Detours: January 13, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY JANUARY 13, 2017.

DETOURS

DEFINITION:

A round about or circuitous way or course; used temporarily when the main route is closed; to turn away from your main course.

SCRIPTURE:

Thomas said to the other disciples, Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” John 20:25

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Many times, detours happen just when you are in sight of your goal. Something comes along that puts the object of your pursuit further away from your grasp. It is a detour that often makes you doubt whether you will ever succeed in your endeavor.

How many times has that happened to you. We read in Genesis 29:25-27 about Jacob the moment he realized his father-in-law had tricked him into marrying the wrong woman.

Jacob had worked for her father for seven years to marry Rachel but he was tricked by his father-in-law to marry her older sister, Leah. This led to a lengthy detour as he had to stay and work another seven years to marry Rachel.

For the disciples, they faced a great detour when they realized that their Messiah that they hoped would restore the kingdom of Israel was crucified.

For Thomas, one of the disciples, it was the time after the crucifixion that he doubted His Lord would never live again (Read again the verse we have put above). But we read in John 20: 26-28 that after Jesus met with the disciples after His crucifixion, Jesus gave Thomas the opportunity to see the nail imprints in His hands and felt His side that he said, “My Lord and My God. He had overcome his detour.

What detours have you faced in life? Was there a company promotion or a raise you were supposed to get but did not receive? Has some illness or financial concern become a road block to your plans?

It can be any number of setbacks that break your heart but you need to remember that God has not failed you. He has a better plan for you. The detour you go through is difficult but when you wait upon the Lord you will soon see it was definitely worth waiting for. God will never let you down when you put your complete trust in Him.

God had a greater plan for Jacob. From Leah’s womb came six of the 12 tribes of Israel. For the disciples, three days after the crucifixion they discovered that the kingdom that their Messiah was ushering in was greater and more powerful than they could ever imagine, because it was the eternal kingdom of God (Luke 24:44-49).

You must ask yourself today as you wait to see what God has for you, is the goal that I have been pursuing more important than my relationship with God? Put your trust in Him because, “the Lord will accomplish what concerns you” Psalm 138:8.

LEARNING:

Help me, dear Lord, to be a person of endurance. Teach me to wait on You, trust in You and look for that glorious hope with the endurance that only You can give.

PRAYER:

Help me daily to put my complete trust in you so that when I come upon detours in my life that I will seek your guidance to lead me in the right path. Help me to be an example to my family and friends so that they will also be able to face the detours that they face in life and allow You to lead them.

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Endurance: January 12, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JANUARY 12, 2017.

ENDURANCE

DEFINITION:

The fact or power of bearing pain, hardship or adversity; the ability to continue or last; duration.

SCRIPTURE:

For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
Hebrews 10:36.

Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

When we think of Abraham we think of him as a man of faith. God blessed him because of his faith. In Galatians 3:9, we read that, “those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

Abraham not only had faith but he had a faith that endured even when there seemed to be no hope. In Romans 4:18-19, Paul wrote about Abraham’s faith. Paul said, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him.

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old and that Sarah’s womb was dead.”

Abraham looked to God in believing faith, obeying God, and waited for God to fulfill His Word even when the circumstances looked hopeless. Abraham endured the race set before him while he waited to receive the promise from God.

It wasn’t until he was an old man that Abraham really understood what it meant to endure. God promised Abraham that he would have offspring as numerous as the stars. Year after year passed and Abraham and Sarah never had the son God had promised. Yet the Bible tells us in Genesis 15:5-6 that Abraham, “believed in the Lord.”

Abraham down through the years kept the eyes of his heart firmly on the Lord and did the will of God. For 25 years he kept in step with God, until at last, when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old they had the son that God had promised (Genesis 21:1-3).

Why the long wait? Apparently, God wanted Abraham, and us, to learn the connection between endurance, trust and hope. The Lord never makes us a promise He does not intend to keep.

