Longing: August 19, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 19, 2016.

LONGING

DEFINITION:

Prolonged earnest desire; wishful; yearning.

SCRIPTURE:

I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Philippians 1:23

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Paul is sharing with the Church at Philippi, in this verse, his struggle in his mind as to where he would rather be at that moment. He is relating that he has equal pressure that is being exerted from both sides. Here he is speaking of his personal desires and not necessarily that which the Lord would desire. He makes it clear that his personal will is to be swallowed up in the sweet and perfect will of God.

At the time he wrote Philippians Paul was in prison. It was not where he longed to be. Paul is longing to be with Christ but he knows that his mission on earth is not complete. The centerpiece of this entire dialog from Paul is Christ. In verse 21 Paul says simply and concisely, “For to me to live is Christ.” As long as the Lord had a purpose for him to live, even if it was in prison, he would accept that. But what Paul longed for was to depart this world and be with his Lord and Savior.

There are many examples in life today where children and adults face longings in their lives. How many children have you heard about that go on their first overnight camping experience and in the middle of the night they had a longing for mother and father at home?

There were times in our lives before we were married living 2000 miles apart that we faced a longing to see one another.  We needed to look beyond that longing anxiously waiting the day we knew we would see one another again. It is normal to long to be with those that we love.

Paul looked at life differently than those who do not know God. For those who are apart from God life here on earth is all there is. Their passion in life is to gain worldly treasures such as money, fame, power, popularity, and pleasure. Paul’s passion in life was to become more like Christ and serve Him.

Paul spoke out boldly for Christ, suffered persecution, and imprisonment for it. Whether he lived or died Paul wanted to exalt Christ. Dying would be better for him because he would be removed from his earthly troubles and he would be with his Savior he loved. Yet for Paul to live meant he was to have fruitful labor. (Philippians 1:22). Paul knew that the fruitful labor for him was to bring people to Christ and build up the believers in their faith.

Many times we have talked to or heard about friends who were fighting sickness, economic struggles or strained relationships and they had a longing to call it quits and go to heaven and leave their troubles behind.

In times of suffering it is natural for us as believers to think longingly about being with Jesus, just as Paul did. As God’s children we know that this world will never truly be home to us. Paul loved serving Christ, as we should, but a part of him longed to be with the Savior as we do. It is comforting to know that being with Jesus in our eternal home will be far better than being here on earth.

We, as believers, can be confident that when we face those moments of longing to be free of life’s struggles we can have strength that comes from our Lord to continue to labor for Him here on earth until He takes us to be forever with Him.

As Paul said, for him to live was Christ and that was all he needed but to die is gain. Our reason for living is to serve Christ here on earth but our longing should be to spend all eternity with our Lord and Savior. How glorious that will be.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 121:2.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and the earth.

PRAYER:

Help me to live above any worldly longings that I face today. Thank You for the longing that I do have to spend an eternity with You. Until that day comes give me the strength daily to serve and love You with all my heart.

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Heroes: August 18, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 18, 2016.

HEROES

DEFINITION:

One admired for courage, fortitude or ability; one known for brave deeds; one regarded as a model or ideal

SCRIPTURE:

These all died in faith. Hebrew 11:13.

For living to me means simply “Christ” and if I die I should merely gain more of Him. Philippians1:20 (J.B. Phillips translation).

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

All of us during our lifetime have had heroes in our lives. When we were younger we had many more heroes than now. Part of that was due to our young age and lack of maturity. Over the years we have seen some of our heroes fail in some way and burst our so called bubble, because we thought they were the greatest. It is a great disappointment when someone turns out not to be what we thought they were.

In Hebrews chapter 11, we read about heroes of faith from the Old Testament. They include Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and David. They are all called “Heroes of Faith” because they believed in God’s character, that He is who He says He is and will do all that He says He will do. They believed in God’s promises even though they could not yet see those promises fulfilled.

When you look to the Bible for your heroes in life you will find role models that you can confidently look to in growing your spiritual life.

The key to those that are listed above in Hebrews 11 is that they all lived by faith. If we pick these as our heroes and our role models and want to be like them we need to do all we can to live as they did. They all had their times of failure but in their faith they found their assurance, their comfort, their daily guide, their motive for living and their support.

They believed the promises that came from God, under the law, and lived their lives relying on these promises. They were assured that their sins were blotted out through the mercy of God. These heroes were confident of their acceptance by God. They enjoyed living in His love and resting in His faithfulness.

They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth just as we are as believers today. They were looking forward to a country of their own, a better place than where they were or had been. They all were looking for their heavenly home and knew that one day they would arrive there and live an eternity with their Lord and creator. Is this the kind of hero you have chosen in your life?

