Cross: April 14, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2017.

CROSS

DEFINITION:

A structure consisting of an upright post with a cross beam used as an instrument of death; the means by which Jesus died to make atonement between God and man.

SCRIPTURE:

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friend. John 15:13.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Today is Good Friday and the beginning of one of the most significant and meaningful weekends of the year for Christians. Today, Good Friday, is a day when we remember the death of Jesus. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and every believer should be so grateful for what He did for us.

And then in just two days on Sunday, we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. Without the resurrection, Jesus would be just another great teacher and we would not have the gift of eternal life that can come only through Him.

Jesus performed many miracles but the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the dead is the greatest of His miracles and the most important. Just think, where would we spend eternity without the Easter miracle? What comfort would we have living on this earth without the Easter miracle? For us it is the greatest weekend of the year and we hope you remember the significance of Easter. Let us also suggest that you consider, as a believer in Jesus, celebrating Easter every day.

The good news of Easter was that out of love for us, the Father has provided a place of safety for us. He sent His Son Jesus to die so we would not have to be separated from Him forever. Because of the death of Jesus on the cross and three days later His resurrection from the dead that place of safety is available to us. The big question for you today is, “Have you run to the cross?” To escape sin’s curse, you must run to the cross.

In the verse above we read about one laying down his life for another. To give your life so another person can live is the ultimate proof of love and the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus told His disciples that His purpose in coming into this world was to lay down His life for all mankind. This was for every man, woman and child ever born. He set the ultimate example of self-sacrifice by going to the cross to lay down His life for us. Yes, there is no greater love than this.

Have you ever given any thought to the fact that Jesus did that for you? He died in your place and in so doing He not only proved His love for you but made it possible for you to be forgiven of your sins and to have an eternal home in heaven.

The song writer George Bernard, who we met personally many years ago, wrote these words in his song, “The Old Rugged Cross:”

“On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.”

Christ’s sacrifice was what God desired and our sin required. If you are not a believer accept Jesus into your heart today and make this day the greatest day of your life.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 6:23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:

I rejoice, dear God, for what You have done for me. Thank You for sending Your Son to this earth to pay the penalty for my sin. It is the ultimate and greatest gift that I will ever receive and I praise You for it. Thank You that we can celebrate Your resurrection every day because You have conquered death and You are risen from the grave and are alive today. Thank You for now preparing for me and my family a place in heaven to spend an eternity with You.

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Communication: April 13, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY APRIL 13, 2017.

COMMUNICATION

DEFINITION:

The imparting or interchanging of thoughts, information, feelings or opinions; the means of sending messages.

SCRIPTURE:

So, Moses wrote the Law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year at the Feast of the Tabernacles, read to all the Law.” Deuteronomy 31: 9-10.

No man ever spoke like this Man! John 7:46.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The greatest communicator of all time was Jesus. In the verse above from the book of John the temple officers returned to the chief priests and the Pharisees and they asked why they had not brought Jesus to them. Their response was that, “no man ever spoke like this man,” therefore the Pharisees asked the temple guards if they had been deceived as the crowds had been deceived about this man --- Jesus!

The temple guards were Levites who worked in the temple to maintain order so they were religiously trained and knowledgeable. They were sent by the chief priests and Pharisees with orders to seize Jesus. Something happened when they came face to face with Jesus and heard Jesus’ powerful preaching. Jesus’ words got to them. They could not bring themselves to arrest Him.

Indeed, Jesus was a great communicator, but more than just a communicator He came to this earth with the greatest message ever given, to save sinners like you and me from our sins. He had a message that needed hearing and there were those, like the Pharisees, who refused to hear the message and wanted Him done away with. They were self-righteous and arrogant because they felt they had superior religious knowledge. They had closed their minds to what Jesus was communicating to them.

No one can communicate to those who are not willing to listen. Communication requires listening and as Christians we must be willing to listen to what God is communicating to us. If we do not listen, how can God talk to us?

We are living in a day when communication is basically taken for granted. We can call anyone at any time on the telephone. We can send an Email, a text message and even a video and get connected immediately. But with all these communication aids most individuals do not use them to strengthen their faith or to reach out to their world with the message of truth that God has given us.

Why is that true? It is because it is not considered to be important and not a priority. So much communication today is just “small talk” or “idle chatter.” What people do like to talk about is themselves, what they just did or what they are going to do. And most people also like to gossip. With social media it spreads instantly.

A believer’s first communication priority must be their communication with God. We communicate to God as we talk to Him in prayer. God then will communicate to us as we read His Word, the Bible.

Our second communication priority is our communication with our family. Sadly, the American family has very little communication with each other even in this day of so many communication aids. We are missing the time needed every day in the home for communication on a one on one basis. Families do not eat together, they do not share concerns or problems and they do not even play together. Dad goes one way, mom goes another and the children still another way. With parents both having to work to make ends meet and with child care making that possible, families have little quality time together.

