In The Day of Trouble

Lord, Be Gracious

Psalm 86:1-7 ESV

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

    for I am poor and needy.

Preserve my life, for I am godly;

    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

Be gracious to me, O Lord,

    for to you do I cry all the day.

Gladden the soul of your servant,

    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

    listen to my plea for grace.

In the day of my trouble I call upon you,

    for you answer me.

We all go through trials. They are part of life. No one promised us that life would be easy. If they did, they “sold us a bill of goods,” i.e. they deceived us.

And, walking in obedience to our Lord is not easy, either. He said it would be hard. He said that we would be hated as he was hated. He said that as they treated him, so would we be treated. So, he didn’t promise us an easy life. He promised us that the Christian life would be a life of suffering, but that it would reap a harvest of righteousness and of joy.

For, you see, even though we may be saved from our sins, and we may be in relationship with God, and we may have the hope of eternal life with God, we still live in flesh bodies, and our flesh is at war with the Spirit, and the Spirit is at war with the flesh. So, that is why scripture teaches that we must daily take up our cross and follow Jesus; that we must, by the Spirit, die daily to the flesh and to sin (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

And, so the Lord helps us with this process of daily dying to sin, self, and the flesh by regularly pruning and disciplining (chastising, reproving) us, and by allowing us to go through difficulties, so that we might be holy as he is holy, and so we might grow to maturity of faith in Christ. He allows hardships in our lives, too, so that we learn to depend on him and not on ourselves, and so we can encourage others, too, who are going through similar trials.

[Ro. 5:3-5; Phil. 3:7-11; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; 4:12-17; 1 Thess. 3:1-5; Jas. 1:2-4; Matt. 5:10-12; Lu. 21:12-19; 2 Co. 1:3-11; Heb. 12:3-12; Rev. 3:19]

So, sometimes he will lift the burden of suffering from us, and other times he doesn’t, if it is necessary in our lives in order to accomplish his purposes in our lives. Sometimes he will deliver us out of situations where we are suffering greatly, and sometimes he doesn’t, but he delivers us through them by giving us his strength, and by teaching us his ways and his truths so that we can apply them to our lives in our suffering.

Sometimes he may remove us from a difficult situation to restore our joy, while other times he will teach us that we can rejoice in our suffering and that joy does not have to be contingent on our circumstances. So, sometimes the way he saves us is by helping us to endure suffering for his sake, and by growing us in our walks of faith through suffering.

You Alone Are God

Psalm 86:8-13 ESV

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

    nor are there any works like yours.

All the nations you have made shall come

    and worship before you, O Lord,

    and shall glorify your name.

For you are great and do wondrous things;

    you alone are God.

Teach me your way, O Lord,

    that I may walk in your truth;

    unite my heart to fear your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

    and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me;

    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

So, we shouldn’t resist suffering. It doesn’t mean we willfully invite it into our lives, though, unless it is just the natural result of us obeying our Lord. But, when we go through hard times, we need to be asking the Lord to teach us what he wants us to learn through these difficulties.

What lessons do we need to learn? How does he want to grow us spiritually? What changes does he want in our conduct or in our attitudes? Is there something we are doing that we need to stop doing? Is there something we haven’t been doing that he has been nudging us to do that we need to start doing? Have we gotten off the path of righteousness at all? Are we being distracted by the things of this world? Are we listening to the wrong voices? What needs changed in our lives? We need to let him teach us his ways.

God does have a purpose for our suffering. He is still God! He is still on the throne! He is still completely sovereign over all that He has made. Nothing escapes his notice. He knew this was going to happen to us before he even made us, before he even created the world. And, he had a plan for it all along. So, whatever we are going through, we need to submit to him in it.

We need to have hearts that fear the Lord, and so many do not, even so many who profess faith in Jesus Christ do not walk in the fear of the Lord. They are still worldly, still yielding to the flesh, still caught up in what they want out of this life, while not submitting their lives to the Lordship of Christ.

So, the Lord allows suffering, too, to bring his wandering ones back to him, so that they will follow him in obedience, and so that they will honor him as Lord of their lives in all of their conduct. And, not one of us is perfect.

Give Your Servant Strength

Psalm 86:14-17 ESV

O God, insolent men have risen up against me;

    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,

    and they do not set you before them.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and be gracious to me;

    give your strength to your servant,

    and save the son of your maidservant.

Show me a sign of your favor,

    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame

    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

If we are truly following Jesus Christ wholeheartedly, and we are denying our sinful flesh, and we are walking in the ways of the Lord, doing what he says, we are going to face opposition from those who do not honor Christ as Lord. And, this opposition can come from within the gatherings of the church, too, for not everyone who professes the name of Jesus honors him as Lord of their lives. Many are living in spiritual adultery against God.

Some who are opposed to us are insolent, i.e. they are insultingly contemptuous in speech or conduct (M-W). So, why are they this way? Well, they are sinners, for one. But, sometimes this stems from deep-rooted and longstanding sinful practices, bitterness, hatred, jealousy, and the like. And, sometimes this is because they have made a long standing practice of not using good judgment, but of doing what is unwise (stupid and careless). And, they haven’t changed.

They are angry people, mainly with themselves, but they take that anger out on others, and they blame others for their own sins. They don’t let go of the anger, and they don’t forgive others who they feel have injured them, and so they store all that hatred and bitterness inside of them. So, even if they appear outwardly happy, they are really very angry bitter people with bad-tempers.

