A Word From God
SUNDAY
A Word From God When You Feel Alone
It has been 15 years since my Dad died and I know that there are times when Mom feels lonely, but she has done very well. She goes to breakfast with a group from church, and with her high school graduating class once a month. She eats lunch with different people from time to time. She keeps in contact with the people she worked with, and often drives to take friends shopping. She has a close friend that helps her mow her yard and they eat together often. And she spends time with her four girls and their families, with home makeovers, shopping, and going places. She has been faithful to God and her church and He has blessed her with many friends. Some people don't have the strength, ability, or character to be such a helpful friend to so many others. Many are lonely. Do you need a friend? Proverbs 18:24 tells us, "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Try to make some friends. Today is the Lord's day. If you are able, find a good Bible believing church and be as faithful as you can. Christian brothers and sisters can sometimes be as close as our family relatives. Help others. There are always people who can use a helping hand and a listening ear. And remember that the Lord has promised to be with you always!
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:20)
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5)
"And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8)
MONDAY
A Word From God About Signs From Heaven
I live in North Carolina not far from the path of the 2017 solar eclipse. I see news estimates that millions are traveling to the United States for this rare occasion. I have been amazed at all the stories and headlines, some saying that this is a great sign from God about the end of time. So, on this special day I want to look at some of the verses in the Bible and see what God says about signs from heaven.
"1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed." (Matthew 16:1-4)
Jesus had healed the sick and fed thousands with only a few loaves and fishes, but they wanted a sign from heaven. Jesus gave them the sign of Jonah. "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here." (Matthew 12:40-41) The Word of God does give us signs for the last days.
"1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (II Timothy 31-5)
"4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:4-8)
You can read of God's judgment falling on the earth by fire in II Peter 3 and John gives us more about the end of time in the book of Revelation. God also gave the prophet Joel signs of the sun, moon, and stars. "The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:... The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come... The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." (Joel 2:10, 2:31 and 3:15) I don't know if the eclipse is a sign from God as some have said. But I do believe that mankind is turning away from God more than I have ever seen in my lifetime, and we better be ready to meet our Maker.
TUESDAY
A Word From God When You Are Tired And Weary
We sing a song in church that begins, "Are you weary, are you heavy hearted? Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus." "Tell It To Jesus" was written by Jeremiah Eames Rankin in 1855. I like this old song, and "Yes" I am often weary and heavy hearted. And this is very good advice, "Tell it to Jesus." The verses that come to my mind when I am tired and weary are found in Isaiah 40:28-31.
"28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
I also like what Jesus told the disciples in Mark 6:31. "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat." I have heard preachers say, "Come apart, before you come apart." At the first of summer Michael broke his hand and then our car was totaled in a wreck, and with all the work we were doing in the garden, we didn't get a vacation this summer. So, Friday we took off for a short weekend get-away in the mountains. We had a great time and it helped us re-charge our batteries, so to speak. It is great to work for our Lord and keep busy but sometimes we get tired and weary, and we need to take time to relax. I close with another great verse, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10)
WEDNESDAY
A Word From God When Others Put You Down
I see and hear so much about bullying in school and it breaks my heart. Bullying is not always of a physical nature. People can use harsh words to put others down and belittle them. I moved to a new school in the ninth grade. A revival preacher at our church had challenged us to read through the Bible in one year, and since I was shy and not good at making new friends I took my Bible to school and read during homeroom and other free time. A girl who sat near me in homeroom started calling me "Preacher" and she tried to put me down in every way possible. She knew enough about the Bible to point out places where there seemed to be contradictory verses. One that I remember was Matthew 26:34, "Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice" and Mark 14:30, "And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice." I let her have her say and over time I found out that her Dad was a deacon in the church and he and the Pastor argued and fought a lot. She lost all respect for God and His Word and anything else that pertained to Him. One day she came in and said, "So, what do you think of Matthew 5:44?" I turned over my notebook and showed her that I had written the verse on the back. "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" She was very surprised, that I had written down the very verse that she mentioned, or maybe at the thought that I would pray for her. I found out a long time ago that even though it may be hard to do, it helps to pray for those that put you down. School is not the only place where some people try to hatefully rule over others. I see men and women yell at their spouses. I have noticed on playgrounds that the bigger children often push and shove the smaller ones. It is especially difficult in work situations where those over you treat you with disrespect and may even lie and cheat to get ahead and there is not anything you can do about it. Try to pray for them. God may change them, or He may change your situation. I tried to be a good Christian witness to the girl, but I never saw a change in her during our high school years. I never lost hope for her, as sometimes the Lord will bring her to my mind and I pray for her. When we pray for others God can give us a love and concern for their soul, and an understanding heart.
