Opportunities: June 23, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY JUNE 23, 2017.

OPPORTUNITIES

DEFINITION:

A favorable occasion or time; timely; appropriate.

SCRIPTURE:

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10.

Be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

By definition the word “opportunity” suggests that it comes with a time limit. In Isaiah 55:6-7 it says: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” The scripture is clear to warn us that this opportunity will not always be there for us. We can distance ourselves away from God by getting deeper into the sinful ways of this world. Sin hardens our heart against God. The more our hearts are hardened the more difficult it becomes to turn to God. Isaiah 55:7 gives us the assurance that if we are willing to give up our sinful ways we can turn to God and He will have mercy on us and freely pardon us.

The Bible tells us that “All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23), and that the “wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” (Romans 6:23). If you have passed up opportunities to accept Christ as your Savior, now is the time to accept Christ’s free gift of forgiveness and receive eternal life. God gives us many opportunities to receive this gift of eternal life and we like to think there is always a tomorrow, but there will be a time that He will close that door of opportunity.

The Lord can return at any moment and we must be ready. Jesus said in Luke 13:25-28 that the day will come if we miss our opportunities to come to Him when He will say, “I tell you I do not know you or where you come from.” When you find yourself standing at heavens’ door, will Jesus know you?

Jonah was one person that was given a second chance, an opportunity to do what God asked him to do. (Jonah 1:1-3). God used the “WHALE” to wake up Jonah and Jonah responded by going and doing what God wanted him to do.

Paul gives us numerous illustrations about making use of every opportunity that came his way. In Acts 21:37, Paul was arrested by the soldiers and he asked for the opportunity to witness. He loved the Lord so much that whatever situation he was in he wanted the opportunity to tell others about his Lord.

And Paul tells the church at Philippi as recorded in Philippians 4:10, how much he appreciated their care for him. They had an opportunity to help Paul and he said: “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me flourished again; though you surely did care, but before you did not have the opportunity.”

Paul stresses to us in Ephesians 5:16-17 (above), the urgency of making the most of every opportunity. Paul felt a sense of urgency because of the evil that prevailed at that time. We live in a world that seems to have even more evil around us than in Paul’s time.

Every day we have opportunities. We have opportunities to tell someone about Jesus. We have opportunities to help a hurting or hungry person.  God gives us all opportunities to build a relationship with those who are hurting. It is urgent that we as Christians take a look at how we respond to opportunities so that as we look back on our life we do not regret not doing something God gave us a chance to do.

All of us have these opportunities but we are either too lazy to act, too fearful to respond or just do not care. Read the verse again that we have put above (Galatians 6:10) and then ask yourself the question, “Am I doing good to all that I meet each day?”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 3:14.

Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Give me new opportunities today to share my love with people that need to know You. Help me to be sensitive to any opportunities I may see to help people that are hurting. Bless my family and give each one of us opportunities to do good to all we meet.

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Honor: June 22, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JUNE 22 2017.

HONOR

DEFINITION:

To treat with respect or reverence; to worship.

SCRIPTURE:

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, 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 desires. Deuteronomy 10:12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The Word of God leaves no doubt that we are to honor God. God’s first commandment to us is: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The God of the Bible is the one and only God and we are to honor Him as God and we are to worship Him only.

Jesus reaffirmed this commandment when the devil offered to give Jesus the world if Jesus would bow down and worship him. Jesus replied, “For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

This is God’s first commandment to us and the one He no doubt considers the most important. Today we allow many things to become gods in our lives by the importance we put on them and the amount of time we devote to them.

Things such as money, fame, power, position, and pleasure all become gods when they control our thoughts, our time and our energy. Only if we put God above all these “things” can we keep these things from becoming gods in our lives. To honor God, we must put Him first and serve Him only.

How do we honor the Lord? The answer is found in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, and it consists of five things we are to do:

1.    Fear the Lord your God. (have reverence for Him)
2.    Walk in all His ways.
3.    Love Him.
4.    Serve Him with all your heart and soul.
5.    Obey His commandments.

Jesus teaches in John 5:23 that we are to honor the Son just as we honor the Father and those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father who sent Him.