It may take longer than we expect for God to respond. We are impatient and do not like to wait. Waiting takes endurance. It is the sure hope we have through faith in Jesus and trust in God that enables us to endure.

The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:25, “that if we hope for what we do not see, we must wait for it with patient endurance.

LEARNING:

Help me, dear Lord, to be a person of endurance. Teach me to wait on You, trust in You and look for that glorious hope with the endurance that only You can give.

PRAYER:

Open my eyes that I may see unexpected opportunities to serve You. Help me to be willing to reach out to someone in need that can use any talent that You have given me.

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Unexpected: January 11, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2017.

UNEXPECTED

DEFINITION:

A happening that is not anticipated; unforeseen; unplanned.

SCRIPTURE:

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for You to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the teacher says that His appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with My disciples at your house.” So, the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. Matthew 26:17-19.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In the above verse notice that the man is not identified. But this certain unnamed man had an unexpected opportunity. His Messiah, the Lord Jesus, was going to celebrate a very important religious event at his house.

Look what this unexpected opportunity meant to this unnamed man. First, he was given the opportunity to make a difference. Jesus needed a place and chose his home and by responding he made a difference for Jesus and His disciples.

Secondly, this man was able to use what he had for the good of others. He had a home that was available and Jesus and His disciples needed a place to celebrate the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.

And finally, this unnamed man got to be part of Gods greater story that was bigger than anything he could do on his own.

Every day we, as believers, need to be alert to seeing the unexpected opportunity and then respond as this man did. Unexpected opportunities come our way daily but most of them pass us by because we are not looking for them.

Often our most significant opportunities come in times and in ways that we least expect them. Although they may take us by surprise we must always be prepared to serve when God gives us the opportunity. God brings unexpected opportunities to those who are in a right relationship with the Lord and who are always ready and willing to serve Him.

God has so much that He wants to do for us. There is a world of opportunities, literally, just waiting for us to respond to. It may be a family need or a neighbor that is lonely and hurting. It may be an opportunity in your church that is waiting for leadership just like what you are capable to handle. It may be at your work place or at a nursing home.

God does not make us do anything. But He will give us opportunities to serve Him if we are willing and ready to obey Him.

Begin today to look for the unexpected and then see what God will do.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 28:13.

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

PRAYER:

Open my eyes that I may see unexpected opportunities to serve You. Help me to be willing to reach out to someone in need that can use any talent that You have given me.

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Study: January 10, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JANUARY 10, 2017.

STUDY

DEFINITION:

The mental effort of understanding; examine thoughtfully; the applying of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge.

SCRIPTURE:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We feel that there is a great need for a reminder to all of us that we need to do a better job of studying God’s Word. Many sincerely professing Christians are spiritually starving, or spiritually misguided, because they have never thought seriously about the quality of their Bible study.

If our physical diet is not well balanced, or if our digestive systems are not functioning properly, our bodies will decline in health. The same is true if we do not take full value of the spiritual food offered to us in the Scriptures, we will become spiritually weak and useless.

We would like to suggest several important basics for you to consider if you would like to have an effective Bible study. Someone that is starving spiritually must regularly eat nourishing spiritual food, which is the Word of God. These foundations, we pray, will give you an earnest desire and a hunger to study the Bible.

To begin with you must know what the Bible says about itself. In the verse above from Psalm 19:7 we are told that the law (the Bible) is perfect. It is the Word of God and without error. It is God’s manual for living in a crooked and perverse world. God’s Word brings God’s wisdom to our simple and misguided human thinking.

We need to know what God intended the Bible to do for us. The Bible is clear that it was written for us by God. In the Old Testament alone the Bible asserts over 3000 times that God spoke what is written in it. The Bible is not only the Book from God, but is the Book about God. God’s purpose in giving us His Word was to reveal Himself to all mankind. In God’s Word we learn that He is our creator, our sustainer, our judge and our hope while we are in this world and for eternity.

