Life seems so much harder, when you decide to do the right thing.
I have believed for a while that I was an unfeigned believer and that God was the first priority for me; but it not until last night that I realized that this was not so, not as much anyway, as I thought myself to be.
We as human beings are inherently selfish, sinful and weak. There is an evil dark side of our nature that, for most, fuels our very existence. This dark side is what our first parents, Adam and Eve, let into our lives when they fell from grace and obeyed the devil over obeying God. This same human nature is against everything that we were created to be and is in constant conflict with our true nature. True in the sense that, God, in His image, created in us a nature like His, in which we were to identify with Him. It was the correct and actual semblance of what human beings were supposed to be like.
Because of His love for us, God sent His son, to redeem us from our fallen selves. Jesus took the cup of death in our place. He purchased a new life for us, through his precious blood. He saved our souls, our hearts and our very lives from damnation. The Lord, in his infinite love took our place; he died, was buried, went to hell and rose on the 3rd day- he won the battle for our souls!
How then, do not owe him our lives. What sort of justification is there, if any, for us not to give ourselves wholly unto him?
It is this understanding of what It means to surrender our lives to the Lord, and to give up our heart, soul, body and mind to him- that has led me to suffer in the realization that I have not yet wholly given up my life to the Lord.
Most of us live a double life. We waver between the things of this world and the things of God. We secretly hope that God will not be too strict so us to remember every little thing that we do wrong, so long as we go to church on Sunday, fast every month, are generally good to people; while yet we can indulge in a little sexual immorality, get drunk once in a while and be negatively good- we are “Lukewarm- neither hot nor cold”. We forget the consequences of such a life- God promises to spit such people out of his Kingdom.
The Lord requires our full hearts. We are to give ourselves wholly unto the Lord, holding nothing back. Jesus gave up everything for us, why would we think that it is sufficient to give him back just a portion of our lives? It is not right that we say a chain of prayer every Monday morning yet when we get to the office, we gossip about our boss; that we preach about being born again yet we are recovering from a hangover from the night before; that we place “I love Jesus” bumper stickers on our cars as we drive to commit acts of fornication; that we pray the morning prayer at our desks in the office yet we spend half the time on internet chat flirting with friends. God forbid!
Let us exhort ourselves through the pain of our lives to let go and let God, to really let go and let God. God demands our full commitment, not just part of it, lest we are struck dead like Ananias and his wife Sapphira for pretending to offer their hearts to God yet they kept the greatest part for themselves.
If God can help us, guide us, feed us, clothe us and keep us alive, even when we are sinful as we are and without much effort, how much more will he take care of us when we let Him lead the way? Why O why are we so in love with the flesh so as not to fully renounce our bodies, which for the most part of our lives has held us bound in chains of disease, pain and suffering? Why?
Most times, we are afraid of our fellow man. We suffer to imagine what people will say when we become born again and are liable for our actions. Many of us serve the world, the flesh during the day and then like Nicodemus we sneak into the night, secretly for fear of being judged, fall on our knees to God, with a mind to see God’s power in our lives, but inherently afraid of being ridiculed by our friends and peers. But what did the Lord say of such behavior: “the friendship of this world means enmity against God”.
But if there is anyone we are deceiving, it is ourselves, because “God cannot be mocked”. He sees our hearts and judges us thereof. True, when we choose to do the right thing, we will be judged and will be met with contempt. We may loose friends, jobs, and pride, but the price of eternal life is too grave a gift to forego. What we should let go of are the eccentricities of the world and walk the narrow path. Life seems so much easier when we follow the world, but it far less rewarding.
We should embrace the servile character of our Lord and humble ourselves before God. We should consciously seek to learn, to know and to see God and His power manifest in our lives today.
Let us think then, let us repent and change our lives. Let us receive a new and clean rebirth. We might think that we have already done much for Christ, but we cannot afford to loose even the little we have because we could not do more. Let us every day, every moment give ourselves to the full will of God, always praying, always watching and always yearning for Him to lead us to the truth- for those that are led by the spirit of God are the children of the God.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Lead us Not into Temptation
This inspired me... thought i would share- i have edited the original text for easier comprehension.
Matthew 6:13, "Lead us not into temptation."
The great and important duty which is mandatory on Christians is to guard against all appearance of evil; to watch against the first rebellions in the heart to evil; and to have a guard upon our actions, that they may not be sinful, or seem to be so.
