rivalry of their two sons, Cain and Abel. Another sibling rivalry was between Esau and Jacob, the two sons of Isaac. And of course we all know about the sibling rivalry between Joseph and his ten older brothers.

Parents must use Godly wisdom in dealing with sibling rivalry because leaving it alone to fester and grow can cause major issues. It is often the case that parents are the cause. In the family of Jacob and Esau, for example, the parents played a vital role. Isaac favored Esau and Rebecca not only favored Jacob but she “aided and abetted” Jacob so he could get what he wanted.

A second illustration from the scripture is the role Joseph’s father Jacob played concerning the rivalry between Joseph and his brothers. Jacob continually showed favoritism to Joseph.

When sibling rivalry is not dealt with in the right way it leads to jealousy and anger which will lead to hate. Jealousy has a disastrous effect on the family. In Isaac’s family when Esau discovered his brother Jacob cheated him out of his birthright and the blessing of his father, Esau hated Jacob and planned to kill him. Jacob’s parents had to send Jacob away to spare his life.

In Joseph’s family, Joseph was the favored son of Jacob and the ten older brothers saw Joseph as a rival for their father’s love and esteem. The older brothers became jealous and the rivalry turned to hate and they decided to kill their brother.

John tells us in I John 2 that anyone who hates his brother is walking around in darkness and does not know where he is going. Hate is in itself a sin because it always leads to greater sin. Hate blinds us and keeps us from the light that is in Christ Jesus. Without the light of Jesus to guide us we will follow the wrong path.

Parents must be very careful not to show favoritism and to set righteous examples for their children. Children must be taught to care about their siblings and be sensitive to their feelings. It is hard to mistreat someone you love and care for. When family members get along with other members of their family they will get along with friends they associate with daily.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 14:3.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

PRAYER:

Help me to be aware of my children’s feelings and may I assure each one that they are loved and valued for who they are. Help me to teach them to love each other and to work out their differences as they happen.

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God Honoring: July 19, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JULY 19, 2016.

GOD HONORING

DEFINITION:

Putting God first place in all one does.

SCRIPTURE:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding: In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Fifty nine years ago today we were married. God has been especially good to us blessing us with six wonderful children, their spouses, twenty grandchildren (three married) and one beautiful great grandchild.

In addition God has allowed us to be involved in Christian ministries all these years. This has allowed us to work hand in hand with more than fifty Christian ministries both here in America and in third world countries.

We want to share with you today two factors that we feel have affected our lives the most.

The most important factor has been our relationship with our Lord. We both accepted Jesus as our Savior at a very young age and were raised in a Christian home. This heritage was the single most important relationship that has affected our lives. We have governed our lives with what we call TWELVE RULES TO LIVE BY!  Very simply stated these twelve are the Ten Commandments listed in Exodus chapter twenty and the Two New Testament commandments that our Lord outlined for us in Matthew 22:37-40.

The second important key we have called TWELVE STEPS TO RAISING A HAPPY FAMILY! When parents and children make the commitment to honor these steps, God will bless them abundantly. Here is a listing of these twelve steps, a scripture verse and a short comment on each one:

•    COMMITTMENT: Be committed to God and family. Proverbs 16:3.

•    TRAINING: Teach children Biblical principles and what is right and wrong. Lead by example. Proverbs 22:6

•    PRAYER: Spend time daily praying alone and with your family. Colossians 4:2

•    RESPECT: Parents and children should always respect others. I Peter 2:17

•    TIME: Spend quality time with God and family. Ephesians 5:15-16

•    GRATITUDE: Be grateful in all you do and give thanksgiving to God daily for all His blessings. Express gratitude by your words and actions. Psalm 100:4

•    COMMUNICATION: Talk together as a family daily and learn to listen. James 1:19

•    RELATIONSHIPS: Have a personal relationship with God. Choose God fearing relationship in your daily life. I Samuel chapters 18-20

