Gems of Encouragement: July 27, 2013

GEMS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR SATURDAY JULY 27, 2013

PROVERB:

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. Proverbs 11:12.

PROMISE:

Lord, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your Holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman. Psalm 15:1-3.

PRAISE:

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in Your faithfulness destroy them. I will sacrifice a free-will offering to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. Psalm 54: 4-7.

Ignore: July 25, 2013

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY JULY 25, 2013.

IGNORE

DEFINITION:

To refrain from noticing or recognizing; to refuse to pay attention to.

SCRIPTURE:

He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted. Psalm 9:12.

How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? Hebrews 2:3

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

It is easy to ignore things in life that we do not want to deal with. It was very annoying to us as parents to have our children ignore what we would say to them. We are all guilty of ignoring someone or something at one time or another. As the saying goes, "It goes in one ear and out the other." We ignore people even though we do not like to be ignored.

Some people just plain shut the outside world out of their mind when they are involved in certain projects. They are often accused of ignoring a word or conversation being carried on with them from another party. In many of these situations they do not hear what is being said because their entire concentration is on what they are doing.

But there are many that are in the same situation and they hear but do not want to admit that they are listening. They do this on purpose and then use as an excuse, an outward lie, that they did not hear what was said.

How fortunate we are that we have a loving God who does not ignore us even though day by day we continually ignore Him. You may ask, how do you ignore God? You ignore God when you do not read the Bible, His Word, daily. This is how God speaks to you, through your reading what He is saying in His Word. You also ignore God when you do not take time everyday to pray to God. How else can you communicate to God? When you ignore reading the Bible and praying every day, you are ignoring God.

God sent His Son to seek and to save us. In Luke 19:10 we read, "for the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost." God seeks each and every one of us, but unfortunately the majority of people in our world today, just as it has been down through the ages, have chosen to ignore Him.

We often said our children had selective hearing. They heard what they wanted to hear. If they were engrossed in what they were doing they would act like they were listening and even answer, "Uh-huh." When they were asked if they heard what we said, it would be apparent that they had not really heard a word and were tuning us out and ignoring us.

In Matthew 13:13 Jesus warned the crowd, who had come to hear His message, that some of them, "though hearing, they did not hear." Many respond to God's offer of His gift of salvation in this same way today. They do not hear because they choose not to hear.

We often hope that by ignoring something that it will just go away. Some things in life, no matter how much we ignore them, will not go away.

The writer of Hebrews asks this vital question: "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" Everyone must ask themselves this question because no one will escape God's punishment for their sins if they ignore the wonderful gift of salvation that God has provided for us through Jesus Christ.

All of us who are willing to come to God through Christ can be sure that He will hear our cry of repentance. "He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted." And remember, no sin is so great that Jesus will not forgive.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Hebrews 10:36

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may have received what was promised.

PRAYER:

Thank You Lord, for Your great gift of salvation. Open the ears and eyes of those in my family that do not accept Your gift of salvation so that they will hear your message of love and forgiveness and accept You as their Savior. Help me to teach my children to listen and obey.

Fruitful: July 24, 2013

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 24, 2013

FRUITFUL

DEFINITION: 

Producing good results; beneficial, profitable, abounding in fruit; producing abundant growth.

SCRIPTURE:

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13: 7-8.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We want to look at the word fruitful today as it refers to being spiritual fruitful. In the verse above (John 15:5), Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches and if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit. When we read these words we think of bearing fruit producing spiritual results as relating to bringing others to know Christ. As believers that is what we are called to do.

The key words in this verse are "abide in Him." Abiding in Him gives evidence to our salvation and results in us bearing fruit. This fruit is not just soul winning but abiding or remaining in Christ produces spiritual fruit that includes spiritual attitudes and Godly character.

The apostle Paul tells us that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, fruitfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). Abiding in Christ produces the fruit of righteousness which results not only a change in our attitudes but also a change in our actions.