It is true, the devil is tempting us continually, and our own evil hearts are ready to join with the tempter, to make us fall into sins, that he may obtain a victory over us, and that we may be his subjects, his servants, his slaves; and then by-and-by he will pay us our wages, which will be temporary death, and later eternal death.
Our Lord Jesus Christ saw how his people would be tempted. The devil would lay hold of every opportunity, so he could keep poor sinners from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ by:
- filling you with temptation, to drive you to some great sins and then if he cannot gain you over,
- Often transform himself into an angel of light, and by that means make the soul fall into sin, to the dishonor of God.
The Lord Jesus, seeing how liable his disciples, and all others, would be to temptation, therefore advises them, when they pray, to beg that they might not be led into temptation. It is so dangerous to engage Satan because he is so subtle and powerful. We shall be overcome as often as we engage in temptation, unless the Lord is on our side.
If you are left by yourselves, you will be overcome by every temptation with which you are exposed to.
These words are part of the prayer which Christ taught his disciples; and I shall, therefore, make no doubt, but that you all believe them to be true, since they are spoken by one who cannot lie. I shall,
1.Show you who it is that tempts you.
2.Shall show why he tempts you.
3.Mention some of the ways and means he makes use of, to draw you over to his temptations.
4.Let you see how earnest you ought to be to the Lord, that he may preserve you from being led into temptation.
5.I shall make some application for you to come unto Christ, that he may deliver you from being tempted.
I. FIRST, We are to consider who it is that tempts us.
And the tempter is Satan, the prince of the power of the air, he that now rules in the children of disobedience; he is an enemy to God and goodness, he is a hater of all truth. Why else did he slander God in paradise? Why did he tell Eve, "You shall not surely die?" He is full of malice, envy, and revenge; for what other reasons could he molest innocent man in paradise? The person that tempts you is remarkable for his tact. Because he does not have power him from above, he is forced to wait for opportunities to betray us, and to catch us by treachery; he, therefore, made use of the serpent to tempt our first parents; and to lie in wait to deceive, is another part of his character.
And though this character is given of the devil, if we were to examine our own hearts, we will find many of the tempter's characters in us.
Do we not all like to tell a lie? And if it is done in our line of work we sometimes believe it is excusable. But whether you believe it or not, it is sinful, it is exceedingly sinful. Though we value ourselves as fine rational creatures, and that we are noble beings (like when we first came out of God's hands). We are now fallen and there is nothing lovely, nothing desirable in man. His heart is a sink of pollution, full of sin and uncleanness. Yet, though a man's own heart is so desperately wicked, he is told by our modern polite that because God sees us as good creatures, gives us his grace. But this, though it is a modern, polite, and fashionable way of talking, is very unscriptural.
These preachers talk of than doing no one any harm, living honestly, loving your neighbor as yourselves, and do what you can and that Christ is to make up for the deficiency. This is making Christ to be half a savior, and man the other part.
But let these modern, polite gentlemen paint man in as lovely colors as they please, I will not do it; I dare not make him better than the word of God does. If I was to paint man in his proper colors, I must go to the kingdom of hell for a copy; for man is by nature full of pride, subtlety, malice, envy, lust, sensuality, pleasure, revenge, and all uncharitableness- and are not all these from the devil?
And this is the man, who is told, that he must be part his own savior, by doing good works, and what he cannot do Christ will do for him. Good God!
This is giving the devil great room to come in with his temptation. The devil may make a soul to follow moral duties like go to church, take the sacrament, read, pray, meditate. The devil is ok that you do all these. but if they are done in your own strength without the Spirit or if you go no farther than here and do no more than these, you are simply smoothening your path to hell.
Why he tempts you, is the second thing I am to show you.
He endeavors to keep you from getting close with Jesus. and if he can keep you from laying hold by faith on Christ, he knows he has you safe enough; and the more temptations you are under, and the more unsettled your thoughts and emotions are, the more you will think that if you were to go to Christ in this state full of emotions and unsettled, that Christ would not receive you. This is a policy of the devil- to make you have low and dishonorable thoughts of the blessed Jesus and by so doing the devil works upon your minds that you do not care about Christ. This, this, my brethren, is the design of the tempter.
Nothing will please the devil more, than to see you ruined and lost forever. He tempts you for this reason- that you may lose your interest in Jesus Christ, and that you may dwell with the devil and his spirits to all eternity. He knows that Jesus Christ died for sinners, yet he would fain keep these same sinners from seeking Jesus.