THURSDAY
A Word From God When We Have A Financial Need
God blessed us with five children and it was a joy to be a stay-at-home Mom when they were small. The Lord always provided our needs, but sometimes money was tight. Michael taught school and worked at odd jobs, and they were odd, (like putting on metal roofs during temperatures in the high 90's) in the summers. I stayed home with the children, except for the rare occasions when I worked little part-time jobs the Lord placed in our lives, such as waiting tables or running a cash register. After they were all in school I went to work full-time and it helped with the financial burden, but the children were growing and so were the expenses. God always supplied our needs. I remember one time in the grocery store when we saw someone we had helped with a need in the past and he handed Michael some money he had put back to return the favor. Six years ago I lost my job and with times being the way they are, I could not find another job. But, God has never let us down. He continues to provide. One of the verses that has strengthened my faith is Malachi 3:10, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." I found out many years ago that the more I give to the Lord and to others, the more He returns to me. When I would give away three bags of clothes the boys had outgrown, the Lord would send five bags back to me from another Mom with growing children. We have often said, "You can't out-give God." One more favorite verse to close... "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
FRIDAY
A Word From God When There Is Something We Want
Have you ever seen something and thought, "I really like that" or "I would like to have something like that" and soon afterwards you got it? That has happened to me over and over again. I usually don't mind walking through the rain, but when I worked it was hard to get drenched and then sit at a desk in a cold air conditioned office. So one day I thought, "I need a good umbrella." And what do you think happened? The place where I worked bought each employee a new, good quality, umbrella with the company logo on it. Yesterday we talked about how God provides our needs, but there have been many times that I just thought in my mind, without telling anyone else, of something that I would like to have and the Lord sent it my way. Sometimes it was something I needed, like the umbrella, and other times it was something extra, a desire in my heart that nobody else knew was there. I remember one time thinking how long it had been since I had a good doughnut, and Michael "just happened" to go by Krispy Kreme on his way home from work and walked in with a dozen doughnuts. Sometimes it's the little things in life that make us smile. My verse... Psalms 37:3-4, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Another one is Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Put God first, trust Him, be thankful, and give Him your best, and He will send things in your life to make you smile.
SATURDAY
A Word From God When You Forget To Be Thankful
I got a text this week from my son who lives in another town. His working schedule varies and we rarely see him and his wife, but he is hoping to be off for Thanksgiving and wants to come for lunch and to spend time with our family. It is great that we have a special time set aside to be thankful. We can be with our families and enjoy good food and fellowship and remember all that God has done for us. But we don't have to wait until Thanksgiving Day to be thankful. We talked about how God supplies our needs and how He gives us "the desires of our heart." He also watches over us and gives us protection. If we could not think of any other reason to be thankful, we could never thank Him enough for giving His life on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our sins and be saved. We should get up every morning and be thankful for a new day, and take time to thank Him for His continued blessings when we lay down at night. We could even be like Daniel and kneel to give the Lord thanks three times a day. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." (Daniel 6:10) We can even be like the Apostle Paul, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" (Ephesians 5:20)
"1 <<A Psalm of David.>> Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed." (Psalm 103:1-6)