In the verse we have written above from Hebrews 11:13 we read that they all died in faith. They died in faith because they lived in faith. Hebrews 11:1 explains, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Faith is more than belief. We can believe a chair will support us if we sit on it. It is by faith that we sit on it. These men and women of faith had confidence that God would do all that He said He would do and acted on it. They had confident assurance of what they could not see.

Dying in faith looks to the future. They died knowing that the Messiah would surely come and one day they would rise from their graves to behold Him in the air.

If you are looking for heroes in your life, look no further than these heroes we read about in Hebrews. And you can be a hero just like them if you will look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. You can be confident that God wants you to be assured of your faith as were the Bible heroes of faith. When you have doubts ask God to remove them and put your complete trust in Him. Live to gain more of Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 121:2.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and the earth.

PRAYER:

As our family picks heroes in our lives help us to understand that we need to look up to men and women who lived lives of faith. Help us to live our lives daily by the faith we have in You so that others will see in us a person of great faith fully devoted to You.

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Procrastination: August 17, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17, 2016.

PROCRASTINATION

DEFINITION:

To defer action; delay; to put off until another time.

SCRIPTURE:

Now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation. II Corinthians 6:2

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Procrastination can be a form of bondage in a person’s life, but the Lord, who wants the best for His followers, did not design us to be enslaved. We have heard believers in Jesus say that they are “born procrastinators,” but according to the scriptures that is impossible. Procrastination is a choice.

Procrastination has several common causes. The first is the desire to dodge discomfort. Many people put off taking action on a bothering situation because they feel uncomfortable or anxious about the ramifications of the issue.

During the time Paul was on trial before Felix we read in Acts 24:24-27 of a private conversation Felix and his wife Priscilla had with Paul about faith in Jesus. During this conversation Felix came under conviction and became so fearful that he told Paul to leave saying, “That is enough for now!” Felix did not want to hear any more about righteousness, self-control and judgment to come. Conviction can and will show up in our lives. Have you ever put off your Bible reading, meditation and prayer because you were concerned that God would bring to surface a matter you needed to confront?

Issues like pride, self-control, or guilt may not be comfortable to face, but dodging them obstructs God’s purpose in our life. So our Lord does not want us to procrastinate because we are trying to dodge discomfort.

The second cause that comes to mind, for putting things off is the problem of self-doubt. Many people feel inadequate to complete a job so they choose not to begin. They also fear that they may make a mistake or just fail. This makes postponing a preferable option for many people.

It is important for us to realize that God takes seriously procrastination. In our spiritual life delaying an assignment from God is the same as disobeying Him. If you are prone to delay you need to identify the problem areas in your life and the feelings that accompany them. Then confess your tendency to the Lord and rely on God’s strength to overcome them. The time for obeying God is always “NOW”

As parents of six we saw a lot of procrastination from our children. When there were chores they did not like to do, they would procrastinate and put off doing them as long as they felt they could get away with it. We understand, because, often when we were children we put off doing chores that we did not like to do. In the end we had to do them anyway and had to miss out doing something we would have enjoyed. We learned there were consequences for disobedience. Procrastination is disobedience.

When God calls us to do something difficult we should never procrastinate because we will miss out on God’s best for us.

The Children of Israel procrastinated and missed out on God’s best. God had promised to give them the land of Canaan. He was going to give them power to conquer the Canaanites and take possession of their land. The tribe of Manasseh procrastinated in not desiring to do God’s will

When the tribe of Manasseh complained to Joshua that they did not have enough land, Joshua said to them, “How long will you put off going into the land to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? If they had obeyed God completely and driven out all the Canaanites they would have had all the land they needed. God had promised it would be theirs but that they would have to work and fight for it.

God has promised to give us an eternal home through Jesus Christ. It is a free gift. Have you chosen to possess it? Now is the time.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 121:2.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and the earth.

PRAYER:

Help me to always listen for your direction for what You want me to do and where You want me to be. Keep me alert and willing and ready. Keep me from putting off what I know You want me to do.

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Growth: August 16, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 16, 2016.

GROWTH

DEFINITION:

The act or process of growing; the development from a simple to a more complex stage; development; advancement; improvement.

SCRIPTURE:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory now and forever. II Peter 3:18.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Very few people are counseled when they accept Jesus as their Savior as to how they are to grow spiritually in their Christian faith. God wants us to conform to the image of Christ but He cannot make us conform. We must desire to be like Him. Unless we know what Christ is like how can we conform to His image? We must do as Peter teaches us in II Peter 3:18, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.” True knowledge of Jesus comes through seeking Him in prayer, faithfully studying God’s Word, meditating on what you have read and then obeying God’s commands.