The devil endeavors to blind our eyes, that we shall not see what danger you are in, and how much evil there is in our hearts; and as long as he can keep us easy and unconcerned about having your hearts changed, he will tempt us to sin until we are hardened in sin. Do not give the devil a handle were he can lay hold on you. That is why he tempts you, when he finds you at the disco or a bar. if you are doing the devil's work, he will convince you to continue sinning. So how can we say "Lead us not into temptation," in the morning, when we are planning to run into temptation at night?
So when we have go to church and read the prayers, it is like offering the sacrifice of fools when we say “Amen” to them with our lips, when in our hearts we are either unconcerned at what we are doing, or else we think that simply saying of our prayers is sufficient and that we have balanced our debts with God.
But let us not deceive ourselves; God is not to be mocked. We are only ruining ourselves for time and eternity. We pray, "Lead us not into temptation," when we are tempting the devil to come and tempt us.
I shall now point out some of the ways and means; the devil makes use of to draw you to himself.
But this is a field so large, and I have but just begun to be a soldier of Jesus Christ, that
I cannot say everything to you. I shall therefore be very short on this.
a. He endeavors to make us think sin is not so great as it is; that there is no occasion for being so strict, and that we are over-righteous too much and will harm ourselves. The devil shows us the bait, but he hides the hook. He shows us the pleasure, profits, and advantages that come if we follow him but he does not show us hardships, losses and displeasures that we will have while we enjoy his world.
b. When he finds he cannot allure us by flattery, he will try by frowns, and the terrors of this world. He will make people to point at us, and say, "Here comes another of Christ’s followers;" He will make them up to jeer, scoff, backbite, and hate us. but if he still finds this will not do, then he throws in doubts and discouragement in our minds or he will suggest, “What! Do you expect to be saved by Christ?” Also, “He did not die for you; you have been too great a sinner; you have lived in sin so long, and committed many sins against Christ, which he will not forgive.” Thus he rushes poor sinners almost into despair. And very often, when the people of God meet to worship, he sends his agents to disturb them.
These, my brethren, are some of the ways Satan takes in his temptations, to bring us from Christ. Many more might be named; but these are sufficient, I hope, to keep us on our guard, against all that the enemy can do to hinder us from coming to Christ.
I come to show you, how deep we ought to be with Jesus Christ, either so that we are not led into temptations, or to persevere under them.
And here let me beg that we go to Jesus Christ when we are attacked by the evil one, who lies in wait for our souls. We should tell him we are not able to master the devil in our own strength. We should beg Christ’s assistance, and then we shall find him ready to help us, ready to assist us, and to be our Guide, our Comforter, our Savior, and our All. He will give us strength to resist the fiery darts of the devil. Jesus Christ knows what it is to be tempted, he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and he will give us the assistance of his Spirit, to resist the evil one, and then the devil will flee from us. In Christ Jesus we shall have the strength we stand in need of, the devil shall have no power. Therefore fear not, for in the name of the Lord we shall overcome all our spiritual Amalekites.
Let the devil and his agents rage, let them breathe out threatenings, yes, let them breathe out slaughters, yet we can rejoice in the truth that Jesus Christ has all these evil agents in his power. They may rage, they may rage horribly, but they can go no farther. Blessed be to God that we can commit ourselves to Christ’s protection. He has been our protector before, he will be even now. Then sincerely, we should ask of the Lord to support us under these temptations which the devil may attack us with. He is a powerful adversary; he is a cunning one too. He would be too hard for us, unless we have the strength of Christ to be with us. But let us be looking up unto Jesus, that he would send his Spirit into our hearts, and keep us from falling.
Matthew 6:13, "Lead us not into temptation."
The great and important duty which is mandatory on Christians is to guard against all appearance of evil; to watch against the first rebellions in the heart to evil; and to have a guard upon our actions, that they may not be sinful, or seem to be so.
It is true, the devil is tempting us continually, and our own evil hearts are ready to join with the tempter, to make us fall into sins, that he may obtain a victory over us, and that we may be his subjects, his servants, his slaves; and then by-and-by he will pay us our wages, which will be temporary death, and later eternal death.
Our Lord Jesus Christ saw how his people would be tempted. The devil would lay hold of every opportunity, so he could keep poor sinners from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ by:
- filling you with temptation, to drive you to some great sins and then if he cannot gain you over,
- Often transform himself into an angel of light, and by that means make the soul fall into sin, to the dishonor of God.
