Target: May 12, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY MAY 12, 2017.

TARGET

DEFINITION:

A goal or objective; a design of circles.

SCRIPTURE:

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Our children were always very competitive not only among themselves but also in sports and in their school classes. Now we see the same competitiveness among our grandchildren. As parents, we encouraged our children to always do their best in every task they attempted whether it was work or play.

A successful life by itself demands some sort of competitiveness. Being competitive drives a person to always have goals in life and to do all one can to meet that goal and do it in a way to win.

In training our children we also warned them that they may not always win. In fact, many times in our lives we may not win, so when we lose we need to lose with graciousness and even humility. It is also very important that if you do not win that you take the time and make the effort to see how you could have improved the task you were involved in.

This is tough not only to teach but to learn. No one ever wants to lose but at times it will happen. Children today also need to be told that when one is “racing’ toward a goal that they have set, that they need to “race” fairly and abide by the rules.

Part of winning is to know your target. In the 2004 Olympics the gold medal winner in rifle shooting was ready to win his second medal in another event. He had a commanding lead and everyone was certain that he would win the second medal that he really wanted. In fact it was his best event and he was highly favored. But something went wrong. He hit the middle of the target but he had aimed at the wrong target.

This is an excellent example for all of us. When we have a goal and a target to hit, make sure that we are aiming for the right targets in life because it is so easy to get off course and aim for the wrong target.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians (above verse) he expresses the importance of focusing on the right target in our Christian life. Paul uses this word “goal” as the same word used as an athlete running a race. The same word is also used for the object to aim for in archery. In each of these definitions the prospect of winning depends on us being focused on the proper target. For us as believers we need to be focused on a lifetime pursuit of becoming more like our Savior, Jesus.

Take a moment now and decide what your focus is on in your life. Are you preoccupied with getting ahead in life thus making life more comfortable for you? Are you focused on the target desiring to be more like Jesus? We encourage you today to make God’s goals your goals and aim directly at that target. Keep your eyes on your target. If you take your eyes off your target you will be sure to miss it. Success in your Christian life depends on keeping your eyes on Jesus.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

PRAYER:

Help me today to focus on targets that honor You. Give me goals today that will make me more like You and will also let others see Christ through me.

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Standards: May 11, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY MAY 11, 2017.

STANDARDS

DEFINITION:

Something established by authority, custom or general consent as a model or example; criterion; the morals, ethics or customs regarded as acceptable.

SCRIPTURE:

What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God with all your heart, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees. Deuteronomy 10:12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We urge you to sit down from time to time and evaluate the standards you have set for your life. We all need to carefully study them and make sure we are living by them. The sad fact today is that most people do not have standards that they have set for their life. Most people do not consider standards to be important. They want to do what they want and when they want. They really only want to do what benefits themselves right now.

God has set standards for us who love Him to keep. Setting human standards that ignore God and His commandments have no lasting effect. For the non-believers standards are made to be broken.

For those who know Jesus as his or her Savior, a standard has significant importance. A believer in Jesus lives by the standards that Jesus lived by and taught. They are God’s standards. God first gave His standards to the Children of Israel on their way to the Promised Land. The purpose of God’s standards was to make His people spiritually and morally unique from the rest of the world. Their godly standards of living were to be a witness and a testimony of the true and living God to the nations.

We read in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, that there were five things that God expected of them. They were:

1.  Reverence God.
2.  Walk in all His ways.
3.  Love Him.
4.  Serve Him with all your heart and soul.
5.  Observe His commands.

Jesus, when He was here on earth, lived by and taught these same standards. God does not change. His standards for us are the same that they were for the children of Israel and as they were some 2000 years ago when Jesus was on this earth and taught them personally.

Godly standards are essential in every believer’s life. Are you living the way that God expects you to and are you keeping God’s standards?

Living by God’s standards should become a natural part of every believer’s daily routine. Here are some thoughts to consider that may help you to stay committed to living by God’s standards:

Do you set a time daily for reading the Bible? If not how does God communicate to you and how do you learn about Him?

Do you spend time daily praying to God? This is your time to communicate with God.

Do you spend time with your family and do you communicate with your spouse and your children?

At the workplace do you set yourself a standard of excellence in your work, completing your work, communicating to the people you work with and living a life that exemplifies the Lord before them?

What about your church? Are you active and offer to serve as a volunteer in some way?

Do you set good examples and a Godly standard for your family, friends and neighbors?

Are you involved in a home Bible study group?

Do others during the week see the same life standards in you on Monday that you live by on Sunday?

We are sure that these are enough questions to get you to think about making standards in your life that honor God a priority. Setting Godly standards in your life and then keeping these standards are essential if you want to be used by God and be a testimony to the rest of the world of God’s love and saving grace.