So, they often end up following after their flesh and they deny the Spirit of God by their lifestyles. So, they end up doing things to hurt others, perhaps to get even for any injustices they feel they have suffered. And, so they end up plotting evil against others, too. And, they may even slander others just to cover their own hides, i.e. to protect their own secrets which they fear may be exposed. And, they may engage in manipulation and trickery to accomplish their evil schemes, too.

So, we should anticipate that we could be betrayed, falsely accused of wrongdoing, lied about, and slandered. We shouldn’t be afraid of this happening, though, not that the idea of it is pleasant, by any means. But, we shouldn’t worry that this might happen to us, for our Lord said that when we are brought before rulers on account of our faith in Jesus Christ that he will give us the words to say. So, we need to trust him, and rest in him.

So, this is a cry for help from our Lord in these situations, when we face such opposition from such people as these. We need to pray that the Lord will give us strength to endure what we are going through or what may yet be on the horizon for us. And, we can endure anything he allows in our lives because we are in Him, and we are depending on his strength to endure.

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

Lyrics by Frances J Crosby, pub. 1875

Music by Robert Lowry, pub. 1875

All the way my Savior leads me,

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial,

Feeds me with the living Bread.

Though my weary steps may falter

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Oh, the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father’s house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way.

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Where Are They All?

An Original Work / January 30, 2020

Where are all the children?

Where’s the laughter and the joy?

Where’s the smiles and the twinkling eyes

Of the girls and of the boys?

Where’s the sunshine, moon and stars

That once shone, oh so bright?

Where’s the hugs and kisses of the mamas

As they tell their kids “goodnight”?

Where’s the Daddies playing ball

With their sons out on the field?

And the innocence of years gone by,

Lost beyond what they can feel?

Where’s the unity of families

Who are one, in love with Christ?

Reading Bibles to their children and

Saying prayers with kids at night?

Have we lost them to the world?

To the lusts of sin and flesh?

Are we sacrificing our children

On the altars of selfishness?

Are we handing them devices

With the internet in tow?

Hoping they’ll be entertained

As they sit and watch the show?

Are we seating them, front of the screen,

Hoping they’ll be babysat

While we get on our smart phones

And with our friends we chat?

Oh, Lord, help us, as your people,

That we may in You abide,

And that we’ll not neglect our children,

And to our idols be sacrificed.

We need to protect the innocence of children, as much as it is within our power to do so, realizing the world in which we now live.

Torrents of Ungodliness

Saved from My Enemies

Psalm 18:1-6 NASB

“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Who is our enemy? He is Satan, the devil. He is God’s and our arch enemy, our principal (main) enemy, our primary nemesis (opponent, adversary). He contends with, he opposes and he comes against God, against Jesus Christ (God the Son), the gospel of our salvation, and the Lord’s servants and messengers. But he has hordes who are joining in with him, too, in opposing God and his righteousness and the truth of his gospel of salvation.

But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we do not need to fear Satan or his hordes. They have no real power over us. Yes, they can fight against us, and they can injure us or even kill us, but they can’t steal the love of God from our hearts unless we let them.

But, who are these hordes? They are the same as the ones Jesus faced. They are leaders within the church – pastors, elders, deacons, and teachers of the Word. And, they are church denominational heads, and heads of governments, too, i.e. they are those who have authority over God’s people. And, they are those who follow after false teachers and who have bought into their lies, too, and who are buying into the cheap grace gospel, and thus they are opposing the true gospel and its messengers, too.

They are those whose minds are in the gutter, who are thinking on worldly things, whose minds are consumed with the passions (lusts, desires) of the flesh, and not of God. They are the proud, self-sufficient, self-indulgent, immature, foolish, fruitless, adulterous and worldly, but who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. They have an outward appearance of righteousness, but in secret, in the dark, they engage in all manner of evil when they think no one is looking, and no one knows what they are doing.

So, their outward displays of righteousness are more like stage props, used in order to give out a desired impression or to enhance their performance. And they can be such things as taking pride in church attendance or in giving, or in their outward displays of worship of God, putting on a show to look good on the outside while inside their hearts and their minds are filled with the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

So, this is an outcry against all this godlessness that is going on within the church in the name of God and in the name of Christianity. This is an outcry against this cheap grace gospel, too, which is giving free license to continue in the lusts of the flesh, as a matter of life course, while claiming heaven as one’s eternal destiny. For, many people are being led astray by this half-truth lie of a gospel that is of man, not of God. And, it is destroying their lives. So, this is a prayer for God to come to the rescue to save his people.

Fire from His Mouth

Psalm 18:7-8 NASB

Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

This is about a judgment of God against this cheap grace gospel which is flooding the church like a torrent. And, it is against those who are spreading this cheap grace gospel, too.

For what they are teaching is a half-truth lie which is leading people to believe that they can be “saved” from their sins, and have heaven as their eternal destiny, but that they can continue living in sin, captive to the lusts of their flesh. And many are now taking it to the point of telling people they don’t have to repent of their sins or obey God or submit to Christ as Lord but that heaven still awaits them when they die.

And, this judgment is coming from the MOUTH of God via His Word and via his servants and messengers who are exposing Satan’s lies and who are preaching the truth of the gospel as Jesus and his NT apostles taught it.