The Lord Jesus, seeing how liable his disciples, and all others, would be to temptation, therefore advises them, when they pray, to beg that they might not be led into temptation. It is so dangerous to engage Satan because he is so subtle and powerful. We shall be overcome as often as we engage in temptation, unless the Lord is on our side.
If you are left by yourselves, you will be overcome by every temptation with which you are exposed to.
These words are part of the prayer which Christ taught his disciples; and I shall, therefore, make no doubt, but that you all believe them to be true, since they are spoken by one who cannot lie. I shall,
1.Show you who it is that tempts you.
2.Shall show why he tempts you.
3.Mention some of the ways and means he makes use of, to draw you over to his temptations.
4.Let you see how earnest you ought to be to the Lord, that he may preserve you from being led into temptation.
5.I shall make some application for you to come unto Christ, that he may deliver you from being tempted.
I. FIRST, We are to consider who it is that tempts us.
And the tempter is Satan, the prince of the power of the air, he that now rules in the children of disobedience; he is an enemy to God and goodness, he is a hater of all truth. Why else did he slander God in paradise? Why did he tell Eve, "You shall not surely die?" He is full of malice, envy, and revenge; for what other reasons could he molest innocent man in paradise? The person that tempts you is remarkable for his tact. Because he does not have power him from above, he is forced to wait for opportunities to betray us, and to catch us by treachery; he, therefore, made use of the serpent to tempt our first parents; and to lie in wait to deceive, is another part of his character.
And though this character is given of the devil, if we were to examine our own hearts, we will find many of the tempter's characters in us.
Do we not all like to tell a lie? And if it is done in our line of work we sometimes believe it is excusable. But whether you believe it or not, it is sinful, it is exceedingly sinful. Though we value ourselves as fine rational creatures, and that we are noble beings (like when we first came out of God's hands). We are now fallen and there is nothing lovely, nothing desirable in man. His heart is a sink of pollution, full of sin and uncleanness. Yet, though a man's own heart is so desperately wicked, he is told by our modern polite that because God sees us as good creatures, gives us his grace. But this, though it is a modern, polite, and fashionable way of talking, is very unscriptural.
These preachers talk of than doing no one any harm, living honestly, loving your neighbor as yourselves, and do what you can and that Christ is to make up for the deficiency. This is making Christ to be half a savior, and man the other part.
But let these modern, polite gentlemen paint man in as lovely colors as they please, I will not do it; I dare not make him better than the word of God does. If I was to paint man in his proper colors, I must go to the kingdom of hell for a copy; for man is by nature full of pride, subtlety, malice, envy, lust, sensuality, pleasure, revenge, and all uncharitableness- and are not all these from the devil?
And this is the man, who is told, that he must be part his own savior, by doing good works, and what he cannot do Christ will do for him. Good God!
This is giving the devil great room to come in with his temptation. The devil may make a soul to follow moral duties like go to church, take the sacrament, read, pray, meditate. The devil is ok that you do all these. but if they are done in your own strength without the Spirit or if you go no farther than here and do no more than these, you are simply smoothening your path to hell.
Why he tempts you, is the second thing I am to show you.
He endeavors to keep you from getting close with Jesus. and if he can keep you from laying hold by faith on Christ, he knows he has you safe enough; and the more temptations you are under, and the more unsettled your thoughts and emotions are, the more you will think that if you were to go to Christ in this state full of emotions and unsettled, that Christ would not receive you. This is a policy of the devil- to make you have low and dishonorable thoughts of the blessed Jesus and by so doing the devil works upon your minds that you do not care about Christ. This, this, my brethren, is the design of the tempter.
Nothing will please the devil more, than to see you ruined and lost forever. He tempts you for this reason- that you may lose your interest in Jesus Christ, and that you may dwell with the devil and his spirits to all eternity. He knows that Jesus Christ died for sinners, yet he would fain keep these same sinners from seeking Jesus.
The devil endeavors to blind our eyes, that we shall not see what danger you are in, and how much evil there is in our hearts; and as long as he can keep us easy and unconcerned about having your hearts changed, he will tempt us to sin until we are hardened in sin. Do not give the devil a handle were he can lay hold on you. That is why he tempts you, when he finds you at the disco or a bar. if you are doing the devil's work, he will convince you to continue sinning. So how can we say "Lead us not into temptation," in the morning, when we are planning to run into temptation at night?