In Hebrews 12:11 we read, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful." Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

When we think of being fruitful we think of a farmer. For a farmer to be successful he must have productive crops. To accomplish this he must have the right soil, rain, sunshine, seasons, cultivation, and God’s blessing. Even a farmer today who is not a believer in Jesus will tell you that he needs the blessings of God on his crops if they are to be successful. He may refer to "Mother Nature" because he does not know God, but what he is really saying is that he needs God to bless his crop to have success.

When one becomes a believer in Jesus he or she must first have a deep desire to abide in Christ and to live a life that honors Him so that one's life can be fruitful. Our desire should be "to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10)

As do the farmers, a believer must have the right soil; a personal relationship with Jesus. They must have the rain and sunshine; this is the daily communication with God through prayer and reading God's Word. Then there must be the sowing and the cultivation; the going out among the world and walking in your faith and talking about your faith in Christ. Finally, you need the blessing of God. It is God's blessing that brings a bountiful fruitful harvest.

Jesus uses the imagery of the necessity for the branch to remain a part of the vine in order to be productive. In order for us to be productive and bear fruit for the Lord, we must remain attached to Him. Do you want to be fruitful? Are you committed to serve God with all your heart, soul and mind? Have you experienced fruit in your Christian life? Read John 15:1-8 and you will see what the Lord says you need to do to bear fruit. Bearing fruit is not an option given to the believer. Our Lord expects us to bear fruit and He is standing near to make us fruitful.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Hebrews 10:36

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may have received what was promised.

PRAYER:

Help me and my family today to abide in You. It is our prayer that as we endeavor to abide in You that You will abide in us so that we can be fruitful in furthering Your kingdom. Bless us this day and produce in us the fruit of righteousness so that others will see Christ in us.

Example: July 23, 2013

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY JULY 23, 2013

EXAMPLE

DEFINITION:

Something to be imitated or to be avoided; a pattern or model; an instance for illustration.

SCRIPTURE:

All these --- obtained a good testimony through faith. Hebrews 11:39

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I Corinthians 11:1

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The redeemed sinners listed in Hebrews 11 (above) are all remembered for one common virtue --- great faith. They all obtained a good testimony through their faith. Long after their deaths, the record of their lives of faith and obedience still inspires us today. They were and are examples to be followed.

John Wilkes Booth's place in history is that of a villain. He was an actor but became famous because he killed President Abraham Lincoln. After the south lost the civil war, Booth wanted to be remembered as its avenger against the north, but instead he is remembered as an assassin who killed an unarmed Lincoln with a gunshot to the back of the head. His example in history is that of a murderous coward.

In contrast Abraham Lincoln will be remembered as an example of a president who preserved the union, freed the slaves and exhibited malice toward none and charity for all. Few of us will have a recorded place in history as do Lincoln, Booth and those listed in Hebrews 11. But certainly we would want to be remembered as a good example like Lincoln and not as a bad example like Booth, but how much better to be remembered as a person of great faith like the faithful men of God in Hebrews 11.

The apostle Paul is an example of a man of great faith with a committed desire to spread the good news of the gospel. Paul also showed, by his example, that he believed in the power of prayer. In Romans 1:9, he says he remembered the people in the church in Rome always in his prayers. He was eager and ready to preach the gospel to them. By example Paul made it clear that he was not ashamed of the gospel he preached. He left for us a wonderful example of a life that honored God completely.

At the time Paul was teaching the Corinthians about Christ, the gospel had not been written. They only knew about Jesus Christ through Paul's preaching. Paul followed the example of Christ, therefore, he could say to them, "follow my example."

On the night before His death on the cross, Jesus instructed His disciples saying, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for You” (John 13:15).

If we want to be a good example for our children and family to follow, we must make sure we are following the example that Christ has given us. “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps”(I Peter 2:21).

We will leave memories for our families and hopefully a positive example to those who knew us. We desire only to be remembered for living a God fearing life and a life of faith and obedience to Him. What kind of an example will you leave on this earth? The memory of a godly life speaks more eloquently than words.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Hebrews 10:36

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may have received what was promised.  

PRAYER

It is our prayer today that our family will be an example of You to those we meet. May others see clearly in us a love for You, a love for them and a love for Your Word. Give us strength to serve You and love You with all we have.