Strangers and Aliens

Monday, February 06, 2012, 6:26 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song, “The Lord’s Anointed,” playing in my mind. I had woken at 4:11 a.m., as well, with that song in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Peter 1 (NIV 1984):

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Be Holy

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

My Understanding: Peter began his letter to believers in Jesus Christ by addressing them as God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout… The scriptures teach us that we are chosen by God to be saved, we are called of God, and that we cannot come to Christ Jesus of our own accord. We can only come to faith in Jesus Christ if the Father draws us to Christ Jesus, and only as God gives us the gift of faith and repentance to believe in Jesus. Yet, it also teaches us that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, and that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the entire world. So, Peter is speaking to those who have been chosen by God to receive salvation, and who have, by faith, responded to that call to follow Jesus Christ with their lives, as the Holy Spirit of God worked the ministry of repentance, and reconciliation with God in their hearts.

Yet, not only were they called to receive salvation by God’s grace, they (and we) are called to obedience to Jesus Christ and the sprinkling by his blood, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit in our hearts and lives. So many people today cut the gospel short when they leave out repentance and obedience, but they are both part of our salvation. The Spirit of God sanctifies us by setting us apart for God and for his service, and by making us holy in purifying our hearts from sin. The sprinkling by his blood is a phrase that is difficult to understand, and some commentators talk about it in such theoretical terminology that it is difficult to get a practical handle on what it actually means. So, I looked up the Greek word, and it means “purification,” which means that Christ’s blood sacrifice for our sins, as applied to our lives, is not just for the purpose of giving us the hope of eternal life with God, but is for the purpose of purifying (making clean; decontaminating – I like this one) our lives.

Peter not only addressed them as God’s elect, but he also addressed them as strangers in the world. A little further on down in the passage, he exhorted them to live their lives as strangers here in reverent fear of God - our Father and Judge of each man’s work. A stranger is a foreigner, an outsider, a visitor, a guest or an alien. A stranger is also “somebody who does not belong to a specific organization or group; somebody who does not live in a specific house or community but is a visitor or guest; or somebody who is not familiar or acquainted with a particular thing” (Encarta). So, for us to be strangers in the world and to live our lives as strangers here in reverent fear of God, means that we will have the attitude about our lives on this earth, and our actions will bear this out, to where we will see ourselves as aliens here, as those who do not belong, who have our home in heaven with God, and as those who are not closely acquainted or familiar, through life practice, with the sinful and ungodly customs of the people of the world (includes those of the worldly church, too). 1 John 2:15-16 says this on this subject:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

We are not only to live our lives here on earth as strangers, but we are to do so in reverent fear of God. To fear God means to show him reverence, respect, honor, value, consideration, obedience, loyalty, devotion, faithfulness, admiration, awe and worship. The fear of God is not something taught much these days. Instead, many of today’s churches and leaders teach an image of God that is man-made and that paints God more as a doting and permissive grandfather who lives only to spoil his grandchildren, but never demands respect, honor or obedience. The New Testament teaches just the opposite, for all throughout the NT we are taught the requirements of God on our lives, which include dying to our sins and our old way of living according to the flesh, taking up our cross daily and following Jesus wherever he leads us, losing our lives, i.e. how we want to live our lives, in order to find them in Jesus, turning from our sin, obeying Christ and his commands, being transformed and renewed in our minds by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and bearing much spiritual fruit, i.e. the outgrowth of a life committed to serving Christ.

The Gospel

In God’s love and mercy for us, he has given those of us, who have accepted his call to salvation by faith, new birth into a living hope. Jesus said that we must be born again if we are to see the kingdom of God. He was speaking of a spiritual birth. Coming to faith in Jesus Christ should be like being born again and beginning all over with a new life, and not just trying to clean up our old lives inch by inch as it suits our purposes and convenience. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, there should be a radical transformation of our hearts as we turn from our old lives of sin, and we turn to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. Yet, so many teachers today are leaving out the crucified life entirely from the gospel. As well, this new birth gives us a living hope that can never spoil or fade and that is kept in heaven for us. In other words, the gospel is not about our good works outweighing our bad works so that we hope that one day we will go to heaven, but this hope is a sure thing based upon what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, and based upon the working of his Holy Spirit in transforming our hearts in making us holy and set apart for God and for his service.

Having this great salvation, and this new birth into a living hope of eternal life, is what encourages us when life throws its curves our way. We can rejoice in our salvation, even when we have to face trials of many kinds, because we know and understand that we are just strangers here on this earth and our true home is in heaven with God. We can endure difficulties, and even great trials, because we know and understand that God has a good purpose for them in our lives, which is to refine our faith with fire, so that it may be proved genuine. I know from experience that when life seems to be going pretty well, it is easy to get complacent and lazy about our walk with the Lord and our testimony for Christ. Yet, when we go through trials, if we respond to them correctly, we are drawn closer in our relationship with Jesus Christ, in our commitments to serve and obey him more fully, and we grow in our compassion and love for others, too.

Because we have been given this great salvation by God’s grace and mercy, we should respond to God’s mercy by living lives that are self-controlled, obedient to Christ and his truth, not conformed any longer to evil desires, fully devoted to Jesus Christ and his will for our lives, having sincere love one for the other, and no longer following the empty lives handed down to us by our ancestors, but following the will of God for our lives and being devoted to Jesus Christ in going wherever he leads us and doing what he wants us to do. As well, we should serve one another by the preaching (sharing) of the gospel, and by sharing our testimonies of faith in Jesus Christ, in binding up the brokenhearted, in proclaiming freedom from sin for those being held captive to sin’s deceitfulness, in comforting those who mourn, and in helping the wayward back into a restored relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Anointed / An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;
Anointed to preach the Good News;
Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;
Proclaim freedom for the captives.
He sent me to preach release for pris’ners
Who are walking in sin’s darkness;
Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;
And tell them about God’s judgments;
Comfort all who mourn;
Give crowns of beauty;
Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,
A planting of our Savior, God,
For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and
They will rebuild God’s holy church.
God will renew them, and will restore them,
And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.
You will be ministers of our God, and
You will rejoice in salvation.
The Lord loves justice;
He is faithful to
Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;
My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.
He has clothed me with His salvation,
And in a robe of His righteousness.
He has given me priestly garments to
Wear, as the bride of Jesus Christ.
As the garden of our Lord and Savior,
He causes us to grow in Him.
He makes righteousness,
Praise, and thanksgiving
Spring up before all the nations.

