Calamity: August 18, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 18 2017.

CALAMITY

DEFINITION:

A great misfortune or cause of distress; disaster.

SCRIPTURE:

For the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them. Deuteronomy 32:35.

Therefore, his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall become broken without remedy. Proverbs 6:15.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

When we think of the word calamity we think more of the word misfortune compared to disaster. Life is full of calamities for many families today. A broken arm, a good case of the measles, not passing a test in school plus so much more.

For the most part, we bring calamities on to ourselves. The author writes in Proverbs 1:26-27, “I will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when a calamity overtakes you.” This sounds like a heartless reaction but really it is not, because we have no one to blame but ourselves. The writer of this proverb says calamity came because his advice was ignored and his warning was rejected.

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 1:24-25 that the reason why calamities overtake us is because we have rejected God, His wisdom and His advice. In this chapter of Proverbs the theme is wisdom and Solomon is saying that when we reject God and a calamity comes our way because of divine judgement and we call on God after the fact, He will not answer; we will seek Him diligently and will not find Him.

In Proverbs 1:29 God gives us the reason. It is because we have made the choice not to fear Him. God always gives us plenty of time to accept Him as our Savior.

God is not the author or cause of calamities, but He will let us experience calamities because of our pride and arrogant ways, especially when we turn our backs to God and reject Him. When we put our trust in God and listen to Him, He will lead us away from calamity. He wants to protect us from calamities because of His love for us. In Proverbs 1:33 it reads that whoever listens to Me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm.

Take a moment and relate this thought to the life of a parent. Once a calamity comes to a child it is too late to call upon the parent and ask for it to be changed. It is the same in our walk with God as His child. It is too late once a calamity hits our lives to ask God to change it but never too late to turn back to God and ask His forgiveness and for His help to get us through the calamity.

Yes. In real life, we all make mistakes that can have calamitous results. Today in this WORD we are concerned about the calamities that result from not having the right relationship with God which requires obedience to Him.

The verse we have written above from Deuteronomy was spoken by Moses to the Israelites just before he died and turned his leadership over to Joshua. The first generation of Israelites had been rebellious against God and many times did not listen to God. The result was that they suffered many calamities and wandered 40 years in the desert before getting into the Promised Land.

God, who is all knowing, knew that the second generation of Israelites would also forsake Him when they settled in the Promise Land, so He told Moses to warn them that if they did forsake Him many disasters (calamities) would come their way (Deuteronomy 31:17). Israel did forsake God and their day of calamity came. Israel became divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Israel was then destroyed by Assyria and Judah by the Babylonians and the people were taken into exile. Whenever we disobey God and reject Him we can expect our day of calamity.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 10:17.

So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

PRAYER:

Thank You Lord for keeping my eyes and heart focused on You. Keep me from being a spiritual calamity. Bless my family and help us together to be shining lights for You in a world filled with calamities.

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Backsliding: August 17, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 17, 2017.

BACKSLIDING

DEFINITION:

To relapse into bad habits; sinful behavior or undesirable activities; the abandoning of religious principles or practices.

SCRIPTURE:

Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord almighty. Jeremiah 2:19

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

A backslider is a person who made a decision to follow Christ but then relapsed into bad habits that God considers sin. A backslider will soon fall victim to the consequences of his or her sins and will soon start to fully abandon his or her spiritual beliefs.

Backsliding brought on the downfall of Israel. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to confront the people of Judah with their sins and to warn them of the coming destruction of their nation if they did not repent. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, Jeremiah reminds them of God’s command to them to “obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you.” But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward not forward.

When we do not listen to God and pay attention to what He tells us, we will become backsliders just like the Israelites. Instead of going forward with the Lord, we will go backward following our evil desires. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God or they would be punished. The Israelites did not repent and Jerusalem was destroyed.

When we think of a Biblical example of a backslider we think of Jonah. God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. He fled because he did not want this assignment. Jonah was fleeing on a ship and then in a storm he was thrown overboard by the crew because they were certain he was the cause of their trouble with the storm.

Jonah was swallowed up, as the scriptures tell us, by a big fish. We assume that this was a whale. Jonah, the scriptures tell us was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. To say the least he was being “rewarded” for his backsliding.

Backsliding may seem like a small thing which we excuse by saying, “what harm could it be?” When we turn away from God we are the ones who are harmed. Sometimes the consequence is severe, as Jonah learned.

In Jonah 2:1-9 there is a very vivid and clear report of what Jonah then did while inside the fish. He cried out to God asking for forgiveness and God heard him. In his prayer to God from the belly of the whale he said, “I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation comes from the Lord.”

