Rekindle: November 21, 2014

TODAY'S WORD FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2014.

REKINDLE

DEFINITION:

Set on fire again; stir up and inspire; to excite.

SCRIPTURE:

Therefore I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:6-7.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

What do you do when you have lost your enthusiasm for something you once were totally committed to? Did you lose that enthusiasm because you just lost interest, it was taking too much time, or situations in your life changed? Many people just give up and move on to something else with no valid reason. When something becomes difficult it takes perseverance to continue on. People tend to give up too easily today especially in personal family relations.

If a job becomes too difficult, they quit. If there are serious difficulties in their marriage, they walk out. If a child is a concern to you, you walk away. These are not acceptable reactions. The fire of love and desire that once was felt for someone or something can quickly die out when dampened by obstacles and difficulties.

When a person loses the fire of enthusiasm in their spiritual life it is serious. When our faith grows cold it affects our relationship with the Lord and our desire to serve Him let alone the relationship with our family and associates. The lack of faith leads to discouragement and an attitude of indifference that says “I do not care about God, the Bible or anything spiritual.

II Timothy is Paul’s letter to Timothy, his young assistant, written while Paul was in prison in Rome and waiting to die. There is a sense of urgency in Paul’s letter. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to deal with some difficulties that had risen from some immoral people and from some false teachers in the church. Some in the church opposed Timothy’s leadership and Paul was deeply concerned that Timothy’s enthusiasm for his faith might die in the face of opposition and persecution.

Paul wrote to urge Timothy to “kindle afresh the gift of God that is in you” (I Timothy 1:6-7).

Satan is continually at work to destroy our faith so that we become spiritually empty. The following are five “R’s” that will help you rekindle the gift of God that is in you.

First you need to REFILL. Get on your knees and ask God through His Holy Spirit to give you a refill, a rekindling of your love for the Lord. Examine your life, repent of any sins, and then submit to His leadership in your life.

Secondly, you need to REFOCUS. Take your focus off the problems in your life that have caused you to lose your enthusiasm for the Lord. When we focus on obstacles in our life they become bigger and nothing will dim the flame of enthusiasm in your life more than fixing your thoughts on the problem that caused you to lose enthusiasm. Thus what you need to do is to fix your eyes on Christ, instead of your problems and He will become bigger than any problem you may face.

Thirdly, when we are spiritually down, the devil whispers lies into our minds such as: You can’t do this, no one appreciates you, why not call it quits. You need to recognize that these discouraging thoughts come from the devil and you need to REJECT them.

Finally, you need to get away from life in general and get alone with the Lord to rekindle your relationship with Him. This RETREAT will allow you to turn off the phone, be by yourself and will allow the Lord to speak to you.

RELY on the Lord and He will empower you to live your life for Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:16.

Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

PRAYER:

Keep my faith in You strong so that the fire of the gift of God does not die in me. Keep me faithful to You so that I can rekindle my love for You. Help me to refill by studying Your Word, refocusing on You, rejecting what is of the devil and taking time to be alone with You. May my relationship with You be what You need me to be so You can use me to bring honor and glory to You.

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Anxiety: November 20, 2014

TODAY'S WORD FOR THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2014.

ANXIETY

DEFINITION:

Distress or uneasiness caused by fear of danger or misfortune; concern; worry; dread.

SCRIPTURE:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Anxiety in a person’s life brings about an unwelcome interruption to the normality of life. Anxiety can also totally distract us and consume us so that we can think of nothing else. We can be so preoccupied by our anxiety that we become completely non-productive.

Anxiety affects our relationship with others. If you are a parent your relationship to your spouse and your children is affected by the fact that your time and energy is focused on the anxiety concern that you are faced with.

Anxiety also leads to one making unwise decisions and steals away from you the joy and peace that you enjoy as a believer. Peace and anxiety do not mesh. A person cannot be anxious and at the same time be at peace in their life. Anxiety also wastes our valuable time and energy.

Anxiety is not necessarily avoidable. If you are dealing with a serious health issue or that of someone close to you, or if you are in a serious financial crisis, or you are in some life threatening danger, it is to be expected that you would have anxiety.