God’s Word is truth. God is perfect and without sin so He cannot lie. Perhaps the greatest lie that Satan, the father of lies gives us, is that there is no such thing as truth. What is truth? Truth is what is fact. Truth does not change. Truth is what is real. In John 14:6, Jesus, the very Son of God said of Himself, “I am truth.” Jesus, as the truth is the reality of all of God’s promises.

When we study the Bible, we need to understand that not only did every word in the Bible originate with God in heaven, but that most of its contents deal with how God’s truth relates factually to the way we are to conduct our lives on this earth. As we study God’s Word we need to pray that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the truth to our mind and guide us in how we are to apply it to our life.

When we apply God’s truth to our life it will direct our thoughts and our actions and determine our path in life.

Finally, it is imperative that you develop a method of Bible study that is systematic and thorough (II Timothy 2:15). You will find Bible commentaries very helpful in giving additional insight on verses you read. In Bible book stores there are many excellent Bible study books.

Paul tells Timothy in II Timothy 2:2 to commit what he had heard from Paul to other faithful men who would be able to teach others. Thus the Gospel was passed from generation to generation. This is why Bible study is so important. It equips us to teach others the truths of the Bible.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 28:13.

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

PRAYER:

Help me to first of all commit time daily to study Your Word. Then help me to learn as I read. May the Holy Spirit guide me in my study and give me the power of Your Word to strengthen my faith and draw me closer to You.

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Creator: January 9, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY JANUARY 9, 2017.

CREATOR

DEFINITION:

Maker; One who creates or causes to come into being; God.

SCRIPTURE:

Remember now your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure in them. Ecclesiastics 12:1

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

There are many people today that question the fact that God created the world we live in today, but the Bible is very clear on this. In the very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, we are told that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

There are only two possible choices for the origin of the universe. Either someone created this universe by intelligent design or the universe created itself. It takes a much bigger leap of faith to believe that the universe “just evolved” or “just happened” than to believe that God is the creator of this universe and everything in it.

If we believe that the Bible is the Word of God and was written without error then what else can you believe than that God created the world we live in? If you say no or doubt this fact then you are saying the Bible is not true and the Bible is not the Word of God. And worse yet, then you make Jesus a liar and he is not our Lord and Savior.

In addition to the fact that God created the heavens and the earth He also created man. In Genesis 1:27, God’s Word tells us that “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them”.

Yes, God created man in His own image but man makes choices in life that affect his relationship with God including accepting or rejecting God as his or her creator.

God created this world in six days and the scripture tells us that He then rested on the seventh day. In six days he created the heavens and the earth, light and darkness, waters and the dry land, grass and trees, the moon and the stars, the fish of the sea and the living creatures on the land (animals). Yes, God is our creator and everything we have today is because of God.

He created man but Adam sinned in a perfect environment and under perfect circumstances because God gave mankind a free will to choose or reject Him.

As parents we need to teach our children about creation as outlined in the Word of God. It is the responsibility of the parents to teach creation to our children so they are well prepared for the onslaught of evolution that they will face in school and the work place.

Solomon advises in Ecclesiastics 12:1 to acknowledge God as our creator in our youth. Honoring God as our creator and Lord of our life early in life can make a real difference in the direction of one’s life and will help a person avoid “difficult days that come from wrong choices.”

Creation is a very critical issue for families today. Children are taught theories in school today about the beginning of the world. This includes such theories as “the big bang theory” and “evolution.” These are theories and not fact. They are man’s ideas about creation and not God’s.

The world and everything in it is evidence that God exists. We ask, “How does anyone look upon the wonders of creation and not believe that there is a God who created it just as God recorded it in Genesis?” We do not have the choice of picking and choosing what we want to believe or disbelieve in the Bible because God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). We urge parents and children to study the Bible and study what the Bible says about our creator and how He created, not only the heavens and the earth, but each one of us.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 28:13.

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the assurance that I have in my heart that You are not only the Creator of the world that I live in but my Creator. Help our family to be an example to those we meet so that we can show them they need to acknowledge God as their Creator and make Him part of their life.

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