Here are several thoughts that we have learned through 59 years of marriage and in the challenges of raising of six children which helped us grow spiritually.

First, we are responsible for renewing our mind as we are told in Romans 12:2. God saves us and gives us a new spirit but He does not give us a new brain. Our minds, prior to knowing the Lord as our Savior, have many trenches that have been dug or worn by rebellion, self-focus, or habit. To overcome these trenches one must learn to meditate on the Bible because the Bible expresses the thoughts of God. Meditation is more than reading. Meditation involves thinking about what the words mean and then applying the truths of God’s Word to our life. There is no way to grow spiritually without absorbing Scripture into our minds and hearts.

God does not change His mind but we must be willing to change our minds so that our thoughts conform to His thoughts.

Secondly, in order to grow spiritually we must be willing to admit and assume responsibility for failure. When we deny our sins, we delay spiritual growth. As we learn to confess our wrongdoings, we will acknowledge our spiritual failure.

Thirdly, after confession comes repentance. This is more than an acknowledgement of wrongdoing or a promise to try harder. Repentance means that we commit to make an about-face and head in the opposite direction from our sin. When we are truly repentant we will not repeat doing the same sinful things.

God’s goal is for all of us as believers to continually make progress toward Christ-likeness and to draw near to Him and deepen our relationship with Him. God seeks us and is waiting for us to come to Him.

We will grow spiritually stronger when we learn to serve God by serving others. Getting involved in another person’s life can help us learn patience, acceptance and love. Jesus came to serve others. He set the example for us. When we follow His example we are conforming to His image and growing in Christ-likeness.

If you really want to move ahead in your Christian walk, it will require your time, your attention and your commitment. When you choose to walk down God’s pathway to growth, you can expect to become more like Christ every day.

No matter how far any of us has come in our spiritual walk with the Lord there is always room for growth. The more we grow in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of God’s Word the less likely we will be led astray by false doctrine.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 121:2.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and the earth.

PRAYER:

Help me to renew my mind by reading and meditating daily on Your Word. Teach me to admit and assume responsibility for my wrongdoings. By Your Holy Spirit convict me of my sins and give me a repentant heart so that I may be more like You every day.

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Discipleship: August 15, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY AUGUST 15, 2016.

DISCIPLESHIP

DEFINITION:

To teach, train and convert into a true follower; a disciple of Jesus.

SCRIPTURE:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Discipleship is the process by which believers grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the Holy Spirit to overcome the pressures of Satan’s temptations and worldly desires to become more and more Christ-like.

Jesus gave all believers the command to go and disciple new believers in the Word of God. The verse above is the commission of Jesus to His disciples and all believers after His resurrection and before He returned to heaven. This commission from Jesus to His disciples began with the command to reach the unbeliever and lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus. But it does not end there. This commission included that they were to teach (disciple) every new convert how to live Christ-like lives and how to share their belief until the return of the Lord.

Jesus knew that all new believers would need encouragement and instruction from more mature believers to become effective disciples. When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus provided someone to disciple him. The believer that God chose to disciple Paul was a simple unknown believer named Ananias. The traits that Ananias possessed were exactly what were needed by Paul. We need to understand that God is looking for people like each one of us, to disciple new believers and He wants us to study and know God’s Word and be in fellowship with Him so we are prepared to help new believers.

Ananias was obviously a Godly man and devoted to the Lord. Ananias was also very sensitive to the call of God because he communicated daily with God through prayer. When God called him, he knew the voice of God and was prepared to follow what God wanted him to do. God chose Ananias to disciple Paul because Ananias was spiritually prepared and submissive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

God told Ananias what Paul needed to be taught and encouraged Paul to know, without any doubt in his mind, that he was a chosen vessel, a chosen instrument of God. This is also true for everyone that is reading this devotional today. God has the same message for us that He had for Ananias to give to Paul.

You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. John 15:16.

A special word to parents: It is important, as we learned, to disciple your children at an early age. If they are older begin today. Discipling means to lead them in reading the Bible and discussing what they read and praying with them. You will see a change in the lives of your children as they learn more about their Lord and His desires for them. As you disciple your children you cannot help but grow in your relationship with the Lord as well.

As believers we must be daily preparing our hearts and minds by reading God’s Word and spending time in prayer so that we are ready to make disciples of others and instruct them so that they will become true disciples for Jesus.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 121:2.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and the earth.

PRAYER:

Guide me in discipling my children to grow in the knowledge of Your Word and give them the desire to be obedient to Your commandments. Give me the wisdom and dedication to study and apply Your Word to my life. Bless my family and make us all disciples that can be used to be a blessing to others.

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