God is fighting fire with fire, i.e. he is fighting these passions of the flesh with the Word of his truth, and he is showing the lies for what they are, and he is expounding his truth through those who are his willing servants in taking his truth to the world, and who are willing, too, to expose the lies for what they are.

The lie is that we can live however we want, yet on a profession of faith in Jesus Christ we can have heaven as our eternal destiny. The truth is that true salvation from sin and eternal life with God are not guaranteed on a profession of faith, but on faith as is evidenced in submission to Christ, in obedience to his commands, and in leaving our sinful lifestyles behind us to follow our Lord in obedience.

Not saying here that we have to live in sinless perfection, but that our walks of faith determine whether or not our faith is genuine (Rom. 8:1-17).

This mindset that says that how we live doesn’t matter to God, for his grace covers it all, is a lie from hell. And, it is sending many people to hell while promising them freedom (like the Pharisees did).

For, it allows for its followers to be spiritually lazy and apathetic, and to continue in wickedness and in all manner of evil and in self-indulgence and foolishness. But, then it tells them that a mere profession of faith is enough to get them into heaven, so it serves more like a stage prop, but it is artificial and temporary.

But, when we call on God in truth, and we repent of our sins, and we obey his commandments, and when we submit to Christ as Lord of our lives, and we walk in holiness and godliness, empowered by the Spirit of God, then we have heaven secured and we have the promise of eternal life with God.

Then we are rescued from the enemy of our souls and from godlessness. Then, we are delivered from our slavery to sin and we are empowered of the Spirit of God to walk righteously before our Lord the rest of our days. Amen!

So, don’t buy into the lies which will send you to hell while promising you heaven. Know the truth which will set you free. Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and that we might live with him to his righteousness. If, instead, we continue in sinful lifestyles (practices), then we don’t have eternal life with God but a fearful expectation of the fires of hell.

[See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Eph. 4:17-24; Eph. 5:3-6; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6]

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Lyrics by Charles Wesley, pub. 1740

Music by Simeon B. Marsh, 1834

Jesus, lover of my soul,

Let me to Thy bosom fly,

While the nearer waters roll,

While the tempest still is high.

Hide me, O my Savior, hide,

Till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the haven guide;

Oh, receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none,

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, ah! leave me not alone,

Still support and comfort me.

All my trust on Thee is stayed,

All my help from Thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of Thy wing.

Wilt Thou not regard my call?

Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?

Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—

Lo! on Thee I cast my care.

Reach me out Thy gracious hand!

While I of Thy strength receive,

Hoping against hope I stand,

Dying, and behold, I live.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want,

More than all in Thee I find;

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,

Heal the sick, and lead the blind.

Just and holy is Thy Name,

Source of all true righteousness;

Thou art evermore the same,

Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found,

Grace to cover all my sin;

Let the healing streams abound;

Make and keep me pure within.

Thou of life the fountain art,

Freely let me take of Thee;

Spring Thou up within my heart;

Rise to all eternity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xa_uFa2fPI

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Bad Guilt and Good Guilt

So, I have been going back and forth on what my diet should look like. I don’t want to be under bondage to “don’t touch” and “don’t taste,” with regard to food and drink. And, I want to be able to walk in freedom and not feel as though I have a hand smacking my hand any time I might eat a piece of pizza or drink a coke, which, by the way, is not a regular event for me, which is a good thing.

I have been cutting back on portions, and I have been avoiding and/or severely limiting fatty foods and chocolate, but sometimes I am just too tired to try to fix something really healthy, and it is just easier to grab whatever is convenient. Now, I can feel an allegory coming on here.

But, I know what God’s word teaches regarding food and drink. We are not to be gluttonous and we are not to get drunk. I don’t drink alcoholic beverages, and no one that I know of would accuse me of being a glutton. And, we are not to be under bondage to “don’t taste” and “don’t touch,” with regard to food and drink, for Jesus set us free from such bondage.

When we eat out, I either get a kid’s meal, my husband Rick and I share a meal, or I eat half my meal and take the other half home and eat it another time. Sometimes I can get 3 or 4 meals out of a restaurant serving. And, I don’t eat large meals at home, nor do I snack much at all between meals.

Sometimes my blood sugar will drop and then I get the shakes really bad, and so I will eat something, and then I am ok again within a few minutes.

Exercising Wisdom

But, I have put on a few pounds more than I need, so I do want to make some cuts, and I do want the Lord’s guidance in this, but he doesn’t usually hand me a detailed diet to follow. So, I have to just ask for his wisdom and trust him to lead me and for me to know when it is him speaking to me.

For, Satan loves to attempt to get into these conversations and to try to put me on a guilt trip, and to try to bring me back under bondage to where I feel there is a hammer just waiting to strike if I have a hamburger instead of a salad for lunch, which is what I did today, because I was lacking the energy to make me a salad, and my husband was willing to fix me a hamburger. Again, I feel a parable coming on here.

So, let’s be clear first of all on what the Bible teaches regarding food and drink. We who believe in Jesus Christ are not under the dietary restrictions of the Old Covenant Relationship God had with those who were then his people. We are not to live under bondage in this area, either, to where we don’t enjoy eating, for God gave us food to enjoy, and he gave us smell and taste and touch so we could enjoy the food that we eat.