The commands and decrees that we are told to keep in Deuteronomy 10:12 are given to us in Exodus 20. We know them today as the Ten Commandments. We urge you to read these today and then print them and put them in a prominent place in your home so you have to read them daily. If you choose to do this and then choose to live by them God will change you and your life dramatically. Commandments are not options. They are the requirements necessary to have a right relationship with God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

PRAYER:

Father in heaven, help me and my family to be obedient to Your commandments so that others will see that we are morally and spiritually unique. Keep us committed to living by godly standards so that our lives are a testimony that we have been changed by Your saving grace that we have received through the shed blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Speech: May 10, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017.

SPEECH

DEFINITION:

The communication or expression of thoughts in spoken word; a particular utterance.

SCRIPTURE:

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6.

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. Matthew 12:36.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

You can usually judge a person’s character by listening to his or her speech. As grandparents, we are always interested in what is going on in the lives of our 20 grandchildren so when we get to be with them we will always ask them how they are doing. This always opens the door to a conversation.

Some time ago, Dottie was talking with one of our grandsons and she asked him how he liked his school. He responded very favorably but went on to say that he had a mean girl in his class. Soon it was made clear that the reason he regarded the girl as mean was because of her speech. She said things that were hurtful and called people by degrading names.

She reminded our grandson that children’s behavior is a reflection of what they are taught in the home and suggested that he be sensitive to her situation and be an example to her.

Parents have a great responsibility to teach children how to speak with kindness and humility. In today’s world the speech we, adults and children, hear is almost always degrading. A lot of what we hear would be R-rated in the movies. The problem is that what we hear on the street becomes part of us and influences how we ourselves speak.

What kind of speech do your children hear around the house? Is God’s name taken in vain? Are friends, family, and neighbors talked about in negative and degrading ways? What is taught about speaking to God?

As Christians we must be concerned about our speech. Paul instructs us to “Let our speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer each one.” We must always be gracious and respectful in what we say. In Ephesians 5:4 Paul further admonishes us about our speech telling us, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”

Most importantly, Jesus holds us accountable for our speech, as we read in Matthew 12:36 (above).  In order for our speech to be pleasing to our Lord, we must know Him so that the words we speak are words that honor God and are the truth.

Jesus was speaking to unbelieving Jewish leaders who desired to kill Him when, as recorded in John 8:45, He said, “But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me.” In verse 47, He tells them the reason they don’t believe Him is because they are not of God. They claimed to know God but by their actions and words Jesus said they were followers of Satan. God speaks to the hearts of believers daily through His Word and we hear Him only if we are in tune with Him.

Our Lord wants to speak daily to those of us that believe on Him. Are you talking to Him daily? If not, why not? The only way that we are going to grow in the Lord is to listen to Him speak to us. And more important, if you are not communicating to God daily how can you be prepared to deal with Satan’s temptations and the evil ways of the world we live in?

Remember, one is known by his or her speech. Words communicate much about a person. Take a good look at the words you use and the attitude that you show when you speak those words. Are they hurtful, vulgar, egotistical, or are they kind and loving? Your speech can drive people to the Lord or drive people away from the Lord.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

PRAYER:

Help me to learn from Thy Word to evaluate my speech so that every word that proceeds from my mouth will glorify Your name. Help me to control my speech so that others will see Christ in me.

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Instruction: May 9, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY MAY 9, 2017.

INSTRUCTION

DEFINITION:

Teaching that calls for obedience; an order; direction; advice; education, knowledge or information imparted.

SCRIPTURE:

Take firm hold of instruction, do not let it go; guard it well. Proverbs 4:13

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. II Timothy 3:16

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Think of all the times in your life when you were given instruction regardless of whether you wanted it or thought you needed it. When you were a child you needed instruction from your parents. When you went to school you received instruction from your teachers. When you went to Sunday school you received instruction about the Bible from your Sunday school teacher. When you had a new job, you received instruction from your employer as to your responsibilities.

The reality is that there is never a time in our life that we cannot benefit from instruction if it is the right kind of instruction. That is why Solomon says, “Take firm hold of instruction, do not let it go.”

We learned from an early age from our parents the value and importance of instruction. As children we did not always like the instruction that was given us. With children, correction is a necessary element in instruction. Children often rebel at corrective instruction but if it is given consistently and in love soon the rebellion will be overcome. As we grew older we realized the value of the instruction given to us by our parents.

We also learned at an early age the value of the instruction we received in school. Our teachers and our parents taught us to study and to accept instruction as to how we were to study and learn. Our school system in America has dramatically shifted away from good solid instruction and many parents do not seem to be aware or care.

Without proper instruction, how can a child succeed in life? Today many children do not get any instruction at home and parents do not help children with their school work. The result is that children feel if no one feels what they learn and how well they learn is important then why should they be concerned?

Many books have been written that provide instruction as to how to do things. They are all written from the limited scope of the human mind. With time they must be changed and updated. The Bible is not a human book. It is different from all other books. The Bible is the “inspired Word of God.” This means that what the scripture speaks to us it is God speaking to us and God’s Word never changes.