So when we have go to church and read the prayers, it is like offering the sacrifice of fools when we say “Amen” to them with our lips, when in our hearts we are either unconcerned at what we are doing, or else we think that simply saying of our prayers is sufficient and that we have balanced our debts with God.
But let us not deceive ourselves; God is not to be mocked. We are only ruining ourselves for time and eternity. We pray, "Lead us not into temptation," when we are tempting the devil to come and tempt us.
I shall now point out some of the ways and means; the devil makes use of to draw you to himself.
But this is a field so large, and I have but just begun to be a soldier of Jesus Christ, that
I cannot say everything to you. I shall therefore be very short on this.
a. He endeavors to make us think sin is not so great as it is; that there is no occasion for being so strict, and that we are over-righteous too much and will harm ourselves. The devil shows us the bait, but he hides the hook. He shows us the pleasure, profits, and advantages that come if we follow him but he does not show us hardships, losses and displeasures that we will have while we enjoy his world.
b. When he finds he cannot allure us by flattery, he will try by frowns, and the terrors of this world. He will make people to point at us, and say, "Here comes another of Christ’s followers;" He will make them up to jeer, scoff, backbite, and hate us. but if he still finds this will not do, then he throws in doubts and discouragement in our minds or he will suggest, “What! Do you expect to be saved by Christ?” Also, “He did not die for you; you have been too great a sinner; you have lived in sin so long, and committed many sins against Christ, which he will not forgive.” Thus he rushes poor sinners almost into despair. And very often, when the people of God meet to worship, he sends his agents to disturb them.
These, my brethren, are some of the ways Satan takes in his temptations, to bring us from Christ. Many more might be named; but these are sufficient, I hope, to keep us on our guard, against all that the enemy can do to hinder us from coming to Christ.
I come to show you, how deep we ought to be with Jesus Christ, either so that we are not led into temptations, or to persevere under them.
And here let me beg that we go to Jesus Christ when we are attacked by the evil one, who lies in wait for our souls. We should tell him we are not able to master the devil in our own strength. We should beg Christ’s assistance, and then we shall find him ready to help us, ready to assist us, and to be our Guide, our Comforter, our Savior, and our All. He will give us strength to resist the fiery darts of the devil. Jesus Christ knows what it is to be tempted, he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and he will give us the assistance of his Spirit, to resist the evil one, and then the devil will flee from us. In Christ Jesus we shall have the strength we stand in need of, the devil shall have no power. Therefore fear not, for in the name of the Lord we shall overcome all our spiritual Amalekites.
Let the devil and his agents rage, let them breathe out threatenings, yes, let them breathe out slaughters, yet we can rejoice in the truth that Jesus Christ has all these evil agents in his power. They may rage, they may rage horribly, but they can go no farther. Blessed be to God that we can commit ourselves to Christ’s protection. He has been our protector before, he will be even now. Then sincerely, we should ask of the Lord to support us under these temptations which the devil may attack us with. He is a powerful adversary; he is a cunning one too. He would be too hard for us, unless we have the strength of Christ to be with us. But let us be looking up unto Jesus, that he would send his Spirit into our hearts, and keep us from falling.
Monday, February 22, 2010
I have always missed you though my mind never did entertain the notion
You know me so deeply in the most intimate of ways
From whence I flirted with untaught skill, discerning, learning, knowing and then loving you
Tonight I return…
I beseech you to open your soul, for you and I are one, rooted deep within the core of life
Take me home.
You know me so deeply in the most intimate of ways
From whence I flirted with untaught skill, discerning, learning, knowing and then loving you
Tonight I return…
I beseech you to open your soul, for you and I are one, rooted deep within the core of life
Take me home.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Action- The Dream Catcher
I have desires, dreams and many things that I hope for. So I keep praying, believing and trusting that all my needs will manifest one day. However, I realized that there is one crucial thing that I often miss and/or ignore to guarantee assurance of this manifestation-faith, and not just faith, but the action behind the faith.
I need to learn to demonstrate my faith so that God can see. I need to, more often than not show God that I am serious about what I am believing for. Sure He is omnipresent and knows and sees all things, however, therefore needs to “see” my faith.
Learning from the great women of faith before me over 2000 years, ago a lady with a life-threatening disease though to herself “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” She fought through a crowd of hundreds of people, pushed and squeezed herself through the congested lot till she touched Jesus’ cloak. Also the Greek Syrophoenician woman, considered an outsider because she was non-Jew risked being incarcerated and maintained that her daughter should be healed. When she was told she was not eligible to receive any blessings because she was not a Jew she said “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Now if this is not action showing tremendous desire and belief, then I do not know what is.