The Lord then spoke to the fish, the scripture says, and the fish vomited up Jonah onto dry land. Once again, the Lord said to Jonah that he must go to Nineveh and “preach the message I tell you.”

This time Jonah was quick to obey. He went to Nineveh and cried out to the people that in 40 days Nineveh would be overthrown unless the people repented. The people of Nineveh responded and believed in God and God did not destroy them.

God gave Jonah a second chance. He backslid and paid a severe penalty, but when he was at his lowest point he prayed to God. God heard his prayer and responded by giving him a second chance and Jonah obeyed God and went to Nineveh with the message that God wanted them to hear.

In the verse we have written above, we are reminded that when one backslides and falls out of a relationship with God, that if one confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. God loves us and wants us to serve Him. We really do serve a wonderful and patient God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 10:17.

So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

PRAYER:

Help me today not to backslide away from my relationship with You. Keep me from relapsing into bad habits or sinful behavior that brings dishonor to You. May those that are not following You see that I am following Jesus and living in obedience to what He commands me.

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Able: August 16, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16, 2017.

ABLE

DEFINITION:

Having the necessary power, skill, qualifications or resources to do something; showing talent, skill or knowledge.

SCRIPTURE:

There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? James 4:12.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is within us. Ephesians 3:20.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Have you noticed, as we have, that there are times in the lives of children when they feel they are able to do anything? Also, there are adults that have the same attitude. But when the time comes that they must tackle a situation that they are not able to do, it becomes a catastrophe. When we rely on self that is what happens.

There are many difficult situations in life that we may have to face that we are not able to handle. No problem is too big or too difficult for God if we are willing to seek Him for His help. He is able.

We need to remind ourselves continually that God is all powerful and nothing is impossible for God. God has the necessary power, skill, qualifications, resources, talent, intelligence, and knowledge to be able to do the impossible.

Let us look at several things that God is able to do. Most important is that God is able to save. In James 1:21 we are told to lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is Jesus, which is able to save our soul from eternal damnation.

God has also promised us that when we are His children, no man can stand against us and win. God told the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 11:25 that no man shall be able to stand against you. And that promise is also for us today.

And in Joshua 1:5, God’s Word to Joshua was that no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. And God spoke again to Joshua in Joshua 23:9 and said that the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has ever been able to stand against you.

In the New Testament God continues to remind us as children of God through the Apostle Paul when he wrote in Ephesians for us to put on the whole armor of God so that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

If you have any doubt about the ability of God after you read these verses may we remind you that God is not only able but He is our enabler. As is always with God and His promises there is a condition given us. That condition is that we believe in Jesus as our Savior and daily put our trust in His hands and communicate with Him in prayer and the reading of His Word. Then He is able to work in us and for us.

God doesn’t promise a world free from trouble and danger but He does promise His help. “Because He (meaning any of us) loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.” Psalm 91:14-15.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 10:17.

So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

PRAYER:

Thank You Lord that You are able to do immeasurably more in my life than I could ever ask or even imagine. Your power and ability to save me from my sins and to help me stand tall for You is overwhelming. Deliver me today from the temptations of the devil and keep me close to You.

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Experience: August 15, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 15, 2017.

EXPERIENCE

DEFINITION:

The process or fact of learning by personally observing, encountering, or testing. The knowledge or skill gained by learning.

SCRIPTURE:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. II Corinthians 1:3-4.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The above scripture reminds us why as Christians we do go through trials and tribulations. One of the reasons God allows this, as it reads in the above scripture, is that we can comfort those going through their trial and tribulation because we have learned by experience -- we have been there.

As we look back on our lives, we have had the privilege of going places, meeting people and seeing things that has given us a world of experience. We both also have had the joy of having Christian parents with experience, both spiritually and with life in general, to train us from our very young ages.

God blessed us with six children, their spouses, twenty grandchildren and two great grandchildren which has brought us a wealth of experience.

We may hear about or read about an experience someone had but we cannot fully understand what that experience is like until we have the same or similar experience ourselves. We easily forget what we read or hear but we remember well what we have experienced. That is why you hear people say, “Experience is the best teacher.” Through experience we gain knowledge.

We are reminded of the story when the famed pianist Paderewski was walking through a small Connecticut town and came upon a house with a sign in the window -- Miss Jones piano lessons, 25 cents an hour. Listening carefully from the outside he could hear someone playing one of Chopin’s nocturnes, but not playing it very well.

The great pianist walked up to the door and knocked and the delighted piano player recognized who he was and asked him in. He stayed for about one hour and assisted her by correcting her mistakes and then moved on.

About two months later he walked by the same house and noticed a new sign that read: Miss Jones (Pupil of Paderewski) Piano Lessons -- $1.00 an hour. What a difference a little experience makes.