That is a good pleasure, but it can be abused. So, we need to not abuse it. We need to not be consumed by food and drink to where they become our god, or to where we become gluttonous or drunk.

And, they can become our god if we look to food and to drink to comfort us in our trials instead of looking to God to be our comfort. And, we should exercise reasonable discernment with regard to food and drink if they are causing us to have health issues, too. We shouldn’t abuse our bodies, but that can be subjective. So, we need to listen to our bodies’ warnings.

Cut it Off!

Mark 9:44-48 ESV

“And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’”

Ok, so this is kind of the opposite of what we just talked about. With regard to food and drink, which goes inside the body and then out of the body, we are not to live under bondage to where we can’t even enjoy what God has provided for us to enjoy. But, we are certainly to exercise wisdom and use good common sense with regard to portions and types of food which may be harmful to our health. But, again, this can be somewhat subjective.

So, whereas with food and drink, we are free from the law which says “don’t taste” and “don’t touch,” we cannot carry over that same freedom with regard to God’s moral laws, which is what a lot of people do.

We can’t get spiritually lazy and just go for what is “convenient” because it is just too hard to resist Satan, to flee temptation, and to throw off those weights and those sins which so easily entangle us. But, that is what is happening in today’s modern church. They are going after the cheap grace gospel which gives them liberty to indulge in as much sin as they want without guilt and without remorse, because it is easier.

But, just as I have to look at what God’s word teaches regarding food and drink so that I make certain I am walking in obedience to God’s Word, we must do the same with regard to all of our conduct. But, I also looked at what God’s Word teaches regarding food and drink so that I don’t come back under bondage to Satan, too, and we must do the same regarding all our conduct.

The Easy Way Out

We can’t just take the easy way out just because it is convenient or it feels good, or because we don’t want that feeling that we are getting the smack down when we do what we know is wrong.

But, they confuse the purpose and the source of the smack down they get when they are morally sinning against God with what I experienced when Satan was trying to put me under a guilt trip about what food I eat. For, they are the opposite of each other. God is the one with the smack down when we willfully choose to walk in disobedience to him, and Satan is the author of the smack down when we resist bondage to true legalism.

And, they also confuse God’s moral laws, which are for our good, with legalism, and the freedom we have in Christ with the free license for lasciviousness. For, following God’s moral laws is not legalism, and true freedom in Christ is freedom from bondage to sin, not freedom to continue in sinful practices without guilt because you don’t want to feel guilt.

And, so many people go for the easy (cheap) grace, because it eases the guilt, and they feel the liberty, too, to indulge in what God definitely calls sin, because it is just too hard to resist Satan and to flee temptation. And, because there are so many people out there willing to offer them a cheap substitute, i.e. a chopped up version of God’s true grace, in order to ease their consciences, and to render them guilt free, they grab and go so that they can continue on in what they know is wrong.

So, we need to study the scriptures and learn what they teach us with regard to God’s moral laws and his requirements of us, his followers. And, then we need to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and we need to heed the warnings in scripture with regard to what will happen to us if we continue on a course of sinful rebellion against God while claiming God’s grace covers it all (Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6).

And, we need to pray for wisdom, and make the necessary cuts that God’s word says we must make. For, many people continue in sinful addiction because they will not cut out of their lives what they know is leading them into sin, and then they act surprised when they keep failing in the same sinful areas over and over again (See: Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; Heb. 12:1-17).

So, the bottom line here is that if you are habitually sinning against God, and if you are making sin your practice because you want to hold on to your sin, or because you are just too lazy to do what it takes to cut these sinful practices out of your life, and so you adopt the cheap grace gospel, it will come back to bite you in the end, for we are all going to reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8). So, obey the truth which will set you free!

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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To Accomplish His Work

Come and See

John 4:28-30 ESV

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.

Jesus Christ had a divine appointment with a woman at a well in Samaria. 

During his time with her, he shared with her the gospel of Jesus Christ. He revealed himself to her as the promised Messiah, the Christ of Israel. And, he told her about the gift of God, and of his living water, himself, his Spirit, his grace, faith, his salvation and eternal life with God, of the Spirit of God.

And, he told her of the changed life she could have by receiving this living water – his salvation and the Spirit of God and eternal life with God. He would fulfill her thirst for love and acceptance, and she would no longer be thirsty for what could never satisfy, which was her sinful lifestyle. Now she would have the Spirit of God welling up in her unto eternal life.

And, then he spoke to her about what it truly means to worship God, which was different from the idolatrous worship she was accustomed to. He taught her about what it means to worship God in spirit and in truth, which has nothing to do with customs or religious performance, but it has everything to do with transformation of our hearts, of the Spirit of God, away from sin, to following Jesus Christ in obedience to his will and to his ways.

So, after their conversation was completed, she left and she went and told the people of her town all about her conversation with Jesus Christ and the things which he told her, and that he might be the Christ who was to come. And, so they came to check him out for themselves, based on her testimony.

To Do the Will of God

John 4:31-38 ESV

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

The disciples, although they were followers of Jesus Christ (at least 11 of the 12 were), they didn’t have perfect understanding of who Jesus was and of his mission on this earth.

Their minds sometimes were more focused on the things of this world than they were heavenly focused, for they thought more in terms of this world than the world that was yet to come. And so Jesus often had to correct their thinking, and he had to refocus their minds on heavenly things, and on what really mattered for eternity.

