Meek: November 25, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016.

MEEK

DEFINITION:

Humble; submissive; gentle; docile; kind.

SCRIPTURE:

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Today we will look at the third Beatitude that Jesus taught on the Sermon on the Mount. The philosophy of the world is the exact opposite of this beatitude. People of the world consider the meek (humble and submissive) person to be weak and cowardly. But what the world does not understand is that the most gentle, meek and humble person that ever lived on this earth was our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, the world may consider the meek to be weak, but meekness is not weakness. To be meek is to be in control of your actions and that takes God’s strength and His power. The meek do not exploit or oppress others. They are not violent and not argumentative.

The meek are gentle and they are “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Ephesians 6:10.

The meek are person is a quiet person. He is quiet before God, he surrenders to God and he communicates with God. A meek person is also quiet before men. He walks quietly before men and he is controlled in all things including his reactions, his speech and behavior.

A believer in Jesus, who is meek according to the standard of God, is blessed when he or she is content with who they are and what they have in the Lord. That is the moment you will find yourself the proud owner of everything that can be inherited from God on this earth.

When Jesus said that the meek would inherit the earth, there were two points to be stressed.

First, the meek will inherit the earth now. They will enjoy the good things of the earth that God has blessed them with. The meek are comfortable with themselves. They know who they are and strong and confident in their faith. They know where they are going and are assured of victory, conquest and triumph over whatever confronts them. And they have peaceful souls because they have learned that whatever pressure or tension comes their way they will turn it over to Christ.

Secondly, the earth is the Meek’s eternally for they will be part of God’s kingdom in the new heavens and earth. (Revelation 21:1-3) They have an inheritance of eternal life and dominion is promised for them, for they are joint-heirs with Christ.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for his week is found in I Corinthians 15:58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

PRAYER:

Help me to be meek and gentle to those I communicate with today so that each one can see Christ in me and through me.

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Thanksgiving: November 24, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016.

THANKSGIVING

DEFINITION:

The act or occasion of giving thanks to God.

SCRIPTURE:

Let us come before His presence with Thanksgiving. Psalm 95:2

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Across America today is a day that has been set aside by a Presidential proclamation for all Americans to show thanks to God for our many blessings. We challenge each person receiving a devotional today to take the time in private and also then with your family and friends to thank God this Thanksgiving.

We have put together a few suggestions for you to consider thanking God for:

•    Thank God for His blessings on your life.

•    Thank God for sending His Son to this earth to pay the penalty for your sins.

•    Thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to be your comforter.

•    Thank God for giving us His Word, the Bible.

•    Thank God for your family.

•    Thank God for your spouse.

•    Thank God for your children.

•    Thank God for your parents.

•    Thank God for your grandchildren and great grandchildren.

•    Thank God for your friends and neighbors.

•    Thank God for your church and pastor.

•    Thank God for your job.

•    Thank God for your house and the home it provides for you.

•    Thank God for the time and talent that He has blessed you with to serve Him.

•    Thank God for the finances He has blessed you with.

•    Thank God for your health.

•    Thank God for your freedom.

•    Thank God for the heritage He has given you.

•    Thank God for the transportation He has given you.

•    Thank God for food and water.

•    Thank God for the world you live in.

Make sure that today, Thanksgiving, you take time at your dinner table to thank God for all His many blessings that He has given you. Doing this will make this Thanksgiving a very special day for you and for your family and friends.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for his week is found in I Corinthians 15:58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

PRAYER:

Today as you pray, take time to thank God for all He has blessed you with.

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Mourn: November 23, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23,2016.

MOURN

DEFINITION:

Feel or express sorrow; deplore; regret the loss of; grieve.

SCRIPTURE:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

This Beatitude can only be understood by one who is a believer in Jesus as Savior. How can a bereaved person be blessed amid grief? Mourning means to have a broken heart. A believer understands what the Psalmist meant when he wrote in Psalm 30:5, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” God has promised to comfort the mourner in this life and in the life to come. Sorrow lasts for a short time but God’s comfort lasts for a lifetime.