Anxiety is different from fear. Fear is the natural response to an immediate threat or danger, whereas anxiety is worry over the expectation of a future threat.

When a person has long-term and deep rooted anxiety to deal with on a daily basis it brings on physical concerns. Constant anxiety is detrimental to a person’s health.

The apostle Paul faces this issue right on in Philippians 4: 4-7. Paul gives us in these verses three specific solutions to deal with anxiety in one’s life.

First, Paul tells us to bring our anxiety to God in prayer. You need to acknowledge your anxiety or it will never leave you.

Secondly, you need to come to God in prayer in the spirit of thanksgiving. Giving thanks to God focuses your thoughts on God’s goodness to you and reminds you that he is in control and always wants what is best for you. God loves you and understands your anxiety and He has the sovereign power to overcome any issue that you face. He promises to help us when we face anxiety in our lives.

Thirdly, we are to come to God with a conviction that God does love us and we can ask Him to help us in any situation because He wants to help us. The result will be that He will fulfil His promise and give you the peace of God. The peace of God is the inner calm and peace of mind that only God can give and is beyond human understanding.

Anxiety is a faith battle. One must, by faith, ask God to relieve you, rescue you, cover you, protect you and give you peace. Anxiety is a choice most of the time. It is how you handle it that eliminates anxiety.

Anxiety is bondage. You can be free of that bondage by turning your anxiety into a prayer. As Paul advises in Philippians 4:6 when you start to worry just stop and pray. If you want to be less anxious then pray more. Fret and worry over the things that are troubling us is no antidote for anxiety. Doctors often prescribe medication to relieve anxiety. That is no real solution either. Many people turn to liquor and/or drugs which needless to say is not the solution.

Since everyone will have reason to feel anxiety at one time or another why can Paul tell us not to be anxious about anything? It is because anxiety stems from a lack of trust in God’s power, His sovereignty and His wisdom. Paul had an antidote for anxiety. It was his complete trust in God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:16.

Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

PRAYER:

Help me to come to You with every anxiety in life that I may face so that I will not be distracted from serving and living for You. Help me to be an influence on my family so that we keep our minds focused on the Lord and the teachings of His Word so that we can know the peace of God that passes all of our understanding.

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Friendship: November 19, 2014

TODAY'S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2014.

FRIENDSHIP

DEFINITION:

A state of attachment to someone by affection or esteem; close association; companionship; supportive or well wishing; without hostility.

SCRIPTURE:

A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24.

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Very few people today have trusted friends that will be with them through not only the good times in life but the valley’s that we all go through. We have noticed in our lives that friendships change when circumstances change in our lives.

We developed friends when we were involved in the lives of our 6 children through the sports they played and the school functions they were involved in. Then they all moved on to college and life on their own and a new set of friends needed to be found.

Friends are lost when people move, people change jobs and situations arise among the friends they have chosen.

In the book of Proverbs Solomon gives us wise words of advice to teach us how to live a godly life. Solomon gives us words of wisdom on three aspects of friendship: the foundation of a true friendship in Proverbs 17:17; the necessity of choosing friends wisely in Proverbs 18:24; and the influence friends have on a person’s life in Proverbs 13:20.

In Proverbs 17:17 he notes the foundation of a friendship is love. A true friend is a constant source of love. To love at all times requires loyalty. Friends may not always agree but loyal friends will continue to love each other. Loyal friends will be there for each other in the good times and in the bad times.

Many people base their friendship on what they can get out of it. These kinds of friends do not last and either you will leave them or they will leave you as soon as one sees that they cannot benefit in some way with the friendship.

Genuine friendship means being available to help in times of trouble and distress. We must consider what kind of friend we are and develop friends as the scriptures encourage us to do.

In Proverbs 18:24, the writer Solomon is telling us that the person who makes friends too easily and indiscriminately does so to his own destruction. On the other hand a friend chosen wisely is more loyal than a brother. The word “friend’ here is a strong word meaning one who loves. Friendship was used in II Chronicles 20:7 to describe Abraham’s close relationship with God.

The type of friends we choose as close friends speaks volumes about us. Friends that we spend a lot of time with have a significant effect and influence on our life. Proverbs 13:20 admonishes us that, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffer harm.” We must choose our friends wisely.