And, sometimes we can get that way, too, thinking more in terms of the things of this life than on the things of God’s eternal kingdom. And, so he has to readjust our thinking from time to time, too.

And, what he said here is really the crux of the gospel of our salvation. It is really the heart of why Jesus died on that cross to take away our sins. And, that is that our sustenance for life should be to do the will of God who gave us life, and who gave us new (spiritual) life in him, too. And, it is to accomplish his work, too.

And, what is his will for our lives? It is that we should die with him to sin and live with him to his righteousness, for that is the reason he died on that cross. And, it is that we should walk in obedience to his commands and live lives which are pleasing to him and which are holy in all of our conduct (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; 1 Pet. 1:13-16).

And, what is his work on this earth that he would have us accomplish in his power at work within our hearts? It is that we should share the gospel of his salvation – the true gospel – with the people of this world, which includes all who have professed faith in him, too, for not all have true faith. And, it is that we should walk the walk and not just talk the walk, so that we set the example for how the Christian life is to be lived out in our lives, too.

And, the harvest that we will reap will be a harvest of human souls who have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, who are walking in his righteousness and who are living holy lives pleasing to God because we had the courage and the determination to tell them the truth, and to expose to them the lies so that they are not led astray to a false Jesus and a false (cheap) grace.

Many Witnesses

For, many witnesses are going throughout the earth preaching a cheap grace gospel and a false Jesus, telling people that they don’t have to turn away from their sins, and that they don’t have to walk in obedience to the Lord, and that they don’t have to surrender their lives to the Lordship of Christ, but that they can still go to heaven when they die. And, that’s a lie.

They are giving them a false hope of eternal life with God and the sense that they have no fear of God’s judgments, based on some mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ. But, the “light” which they are preaching is not constant, but it is flickering, and it is superficial and artificial, for it does not submit to God, but it gives free license for lasciviousness.

And, so people’s hearts and lives are now being governed by this cheap grace gospel which promises them freedom from sin while it encourages them to remain in slavery to sin with no way out. But, this cheap grace gospel stands in opposition to God’s true grace, and so it hates God’s true grace, because it is of Satan who hates Jesus and his gospel and his messengers, too.

So, if we are preaching what Jesus taught, that our sustenance for life should be to do the will of God who brought us into this life, and that we should do the work of God on this earth in bringing others to Christ, then we are going to be hated as Jesus was hated, and we will be opposed as his gospel is being opposed today by those pushing the cheap grace.

Because of the Testimony

John 4:39-42 ESV

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

But, if we share the words of Jesus with our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances, church family, and people on the internet, too, then they can come and see for themselves what Jesus is all about, and what his Word teaches, and many can then have true faith in Jesus Christ which will well up in them unto eternal life with God.

But, it is important, too, that we share with them how that is impacting our lives and what a difference that is making in our lives, so that we aren’t just teaching them theory that we haven’t personally experienced ourselves. The woman at the well experienced Jesus, and she told her experience, too, how Jesus changed her life, I believe, and many believed in Jesus.

But, for those who are holding on to the cheap grace, and they are not in true relationship with Jesus Christ, although they call themselves the church, and they claim they have faith, and that it will result in them going to heaven when they die, if they do not change, and they don’t turn their hearts over to Jesus, one day they will stand before God and say “Lord, Lord,” but he will answer, “Depart from me. I never knew you!”

So, make sure today that you are believing the true gospel of grace which demands death to sin and living to righteousness and walks of obedience to our Lord and surrender to Christ as Lord (owner-master) of our lives.

It doesn’t demand sinless perfection, but we must walk (in practice) according to the Spirit of God and not according to our flesh, if we want to have eternal life with God (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6; Rom. 2:6-8; Gal. 6:7-8).

Nearer, My God, to Thee

Lyrics: Sarah F. Adams, pub. 1841

Vs. 6: Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr.

Music: Lowell Mason, 1856

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,

Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n;

All that Thou sendest me, in mercy giv’n;

Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,

Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;

So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,

There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest;

Age after age to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwLl5nY5WPI

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Copyright status is public domain

A Divine Appointment

Gift of God

John 4:1-14 Summary

Jesus had a divine appointment with a woman at a well one day. She was from Samaria. (Samaritans were not liked by the Jews). He asked the woman for some water. She was surprised that he, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink of water. Jesus told her that if she knew the gift of God, and who it was that was asking her for a drink, that she would have asked him, and he would have given her living water.

She was still thinking of literal water, so Jesus told her that everyone who drinks of the well water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that he will give them will never be thirsty again. For, the water that he will give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Gift of God

Jesus was referring to himself as the gift of God, plus God’s grace to us, in sending Jesus (God the Son) to die on a cross for our sins, is the gift of God, as is the God-given faith necessary for us to be saved from our sins, as is our salvation from sin. Plus, eternal life with God is also the gift of God to all who are believing in Him with God-given faith (Eph. 2:8-10; Rom. 6:23).

If she only knew who it was who was asking her for a drink. And, who did he later then reveal who he was to her? He told her that he was the Messiah (the Christ), the promised seed of Abraham, the Savior of the world that the Jews had been told was coming, and that they had been anticipating. If she only knew that it was the Christ who was asking her for a drink, she would have asked him for living water.