Mourning is an action or emotion that comes upon one as a sorrow for sin, a broken heart over evil, or suffering. A mourner is so full of grief that he cries and weeps deep from within.

But Jesus, in this Beatitude, tells us that we will be blessed when we feel we have lost something or someone most dear to us because only then can we know what it is to be embraced and comforted by the One most dear to us, our Lord.

There are normally three types of situations that cause people to mourn.

First and most important is the acknowledgement of our sin. The mourning that this produces is the genuine godly sorrow that leads to repentance and the desire for salvation.

Secondly, the desperate plight and terrible suffering of others also causes people to mourn. As believer’s we should mourn over the suffering we see in the world and bring comfort to them.

And finally, there is the mourning that comes from personal tragedy, loss, or intense trauma.

Those that mourn shall be comforted according to II Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.” God gives the one that mourns a settled peace from within. He receives an assurance of forgiveness and acceptance by God and a fullness of joy which is a sense of God’s presence, care and guidance.

There is also an eternal comfort that God gives one who mourns. It is an assurance that those who love God will pass from death to life and will spend an eternity with Him. It is an assurance that God will wipe away all tears and swallow up death into victory. There will be no mourning in heaven. (Revelation 21:4)

The scripture tells us to mourn for lost souls.  The apostle Paul in Romans 9:1-5 grieved for his “countrymen according to the flesh,” and longed desperately for their salvation. When lost souls mourn their life of sin it brings them to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Mourning comes before repentance. The penitent publican we are told in Luke 18:13 that when He decided to repent, “beat his breast saying God be merciful to me as a sinner.” Mourning is part of true repentance.

When you study this Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” may you have a new sense of the comfort God will give to us as believers in our time of grief.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for his week is found in I Corinthians 15:58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

PRAYER:

May You make my heart tender in a new and fresh way so that I will seek to reach out to help those who are mourning today? Thank You for the comfort you give to those of us who believe in You. Thank You for the message of this Beatitude. Give me and my family a desire to follow the teachings You gave us on the Sermon on the Mount.

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Poor: November 22, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2016.

POOR

DEFINITION:

Needy; not rich; little or no wealth; humble.

SCRIPTURE:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom in heaven. Matthew 5:3.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

As we begin our studies on the Beatitudes we need to notice that every beatitude begins with the word “blessed.” It must be understood what Jesus meant by “blessed.” Blessed does not mean worldly prosperity and a life of ease. To be blessed means to experience hope and joy outside of prosperity and circumstances. It is a feeling bestowed by God that brigs real happiness. It can be obtained only by following Jesus.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” is the first Beatitude that Jesus taught in His famous Sermon on the Mount. The POOR IN SPIRIT are empty of all spiritual pride. A spirit of pride is the spirit of this age of which Satan is god. To be poor in spirit is to have a “contrite and humble spirit” as Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 57:15.

Being “poor in spirit” does not mean that a person must be poverty stricken and financially poor. Hunger, nakedness, and slums are not pleasing to God, especially in a world of plenty. Christ in this Beatitude is not speaking about material poverty.

First of all, being “poor in spirit”, as Jesus was teaching, means for us to acknowledge our utter helplessness before God. It is the opposite of feeling self-sufficient. We must recognize our spiritual poverty and spiritual neediness. We are to be solely dependent upon God to meet our need and not to rely on our selves.

Secondly, it is to acknowledge our spiritual deadness and our inability to face life and eternity apart from God. For us to have the real blessings of life and eternity it will only come from having a right relationship with God.

And finally, being “poor in spirit” is to acknowledge our lack of superiority before all others. This is acknowledging that we are no better, no richer, and no more superior to the next person, no matter what we have achieved in this world. We are to approach life with a humble attitude, contributing all we can to a needy world out of a spirit of appreciation for what God has done for us.

The message translation of this beatitude says; “You are blessed when you are at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God.” That says it very plainly, doesn’t it?