http://youtu.be/PSH4DBpc__U

Living Stones

Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 6:33 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song, “I Will Uphold You,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Peter 2 (NIV 1984):

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,”

and,

“A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Submission to Rulers and Masters

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

My Understanding: Peter began this section of his letter by exhorting the believers in Christ to rid themselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. The Lord led me to read a news story this morning about the political race for president of the U.S.A. The article used such terms as “aggressive attacks”, “coordinated criticism,” “targeted,” “fight,” “for show,” “hammered,” “castigated,” “possible threat,” “went after,” “flatly countered,” and “destroys” to describe the interactions among the Republican candidates, in their race for the White House. Yet, as the Lord has done many times before, he also showed me the hypocrisy in it all, as he helped me to see the candidates as one individual, all doing the same thing, with little difference among them, and that so much of what they do is really just for show, i.e. it is politics at its worst.

I believe there is a warning here for all of us who claim to have faith in Jesus Christ, that we not get caught up in all of this infighting among our fellow citizens, but rather that we focus our time and attention on what is really important, and that is craving (longing for; desiring; having a passion for; hungering and thirsting for; and yearning for) the pure spiritual milk of the word of God, so that we can “grow up” (mature; become adult-like) in our salvation (in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ in faithful obedience, forsaking sin and the evil things of this world). When we allow ourselves to get down on the level of these politicians, and we begin to fight and argue political affiliation and/or loyalty to a particular candidate, especially among fellow believers, it gives a bad name and reputation to Christianity and it hurts our testimony for Jesus Christ. Besides that, our loyalty and devotion should not be to any man, nor should we look to man to be our “salvation” from what ails our nation, but we should look to God and to God alone to save us.

We should, instead, come to Jesus Christ daily in prayer and in the study of his word, and seek his counsel and direction, asking him to heal our nation. He is the living Stone; the precious cornerstone, who was rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him. A cornerstone is the keystone, foundation or basis for something. It is also “the first stone laid at a corner where two walls begin and form the first part of a new building” (Encarta). The new building is the church, God’s holy people. Jesus is the foundational and first stone laid in that building upon which all the other stones are laid. And, we, as believers in Jesus Christ are also living stones in that building (a spiritual building), and are built upon Jesus Christ and his blood sacrifice for our sins. From that foundation, we are thus being built into a spiritual house, by the working of the Holy Spirit within us, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

When I think of “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God,” Romans 12:1-2 (NIV 1984) always comes to mind:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God are for us to lay our lives down, i.e. to die to our sins and our old way of living according to the flesh, and to no longer conform our lives to the pattern of this sinful world, but to allow the Holy Spirit of God to transform us by the renewing of our minds, i.e. changing our way of thinking and behaving. Then we can live holy (set apart for God) lives that are pleasing to God. Also, this is our spiritual act of worship. God does not want our forms of worship, our rituals or anything we call worship that comes from our actions or words if all it entails is lip service only or going through the motions. We can participate in “worship” services and sing “worship” songs and still not be truly worshiping God. True worship of God comes from hearts that have given their lives fully to God in surrender to his will, in obedience to his commands, which have forsaken sinful lifestyles and/or willful sin (sinful practices), and are walking daily in communion with our Lord, trusting him with their lives.

We are to view our lives as God view us, and that is that we are a chosen people of God, a royal (and holy) priesthood, a holy nation (spiritual nation), a people belonging to God. A priest is an official designated to preach the word of God, and to minister to the needs of the people. A priest was a mediator between man and God in making sacrifice for our sins until Jesus Christ became the perfect lamb sacrifice for our sins once and for all, and he became our high priest and only mediator between man and God that can forgive and can pardon sins. Yet, we are a holy priesthood in that we are all called to minister to the needs of people, to show love, care and concern, to be Christ’s representatives in following his example in how to administer his love, grace and mercy to those who are hurting, by being his hands and feet, to lift one another up in prayer to God as intercessors, to encourage and build up in the faith our fellow believers in Christ, and to share the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ with a world in need of the Savior. This is the only hope for our nation, to come to faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, and the best way we can help “save” our nation is by being God’s holy priesthood, rather than us getting involved in political infighting.

Because of God’s mercy in our lives, and because we have received such a great salvation from our sins, and because of his awesome grace and forgiveness, and his purposes in restoring us to a right relationship with God the Father, when he died on the cross for our sins, we should show the same compassion, concern and zeal for the gospel of Jesus Christ as Jesus had. We have been called out of spiritual darkness into God’s wonderful light of truth. We have been given new lives and are now free of the control of sin over our lives because of what Jesus Christ did for us. I know what God saved me out of. It does not take much to be reminded of the sins of my life that I committed against a holy God. And, I am so grateful that Jesus Christ set me free, and that I no longer have to be led astray or controlled by my own sinful passions and desires. The mercy of God on my life should drive me to want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ (the whole gospel) with others who are in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness, so that they, too, can know this salvation from sin. It is one thing to write about it. It is another thing entirely to speak face-to-face with people. I pray that I will continually be bolder in my witness for Christ to those who don’t know Jesus. And, I pray that I will be willing always to suffer unjustly for the sake of the gospel in following the example of Jesus Christ – an example we should all follow.

I Will Uphold You / An Original Work / November 4, 2011

Based off of Isaiah 41:8-20; Ephesians 6:10-18

You are My servant; I’ve chosen you.
I’ve not rejected you; I’ve been true.
Do not be fearful; I am with you.
Don’t be alarmed, for I am your God.
I will give you strength, and will help you.
I will uphold you with My right hand.