And, what is this living water? It is the Holy Spirit, and it is our salvation from sin, and it is our eternal life with God, and it is our new lives in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

For, when we believe in Jesus with God-gifted faith, which submits to him as Lord, and which turns from sin to walk in obedience to him, then we are translated of the Spirit of God from death to life. We are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:17-24).

And, then the Holy Spirit of God comes to live within us, and the life we now live in these flesh bodies we live by faith in Jesus Christ and empowered of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20).

And, that faith is realized in what we do in obedience to our Lord. So daily, by the Spirit, we die to sin and self, and daily we take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ wherever he leads us in doing whatever it is he commands us to do (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 2:3-6).

And, he fills us to overflowing with his presence, and with his love, and with his strength, knowledge, and empowerment to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God. And, he also enables us to resist Satan, to flee temptation, and to draw near to God in full assurance of faith (Rom. 12:1-2).

And, for those who follow our Lord in obedience, and in surrender to his will, and who are walking with him, as a matter of practice, according to the Spirit of God, and who are not living their lives to please the flesh, they will have eternal life with God (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

In Spirit and Truth

John 4:15-24 Summary

The woman then asked Jesus for this living water, although she was still thinking of physical water.

But, Jesus had a very curious response to her request. He told her to go call her husband and then to come back there. She admitted she had no husband. And, then Jesus acknowledged the correctness of her statement. But, then he added that she had had five husbands and that the man she was now with was not her husband.

To this the woman responded that she perceived that Jesus was a prophet. But, then she went on to talk about some differences between the Jews and the Samaritans with regard to their worship of God, although I believe that the Samaritans mixed the Jewish faith with idolatry, but then the Jews were known for that, too, throughout their history.

But, Jesus made it clear to her that their worship of God was lacking in knowledge and understanding of who He truly was and of what was required of them in their worship of him. So, it wasn’t true worship of God. But, he said, that a day was coming, and was there, when true worshipers of God would and must worship him in spirit and in truth.

True Worship of God

So, what was the message Jesus was giving to her, and to us? It was that worship of God is not outward only. It is not a formula or some religious performance. And, it is not man-made and self-determined. And, it is not restricted to a particular physical location. For, we can’t determine for ourselves how and where we would worship God. God determines those things, and it is up to us to comply with Him.

In modern day Christianity and in institutional churches they have something called “worship services” in buildings built by human hands which they call “church” and which are usually under the auspices of church denominations, and in America, under the government, too.

And, they have their routines that they often follow. Even those who are a little looser regarding structure still basically follow a specific formula of what they call worship. In some of these churches, their worship services are very formal and liturgical. Others are very loosely structured, but again, are consistent in what they do. And, then there are those who are somewhere in between, not too stiff, but not loose, either.

But, does the structure or the lack thereof, or the specific formula or routine of these “worship services” constitute true worship of God? No! Not in themselves they don’t. So, what determines if we are truly worshiping God or not? Scripture says our spiritual worship of God is giving ourselves to our Lord as “living sacrifices,” holy and pleasing to God, no longer conformed to the pattern of this world (Rom. 12:1-2).

So, we can go through all the routines of worship in something called “worship services” inside buildings called “church” and not worship God at all. We could be worshiping God, providing what we are doing is not contrary to God’s Word and his divine will for us, and providing our hearts are in the right place, and that we are living holy lives, pleasing to him. But, the routines themselves do not constitute true worship of God.

In Spirit and Truth

So, to worship God in spirit, is inward, not outward, although it may be expressed outwardly in some respects. And, it is of the heart, not of outward form or ritual. And, it is lives surrendered to Jesus Christ to walks of obedience to him, who are living separate (unlike, different) from the world in the way that we think and act and speak. And, it is of the Spirit of God and not of the flesh of man.

And, to worship him in truth is to not be hypocritical or showy or to just follow a formula, but it is to be sincere and honest in our worship of God by repenting of sin and walking in obedience to him daily, and by living lives which are separate from this sinful world and which are pure, trustworthy, faithful, moral, and upright, for the glory of God.

And, we don’t have to go to a “worship service” at a building called “church” to worship God, either, individually or collectively.

If the Holy Spirit is living within us, we are God’s temple, his house. God now lives within us, so we can worship him anywhere at any day in the week at any hour of the day or night. A group of us could meet together at a coffee house or in a parking lot or at a grocery store and together we can worship God by our lives committed to him, in obedience to him in doing what he says to do.

And, together that involves us encouraging one another in our walks of faith to obedience to Christ. And, it involves us using the gifts God has given to us to the building up of the body of Christ to maturity in Christ, our Lord. And, it includes us serving one another in the areas of ministry to which God has assigned us for the mutual encouragement of one another.

In all these ways we are worshiping God in spirit and in truth, because we are living holy lives, pleasing to God, surrendered to our Lord, which is our spiritual worship of him. And, we are no longer living after the ways of this sinful world, but we are walking by the Spirit of God, instead. And then our worship of him can also be expressed outwardly in praise, in singing, in prayer and in thanksgiving to our God for all that he has done for us.

Do You Know My Jesus?

William F. Lakey, 1956

V.B. Vep Ellis, 1957

Do you know my Jesus?

Do you know my friend,

Have you heard He loves you,

And that He will abide till the end?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I717TmsqePc

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Is He Our Shepherd?