There is value in experience and we as Christians need to realize that the value of our experience in knowing Christ can help us share the good news of the gospel to all we know. Having made our decisions to accept Jesus before we were teenagers has allowed us to grow spiritually as children, teenagers, as a young married couple and now as seniors so we can understand the mountains and valley’s that one goes through in life. We have been there and done it, as they say.

The actions and words of Paul the Apostle in Acts 14 reminds us that Paul was persecuted so he could be an encouragement to others who were or would be persecuted because of their faith.

The Apostle John wrote the book of I John to the believers, so that they may be alerted to and to be able to distinguish between truth and error. In the first four verses he talks about the experiences that the believers have seen, heard and touched concerning the Word of Life. John says to the believers that he reminds us of this so that our joy may be full.

In life today, experience is very important. When one has a job interview one of the first questions asked is about your experience.  Asking about experience even goes down to small children. We can remember in coaching our little league teams. The children with some experience were looked to as leaders on the team. When it comes to choosing a leader, a pastor or an executive a key qualification is their experience.

As Christians those of us that have known Jesus for some time need to use the experience that God has given us over the years to proclaim the good news of the gospel to those we touch daily.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 10:17.

So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

PRAYER:

Help me this day to seek Your guidance in making me become more mature in my faith. Help me to see the lessons You want me to learn from the experiences I have in life. Open my eyes so I can see the needs of others so I can share the good news of the gospel with them.

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Foundation: August 14, 2017

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017.

FOUNDATION

DEFINITION:

The basis or groundwork of anything; the base on which a structure rests; an underlying principle; a basis on which something is built.

SCRIPTURE:

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for unto now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still worldly. I Corinthians 3:1-3

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 3:10-11.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The foundation of our faith as believers is Jesus Christ. We must continue to build our faith using high quality materials that meet God’s standards. In the above verses from I Corinthians, Paul is writing to the church he founded in Corinth. Paul says he laid the foundation but they, the people in the church, had not been building their faith on sound doctrine. The new believers in the church were being undermined by the immorality that prevailed in Corinth.

After Paul left, the believers had grown indifferent to immorality. They found it hard to separate themselves from their old pagan ways. Sexual immorality had become a serious problem in the church and the church had fallen into divisiveness and disorder.

Paul addresses them as babes in Christ because they had not matured in their faith and were still worldly. Paul had carefully laid the right foundation but the believers were not using the right building blocks of sound doctrine that Paul had taught them and left them with.

Today just like the believers in Corinth, many sincere professing Christians are spiritually starving, or spiritually ill, because they never have thought seriously about the quality of their Bible study. The study of the Bible is the key building block to build the believer’s faith.

If our physical diet is not in proper balance or if our digestive system is not functioning properly then our bodies will decline in health. Similarly, if we do not or cannot take full advantage of the spiritual food offered us in the Bible, we will become spiritually disabled.

Someone who is starving spiritually and not growing in their Christian way of life must regularly eat nourishing spiritual food, which is the Word of God. All those who accept Jesus as their Savior have the one and only foundation for their faith. As Paul tells us in verse 11 above, that Jesus Christ is the foundation of saving faith -- there is no other foundation. As you study God’s Word we recommend these important basics for your spiritual growth.

First, we must know what the Bible says about itself. Psalm 19:7 says that the law of the Lord is perfect. The Bible declares itself to be the Word of God thus it is perfect.

Secondly, we must know what God intended the Bible to do for us. The Bible says in Genesis 1:1 -- “In the beginning God” -- and the Bible is the only book from God but also the only book about God. The Bible is given to us from God as our guidebook for living.

Thirdly, the Bible stands above all human opinions. In John 10:4-5 we read about Jesus being our true Shepherd. Jesus cares for us and protects us like the shepherd cares for his sheep. The shepherd will bring out his own sheep and he goes before them to lead them to pasture and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. We must let the Word of God shape our opinions and then we will follow our Lord because we will know His voice.

We should know that the Bible deals in facts. In Colossians 2:8 we read to beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men or according to the basic principles of the world and not according to the laws of Christ. We need to have common sense, a serious respect for all the facts of the Bible, a proper interpretation of the Bible and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit as He leads us as we read God’s Word.

We need, as true believers, to build our faith on the sure and solid foundation of God’s Word. We need to learn instructive methods of Bible study and know how to use Bible helps and commentaries.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 10:17.

So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

PRAYER:

Thank You Lord for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ who is the one and only foundation for my life. Help me to learn to not only just read the Bible but help me to learn to study and apply what I learn to my every day walk and talk.

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