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Awesome: September 1, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2017.

AWESOME

DEFINITION:

Inspiring admiration or reverence; capable of producing amazement; characterized by reverential fear.

SCRIPTURE:

Let them praise Your great and awesome name. Psalm 99:3.

Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man’s behalf. Psalm 66:5.

You shall not be terrified, for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. Deuteronomy 7:21.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Today’s younger generation use the word awesome in so many sentences today. They talk about an awesome time, an awesome event, awesome friends, awesome ideas and the list goes on and on.

In church, we sing songs whose words refer to the awesome God that we serve. The use of the word in everyday life is humbling to believers in Jesus when we think and compare life’s references to awesome to the awesomeness of the God we serve.

Stop for a moment and think about worshipping God, who is awesome to say the least. He is all powerful, He is all knowing, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, as the old Hymn says, and He is our creator and our Father. He loved us so much that He gave His only Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. It is when we accept Jesus as our Savior that we begin to see how awesome our God really is.

We cannot help but to be in awe when we consider this world that God has created. David wrote in Psalms 19:1-4, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their word to the ends of the earth.”

Who of us has not been in awe as we watch a beautiful sunset, or been moved to feeling some fear in the midst of a storm as we witness God’s power and might on display in the howling of the wind, the flashing of lightning, and the deafening crack of the thunder?

We have all seen awesome things, met awesome people but nothing we will ever see will come close to the awesomeness we see in our God. We need not fear when we face situations or obstacles in our lives because we have an awesome God that is always with us. Nothing is more awesome than God’s grace by which we are saved. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Thessalonians 5:16-17.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.

PRAYER:

You are an awesome God and I praise You for all that You have done, are doing and will be doing for me. Thank You for Your awesome saving grace, Your love, Your direction, and Your protection for me and my family.

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Build: August 31, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 31, 2017.

BUILD

DEFINITION:

Construct; increase and strengthen; erect; mold; shape.

SCRIPTURE:

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it. Psalm 127:1.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We can remember singing in Sunday school the song about the man who built the house on the sand and as a result it could not withstand the storm. The song continued about the wise man who built his house on the rock and it stood firm in the storm because it was built on a solid foundation.

This song came from a portion of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus preached to the multitudes (Matthew 7:24-27). Jesus was giving a warning to those who profess to belong to God but have no relationship with Him.

Jesus said that whoever hears His words and does them will be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rock is Christ Jesus.

Just like the house standing firm in a storm, when the storms of life come and the winds beat against a person who builds his house (life) on the solid foundation of Christ, he will be able to stand through the storms of life. It is obedience to God’s Word that provides the solid foundation needed to endure the trials and temptations of life that bring our life crashing down.

The question now comes to you. On what are you building your life? Do you have a firm foundation built on the rock, Jesus Christ? If not then when the storms of life come your house will fall and Jesus says in this passage, “AND GREAT WAS THE FALL.”

In Psalms 127:1, the psalmist warns us that unless we allow the Lord to build our house, our life, we are laboring in vain. If we leave the Lord out of our life, all of our accomplishments will be futile. No matter how hard we work to accomplish great things we need to remember, only what is done for the Lord will last.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Thessalonians 5:16-17.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.

PRAYER:

Encourage me and my family to build our lives on the precepts and commandments that You have given us in Your Word. Help me to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only.

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Diligence: August 30, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 30, 2017.

DILIGENCE

DEFINITION:

Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; perseverance in doing good.

SCRIPTURE:

Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer. Proverbs 30:25.

Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise. Proverbs 6:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Ants seem like a small and insignificant creature yet in the two verses we have put above ants are held up by King Solomon as an example of industry for those who tend to be lazy. King Solomon suggests that we would be wise to consider the ways of the ant. Ants have no captain but on their own gather their food in the summer and they store it up for the fall harvest. They are constantly working to find food and bring it back to their nest. The ant prepares for the time when food may be scarce.

The ant is an example of industry, diligence and planning. The ant serves as a rebuke to a sluggard, a lazy person who lacks self-discipline. These Proverbs serve to warn us against laziness. Laziness keeps us from our responsibilities to provide for ourselves and this is not acceptable to God.

It is apparent that King Solomon was a keen observer of God’s creations and of human behavior. From the ant we can see the importance of planning ahead and putting away provisions for the future (Proverbs 30:25).

King Solomon has passed on to us his insights and practical advice for living not only a productive life but a God-honoring life. The lazy person ducks responsibility and procrastinates planning for the future. As a result the lazy person wastes both opportunities and gifts that God has given to him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Thessalonians 5:16-17.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.

PRAYER:

Help me to be wise and learn from Your marvelous creations valuable life-style lessons. Thank You that Your Word is truth and that the truth of Your Word makes me wise.

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Acceptance: August 29, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 29, 2017

ACCEPTANCE

DEFINITION:

To receive as worthy of being accepted; to receive with approval or favor.

SCRIPTURE:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2.

Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. I Timothy 2:1.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

When Jesus was here on this earth the Jewish people literally despised the Samaritans and did not accept them. They did all they could do in order not to meet or talk with a Samaritan.

We read in John 4 that Jesus met a Samaritan woman at the well and began to talk with her. When Jesus asked for a drink she was surprised and wanted to know why He was talking to her as no Jewish man would ever talk to a Samaritan woman.

The Samaritan woman felt that if Jesus knew who she was He would find her not acceptable. He not only knew who she was but knew more about her than she would want Him to know. When Jesus asked her to bring her husband to Him, she said she had no husband. Jesus said to her, “You are right to say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.” John 4:16-18.

Jesus wanted her to understand that if she knew who He was she would want to accept Him.

Nevertheless, Jesus continued to talk with her and because Jesus accepted her she believed in Him and accepted His gift of “living water.” She went back to her village and led many Samaritans to become believers in Jesus.

What God wants us to know is that Jesus came to this earth for all of us and He accepts all who come to Him in faith believing for forgiveness of their sins.

In Romans 15:7 we are told to accept one another just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God. As Christians we are to accept and encourage other Christians. Also, we must be willing to accept others, who do not know the Lord even if we do not condone what they do or believe, so we can introduce them to Christ.

Jesus knew that the Samaritan woman was an immoral woman. He did not shun her for her race, social position or her sins. He accepted her as someone who needed His saving grace.

People today are hungry for acceptance. Children in school do every thing they can, including lowering their standards, to be accepted by their peers. Adults are much the same. They want to be included in “THE GROUP” just as children do.

Paul tells us in Romans 14:1, “Do not refuse to accept someone who is weak in faith. And do not argue with him about opinions.”

We, as Christians, need to make people feel important and needed. This way they will feel accepted and will more than likely be open to hear about Jesus. If we see a fellow Christian weak in their faith, we should not argue about things in their life we disagree with, but lovingly accept them and encourage them to help them grow in their faith.

We must deal with many people who do things that are unacceptable to us as a believer in Jesus. We must remember that we also do things that are unacceptable to Jesus. We must ask Jesus to forgive us. Just as Christ forgives us we must forgive others.

In 1 Timothy, we are exhorted that we are to pray for all people not just those who are believers.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Thessalonians 5:16-17.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.

PRAYER:

Help me to reach out to those who feel unaccepted. May these people see Christ through my words and my deeds. Help my children to stand up for what they believe and not to be swayed by the crowd. Help me to do what is good and acceptable in Your sight so that I may know beyond any doubt the good and acceptable and perfect will of God for my life.

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Fail: August 28, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY AUGUST 28, 2017.

FAIL

DEFINITION:

To fall short of success or achievement in something expected; to disappoint.

SCRIPTURE:

My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes, even that is gone from me. Psalm 38:10.

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. I Corinthians 13:8

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In the Psalm 38 David is feeling that he has totally failed in life and he is overwhelmed by guilt. In verse 5 he says that it is because of his sinful folly in life. In verse 11 he says he has lost his loved ones, his friends and his kinsmen. Those near him had abandoned him. He ends this Psalm by asking the Lord not to forsake him. His sin troubles him and he wants to conquer failure. He recognizes that the only way to do this is to confess his sin and ask the Lord to help him as he pursues good. He doesn’t try to make excuses for his failure but readily acknowledges his sin and asks the Lord to help him.

But do you realize that in a way we tend to offer a variety of justifications to our Father, God concerning our sins and failures. Excuses are way too common and unacceptable in God’s sight. God has set His standard for the way He wants us to live but because of our sinful nature we all have failed in one way or another. Failure is painful.

As every parent knows, children can always find an excuse and excuses begin early in life to avoid taking responsibility. The excuses we give, as children of God, tend to attempt to shift responsibility for what we have done or have not done to something or someone besides our self.

Just like parents want what is best for their children, God wants what is best for us. The reason we fail to receive God’s best in our life is SIN. We often fail to recognize sin in our life. For example, greed and selfishness.

Greed and selfishness will not help us succeed in His kingdom but generosity will. When we give of our time, talent and treasure to Him, as the Lord commands us, and when we take the opportunity to enter an open door that God gives us to speak a word of encouragement to someone or even taking the time just to help someone with a small task it will bring blessings to us from our Father.

Another reason we fail is because we act against what our conscience is telling us. It makes us double minded: we feel guilty over our action but decide to proceed anyway.

And we fail because of laziness, which is often accompanied by excuses and yields the same result -- disobedience to God.

If we are willing to seek the help of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome these common negative tendencies that lead to sin. And finally remember the words of Jesus in John 14:15, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” By keeping God’s commandments, we will have God’s best for us.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Thessalonians 5:16-17.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.

PRAYER:

When I fail You and sin Lord, help me to humbly confess it without excuse and ask for Your help, just as David did. Help me to understand that if I love You and seek You with all my heart and listen to what You say to me, You will uphold me and keep me from the pitfalls of life that can cause me to fail. May my family join me in loving You with all their hearts.