One thing we notice now is that when we are out in public, the majority of people we see have their cell phone to their ear or are sending or reading something on it and paying very little attention to those they are with or even what is going on around them.

Many families, years ago, when we were growing up would take time to eat a meal each day together. A family of believers would take time at the dinner hour to pray together and read the Bible together every day. Today this is basically not practiced and not considered to be part of a family’s schedule.

So, the question is, “How can a family bond with each other without any kind of communication with one another? How can a family of believers be bonded together in their love for the Lord if they do not communicate together with God?” The answer is simple --- It cannot! And then we wonder what is wrong with our society, what is wrong with our families, what is wrong with our schools, what is wrong with our churches and what is wrong with our leaders in government? What is wrong stems from the fact that God has been taken out of the picture. We are living in a godless society.

What we need today is a new sense and desire among family members to communicate with each other. Even more importantly, we need to get back to communicating with God our Heavenly Father. How do you respond? Do you care enough to make it happen in your home? And if you already communicate daily with your family and to God, do you care enough to encourage others to do the same?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 6:23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, that through prayer I have the opportunity to communicate my concerns to You. Give me the courage today to communicate to my family that we need to not only communicate with each other but we also need to communicate daily both individually and together as a family with You. Help me to be a good listener when others are trying to communicate their needs and concerns to me. Make my heart receptive to the message that God is communicating to me when I read the Bible.

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Inerrancy: April 12, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017.

INERRANCY

DEFINITION:

Free from error; infallible.

SCRIPTURE:

By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalm 33:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The credibility of our faith in God and Jesus relies on the inerrancy of the Bible.  We are referring to the fact that the words in the Bible are inspired by God and totally free of mistakes (inerrancy), not wrong on any subject (infallible), and each word is from God Himself, given through chosen men of God (inspired).

The Bible itself declares itself to be the Word of God. This great declaration affirms that the Bible alone is the final authority for the faith and practices of Christians throughout the centuries and today.

Throughout the years, we have talked to many people who question the inerrancy of the Bible. Many ask such things as: “Why should we believe in something that has so many unrealistic statements and stories?” We will endeavor to provide answers to these questions and others for those that doubt. And even just as important for those of us that want to strengthen our belief in the inspired Word of God.

For those that doubt that the Bible is the inspired Word of God you must then surmise that Jesus is a liar and not the Son of God. You cannot accept some of the Bible as truth and some of the Bible as fiction and still believe that Jesus is God.

Let us continue by saying that “ALL SCRIPTURE” refers to the entire Bible. “By inspiration” the Greek translation is “THEOPNEUSTOS” meaning GOD BREATHED. Therefore God “breathed” the words through the mouth and pens of the prophets.

What does this mean to us? If we believe the Bible to be true and without error, we must accept that God is all that He says He is and Jesus is His Son. As Christians, we are commanded to live by the words of God in the Bible --- God’s Word to us. In today’s society, this becomes very difficult to do. For example, let us look at two issues that affect us today in a major way:

• Children are to honor their father and mother (one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God). And parents are to respect their children. In America, very few children respect their parents and with over 50% of marriages failing, children do not have parents honoring God. Now you can understand why children and their parents do not live by this commandment?
• Another one of the Ten Commandments is to keep the Sabbath day Holy. God would not have included this as one of the Ten Commandments if He did not expect us to honor it. When we were children both of our families practiced keeping the Sabbath holy. We were in church Sunday morning and evening. We were always involved in some sort of Bible study or youth program on Sunday afternoon or evening. Even though the Sunday paper arrived early Sunday morning it was never opened until Monday. There was no radio or TV on Sunday. And we never felt that we missed out on anything, in fact, Sundays were a day that we all looked forward to each week.

Today, many people go to church on Sunday but the majority of the day is spent watching football or golf on television, playing electronic games, going to picnics, a movie or a party. Some even go back to work. But the majority of people do not even go to church. We have no longer considered it important to keep the Sabbath Holy. Sunday is now just another day of the week. God intended the Sabbath to be a day of spiritual and physical rejuvenation.

As Christians, some of the other issues we face if we truly believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God are:

• Creation verses Evolution. The Bible is very clear on this subject and it is a major issue in our school systems today as it is among individuals. The Bible begins in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
• Abortion verses Pro Life. Many Christians struggle with this issue but the Bible is very clear that life begins with conception and this is of God. One of the Ten Commandments given to us is, “Thou shall not murder.”
• The miracles performed by Jesus while He was on this earth. Some say they were stories or illustrations but the Bible clearly states that they were miracles. Would you want to believe in a God who was not powerful enough to perform miracles?
• The Deity of Christ. God sent His Son, Jesus to this earth to pay the penalty for our sins. This had to be God or how can we believe the Bible at all. Sin is against God so only He can forgive sin.
• The actual events outlined in the Bible such as the flood with Noah, the parting of the Red sea for the Children of Israel and Jonah and the whale have been ridiculed as impossible and are labeled “myths.” Nevertheless, none have been proved as not happening. Many have serious problems with issues such as these, but let us assure you, dear friends, that ALL THE BIBLE is the Word of God and is without error, infallible and inspired.