If He is Our Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-3 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

    He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

    He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for his name's sake.

Is the Lord our shepherd? For him to be our shepherd, we have to be his sheep. And, Jesus said that his sheep know him, they listen to him, and they follow (obey) him. They are led by him, and they don’t follow strangers. And, he gives them eternal life, and they shall never perish (Jn. 10:1-30).

So, for Jesus to be our shepherd, and for us to be his sheep, we have to listen to him, not just with our ears, but with our hearts, and with our actions (our conduct, our behaviors).

And, we know him intimately by God-given faith him, which submits to him as Lord of our lives, and which follows him in obedience, and which walks in his ways, under his guidance and direction, and which leaves our sinful lifestyles and our idols behind us.

And, we don’t follow (obey, surrender our lives to) strangers. And, a stranger is anyone who is working in opposition to Jesus Christ and to his gospel message, as he and as his NT apostles taught it, in its entirety.

So, that means we follow the gospel that says we must die to sin and live to righteousness, to have eternal life with God. And, we don’t follow the gospel that says we can profess faith in Jesus Christ, but it doesn’t matter how we live our lives on this earth, but that we still have the promise of heaven (See Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

For, he leads us in his righteousness. And, if we aren’t being led in his righteousness, then perhaps we aren’t his true sheep.

So, those who think that Jesus is just a free ride to heaven and that they have to do nothing – no repentance, no obedience, and no surrender of our lives to him as Lord – they have a big surprise coming to them, and it is not a good one. They will reap what they sow – if to the flesh, then destruction – but if to the Spirit, then eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6).

Utterly Destroyed

The church that has become market-driven and flesh-driven is teaching a gospel of grace absent of the cross of Christ in our lives – in death to sin. And, it is leading many people to believe that it doesn’t matter how they live their lives. So, it has halted (stopped) the working of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts and lives, and it has supplanted the true gospel of salvation with a cheap grace substitute that requires no walks of obedience to Christ.

Thus, that church is utterly destroyed. But, I believe it can be revived by the grace of God if they will repent of their sins, and if they will surrender their hearts to Jesus Christ, and if they will now walk in his ways and in his truth.

So, when we are his true sheep, and we are following him in obedience, and we are listening to him, and we are not shutting out his voice, then we have his comfort, his peace, his security, his provisions, his guidance and wisdom, his help, his strength, and his empowerment, etc. He, thus, gives us all that we need to resist Satan, to flee temptation, to draw near to God and to walk in obedience to him. And, he gives us eternal life, and we will never perish.

Dark Days

Psalm 23:4 ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

    your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

We who are humans, who live in flesh bodies, will have times when things don’t go so well, and in fact, they may go very badly. We will have dark days. We will go through tough times and serious trials and afflictions. It may even feel sometimes as though everything in our lives is coming all “unglued.” And, we may even despair of life, as Paul did. And, we may wonder if we can take more without breaking.

Our families may be falling apart. Personal relationships may be strained because of someone’s sinful practices. We may be experiencing financial hardships or deaths in our families. Or there may be an impending divorce someone is facing, or the acknowledgment of an adulterous relationship which has broken or destroyed trust between a married couple. Or, there may be a sick child or a personal disaster, and the list goes on.

But, if we are the sheep of his pasture, and he truly is our shepherd, he will carry us through. We just have to trust him with our circumstances and believe that he is God, that he is completely sovereign over all that he has made, and that he knew these things were going to happen even before we were even conceived. So, he has a plan. And, he will work all things for good for those who love God and who have been called according to his purpose. But, know that to love God means that we obey his commandments.

So, we don’t ever have to be afraid of what we are going through, or of the future and what it may hold for us. We just have to take it one day at a time, trusting the Lord in all ways in every step of the way. For, he has this. Worrying never solves anything! It just means we don’t trust God. We don’t believe that he is in control. So, we need to trust him and rest in him. And, he will comfort us with his love.

My Cup Overflows

Psalm 23:5-6 ESV

You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

Our enemy’s goal is to make us afraid, to take us out, and to get us to turn tail and run. He hopes to make us fall or to get us to give up and to abandon ship. And, he is very skilled at what he does, too.

Yet, our Lord supplies us with everything that we need. He comforts and he helps us. He pours out his spiritual blessings upon us, too, and he shows us that he loves and cares about us. And, he does this in the presence of our enemies. Thus, they may even be jealous of us, or hate us because of it, like Cain hated his brother Abel and so he murdered him.

So, we may face even greater persecution and opposition because God is using us, and our enemy and his followers hate us for it. And, especially if we are teaching the true gospel of grace, and not the cheap grace, we will be opposed, and we will be falsely accused and even persecuted.

So, God’s goodness that follows us all the days of our lives does not ensure us that we won’t have difficulties or trials or persecutions. It just means he is with us, carrying us through every one of them, using these times of testing to make us holy, to purify us, and to grow us in him and in his grace.

And, he will even use what seems like impossible situations for his glory, and he will use us as his instruments of his grace and righteousness in the lives of others, even while we are going through our own hardships, if we are willing, and if we are obedient, and if we are surrendered to him. And, then one day he will take us home to be with him forever, and all that we suffered in this life will be no more, and we will be at peace.

Our God, He is Alive

Music and Lyrics by A.W. Dicus

Secure, is life from mortal mind,

God holds the germ within His hand,

Though men may search, they cannot find,

for God alone does understand.