All who’re against you will be disgraced.
Those who oppose you, they will perish.
Enemies you search, but will not find.
They war against you; nothing will be.
I am your Lord God, who takes your hand;
Says, “Do not fear, for I will help you.”

The poor and needy, water they need.
Their tongues are thirsty; no drop to drink.
I will give answer; not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow from within.
My living water I will outpour
On those who seek Me; and Me adore.

Jesus provided the sacrifice;
For our sins blood bought; He paid the price,
So we’re forgiven all of our sins,
When we invite Him to come within.
He cleanses us from our impure hearts.
His life within us gives a new start.

http://youtu.be/i0LFPI-isSU



News Story Reference: Romney looks to squelch Santorum's late rise
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_CAMPAIGN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-07-02-25-53

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

Sunday, February 05, 2012, 5:57 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” playing through my mind.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus / Joseph M. Scriven / Charles C. Converse

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.

The Lord also brought a scripture to mind last night as I was praying, and he brought the same verse to mind again this morning when I was praying. The verse is James 5:16b: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV). Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.

My Understanding: I wanted to understand the true meaning of verse 16b, so I looked it up in several translations, including in two literal Greek-to-English translations:

“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (NASB). “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (NIV 1984). “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV). “Very strong is a petition of a righteous man being made effective” (NIV Greek-English). “Very strong is a working supplication of a righteous man” (Young’s Literal Translation).

Where the KJV translates the Greek word energeo as “effectual fervent” and the NASB translates it as “effective,” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says that the “authorized version” (KJV, I assume) translates it as “work” 12 out of the 21 occurrences of the word, and the other 9 occurrences represent 9 other separate translations of the word. So, Young’s Literal Translation appears to be the most accurate, if we go by the most common translation of the word. Yet, in looking up the word “working” in a Thesaurus, it rendered the word “operational,” which then rendered the word “effective,” as well as “active,” “functioning,” and/or “in force.” Encarta dictionary defines “operational” as “in proper working order and able to be used” and/or “ready for combat or maneuvers.”

What I find here is that the NIV translation is the weakest, in that it fails to put the word “working” or “effective” as an adjective describing the type of prayer of a righteous man that is powerful (very strong). For, it appears to me from reading these various translations, and from the fact that the Lord brought the KJV of the verse to mind last night and this morning, that it is the “working” prayer of a righteous man that is powerful and effective, not just the prayer of a righteous man. The KJV translates this word “working” as “effectual fervent.” Fervent is defined as “showing ardent (dedicated or committed) or extremely passionate enthusiasm” (Encarta). And, effectual is defined as “potentially successful in producing a desired or intended result” (Encarta); and/or capable; powerful.

I also found that the two literal translations used the words “petition” and “supplication” instead of the word “prayer.” A petition is “an appeal or request to a higher authority or being.” An appeal is “an earnest or urgent request to somebody for something,” which would fit with the word “fervent.” And, a supplication is “a humble and sincere appeal to somebody who has the power to grant a request.” A prayer, nonetheless, can be “a spoken or unspoken address to God... It may express praise, thanksgiving, confession, or a request for something such as help or somebody's well-being.” [All Definitions from Encarta]

So, how can our prayers (petitions; supplications; appeals; requests) to God be “working” prayers? In other words, how can our prayers to God be in proper working order and able to be used, and how can they be (spiritually speaking) combat ready?

James 5:16a says: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

So, confession of sin is a prerequisite of “working” prayer that is powerful and effective.

James 1:1-8 says: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

So, a “working” prayer is a prayer of perseverance (persistence; stick-to-it; endurance; pressing on) and of faith, which believes God will answer the prayer.

Matthew 6:5-15 says: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I believe we can conclude here that a “working” prayer is not done to be seen of men (for show), nor does it involve repeating meaningless phrases by rote or ritual that do not represent the true intent of the heart. Jesus said, “’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matt. 15:8). Instead, a “working” prayer is one that honors and gives proper respect to God the Father, and that prays for God’s will to be done. Jesus, when he prayed at Gethsemane prior to his arrest and crucifixion, prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” As well, a “working” prayer is one that involves forgiveness of those who have sinned against us. We cannot expect God to hear and to answer our prayers if we are holding on to sin in our own lives, and/or if we are refusing to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.

James 4:1-6 says: What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

Lastly, though this is certainly not an exhaustive study on the subject of “working” prayer, is that “working” prayer is unselfish, humble, and it has the things of God in mind, not the things of this world. It does not stem from our own selfish wants and desires, nor is its goal to have our own fleshly appetites and desires fulfilled in order to bring pleasure to ourselves. Instead, it seeks first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.

My heart’s desire is to pray with this kind of “working” prayer that is powerful and effective. I am praying through each of these characteristic traits of a “working” prayer, and I am asking God to reveal to me where I lack these characteristic traits so that I can repent of anything that might be hindering my prayers from being answered, and so that I can, in the power of the working of the Holy Spirit within me, begin to implement these potentially missing traits into my own life, and can begin to see more of my prayers being answered.

The Lord brought this song to mind when I was concluding my notes on this study:

Just a Closer Walk with Thee / Unknown

I am weak, but Thou art strong,
Jesus, keep me from all wrong,
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more,
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom, dear Lord, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

A Sacrifice of Praise

Saturday, February 04, 2012, 5:55 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “Constantly Abiding,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read the remainder of Titus. Then, I sensed that I should read Hebrews 13, since my hymnbook had quoted part of Hebrews 13:5 underneath the title of this hymn.

Concluding Exhortations

Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.

I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

Greet all your leaders and all God’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.

Grace be with you all.