Paul tells us that because scripture is given by inspiration of God it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for instruction in righteousness.

The above scripture verse found in II Timothy reminds us that the Bible was given to us as God’s inspired word for instruction as to how we are to live our lives in this world as believers in the Lord. God’s Word provides for us positive training information in godly behavior. The instruction that we receive as we read God’s word at times seems hard to understand and many wonder if it is even realistic in today’s culture.

When one accepts Jesus as his or her Savior the heart and mind changes and the instruction we receive from the Bible can be understood. We must understand that the instruction that God has given us in the Bible has never changed through the centuries, only people and cultures change.

We are to take hold of the instruction that God gives us and we are not to let it go. (Above verse from Proverbs) We are to guard it with all we have got. In this Proverb the father is commanding his son to acquire wisdom and instruction and in this verse he is strongly suggesting for the son to guard the scriptures and to obey the instruction he has received from the scriptures. We encourage you today to use discernment about what others do or what others say if it conflicts with the instruction given to us in God’s word.

As parents we have the responsibility to instruct our children in the ways of the Lord and as children we must learn from the God-given instruction that our parents give us. Remember others learn from our words and our deeds. Make sure that what you do and say today is consistent with the instruction given to you in God’s Word.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

PRAYER:

Thank You for giving us Your Word to instruct us as to how we are to live our lives so that we will honor You. Thank You that You never change nor does Your Word. Make my heart receptive to Your instruction for my life.

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Ignorance: May 8, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY MAY 8, 2017.

IGNORANCE

DEFINITION:

Having little or no knowledge; unlearned; uninformed; unaware.

SCRIPTURE:

Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame. I Corinthians 15: 34-35.

As sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

It is hard for us to realize how ignorant people are concerning God and the part He plays in our lives. So many people today say that they firmly believe that God is not needed in their lives that they are very capable of living a successful life based on their own abilities.

Do you realize that man hungers for food and God sends the sun and rain on the fields of grain? The grain is then made into flour, the flour into bread and man’s hunger is satisfied.

Man hungers for love and it is God that ignites the fire of affection in another heart and the two hearts are made complete in the bonds of matrimony. These two illustrations are only two of many to illustrate how God is involved in all we do in life.

The apostle Paul in his writing to the Romans deals with a concern that seemed to be confusing believers in the church at Rome. They did not grasp the fact that the gospel is not an abstract belief unconnected to their everyday life. It is not enough to know about Jesus. We must let Him impact every area of our life.

Basically, Paul is saying that ignorance, in God’s sight, does not give one an excuse for not knowing God just as ignorance does not eliminate God from the details of your life physically and spiritually. God is real whether we believe it or not. We are all sinners whether we believe this or not.

In Romans 5:12-21, Paul sets out to show us how one man’s, Jesus, death can provide salvation for many not from a specific sin but the inherited sin that entered the human realm. Man are born sinners by nature. To prove His point He uses Adam to establish the principle that it is possible for one man’s actions to affect many people. Before Adam sinned, there was no death. As a result of the sin of Adam we are all born with a sin nature and we must all die.

In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul addresses the issue of ignorance or better translated, a lack of understanding. Roman law was considered at that time to be the source of the idea that ignorance of the law excuses a person from obeying the law. Since people were ignorant of God’s righteousness, Paul wrote in Romans 10:3 that they established their own ideas and did not submit to God’s righteousness. God is holy and without sin. Our sin separates us from God.

When we live according to our own standards of right and wrong, we might feel good about ourselves for a period of time, but that does not make us spiritually healthy. Only when we are measured by God’s standard of righteousness, which is Jesus, do we know the condition of our spiritual health.

When some people become physically sick they avoid going to the doctor because they do not want to hear that something is wrong with them. Some people avoid going to church for the same reason. They know they are spiritually sick but do not want to hear that they are doing wrong. Ignorance of our sickness doesn’t make us healthy and ignorance of our sin doesn’t make us innocent.

None of us can achieve the righteousness of Christ, but thankfully we do not have to. In Romans 5:21 (above) Paul tells us that sin leads to certain death, but Jesus has given us His righteousness that leads to eternal life. The good news about finding out what is wrong with us is that the Great Physician can make us well.

In obedience to His Heavenly Father, Jesus bore all of our sins in His own body on the cross so that by His wounds we have been healed, I Peter 2:25.

God has made known to us His great gift of salvation so that we cannot claim ignorance as an excuse for remaining in sin. None of us have a valid excuse to continue to refuse to acknowledge God as our creator and Jesus as our Redeemer.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

PRAYER:

Thank You that You have made it known to us, and the world, that You are the one and only true God and that You are alive and have prepared a place for us in heaven to spend all eternity with You. Thank You that You are not willing that any should perish but instead that all should have eternal life with You.

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