If we believe that God is god, the creator of all, then we must believe nothing is impossible with God. There is only one thing God cannot do, He cannot sin. To lie is a sin, so God does not lie. God’s Word is true.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 6:23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:

Thank you, dear Lord, for giving me the Bible as a guide book for me to live by each day. Help me to read Your word daily and to be obedient to Your commandments as I face the issues of life in a sinful world.

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Satan: April 11, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY APRIL 11, 2017.

SATAN

DEFINITION:

The chief evil spirit; the great adversary of God and humanity; the devil.

SCRIPTURE:

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Satan is a person. Yes, there is a personal devil. We read in the scriptures that he appeared before God, he talked with God, and he reasoned with Eve in the Garden of Eden, he tempted Jesus, he performed miracles and signs and he tempts both the saved and unsaved to commit sin. Only a person can take part in an intelligent dialogue and reason. We can be assured that, yes, Satan is a person.

We can also be assured that he is evil and was thrown out of heaven to earth where he prowls about seeking to “deceive the whole world.”

He has been given many names and titles in the scriptures. Some of them are:

• Satan --- “adversary” He does not have the capacity to love or to show mercy. He is called Satan 50 times in the Bible.
• Devil --- “slanderer” this title is used over 100 times in the New Testament
• Apollyon --- “destroyer” Found in Revelation 9:11.
• Lucifer --- “day star” or “morning star” he can transform himself into an angel of light. Isaiah 14:12

He is called “the god of this age” in II Corinthians 4:4, the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2, the “great dragon” in Revelation 12:9 and the “serpent of old” in Revelation 20:2. Jesus called him the ruler of this world in John 12:31. Remember he is not the ruler of creation but the ruler of the world system. In I John 2:15 God warns us: “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” Satan is in rebellion against God and does all he can to lure us to get caught up in his world system and be lost. God desires that all accept Jesus Christ and be saved.

Two things you must be aware of concerning the devil. First of all, we are warned to be alert because the devil is our enemy and always looking to tempt us. I Peter 5:7 tells us to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Second, we have a defense against the deceitful ways of the devil. James tells us to: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. Satan does have power in this world, but God has power over Satan.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 6:23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:

Give me the strength today to stand up for all that I believe and not to weaken when Satan does his best to tempt me. May the joy of Jesus shine through me to my family, my friends and those that I touch in some way each day. Help me to be an example to others, showing strength in resisting the temptations of the devil.

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First: April 10, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY APRIL 10, 2017.

FIRST

DEFINITION:

Being before all others with respect to time, order, rank or importance; preferred over anything else.

SCRIPTURE:

God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:1-3.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33.

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-40

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Everyone has many FIRSTS in their lives. Firsts are embedded in our memories and become memorable for the very fact that they were “firsts.” While these first experiences are significant they are not nearly as important as what we put first in our life. Children take their first steps and mother and dad run for a camera. Our first steps are only the beginning of many firsts to come.

If we analyze what our society today puts first in importance you would probably say it is things like success, power, money, popularity and such. With all the strife and unhappiness, we see all around us it is safe to believe that the emphasis, as they say, is on the wrong syllable.

What we want to talk about today is what believers in Jesus are commanded to put first in their lives. God has given us His Word, the Bible, to be our guide book. In the verse above from Exodus, God has left us His Words to the children of Israel and He expects us, as believers in Him, to live by the same commandment that He gave them. “You shall have no other gods before me.”

What God is plainly saying to us is that we must give Him first place in our life. He is above all of us and no one or no thing should be of more importance. We must earnestly desire to actively choose to put Him first above all else.

This means that our relationships must begin with Him. Many worship the God of making money. Others want power or popularity to be their God. Take a moment and evaluate your life. What do you put first in your life? Is God first in your life?

The second verse above found in Matthew reminds us that we are to seek God first. This means for us to seek God before every decision we make in life. Do you take the time to stop and pray and ask God to guide you in the decision you have to make? When we respond to His command to have no other god before him, God promises us that He will give us all the things we need.

And the verse above from Matthew 22 reminds us that we should FIRST love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and with all of our strength.

For many years, we have strived to live by 12 rules written in the scriptures. The first 10 are the Ten Commandments. And the next two are clearly written in Matthew 22:37-40: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

These verses, plus many more that we could share with you from the scriptures, clearly lets us know what should be first in our lives. Today we face many people that live by the rules of the “ME” generation. They put themselves first. There is no thought of putting God first.

Where do you stand? What is first in your life?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 6:23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:

May Your Holy Spirit be a consistent reminder to put God above all else in my life. Help me to be a leader with my family that they may see that I honor God above all else and I seek Him first.

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