My Understanding: This is the concluding chapter of the book of Hebrews. In a nutshell, Hebrews is a book that explains the way of the cross, Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy of scripture with regard to the awaited Messiah of the Jews, and the New Covenant of God with his people versus the Old Covenant, and how the New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant. As well, it offers many words of hope and encouragement to follow Jesus in absolute faith and obedience, and to run the race marked out for us with perseverance, throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (see Heb. 12:1).

The book of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus became human flesh and that he dwelled among us, that he suffered as we suffer and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, so that he could be the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and so he could become our faithful, compassionate and merciful high priest (mediator between us and God the Father), because he sympathizes with us in our weaknesses. Therefore, we can approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (see Heb. 4:16).

Love and Compassion

The writer of Hebrews began his concluding remarks with an exhortation to keep on loving each other as brothers (and sisters). To love one another as though we are members of the same birth family suggests a very close kinship kind of love that has an inseparable bond. In a loving family, brothers and sisters play, laugh, cry and work together. They sometimes fight, too. They share common experiences. They help each other. They have each other’s backs. They enjoy being together. They share many of the same likes and dislikes. And, they have many similarities in physical appearance and personality, too, because they all come from the same parents. The spiritual parallel is obvious. When we, as the family of God, share the same spiritual heritage, we should have this kind of family kinship, too.

The encouragements continue by reminding us to not forget to entertain strangers, because we might actually be entertaining angels without knowing it. This is a concept that is difficult for us to get a handle on, because we tend to be such logical and practical individuals here in America, but I believe this to be true. We certainly need to exercise wisdom and discernment, yet we must remain open to the Holy Spirit’s leading in this, and we should never show disdain or disregard for a stranger who might ask for our assistance. We should pray for wisdom to understand what the true needs are, and to meet legitimate needs, for in our desire to help, we could also lead or assist someone down a path of sin.

When the writer asked that we remember those in prison as if we were their fellow prisoners, he added to that, “and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” “Those in prison” could be merely a reference to those believers in Jesus Christ who were imprisoned falsely for their faith and testimony for Jesus Christ, or it could be a general reference to all prisoners. The phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I,” comes to mind here, as we are all sinners and are all capable of any sin, so any one of us could be in prison for the sins we have committed, or that we are certainly capable of committing.

So, we should have mercy and compassion on those who are imprisoned for crimes they have committed, as well as we should have mercy and compassion for those who are mistreated and/or who are imprisoned falsely. This kind of mercy and compassion goes much deeper than just feeling sorry for them, but goes to the very core of our emotional being in that it translates into us actually feeling what the prisoners and mistreated feel. I pray the Lord would give me that kind of mercy and compassion for the hurting and lonely.

Faithful in Service

Marriage should be honored, i.e. we should exercise integrity, decency, morality and uprightness in our marriage vows, and in our commitments, one to the other. The marriage bed should be kept pure (clean; unpolluted; untainted), i.e. we should not commit acts of adultery against our spouses. Adultery includes entertaining sexual thoughts about others in our minds, sexual fantasies, masturbation (self-gratification), viewing pornography, and lusting after people we see alive and in person, and perhaps even looking for such opportunities. I believe adultery also includes romantic affairs of the heart, as well as it includes the actual act of physical sexual behavior of any nature with another individual (opposite sex or same sex).

A lot of people like to define adultery as merely having sex with someone besides his or her own spouse, but God sees it much differently. When he talks about us committing adultery against him, he often illustrates this adultery against God with adultery in a marriage relationship, yet what he means by adultery is us replacing his rightful place in our hearts with other gods. So, when we replace our spouses in our hearts and minds with others, and we choose to have others, or our own selves, meet our own emotional (love and companionship) and/or sexual needs, in place of turning to our spouses to meet those needs, this is adultery in God’s eyes, I believe.

We are to keep our lives free from the love of money and be content with what we have, because God has said that he would never leave us or forsake us. Because the Lord is our helper, we should never be afraid of what man might do to us. Jesus set the prime example for us in how to be content with what we have, and how to respond to unjust suffering at the hands of men. He willingly gave his life up for us so that we could be free from sin. And, he said that being his disciples would mean that we will be treated like he was treated. He was treated with hatred, jealousy, rage and anger, and he was murdered, because he dared to step outside the box of institutionalized religion, in order to show love and compassion to the hurting and needy, and to speak the truth in love in addressing man’s sin and hypocrisy, and his need to turn from his sin, and to turn to faith and obedience to Jesus Christ (God). And, we are to follow his example in coming out from the world and out from the religion of men, and to follow Jesus Christ wherever he leads us, even if it means we will be treated unjustly, too.

In all that we do, and through all of our trials and tribulations we will face on this earth, we are to continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name. I believe this sacrifice is not to be in lip service only, but should come from our hearts and should be evident in all that we do in service to our Lord. Romans 12:1-2 always comes to mind when I think of our offering to God. We are to offer our very lives as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to him, and this is our reasonable service of worship to him. We are not to be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world (or worldly/fleshly church), but we are to be transformed by the working of the Holy Spirit in renewing our minds, so that we can prove by our lives the good, pleasing and perfect will of God for us all.

If our lives are truly on this altar, and we are fully given over to the Lord Jesus in all things, out of this life of sacrifice should naturally flow the kinds of attitudes and actions spoken about in these concluding exhortations from the writer of Hebrews (God’s God-breathed words to us). We are to make this kind of sacrifice of praise to our God continually, i.e. constantly abiding in Him, trusting in his promises, relying upon his peace and joy, and looking forward with great expectation to the day when we can be with him forever.

Constantly Abiding / Anne S. Murphy, 1908

There’s a peace in my heart that the world never gave,
A peace it cannot take away;
Though the trials of life may surround like a cloud,
I’ve a peace that has come here to stay!

All the world seemed to sing of a Savior and King,
When peace sweetly came to my heart;
Troubles all fled away and my night turned to day,
Blessèd Jesus, how glorious Thou art!

This treasure I have in a temple of clay,
While here on His footstool I roam;
But He’s coming to take me some glorious day,
Over there to my heavenly home!

Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine;
Constantly abiding, rapture divine;
He never leaves me lonely, whispers, O so kind:
“I will never leave thee,” Jesus is mine.

His Word

Friday, February 03, 2012, 7:26 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “Your Word,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Titus 1:

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Titus’s Task on Crete

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

My Understanding: I thought some of my sentences could be really long, but Paul’s beginning sentence here I think exceeds my longest sentence by far. In just one sentence he covered a lot of ground in thought and in doctrine. There are two main thoughts or topics I see here, which go hand-in-hand. The first one is concerning the doctrine of salvation from sins, and the second is concerning the word of God.

Salvation from Sins

Paul said that he was a servant of God and an apostle (sent out one; missionary) of Jesus Christ for the faith of the elect, i.e. for those God has chosen to receive salvation. He was called to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ to share the truths of the gospel so that people could hear the truth, and so they could be saved from their sins by God’s grace, and through faith in Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:14-15, Paul described the importance of one being sent by God, of the sharing of the gospel, and of the necessity of hearing the truth of the gospel, when he posed several important questions:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Paul was definitely one who brought the good news, and because he did, many were saved from their sins. Yet, it is not just people who have callings to be pastors and/or missionaries who are responsible to carry the good news to a world in need of a Savior. We have all been given the commission to be the Lord’s witnesses, and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world around us. Not only that, but we have all been called to make disciples (faithful followers of Christ) of all nations, teaching them to obey all that Jesus Christ taught and commanded. This is not only our responsibility, but it is a privilege and a blessing from God to be able to have a part in someone coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and then to help facilitate his or her growth and maturity in faith, and in the Lord Jesus.

The Word of God

Paul was also appointed as a servant and an apostle for the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. The knowledge of the truth comes from the word of God. Yet, this is not speaking about just head knowledge, because attaining only head knowledge does not lead to godliness. A lot of people know the Bible, i.e. they have read it, heard it, and perhaps have even studied it, yet they may not be godly at all. So, the kind of knowledge that Paul is obviously speaking about here is godly wisdom and understanding of the word that is attained as the word is applied to the life of the believer through obedience to God’s word. It is only through obeying the word and making it a part of our everyday lives that we will mature in our faith, and will become godly, i.e. god-like in character and in life-practice.

An example of this is found in Paul’s instructions to Titus concerning the appointing of elders and the qualifications of elders. If we read through this list of qualifications, the character traits listed are those of someone who is godly, which is what we are all supposed to be, so there is not much on this list that does not apply to all of us. The Bible says we are all to be blameless. The only way we are truly blameless is through Jesus Christ’s shed blood on the cross for our sins, and as appropriated to our lives by faith. Yet, this is speaking of a life not given over to sinful practices and indulgences, but is one who strives, by God’s grace and in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit within him, to live an exemplary life that is free from the control of sin. We are all called to do this.

An elder is also not to be quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain, hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. Again, if we read through the New Testament, and if we were to do a search on each one of these characteristic traits, we would quickly learn that these apply to us, too. This is the kind of godliness that God requires of all of us. The elders, as well, must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Again, if we do a search on each of these characteristic traits we will quickly learn that this Biblically applies to all of us. This is what it means when the knowledge of the truth leads to godliness.

Yet, as stated previously, not everyone who has knowledge is godly. There are those who are mere talkers and deceivers, i.e. those who may be able to talk the talk, but they are not walking the walk. In fact, their goal is to deceive naïve believers in Christ, and thus to lead them away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ by teaching a gospel other than the one and only gospel of Jesus Christ. In Paul’s day it was those who taught that Gentile believers in Jesus Christ must be circumcised and must adhere to certain Jewish laws and practices who were trying to deceive the believers and to put heavy burdens on them not from God.

In our day, I believe the most serious threat to the doctrine of salvation comes from those among us who are teaching a watered-down gospel, which does not require repentance (turning from sin), and does not require obedience to Christ and to his commands. In fact, it goes so far as to tell the “believers” that God is pleased with them no matter what they do. This is a false gospel which gives its listeners a false hope of salvation, and thus is sending people straight to hell, all the while giving them a promise based upon a lie. I do believe some pastors teach the lie out of ignorance, while others do it to say what people want to hear, or so people will come to their churches. Many, though perhaps not all, of these preachers and teachers of the word, who are teaching the lie, don’t really know the Lord Jesus themselves, because they have also bought into the lie. They claim to know God, but by their actions (fruit) they deny him. Paul said they are “detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”

So, just as Paul told Titus that the Judaizers of his day must be silenced, I believe the Lord Jesus is saying the same thing today about those teachers of the word who distort the word of God to make it more palatable to their listeners. These false teachers of the word are telling people a lie that is worse than any lie I know, because it gives people a false hope of eternity, and it gives them a free license to continue in their sin, and that is no hope at all! And, many of these preachers are doing it for dishonest gain, too, whether the gain is financial, numerical (number of people in their churches) or for the gain of personal acceptance (to be liked), success, and/or high status in the community. They, too, are ruining whole households, because they are not teaching that we must turn from our sin.

Titus was to rebuke them sharply, so that they would be sound in the faith and so they would turn away from Jewish myths. I am not an elder or a pastor or anyone in a position of authority to where I can rebuke a pastor sharply, but I can share what the word of God teaches, as he is teaching it to me, and hope and pray that pastors will read this, and that God will convict their hearts, and that they will turn from teaching a false gospel, and that they will begin to teach the truth of the word that leads to godliness and to eternal life.

Hope of Eternal Life

The faith to believe in Jesus Christ, and the knowledge of the truth both rest on the hope of eternal life. This kind of hope is not wishful thinking, i.e. hoping that our good deeds will outweigh our bad, and that one day we might go to heaven. This kind of hope is a confident assurance in what has been promised before the beginning of time, and by God who does not lie like man does. We can count on his promises, and that he will do what he says. Sometimes, though, we may get inpatient with God and think that he has forgotten about us, but his timing is perfect. He has an appointed time for everything in life, including the timing for him to send his one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins, and then the timing to reveal his plan of salvation through the teaching of the word.