We honor Jesus in the same way we honor God, by serving Him. Jesus gives a wonderful promise to those who honor Him: “My Father will honor the one who serves Me.” (John 12:26)

REMEMBER: We cannot over honor our God! He is Lord of all.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 3:14.

Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, that You are a Holy and righteous God and above all other gods. Thank You for Your Son who You sent to be my Savior. Keep me faithful in honoring You, my heavenly Father, and Your Son, my Savior.

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Heart: June 21, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 21, 2017.

HEART

DEFINITION:

A muscular organ in the vertebrates; the vital center of one’s being, emotions and sensibilities; innermost feelings; sentiment; desire.

SCRIPTURE:

Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me. Hebrews 3:15.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

What we feel in our heart is the motivating force in our life. For example, when we suffer a great loss or a great defeat we lose heart.

Put yourself in the place of the disciples. They gave their all to follow Jesus. It is hard to begin to imagine how grieved and defeated they felt after Jesus was crucified. They had reason to fear for their own lives. Where were they to go and what were they to do? But remember, Jesus knows all that is in our hearts.

Jesus went to the eleven disciples (Mark 16:14) just before He rose to heaven after the resurrection and reproached them because they were reclining around a table talking about the loss of their teacher. They did not believe those that said they saw Jesus after the resurrection. Jesus rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. And then He commanded them to get up and go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creatures.

Yes, even the disciples experienced unbelief, lack of faith and hardness of heart. The disciples had seen Jesus crucified and buried and were sitting around a table eating and bemoaning that they had lost their leader. Although they said they believed “He was the Christ” (Mark 8:29) and although Jesus had told them He would be killed and “three days later rise again” (Mark 10:34) they lacked the faith to believe that He was really alive when told that others had seen Jesus alive. When Jesus appeared to them when they were eating (Mark 16:14) they did believe completely and their hearts were changed and they went and preached everywhere (Mark 16:26).

Today God continually calls to His children but the condition of one’s heart determines the result. Those with soft and tender hearts hear His voice and yield to Him in obedience. Those with hardened hearts resist His warnings and instructions.

Hardening is a slow process that is accompanied by excuses and rationalizations. The danger signs might not be easily recognized. A hardened heart will show insensitivity and resistance to what the Lord is saying or directing and will not listen for His voice. One with a hardened heart will refuse to put himself or herself under His authority and will be disobedient to what they know is right. They will always justify sinful conduct and will resist counsel from others. They are preoccupied by the things of this world and lack any desire for Bible study or communication with God.

God wants us to have a tender heart that is pliable and responsive to Him. He wants us to be like a lump of clay that allows the potter to determine the shape of the vessel. God has sent His Holy Spirit to indwell each believer and to awaken responsiveness in him or her.

People with tender hearts will stay closely connected to the body of believers in Christ. They will be submissive to Him and quick to deal with any sin in their life. One with a tender heart not only is receptive to what God wants from them but are teachable and willing to listen to and be corrected by others

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 3:14.

Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Keep my heart and the hearts of each of my family members tender toward You. May others see Christ in us and through us daily. Thank You for the encouraging words that we receive as we read Your Word.

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Investing: June 20, 2107

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JUNE 20, 2017.

INVESTING

DEFINITION:

To commit money in order to gain a profitable return; devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, or energy to achieve something.

SCRIPTURE:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Then He said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We spent some time recently reading through a newspaper that had numerous pages of reports, suggestions and recommendations about investing. We read about good investments, shaky investments and bad investments.

We read about investing in land, in real estate, in gold, in silver, in banks, and in the stock market to name some listed on the pages of the newspaper. The so called "professionals" gave varied opinions with very few agreeing on what to invest in.

We read reports on why some investments were successful in the past and why some failed. The one thing that we read continually was the uncertainty of all the investments.

When you think of the word INVESTMENT, what comes to your mind? Over the years, we have met many people that live-in cultures where the word investment would never be discussed and for most people could not even be defined. All of their thoughts each and every day were centered on surviving that day.

We want to share with you today some thoughts from the scripture that deals with investment from God’s perspective. God is concerned about how we invest our time, talent and treasure.  The scripture gives us the best investment advice as to how we should look at the time, talent and treasure that God has given us.