I have realized that we need to release our minds, emotion and actions and demonstrate that which we are believing for, against all odds. Prayer, though vital, alone is not enough. I believe that Gods needs to see more of my belief. Demonstration of faith is also an inadvertent way of fighting evil, because though our actions we are choosing to believe the truth and not the facts (bad things) happening in our lives.
A few great men also showed faith- Moses almost sacrificed his son, Joseph used his wit and jail time to impress the pharaoh, Noah built the Ark, Abel offered a bigger sacrifice, Abraham left his rich and fertile land and went to live in a dry and arid desert… all these people DID something. They did not just pray and believe that their circumstances would change, they did not just write down what they believed for and sit and wait.
We all need to do something towards whatever we are believing for and show God that our faith is more than just words, confession and emotion- The He will move!
I need to learn to demonstrate my faith so that God can see. I need to, more often than not show God that I am serious about what I am believing for. Sure He is omnipresent and knows and sees all things, however, therefore needs to “see” my faith.
Learning from the great women of faith before me over 2000 years, ago a lady with a life-threatening disease though to herself “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” She fought through a crowd of hundreds of people, pushed and squeezed herself through the congested lot till she touched Jesus’ cloak. Also the Greek Syrophoenician woman, considered an outsider because she was non-Jew risked being incarcerated and maintained that her daughter should be healed. When she was told she was not eligible to receive any blessings because she was not a Jew she said “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Now if this is not action showing tremendous desire and belief, then I do not know what is.
I have realized that we need to release our minds, emotion and actions and demonstrate that which we are believing for, against all odds. Prayer, though vital, alone is not enough. I believe that Gods needs to see more of my belief. Demonstration of faith is also an inadvertent way of fighting evil, because though our actions we are choosing to believe the truth and not the facts (bad things) happening in our lives.
A few great men also showed faith- Moses almost sacrificed his son, Joseph used his wit and jail time to impress the pharaoh, Noah built the Ark, Abel offered a bigger sacrifice, Abraham left his rich and fertile land and went to live in a dry and arid desert… all these people DID something. They did not just pray and believe that their circumstances would change, they did not just write down what they believed for and sit and wait.
We all need to do something towards whatever we are believing for and show God that our faith is more than just words, confession and emotion- The He will move!
Friday, November 6, 2009
True Prayer
Last night i was talking to my niece about prayer, so i wrote a few pointers for her to get a better understanding of what i believe prayer truly is. This is a summary of an article i read by John Bunyan and i thought i would share this with y'all as well. This is is no means exhaustive, but i believe it is a good summary for her, a new child in Christ and also for anyone who is learning how to as a Christian.
1.Prayer is a sincere, sensible, pouring out of the heart and soul to God, through Christ, and using the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit. We have to pray:
a) According to the will of God
b) According to the bible and
c) With submission.
Read Psalm 66:17, 18 when David said that:
“I cried out to [the Lord] with my mouth;his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened [to my prayer]"
We do not pray so that people can see you, or to fulfill a duty, we pray so that you can communicate with God. Prayers are not supposed to be fake.
Why does God ask us to be sincere in prayer? Because when we are sincere, we open our hearts and say what we truly feel without fear or thinking of what the consequences are. God looks at our hearts and judges if we are being honest or not.
2.Prayer is Rational. This means that prayer is supposed to make sense. Prayer is not continuous babbling of many words but it is simple reasonable utterance straight from the heart. It can be short or it can be long, it can be alone or it can be amongst a gathering. Wherever the location, when we pray, we need to make sure our prayers make sense and that we are being understood by God.
3. Prayer is affectionate. In Psalms, words like yearns, pants, longs, consuming are used to describe how David Prayed. We are praying to a great and holy God. We therefore cannot come before Him lightly with no passion as if we were speaking to a stranger. Imagine, for example, how you would present yourself if you were given the opportunity to address a Hollywood celebrity of your dreams. We have seen fans on television cry, faint and scream because they are overcome with emotion, love, respect. Now celebrities do not in any way compare with the greatness that is of God yet we most times treat prayer like it is an unimportant duty we need to perform.
We should not use empty words to make our prayers longer. When talking to God, prayer should be filled with hope, trust, respect. We should forget everything else and focus only on our great Father. For without a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart to God, our prayer is nothing but useless lip-service.