There is a God, He is alive,

In Him we live and we survive;

From dust our God created man,

He is our God, the great I Am.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZOycliNiTk

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We Wrestle

Strong in The Lord

Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Oh, yes, we most certainly have an enemy who is fiercely against us and who will do everything within his power to destroy us, if he can. And, he knows where to hurt us, too. If he can’t get us one way, he will try another, and then another and another, and on and on until he can break us, for that is his goal.

So, we have to put on the strength of the Lord to survive his onslaughts against us. We can’t let life’s difficulties and tragedies take us out and cause us to lose hope. We have to press on in the strength of the Lord, no matter how fierce the battle becomes.

The harder our enemy presses against us, the more determined we must be to fight him off with the armor of God and to not give him one inch of victory over us. In fact, the harder he presses against us the more we should realize where this is all coming from, and the quicker our responses should be to his evil schemes against us.

The WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD

Ephesians 6:13-18a ESV

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”

I like it that it says here to take up the WHOLE armor of God, for if we don’t, and we only put on part of that armor, then that leaves us exposed to the enemy for him to attack us and/or to scheme against us.

And, putting on his armor is not just some routine or some words we say, but it is applying all these things to our daily lives in how we conduct our lives and in how we respond to trials and temptations and the enemy’s schemes against us.

The Armor

The BELT OF TRUTH is a HUGE one for me, because the enemy loves to come against us with his lies, and he will use other humans to spread those lies, too, and to try to convince us that we are doing wrong when we are doing right, or that we are weak and helpless when we have the power and strength of the Lord at our constant disposal.

So, we have to know the truth of God’s Word, which is the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, so that we can fight off Satan’s lies with the truth of God’s Word and with the truth of what is right. And, that battle can get really fierce at times, when we may even have to yell at the enemy, at times, and let him know powerfully that we are children of our heavenly Father and that He is watching over us.

Also, the enemy will try to tempt us to do evil or to make compromises or to be ashamed of Christ and his gospel. And, this is where we must have on our BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, which we have in Christ, because of his sacrifice for us on that cross. But, we must apply it to our daily lives in how we live and in how we conduct our lives, not in impurity, but in holiness, godliness, honesty, purity and righteousness.

For, if we follow Jesus Christ, in obedience to his commands, we “will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jn. 8:12

And, we need to always be READY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ with all who will listen. For, many need to hear the truth that will set them free so that they can be delivered from their slavery to sin and so that they can walk daily in Christ’s righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Lu. 9:23-26; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Tit. 2:11-14).

That SHIELD OF FAITH is critical!! And, faith isn’t just something we think or we feel but it is evidenced by what we do (See Heb. 11). It is putting feet (action) to what we say we believe, for truly our actions speak louder than words. We can profess one thing with our lips, but our consistent actions reveal our true character and they reveal what we truly do believe.

So, one of Satan’s biggest weapons against us there is to get us to doubt God, and to doubt his Word, and to be fearful and to lack faith in our Lord’s promises to us, and to try to convince us that God will abandon us.

And, the HELMET OF OUR SALVATION is also not some prayer we prayed one time in our lives where we were assured we were saved and headed to heaven. Our salvation is deliverance from slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin and it is empowerment of the Spirit of God to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands, and it is ongoing and it won’t be complete until our Lord returns.

So, when we apply this to our lives daily, we are walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and we are not giving the devil a foothold in our lives, but we are walking in purity of devotion to our Lord, and then when tempted, we will fight off that temptation in the strength of the Lord.

And, PRAYER is essential. We have to be in continuous communication with our Lord, listening to what he says to us, and doing what he tells us to do. We can’t make it without this! The doors of communication between us and God must remain open at all times, but we shut those doors when we put up our hands and we tell God “No!” and we tell our flesh “Yes!”

Pray for One Another

Ephesians 6:18b-20 ESV

“To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

When we are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially daily, and when we are exposing the lies of Satan so that people’s eyes will be opened to the lies and so that they will know the truth which will set them free, Satan and his hordes are going to come against us strongly to try to defeat us.

So, for those of us who are on the front lines, speaking the truth in love, preaching the truth of the gospel and exposing false teachings, which are leading people astray by the thousands, please know that we need a lot of prayer. For, the enemy is attacking, and we need to be courageous in continuing to speak the truth and to keep on exposing the lies.

But, we all need to be praying for one another. We can’t pray for everyone, at least not individually, so we need the Lord to direct us how to pray and who to pray for and when to pray for them and in how to pray for them. For, we all have different needs, and we can’t always share publicly everything we are going through. So, pray as the Lord leads you, and let him guide you in how to pray and who to pray for and when and how often.

And, if you are going through a trial, which I presently am, be encouraged. The Lord gave me three songs today to encourage my heart. The first one was “Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer.” Beautiful song with beautiful words. The second one was “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” So encouraging! And, the following hymn was the last one, which really touched my heart. And all three were just what I needed to hear today. Praise Jesus!

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

Lyrics by Frances J Crosby, pub. 1875

Music by Robert Lowry, pub. 1875

All the way my Savior leads me,

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well;

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial,

Feeds me with the living Bread.

Though my weary steps may falter

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see;

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Oh, the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father’s house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way;

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way.

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