The opposite of being poor in spirit is having a spirit full of self. There is a world of difference between these two spirits. There is a difference in thinking that we are righteous in ourselves versus that we need the righteousness of Christ. Self righteousness dies but the righteousness that is of Christ lives forever.

A person that acknowledges his spiritual poverty turns his attention away from the things of this world and reaches out to God and seeks His kingdom. There is no substitute in all the world for what God has to offer us as believers.

The poor in spirit are weary of the deceptive enticements of this world and burdened for those who are lost in the world we live in. The poor in spirit receive from God the gift of life everlasting and eternal fellowship with God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for his week is found in I Corinthians 15:58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

PRAYER:

Help me to acknowledge my spiritual poverty and give me a desire to be poor in spirit and know the fullness of God’s blessing. Help me to always seek Your righteousness and allow You to be in control of my life.

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Beatitudes: November 21, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2016.

BEATITUDES

DEFINITION:

The teachings of Jesus on blessedness delivered in the Sermon on the Mount.

SCRIPTURE:

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

For several days now, before and after Thanksgiving we will discuss some of the beatitudes that Jesus taught His disciples and the masses. We can read in Matthew chapter 5 His famous Sermon on the Mount where he spoke of 8 beatitudes.

The Sermon on the Mount is considered one of our Lords finest moments while on earth. But more important they are very relevant for us today. Please take time to study not only what we share but more important what is recorded in His Word.

Crowds were following Jesus wanting to hear more about the kingdom of God and how to be part of it. When Jesus saw that there was a huge crowd following Him, He climbed a hillside, found a quiet place and sat down. From that hillside location he began to teach what came to be known as the Sermon on the Mount.

The beatitudes define the character qualities that Jesus expects of those who would be part of His kingdom. The beatitudes are the ATTITUDES that should BE evident in the lives of those who love the Lord.

The Sermon on the Mount is our King Jesus’ manifesto of His principles. It has gone down through the centuries known as the greatest of all sermons ever preached. The disciples and the multitudes that listened were at awe.

Jesus followers wanted to make Him King, but Jesus had made it clear that the King could not establish His kingdom on earth because the Jewish people would not repent and accept the Messiah as their King. Thus we do not have yet the kingdom on earth but we do have the King’s manifesto (proclamation) presented by Jesus in this sermon. We are to put into practice these principles of His manifesto as we live in this corrupt world system because we are Christ’s representatives to those who are lost.

The Beatitudes reveal the secret of true happiness to us as believers. We need to remember that our happiness is not found in the things we have but in what we are in Christ Jesus. We encourage you to read the Beatitudes with an open heart, a receptive mind, and a humble spirit, always being in prayer.

In the Beatitudes Jesus chose to teach reversed values. God’s values contradict the world’s values. In other words, instead of teaching about the blessing of being rich he taught about the blessing of being poor in spirit. By doing it this way He wanted to dispute the conventional wisdom of the time which said the wealthy and influential enjoyed more of God’s blessings. Jesus wanted His followers to see that material things are only temporary and certainly not the only reality in life. He did not want them to think that their current situations were signs of God’s blessings or judgment.

The obtaining of wealth leads to a feeling of self-sufficiency. To be poor in spirit is the opposite of feeling self-sufficient. Those who are poor in spirit are vividly aware of their inadequacy and spiritual bankruptcy apart from God. Jesus wanted the masses and the disciples to see that the poor can be spiritually wealthy.

Jesus was teaching that those that recognize their own poverty of spirit will receive the gift of the kingdom of heaven.

Seldom in history have so few words been spoken with so much meaning as what Jesus spoke in the beatitudes. The Beatitudes of our Lord, as they are known to us today, are powerful, holding before us and the world a descriptive picture of the true disciple of God. The Beatitudes cover the glorious hope and reward that the believer can expect not only now but in eternity.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 15:58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the wonderful manifesto that You have given the disciples and the masses that sat and listened to You as you taught the Sermon on the Mount. Thank You that these Beatitudes are relevant for me and my family today. Help me to be drawn closer to You as I study these special words from You.

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