4.Prayer is through Christ and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Simply mentioning the name of Christ in prayer does not mean that we are coming to God through Christ. A man that comes to God through Christ must first of all know who Christ is and believe in him. Likewise, any prayer that is without the assistance of the Holy Spirit cannot be the will of God because it is through the Holy Spirit that we can listen and understand the will of God. Romans 8:26, 27.
5.Prayer should be in line with the things that God has promised. We cannot possibly expect God to answer prayers that are contrary to His word. Likewise, the Spirit will guide you according the word of God. Any prayer outside the bible might as well be called blasphemy. For whatever we seek ask or need, the scriptures have to be fulfilled. This means that we need to know what the word of God says in order to pray aright. God only hears what is according to His will.
When Jesus was being arrested he said that he could not tell his Father to send legions of angels to save him because that would not be according to scripture. Matthew 26:53, 54.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us- whatever we ask- we know that we have what we asked of Him" 1 John 5:14
1.Prayer is a sincere, sensible, pouring out of the heart and soul to God, through Christ, and using the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit. We have to pray:
a) According to the will of God
b) According to the bible and
c) With submission.
Read Psalm 66:17, 18 when David said that:
“I cried out to [the Lord] with my mouth;his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened [to my prayer]"
We do not pray so that people can see you, or to fulfill a duty, we pray so that you can communicate with God. Prayers are not supposed to be fake.
Why does God ask us to be sincere in prayer? Because when we are sincere, we open our hearts and say what we truly feel without fear or thinking of what the consequences are. God looks at our hearts and judges if we are being honest or not.
2.Prayer is Rational. This means that prayer is supposed to make sense. Prayer is not continuous babbling of many words but it is simple reasonable utterance straight from the heart. It can be short or it can be long, it can be alone or it can be amongst a gathering. Wherever the location, when we pray, we need to make sure our prayers make sense and that we are being understood by God.
3. Prayer is affectionate. In Psalms, words like yearns, pants, longs, consuming are used to describe how David Prayed. We are praying to a great and holy God. We therefore cannot come before Him lightly with no passion as if we were speaking to a stranger. Imagine, for example, how you would present yourself if you were given the opportunity to address a Hollywood celebrity of your dreams. We have seen fans on television cry, faint and scream because they are overcome with emotion, love, respect. Now celebrities do not in any way compare with the greatness that is of God yet we most times treat prayer like it is an unimportant duty we need to perform.
We should not use empty words to make our prayers longer. When talking to God, prayer should be filled with hope, trust, respect. We should forget everything else and focus only on our great Father. For without a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart to God, our prayer is nothing but useless lip-service.
4.Prayer is through Christ and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Simply mentioning the name of Christ in prayer does not mean that we are coming to God through Christ. A man that comes to God through Christ must first of all know who Christ is and believe in him. Likewise, any prayer that is without the assistance of the Holy Spirit cannot be the will of God because it is through the Holy Spirit that we can listen and understand the will of God. Romans 8:26, 27.
5.Prayer should be in line with the things that God has promised. We cannot possibly expect God to answer prayers that are contrary to His word. Likewise, the Spirit will guide you according the word of God. Any prayer outside the bible might as well be called blasphemy. For whatever we seek ask or need, the scriptures have to be fulfilled. This means that we need to know what the word of God says in order to pray aright. God only hears what is according to His will.
When Jesus was being arrested he said that he could not tell his Father to send legions of angels to save him because that would not be according to scripture. Matthew 26:53, 54.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us- whatever we ask- we know that we have what we asked of Him" 1 John 5:14
Thursday, November 5, 2009
God's Purpose
We were created to fulfill God's purpose.
Scripture details ways in which God used men like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, to fulfill the plans he had for His people. God would have done all these things Himself but He didn't, He used human beings, Why? Because God gave man dominion over the earth, He gave human beings the authority to to rule and control the earth and all living things on it. Even after the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God was still bound by this word, He therefore, could not go against it, because;
“God is not a human that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind”- Num 23:19
He could not interfere in the goings-on on the earth even when He needed to.He had to use human beings, just like he had planned before the fall of Adam and Eve, to fulfill His purpose.
Christ was alive at the time of creation, but God sent Christ as Jesus down to earth, in human form, so that He can use him to fulfill His purpose.
Friends, God needs us to change the world, and the only way God can use us is if we commune with Him constantly and listen to what He has to say. He offered His son and His spirit for us to easily understand the way His kingdom works and aid us in communicating with Him through prayer. Christ taught us how to pray and the Holy Spirit is here to guide us to the will of God. Jesus showed us and gave us everything that the Father has given him, he gave us the keys to the kingdom.