Jesus Christ, God’s Son and God the Son, left heaven, came to earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was mocked, criticized unfairly, falsely accused, spit upon, beaten and killed, although he had done no wrong. When he died on the cross, he took the sins of the entire world on him, so that when he died and was buried, our sins died and were buried with him. When he was resurrected back to life, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin, so that we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternity in hell), and so we could be free from the control of sin over our lives.

We receive salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life when we trust Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, by faith. This faith involves turning from our sin (repentance), and turning to walk in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ and to his commands. This kind of faith will bear fruit, i.e. the way we conduct our lives in how we obey the Lord Jesus, and how we minister his grace and love to others will be the outgrowth of our faith, which will prove our faith to be genuine. Along with this kind of genuine faith in Jesus Christ comes the promise of eternal life with God, on which we can rest and place our hope, because this promise comes to us from our God, who does not lie, and on whom we can rely.

Your Word / An Original Work / December 27, 2011

Based off Psalm 119

Praise You with an upright heart as
I learn of Your righteousness.
I seek You with all my heart;
Do not let me stray from Your law.
I have hidd’n Your word in my heart
That I might not sin against You.
Open my eyes that I may see
Wonderful things in Your word.
I am a stranger on earth.

I have chosen the way of truth;
My heart is set on Your word.
I will walk about in freedom,
For I have sought out Your truth.
Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
For I believe in Your law.
Your hands made me, and they formed me;
Give me understanding, Lord.
I put my hope in Your word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light unto my path.
You are my shield and my refuge;
In Your word I put my hope.
My heart trembles at Your word, Lord.
May my lips o’erflow with praise.
May my tongue sing of Your truth, Lord.
Your salvation, Lord, long I.
Your word, Lord, is my delight.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free):
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/your-word

Song on Video:
http://youtu.be/PoekdVclmGM

Let Him Lead

Thursday, February 02, 2012, 12:05 p.m. – In the past several days, I have listened to two different sermons (or talks) by two different and uniquely gifted preachers (men). Although the sermons were completely different in topic and nature, they shared a common element. Both men are burdened for today’s church, and today’s Christians in America. They are concerned that believers in Christ in America understand what the New Testament church and Christians then understood concerning what it means to be a follower of Christ. That is, the New Testament followers of Christ knew, from personal experience, the cost of following Christ.

Each individual pastor centered on a particular area of the cost of following Christ, but they both came to the same ultimate conclusion. There are many people within our churches today who are just playing church. There are many who have bought into a false gospel, often referred to as “easy believism,” and have thus bought into a false hope of salvation and eternal life. They have surrounded themselves with preachers who say what their tickling (desiring) ears want to hear, and they have rejected the sound doctrine of the Christian faith, as taught in the New Testament. So, these preachers are committed to letting people know that it costs us our lives to follow Christ, and it means total commitment to Jesus Christ, and a walk of faith that lives out what we say we believe.

After I listened to the second sermon today, I spent some time in prayer. Actually, I have been praying for several days concerning God’s calling on my life, how he wants me to spend my time each day, and how best for me to be his witness and to show his love to others. The first pastor was asked the question concerning how he maintains his passion for Christ every day. He admitted that he does not always feel passionate for Christ. I identified with his statement. Lately I have been struggling to get motivated in ministry, so I have been praying about that. So, these two sermons were very timely for me. They helped inspire me and to spur me on toward love and good deeds. They helped motivate me and to encourage me to keep on keeping on. I had been praying for God to renew my passion, and after listening to the second sermon, I felt as though God was answering my prayer. I inquired of the Lord concerning how I could best apply to my life and witness the things I just heard these men say. And, then the Lord brought this song to mind:

Keep On! / An Original Work / December 15, 2011

Praise the Lord! Praise Him now!
Before Him humbly bow.
Repent of your sins now.
Turn to Him; obey now.
Walk in fellowship with Him daily,
And abide in His truth.
He will forgive you,
And He’ll cleanse you,
And He’ll give you new life.

Trust in Him. He is truth.
He will not forsake you.
Rest in Him. Let Him lead.
He will meet all your needs.
Obey His ev’ry word to you,
And listen to all He says.
He will be faithful
In all His promises,
So rest in Him.

Do not bow – gods of men.
Let Christ rule in your hearts.
Do not stop – share your faith.
Keep on: speak Jesus’ name.
Share His truth with all He leads you to
Be a witness for Him.
Never yield to sin
Against your God.
Obey Him in ev’ry way.

http://youtu.be/3DB0CKmC1Gc

I prayed and cried through these words of this song in a renewed commitment to follow Christ and to be his servant and witness. I was especially encouraged by the second verse of the song where it speaks about trusting and resting in Christ, and letting him lead. I was encouraged by the reminder, again, that he will never forsake me, and that he will meet all my needs. And, lastly I was encouraged by the urging of the Holy Spirit to keep on sharing my faith, and to keep on speaking in the name of Jesus, i.e. in sharing his gospel message.

Then, I opened my Bible to read where I had left off reading this morning, and I read 2 Timothy 4:9-18 (NIV 1984):

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.

At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

My Understanding: Paul knew all too well the cost of following Christ. For one, one of his helpers in ministry had deserted him because he loved this world. 1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” This is obviously not speaking about the people in the world, for God said that he loved the world, meaning the people in the world, so much so that he sent his one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we, through faith, could have eternal life. This love of the world spoken of in 1 John, though, has to do with loving sinful cravings and desires. If we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us, but the person who does the will of God lives forever. So, here we have an example of the cost of following Christ – leave the world and its desires behind and follow Christ by doing his will for our lives.