It is of most importance that parents get to know who their children’s friends are and to make sure that they are the right kind of friends. Friendships are important to everyone, but especially to teenagers. Christian parents have a responsibility to get their children involved in church and with groups that uphold Biblical values so that their children can choose wholesome friendships.

The story is told by Edgar Guest of a rich man who was almost friendless. His life had been one long series of bickering and lawsuits. Friendship meant nothing to this man as he was making his fortune. Late in his life he met a man with whom he had a bitter quarrel with many years prior. The wealthy man asked the other man, “I do not understand it. Why do you have hundreds of friends and I really have none to whom I can turn?”

The old acquaintance replied, “SIR, I WAS BUSY MAKING FRIENDS YEARS AGO, WHILE YOU WERE BUSY MAKING MONEY.”

Friendship is based on love. As Christians, Christ told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We need to be friends to our neighbors especially be friends that are there when the needs are the greatest for our neighbor.

Abraham Lincoln said that the better part of one’s life consists of building and keeping friendships. Mark Twain once said that friendship is only purchased with friendship.

True friendship begins with the certainty that you must have in your heart that you are a friend of God. Do you communicate with Him daily? He alone can help us to be a friend that loves at all times.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:16.

Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

PRAYER:

Guide me in my choice of friends that I will choose wisely. Give me a spirit of love and concern for all those around me that need a friend. Help me to be the right kind of friend, a friend that loves at all times, that is loyal, and that influences friends to walk with God.

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Guard: November 18, 2014

TODAY'S WORD FOR TUESDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2014.

GUARD

DEFINITION:

Protect; keep safe; be cautious; a means of defense; watch over; look out.

SCRIPTURE:

For false Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect, if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. Mark 13:23.

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again and it is a safeguard for you. Philippians 3:1.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

As believers in Jesus we are commissioned by Him to be stewards (guard) the gospel. The power to proclaim the greatest news in heaven or on earth was not given to the angels but to redeemed men and women on this earth.

Some think that only ministers are to preach but every Christian is to be a witness to guard the good news of the gospel (I Timothy 6:20).

When we are told to guard the gospel it means we are to tell others the true gospel message and exalt Christ by our actions daily. The best sermons are both seen and heard. God expects us to be a partner and to guard the good news of the gospel that rules our lives. If we do not live what we preach we deny the validity of our faith.

To guard our faith we must guard ourselves from the evils of the world we live in. Our parents regularly reminded us to be alert and guard ourselves from things in life that could be harmful to us. We did the same to our children. Spiritually, children and adults need to guard themselves against false teachings concerning the scriptures and the evil temptations that they face in life. The Bible has been taken out of our schools so it is especially needed for parents to protect their children from the false teaching they receive in school.

This third chapter of Philippians is noted as one of the great chapters in the Bible. In it Paul gives his personal testimony and speaks of the principles that governed his life. His desire was always to guard the gospel, to grow in the Lord and to become more Christ-like. That should be our goal as well.

In this chapter Paul emphasizes that a believer must guard his faith against false teaching and he gives us practical advice to safeguard our faith.

During trials in life we can be vulnerable to Satan’s attempts to destroy our faith. We can guard our faith during the trials of life by rejoicing in the Lord. When we focus on rejoicing in the Lord the trial becomes insignificant. As we walk our daily walk we face physical and spiritual challenges and we must face them straight on. It is important not to allow these trials to take our eyes off Jesus, because Satan will use them to destroy our faith.

Satan loves to have his evil-minded followers belittle our Lord and our faith in Him by making us feel that the Lord has forgotten us because He allows us, as believers, to suffer trials.

Peter also warns us in I Peter 5:8 to be on guard and watch for the devil and false teachers because they are our enemies and are on the prowl to destroy us. Satan seizes every opportunity to overwhelm us by enticing temptations, so we can never let our guard down allowing Satan any kind of an open door into our lives. So always be on guard and watch out!

The greatest thing that “rejoicing in the Lord” does for the believer is that it places and keeps a person in the presence of Christ. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35-39). We will face trials in this sinful world but there is no trial so big that it can separate us from our Lord.