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Barometer: August 25, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 25, 2017.

BAROMETER

DEFINITION:

Things wished or longed for; want; a longing for something to be obtained that will bring satisfaction.

SCRIPTURE:

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

One of our favorite passages in the Psalms is found in Psalm 37:1-8 and we will share a few thoughts from this passage with you today.

Verse 4 gives us an awesome promise. “He will give you the desires of your heart if you delight yourself in the Lord.” Many Christians do not read the verses around verse 4 as to the conditions God gives us to receive them. To understand the scope of the Lord’s awesome promise, it is important for us to explore the conditions He set for us in these few verses.

In verse 1 God instructs us not to fret about “evildoers” or envy them. Clearly said we are not to be consumed with the success of unrighteous people. God will deal with them. Our responsibility is to watch our own actions and stop worrying about what others are doing.

In verse 3 God instructs us to trust in the Lord, do good and to cultivate faithfulness. God desires that we grow and mature in our faith and put our trust in Him to be responsible for everything in life that is important to us. Trusting in the Lord means submitting our lives, our families, our jobs and all our possessions to His control and guidance. We must let go and let God be in control.

In verse 4 we are clearly told to delight in the Lord. We are to seek His desires. If we truly follow and pursue God’s good pleasure our own desires will fall right into place with God’s purpose for us. We will desire to read His Word. We will desire to pray. We will desire to worship Him and sing praises to Him.

In verse 5 we are told to commit our way unto the Lord and trust Him. When we focus our steps on His path we will know we are heading in the right direction. God will not bless our sinful missteps. Our purpose is to seek His will for our life and faithfully follow His path.

And finally in verse 7 God calls us to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. God’s timing is perfect but constantly we try to rush ahead of Him. When it comes to your desires are you frustrated by God’s seemingly lack of response? Psalm 37:1-8 will bring you into line with what He desires for you if you read it, remember it, live by it and wait on the Lord. God desires only what is best for you.

In summary if you want God to give you the desires of your heart you must not fret, trust in the Lord, delight in Him, commit your ways to Him, and rest in Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 100:1

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

PRAYER:

Help me to learn not to fret but instead to trust in You, delight in You and to commit my ways unto You. And then help me to rest and wait on You knowing that in Your perfect timing You will meet my every need.

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Barometer: August 24, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 24, 2017.

BAROMETER

DEFINITION:

An instrument that indicates or measures changes in atmospheric pressure; It can be used to predict weather.

SCRIPTURE:

When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with the childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. I Corinthians 13:11-12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

A barometer is a fascinating instrument to many people. A good barometer enables meteorologists to forecast short term changes in the weather in advance. When the barometer pressure drops it is an indication of rain. Rises in barometer pressure indicate improving weather conditions.

From time to time we need to measure our physical maturity. There are tools to measure many things in life. We can check our weight with a scale and our height with a tape measure.

We also need a barometer to measure our spiritual maturity. When someone becomes a child of God, making their decision to accept Jesus as their Savior, he or she becomes a new born babe and like a child must grow to maturity. As a child we think and reason like a child. The same thinking and reasoning comes to one who is a new believer in Jesus. He is like a new born child and must grow in his or her knowledge of God.

As we grow in our Christian life we should be maturing in our understanding of God and His Word, the Bible. The apostle Paul tells us in his second book to the Corinthians that we are to aim for perfection in the spiritual maturing of our faith.

There is no barometer to measure our spiritual maturity. There are, however, three things we can look at in order to take a measurement of our spiritual growth in our new-found faith.

First, what are our desires? Do we look at the pleasures of this world as we did before we accepted Jesus as our Savior? What about our hunger to read and study God’s Word?

Secondly, what is our understanding concerning the spiritual things in our life? Do we see life from God’s perspective as it is written in the Bible? Do trials and temptations that come our way become opportunities for spiritual growth and service for our Lord or stumbling blocks that trip us up and cause us to backslide into our old way of life?

Finally, what is the status of our selflessness? Are we submissive to the Lord when He speaks to us and do we listen to our conscience when it warns us of what is right and what is wrong? Do we pray and ask for God to show us what He wants us to do? Are we more concerned about others rather than ourselves?

Christian maturity requires us too thoughtfully and prayerfully to measure the disciplines of our daily Godly habits. These disciplines should include a time that we increase our knowledge of God by reading the Bible and drawing close to Him by communicating to God through prayer.

We can be sure that Satan will test the strength and endurance of our faith in the Lord with trials of many kinds. We don’t really know the depth of our faith until it has been put to the test. James says in James 1:4 that the testing of our faith develops endurance and makes us mature and complete.

We need mature faith to endure the trials and temptations that come our way. Remember, ENDURANCE REQUIRES PATIENCE!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 100:1

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

PRAYER:

Help me to continually grow in my spiritual maturity daily. Make it evident to me the things I must change in my life that hinder my spiritual growth. May Your Holy Spirit and Your Word work in me so that I may grow daily working toward perfection in my love for You.

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