Another person did Paul a great deal of harm, because he strongly opposed the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we don’t have an accurate understanding of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if we have bought into the watered-down version of easy believism, and/or if we are not really sharing our faith, we won’t know what it means to face much opposition to our message. The watered-down version serves as no threat to Satan, because it does not send people to the cross of Christ, and it does not require them to die to their sins, to be crucified with Christ, and to walk in faith and obedience to Christ and his commands. Yet, Paul preached the whole gospel message, which is why the message was opposed. And, the whole gospel message is still opposed today, and sad to say by many Christians and Christian leaders and even pastors in our evangelical churches who have bought into the watered-down gospel. So, another cost of following Christ is that we will be rejected and opposed, even by church leaders, if we teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ, which calls for repentance and obedience and death to sin and our old way of life. Both of these preachers I heard preached the whole gospel.

Paul was severely persecuted for his faith and testimony for Jesus Christ. He was ridiculed, criticized, even by church people, falsely accused, flogged, beaten, stoned and left for dead, and imprisoned for his faith and witness. It appears then, that the reference Paul made to his “first defense” had to do with an arrest and a public hearing, and that this may also be connected with Alexander and his opposition to the gospel message. Paul said that, at his first defense (maybe a pre-trial), no one came to his support, but everyone deserted him. I find this an interesting parallel to Christ Jesus when he was arrested and was being questioned by the authorities. All his disciples initially deserted him, too, and one of them denied him three times and even once vehemently, while another betrayed him and handed him over to the authorities. Yet, we know that John was with Jesus’ mother at the cross, so at least one of his disciples stood with him at his crucifixion. Yet, Paul could definitely identify with Jesus’ sufferings on so many levels. Paul definitely knew the cost of following Christ Jesus, but he also knew the blessings and rewards of such a decision. And, God used him and still uses him and his writings (God-breathed words into him) greatly in the lives of people in sharing with them the truth of the gospel and in leading them to salvation.

Jesus said, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Paul said, “May it not be held against them.” Stephen said something similar when he was being stoned to death for his testimony for Christ. These men serve as great examples to us as to how we are to respond to unjust suffering and false accusations and rejections of men. Although Paul left the judgment of Alexander up to God, and he did not desire to get even with him, his forgiveness of him did not translate to full acceptance of the man. He warned Timothy about him, so that Timothy might not fall victim to him. So, forgiveness does not necessarily equate a restoring of trust, if the person is still acting in an untrustworthy manner, and/or if there is still concern about the person’s motivations and actions. So, forgive, but exercise wisdom and discernment, too.

Even though Paul was deserted by his co-workers in the gospel, and even though he faced strong opposition to the gospel message, and was harmed by false accusations, and suffered the disgrace of false imprisonment, he did not cave under the pressure of it all. The Lord, if no one else, stood by his side and gave him strength, so that he could keep on preaching the gospel message, and so it might be “fully” (the whole gospel) proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. The true lion is Satan, and the Lord delivers us from Satan’s accusations against us when he delivers us from the fear of man and what man says about us. The Lord will rescue us from every evil attack of Satan by giving us the strength we need to endure the opposition, and to remain strong in our faith and commitment to Christ despite what persecutions we may face. And, in the end, the Lord Jesus will bring us safely into his eternal kingdom and we will be with the Lord forever! Amen!! To God be the glory for all that he does and accomplishes in us and through us in spreading the truth of his gospel message despite strong opposition, so that we can keep on keeping on in the faith.

Be Prepared

Thursday, February 02, 2012, 4:56 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song, “The Lord’s Anointed,” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Timothy 3:16-4:8:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

My Understanding: The letters to Timothy are letters written by Paul, an apostle and a pastor, to a fellow pastor. So, it might be easy to read through the Timothy epistles and think they do not apply to us. Yet, 2 Timothy 3:16 makes it quite clear that all scripture, which includes the Old Testament, is God-breathed and is useful (valuable; beneficial; helpful; functional; practical) for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. So, when reading scripture, we need to examine the verses carefully, comparing scripture with scripture, to see what applies to all of us today specifically, and what principles we can learn from what may have specifically applied to someone else. So, I am going to examine this passage of scripture today in light of 2 Tim. 3:16 to see the usefulness of it in teaching, rebuking, correcting and training me in righteousness.

Preach the Word

The first charge given to Timothy was to preach the word. To preach means to proclaim and/or to be a herald (a messenger; representative). When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, via repentance and obedience to Christ and to his commands, we are given the Holy Spirit of God to indwell us, and we thus become the temple of the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus is thus lived out through our lives, which makes us his representatives to the world. In Romans 10 Paul said that the word of God is “’near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, we are all called upon to confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, with our mouths, from the very onset of our faith in Christ. Then, in 1 Co. 11 we learn that when we partake in communion, we are not only doing that in remembrance of Jesus Christ, but when we eat the bread and drink from the cup, we are proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes.

In 1 John 1 we read the word “proclaim” in relation to being a witness of what we have seen and heard, and in Rev. 14 we learn of an angel who proclaimed the eternal gospel to the people on the earth. So, whenever we share our faith in Jesus Christ, and we share the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are making a proclamation. As well, the whole of scripture is a proclamation and a declaration of truth, so any time we share the truths of God’s word with someone, we are sharing a proclamation. Paul said, as recorded in Romans 15:16, that he was given the grace of God “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God…” A minister is one who cares for others, who comforts, who offers support, etc., and we are all called to do that. Also, we are all called to be priests (see 1 Peter 2:5-9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6). “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). So, we are all called to be Christ’s representatives, to make proclamation and declaration of his truths, to share our own testimonies of salvation, and to share the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ.

Be Prepared

Going along with the subject of preaching the word, Paul told Timothy to “be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.” To encourage means: “to give somebody hope, confidence, or courage;” and “to motivate somebody to take a course of action or continue doing something.” 1 Peter 3:15 says: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” In 1 Thess. 4 &5 we are instructed to “encourage each other with these words,” i.e. the words of God, to “encourage one another and build each other up…”, and to “encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” And, in Ephesians 4:15 we learn that instead of being spiritual infants, blown here and there by every wind of teaching, we should make this our practice: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” So, we each have a responsibility to be prepared always to share our faith and to encourage (cheer; hearten; inspire; urge; support; nurture; persuade; push; and build up) one another in the faith. And, we are all to practice patience, one with another.