Paul faced so many trials in his life including being stoned, beaten, was homeless without food and water, and imprisoned but always continued to rejoice in the Lord. The source of Paul’s joyous contentment, no matter what his circumstances, was knowing Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.

Rejoicing in the Lord according to the apostle Paul is the sure way to guard your faith in the midst of the trials of life that you will face. In Philippians 4:4 he said it twice,” Rejoice always in the Lord.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:16.

Let the Word of God richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

PRAYER:

Keep me alert today to guard my faith against Satan’s temptations and to watch out for false teachings that will lead me astray. Keep me rejoicing in You always.

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Hope: November 17, 2014

TODAY'S WORD FOR MONDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2014.

HOPE

DEFINITION:

To want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true; the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out well; to desire with expectation of obtainable.

SCRIPTURE:

Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Several weeks ago we were watching television and listened to a reporter who was on the streets of New York City. He was asking questions of those who were walking by him. He asked one of those he was talking to if they were hopeful for good things to happen in America. Her response was quick and short: “I have no hope in my life. This world offers me nothing so I just live for what is good for me each day.”

We begin our conversation today about hope by asking if you have hope in your life. With today’s headlines we need hope for our future and that hope begins with us having a relationship with Jesus and putting our trust in Him.

Hope is a blessing we receive as a result of our faith in a righteous, all knowing, all powerful God who loves and cares about us and sent His Son Jesus to die for us on the cross, paying for our sins, and to give us a hope and a future.

We want to share with you today the hope that David, Joshua and Paul had in their lives that kept them going. We can learn from what they found to be true in their lives.

Psalm 31 is David’s prayer to God. In it he speaks of his problems and his afflictions, his need for God’s mercy, his complete trust in God, and praises God for His goodness. He closes in verse 24 by reminding us who have hope in the Lord to be strong and take courage because God will be with us just as He was with David.

These same words were spoken by Moses to Joshua in Joshua 1:7. Courage is used 20 different times in the Old Testament and is always used in anticipation of a battle and always at least inferred that His promise is to those who have their hope in the Lord.

David experienced many battles in life. He was a giant killer, a victorious warrior, and a great King. In his personal life he did make serious mistakes, but he always sought God’s forgiveness. It is neither his failures nor his greatness that David is remembered for. He is respected and remembered for his faithfulness to God. David put his complete trust and all of his hope in the Lord.

We as believers today can take this Psalm and apply it to our lives when we feel our situation is hopeless. When we feel hopeless we feel defeated. If we want victory in our life over hopelessness we must remember wherein our hope lies.

This is the necessary key factor that cannot be ignored, which David points out in the last few words of this verse: “all you who hope in the Lord.” Our hope must be in the Lord who is the one who gives us strength and courage. When our hope is in the Lord we can have confidence that God will be with us in the battles of life.

We all have seen or been in situations in life where things seem hopeless. David knew what it was to be in great despair because he had often felt he was in a hopeless situation. In life we are all in need of hope. Hope is what keeps us going.

The reason David encourages us to be of great courage is because in God he found his hope and we can do the same. God will give us strength, just as he gave David, to get through our times of hopelessness. Only a person that believes in Jesus can have this hope and that is why we continually in these devotionals remind you that you need to know Jesus as your Savior.

When you commit to living your life honoring God, He will be faithful to you and will always hear your cry for help in your time of distress and hopelessness. For those that do not know Jesus, they do not have that hope available to them. Their hope is in themselves and in their own strength or in things of the world. Hope in the wrong things or in the wrong people will doom them to a life of discouragement and hopelessness because in troubled times these things will fail and they will have no one to turn to.

Paul tells us in Titus 2:12-13 that we should live godly lives in this present age, looking for the blessed hope. Paul refers here to the second coming of Christ to this world and the blessed hope we have as believers to return with Him to an eternity with God.

In Romans 5:5 we are reminded that our hope in God does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit to reassure us of our salvation. Keep your hope strong in the Lord and each day He will bless you and not disappoint you. He is our hope.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:16.

Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

PRAYER:

How thrilled I am to have the hope of eternal life in my heart. I am grateful that my hope in You does not disappoint. Keep me strong and courageous as I face the struggles and concerns in my life.

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