•    LOVE: Love God, your family, your neighbors and the poor and hurting in our world. Matthew 22:37-39

•    STANDARDS: Set family standards based on Biblical principles. Require obedience and use discipline as necessary. Ephesians 6:1

•    CHOICES: Make wise choices based on God’s commandments and the words of Jesus choosing friends and activities. Joshua 24:15

•    ENCOURAGEMENT: Be an encourager to your spouse, children and parents. Acknowledge accomplishments. Be a friend an encourager to those in need. I Thessalonians 5:11, 16-18

If you have not read our book “NO PROBLEMS ONLY SITUATIONS” we encourage you to get a copy now. This 202 page book takes you on our life journey from our early family beginnings, raising our family, developing our ministries and now our senior year activities. The book is available to you at a special price: $5.00 plus $3.00 for shipping and handling. You can order through our web site or by mail.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 14:3.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

PRAYER:

Help me develop today rules for me personally and for my family to live by. Also help me to understand God’s rules and live by them. Help me to raise my family by being the Godly person that You want me to be.

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Conqueror: July 18, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY JULY 18, 2016.

CONQUEROR

DEFINITION:

One who subdues by force; one who overcomes or gains victory or wins by effort; victor; vanquisher.

SCRIPTURE:

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

One of the world’s most unusual landmarks is a single granite plaque on a pole on the western boundary of Russia near the city of Wilna. There are two inscriptions on this plaque. The western side reads: Napoleon Bonaparte passed this location in 1812 with 410,000 men on his way to conquer Russia. On the eastern side it reads: Napoleon Bonaparte passed this location in 1812 with 9,000 men as he returned home from his conflict with the Russians. Napoleon had a goal of conquering the world but he met his match in this Russian campaign. Napoleon conquered many but there was a limit to his abilities.

In Romans 8:37 Paul assures us that we who believe in Jesus are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ who loves us. As believers we will often have to face hardships of all kinds. Paul endured great hardships. He faced persecution, hunger, danger, imprisonment, beatings and threats of death. Yet through it all he was confident that nothing could separate him from Christ and His love. In Christ we are conquerors over the evil forces of this world.

And the scripture also tells us that one day Satan will meet his match when confronted with the judgement of God and he will have no survivors. Our God will be the ultimate conqueror of evil.

One of the great conquerors in the scriptures is David. He fought many battles and understood that God was the one that enabled him to be a conqueror. He fought with a lion. He battled with Goliath with a sling and a stone. He was a mighty warrior and won many battles over enemy nations who attacked Israel. David gave God the credit for his many victories.

We read in Psalm 144:2 that he praised God for being his shield and defender. He knew that God was with him. This is the key for us today so that we can be conquerors in all of the situations we face in our lives. We must recognize that the battle is the Lord’s and in Him we can have victory.

No matter what the circumstances of life may be for you, if you believe in Jesus and have turned your life over to Him you are more than a conqueror. We cannot lose when we let the battle we are facing be the Lord’s. Take a moment and look at what the scriptures say that Christ can do for you:

•    He will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

•    He will give you peace. (John 14:27)

•    He provides for you an escape from temptation. (I Corinthians 10:13)

•    He will comfort you through all the trials you may face. (II Corinthians 1:3-4)

•    He will supply all your needs. (Philippians 4:19)

•    He will deliver you through all persecution. (II Corinthians 4:8)

•    He will enable you to overcome the world. (I John 5:4)

•    He will deliver you from fear. (Isaiah 41:10)

•    He will give you eternal life. (John 10:28-29)

•    He will keep you from all evil.(II Thessalonians 3:3)

Every day you can be a conqueror. You are a child of the King who is the ultimate conqueror. Go and act like it today in all that you do and say.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in John 14:3.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

PRAYER:

Thank You that You have made it possible for me to claim victory in every spiritual battle that I face today. Thank You that it is because of Your power within me that I can be a conqueror.

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