Itching Ears

Paul said that a time would come when men (includes women) would not put up with sound doctrine. I believe that time has already come. The whole of the New Testament clearly teaches that true faith in Jesus Christ involves 1) Repentance (turning from your sin), 2) Obedience to Christ and to his commands, 3) Spiritual fruit (works) resulting from faith, and that proves the faith as genuine, 4) Death to sin and our own selfish wills (daily), 5) No conformity or love for the world and the world’s standards and sinful pleasures, 6) putting on Christ and his righteousness and holiness, and 7) the Lordship of Christ Jesus over our lives. Yet, many of today’s churches have changed the true message of God’s grace into a free license for immorality. They are teaching a watered-down version of the gospel of Jesus Christ that does not bring people to the cross of Christ, and does not require of them that they die to their sin and sinful practices, and that they walk in obedience to Christ. They teach them that all they have to do is “believe” and God does the rest. Yet, they fail to define what it truly means, by Biblical standards, to believe and to have faith in Christ Jesus. They give the impression that faith in Christ is nothing more than an acknowledgment of what Jesus Christ did for them in dying for their sins so that they can be forgiven, yet it gives them a false hope of salvation and heaven based upon a lie, for it fails to tell them that they must die to their old lives and to sin if they are to follow Christ Jesus.

Paul said that instead of adhering to sound doctrine, they would, in order to suit their own desires, “gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” So, if you want to have the hope of salvation and eternity with God in heaven, and yet you don’t want to have to give up your own way of living, then you must create a doctrine that allows you to have the hope of eternal life without it costing you anything. If you want to build a big and profitable ministry, and so you don’t want to step on people’s toes, and thus alienate the people you want to target, you create a doctrine of salvation that does not “slay the sinner” (Tozer quote), but that, instead, entertains him. So many of today’s churches have bought into, and have adopted the marketing schemes and techniques of how to build big businesses, and have incorporated these schemes into their church policies and practices. What marketing scheme is going to tell you that you must tell your prospective “customers” that, in order to buy your product, they must first of all give up their own selfish wills and desires and must willingly submit themselves to the will of another? What marketing technique is going to tell you that, in order to gain clientele for your business that you must tell them that it requires that they die to their sins first, and that they obey the commands of another? What marketing ploy is going to tell its potential customers that buying their product will mean they will be hated, rejected, persecuted and perhaps even killed because they chose to buy? So, they gather around them and they follow teachers who say what their sinful and selfish desires want to hear and believe.

Keep Your Head

The phrase “keep your head” means to keep calm, to keep your wits about you, to remain steadfast and to not lose your ground, even when everything else around you may be falling apart, and even if everyone else around you may be giving way to following what their itching (desiring; craving; hankering) ears want to hear. Part of keeping your head means having the understanding that you will face hardship because of your choice to remain strong and steadfast in your faith in the whole gospel, in spite of strong opposition and/or persecution from those who have chosen the way of a “gospel-lite.” We cannot cave under pressure to conform to a watered-down version of the gospel or to accept man-made teaching over and above the word of God. Timothy, as well, was to do the work of an evangelist. We are not all called to be full-time evangelists, but we are all called to evangelize, i.e. to spread the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey the commands of Christ Jesus (God).

Drink Offering

Paul, in essence, said that he had poured out his life on the altar as an offering for Christ Jesus. Romans 12:1-2 tells us that we are all to offer ourselves on the altar of sacrifice in becoming living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to him, which is our reasonable service of worship to God. We are to no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world and its sinful desires, but we are to be transformed by the power of the working of the Holy Spirit within us in the renewing of our minds. Jesus said that if anyone was to come after him that he should deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Christ. He said if we hold on to our present lives and the way we choose to live our lives, we will lose our lives. Yet, if we lose our lives for the sake of Christ by dying to sin and our old way of living, then we will find our lives. He said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (See Luke 9:23-27) In other words, we are all called to pour out our lives on the altar of God as an offering to Christ Jesus. Coming to faith in Jesus Christ means we no longer live, but Christ lives in us, and the life we now live, we live by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who loves us, and who gave himself for us (Gal. 2:20). This is what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and to invite him into our lives to be our Savior.

Paul knew he was going to die, and that he was going to depart this world. He said that he had fought the good fight, he had finished the race, and he had kept the faith, and now there was in store for him a crown of righteousness. The “good fight,” “the race,” and “the faith” are all synonymous with each other, and they all revolve around the crucified life that is poured out as a drink offering to Christ Jesus on his altar. And, this is the calling on the life of each individual believer in Jesus Christ, to be crucified with Christ so that we (our own selfish wills and desires) no longer live, but that Christ lives in and through us for his purposes and for his glory, so that we can be effective ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are hurting, to those imprisoned by sin, and to those in need of hope.

The Lord’s Anointed / An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;
Anointed to preach the Good News;
Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;
Proclaim freedom for the captives.
He sent me to preach release for pris’ners
Who are walking in sin’s darkness;
Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;
And tell them about God’s judgments;
Comfort all who mourn;
Give crowns of beauty;
Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,
A planting of our Savior, God,
For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and
They will rebuild God’s holy church.
God will renew them, and will restore them,
And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.
You will be ministers of our God, and
You will rejoice in salvation.
The Lord loves justice;
He is faithful to
Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;
My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.
He has clothed me with His salvation,
And in a robe of His righteousness.
He has given me priestly garments to
Wear, as the bride of Jesus Christ.
As the garden of our Lord and Savior,
He causes us to grow in Him.
He makes righteousness,
Praise, and thanksgiving
Spring up before all the nations.

http://youtu.be/PSH4DBpc__U