It is important for us to understand that our primary purpose for investment should not be to amass earthly wealth but to amass heavenly riches. As believers, our purpose and desire should be to invest our assets, whether time, talent or treasure (money) in things that have eternal value.

In the verse above from Matthew six Jesus gives an investment alert when He said where our treasure is, there will be your heart. In other words, if you spend your time in investing your time in getting more money, being more popular or gaining a better position in life then that is an indication of what is most important to you. That is where your heart is. These things and this attitude are temporary and do not last. They have no value in eternity.

In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told a parable of the rich fool. A rich man who already had plenty of material things, but he tore down his barns and built bigger barns so he could store up more of this world's goods. The parable has a sad ending. He died with his barns full leaving it all to someone else. He had put all of his effort in preparing for his life before death but had neglected to prepare for his life after death.

This man was rich in possessions but he was not rich in the treasures of God’s kingdom. This is the warning that we read in Luke 12:15 (above). We must "WATCH OUT!" and be on guard that we do not make the purpose of our life be to obtain worldly possessions. The riches of the world will not last nor can we take them with us. The riches stored up in God’s kingdom are eternal and are waiting for us.

We become rich in the treasures of Heaven when we invest our time, talent and riches in serving God. Every act of obedience and faithfulness in doing His will is a treasure stored up in heaven.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 3:14.

Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Help me and my family to carefully evaluate where we are investing our time, our talents and our treasures. Give us the wisdom that only You can give to help us be in Your perfect will concerning our investment of our time, talent and treasure.

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Inadequate: June 19, 2107

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY JUNE 19, 2017.

INADEQUATE

DEFINITION:

Not equal to the requirement; insufficient.

SCRIPTURE:

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. II Corinthians 3:5.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Everyone has times in their life when they feel inadequate. No one likes the feeling of inadequacy because it causes us to fear we have failed or will fail.

Feeling inadequate is not a sin, but using it as an excuse is. When the Lord challenges you to do something that you feel is beyond your abilities you have two options. You can focus on Christ and proceed with unwavering faith or you can focus on yourself and withdraw in defeat.

No one is adequate to do the Lord’s work in their own ability. It can only be done with God’s help and through the power of His Holy Spirit.

The apostle Paul never claimed that he was capable of accomplishing all that God called him to do. In his letter to the church at Corinth Paul acknowledged that if he was left to his own abilities, he would be useless to God. He clearly recognized that his ability to reason, judge or assess truth was dependent on divine revelation and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This was a lesson Paul learned in a very dynamic and extraordinary way. When Paul was still Saul, before his conversion, he was determined to destroy the church. Full of his self-sufficiency he went from house to house dragging off followers of Jesus and putting them in prison because of their faith (Acts 8:3).

Paul even volunteered to travel to Damascus to capture the believer’s there (Acts 1:9). He felt quite adequate for this task. However, while on the way to Damascus Paul unexpectedly met Jesus. What a change there was in Paul from that moment. All the self-sufficiency he thought he had was gone in the light of God’s glory and might.

Only God can make a person adequate to do His work and Paul realized it so clearly. As Paul did, we also need to do, and that was to look beyond our own adequacy to the sufficiency of Christ. If we do this we can discover the hidden blessings in our own experiences of inadequacy. Look at these few thoughts that come to our minds.

Our insufficiency humbles our pride and brings us on our knees to Christ. This will happen when a situation comes our way that we realize is bigger than what we can handle so we quickly open the Bible and read, pray for guidance and power and then wait to see what God says. Now the Lord has us right where He wants us and that is at the end of our rope with no one to go to but Him.

The inability to do something motivates us to rely on divine power. We will never be adequate until we draw strength from the Holy Spirit. He will do through us what God never intended that we do on our own.

God actually delights in choosing unlikely, weak and inadequate individuals to carry out His purposes. The Lord said to Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” II Corinthians 12:9. There is no limit what God can do through someone willing to give Him full control of his or her life.

Our adequacy comes from God and inadequacy will challenge our faith. If we will focus on the reliability of this fact and step out in obedience we will grow in faith.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 3:14.

Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

It is our prayer that You will make our family adequate through Your power to accomplish the things that You want us to accomplish while we are here on this earth. Take away our fear, pressure and frustrations that seem to overpower us when we face opportunities to serve and represent You to our friends and neighbors.

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