Saturday, May 7, 2016,
8:15 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Full Release.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Romans 15:30-33 (ESV).
I
appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the
Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I
may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for
Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to
you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you
all. Amen.
Strive Together in
Prayer
We need to be praying for one another. We live in troubled
times. Many people are opposed to Jesus Christ and to his gospel of salvation,
even among those who claim to believe in Jesus, and even within what is commonly
regarded as the church. Persecution of Christians is rising to a new height. In
America, where such persecution has not, of yet, been to the level of that in
other nations, we are beginning to see an increase in such persecution, and a global
political campaign targeted against evangelical Christians - against those who
hold to the teachings of Jesus and those teachings of his NT apostles - in
order to discredit or to destroy us and our witness for Jesus Christ. We are
being tagged as hateful, bigoted, intolerant and as extremists who must be silenced
and/or reprogrammed.
So, we need to be praying for one another for strength and
courage to stand on the Word of God and to not compromise our faith and
convictions. We need to pray for one another for boldness in our testimonies
for Jesus Christ and for Spirit-empowered witnessing in sharing the full gospel
message with those who do not know Jesus, or with those who profess to know
him, but who never have had a heart transformation of the Spirit of God. We
need to not back down or to shrink back from sharing the full gospel message
with as many as possible before the Lord Jesus returns to earth to judge and to
take his bride to be with him. And, we need not fear any or all opposition to
us sharing the gospel, or be afraid of what humans may do to us, for our God is
with us, and nothing can touch us but what God allows it, he allows it for a
purpose, and he will carry us through it to the end.
Delivered from
Unbelievers
God does not promise us that we will not be persecuted or
hated for the sake of his name. In fact, he promises us that we will be hated
and mistreated as he was treated, and because we trust in him to be Lord and
Savior of our lives. So, God is not always going to deliver us from
persecution, but he can deliver us through difficult times, and he may
physically deliver (free) us out of situations where we are being persecuted
and mistreated. Yet, whether physically delivered or not, we can hold to the
promise that he will be with us, that he will never abandon us, and that he
will see us through to the end. Not only that, but he will be glorified through
our lives, and he will work his will both in our hearts and in the lives of
those whose lives we touch.
There are many ways in which we can be delivered from
unbelievers – from those who oppose the gospel and who refuse to believe in
Jesus Christ. God may move us away from places where we are being strongly
opposed, and he may take us to another place where there will be at least some
people who will listen and who will respond with acceptance to the gospel
message; who will come to know Jesus, who will desire him and his word, and who
will want to learn more about him. He may also take us (carry us) through these
times of testing and will use these times to strengthen us in our faith and to
teach us perseverance. As well, he may use such persecution against the saints
of God to advance the gospel so that many more people will believe on Jesus
Christ before he returns.
Acceptable Service
We also need to pray for one another that, as we share the
gospel, people will respond to God’s great salvation with faith given to them
by God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their
lives. As well, we need to pray for one another to be filled to overflowing
with the Spirit of God in ministering to the spiritual, physical and emotional
needs of the saints of God wherever God sends us. And, that God will give us
much fruit for our labors of love, and that we will have a spiritual harvest of
righteousness in other people’s lives. We need prayer, too, for sensitive
spirits to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and that we will live Spirit-empowered
lives free from selfish desires, and that we would be full of the love of God
in caring for the needs of others.
As I read this passage of scripture last evening before I
went to bed, God used it in my life to encourage my heart. Back in February of
this year the Lord had me up one night until about 4:00 a.m. He was challenging
my heart. He asked me if I would be willing to leave all this – house, children
and grandchildren – behind me, and if I would go wherever he sent me. I said, “Yes,
I will!” I slept about 3 hours, then he woke me. When I got up, my husband
informed me that he was feeling led to retire this year and to move back to
Ohio to take care of his parents. Since then, his mother has passed away, but
he still has his father and step-mom to help. As I prayed about this, the Lord
clearly said “Go,” so we began making our plans then to move back to Ohio. We have
been gone from Ohio for 34 years.
We have a house to sell here. We have a buyer, and we are
scheduled to close on our house very soon and to make this move. Yet, there has
been a glitch in the process, which, in the natural, could alter our plans. So,
I committed this a matter to prayer. The Lord Jesus has continually encouraged
me to trust him, and to believe him to move mountains, so that is where we are;
where I am. I am walking by faith and not by sight, because time is short and
we still don’t have word that this is going to happen. Yet, the Lord continues
to encourage me that he has a spiritual harvest of righteousness for me in Ohio,
so I am stepping out in faith, believing him to work it all out according to
his plans and purposes. He encouraged my heart, through this passage, that he
was taking me away from here, and that he is going to use me in people’s lives
in Ohio, and that, although there will be persecution, as well, that God is
going to supply some level of spiritual encouragement.
So, I would covet your prayers for us that God will make the
way for us to have our house sold so that we can leave all this behind us and
go with God where he is sending us, and that when we get there that there will
be a spiritual harvest of righteousness in people’s lives and that we will be
encouraged by them, as well. I ask that you pray this believing God to do what
only God can do; that he will make a way where there seems to be no way.
Full Release / An
Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s
true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their
Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
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