“ I confer on you a kingdom just as my father conferred one on me.'' Luke 22:8
Therefore prayer is not an option, it is a necessity. It is through prayer that God can work through human beings to impact the world. Everything Jesus did, healing the sick, resurrecting the dead, chasing demons, changing water to wine, feeding the 5000, preaching to multitudes of people, showing love to strangers, praying,fasting et al; was because He was doing His father's will. In the same way he says;
“ The words I say to you I do not speak on my authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.” John 14: 10.
How much more clear can this be?
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven” Math 18:18
This verse does not focus on binding demons as much as it clearly tells us that everything that we do not permit or do not do here on earth, Heaven will also not permit. Likewise, the things we agree to, the things we freely accept, Heaven will also concur. This means that whatever we do, good or bad, Heaven will permit. Why? Because we have a will and because we have the authority from God to do rule (Not own)the earth. So when we welcome immorality, hate, perversion, sorrow, fear, poverty, sadness, trickery; Heaven will permit. Likewise when we do pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, right and noble things, Heaven will also permit.
The ball is in our court, so to speak. Everything is possible. We decide what our lives should be. We are the vessels, the temples of the Lord; please note that a temple by definition is a place where divine presence resides. How wonderful is this! This is the reason that God heals us, we need healthy bodies, this is why he offers us salvation, We need to to believe in Him. God needs us for His glory and purpose and in return He has promised us many many wonderful blessings:
“What no eye has has seen, what no ear has heard and what no human mind has conceived- these are the things God has prepared for those who love Him” 1 Cor 2:9
Everything we do, everything we need, everything we desire; it is from our Father in heaven... and how do we communicate with Him... yes through Prayer. Jesus prayed alone so many times and for long hours every once in a while. He needed to listen to what His Father was telling Him to do.
So when Paul advises us to pray without ceasing, he is dead serious. We need to be in constant communication with God and though His Spirit, what we need to do will be revealed to us.
When we stop praying, God cannot use us yet He wants to work in us.
Scripture details ways in which God used men like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, to fulfill the plans he had for His people. God would have done all these things Himself but He didn't, He used human beings, Why? Because God gave man dominion over the earth, He gave human beings the authority to to rule and control the earth and all living things on it. Even after the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God was still bound by this word, He therefore, could not go against it, because;
“God is not a human that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind”- Num 23:19
He could not interfere in the goings-on on the earth even when He needed to.He had to use human beings, just like he had planned before the fall of Adam and Eve, to fulfill His purpose.
Christ was alive at the time of creation, but God sent Christ as Jesus down to earth, in human form, so that He can use him to fulfill His purpose.
Friends, God needs us to change the world, and the only way God can use us is if we commune with Him constantly and listen to what He has to say. He offered His son and His spirit for us to easily understand the way His kingdom works and aid us in communicating with Him through prayer. Christ taught us how to pray and the Holy Spirit is here to guide us to the will of God. Jesus showed us and gave us everything that the Father has given him, he gave us the keys to the kingdom.
“ I confer on you a kingdom just as my father conferred one on me.'' Luke 22:8
Therefore prayer is not an option, it is a necessity. It is through prayer that God can work through human beings to impact the world. Everything Jesus did, healing the sick, resurrecting the dead, chasing demons, changing water to wine, feeding the 5000, preaching to multitudes of people, showing love to strangers, praying,fasting et al; was because He was doing His father's will. In the same way he says;
“ The words I say to you I do not speak on my authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.” John 14: 10.
How much more clear can this be?
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven” Math 18:18
This verse does not focus on binding demons as much as it clearly tells us that everything that we do not permit or do not do here on earth, Heaven will also not permit. Likewise, the things we agree to, the things we freely accept, Heaven will also concur. This means that whatever we do, good or bad, Heaven will permit. Why? Because we have a will and because we have the authority from God to do rule (Not own)the earth. So when we welcome immorality, hate, perversion, sorrow, fear, poverty, sadness, trickery; Heaven will permit. Likewise when we do pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, right and noble things, Heaven will also permit.
The ball is in our court, so to speak. Everything is possible. We decide what our lives should be. We are the vessels, the temples of the Lord; please note that a temple by definition is a place where divine presence resides. How wonderful is this! This is the reason that God heals us, we need healthy bodies, this is why he offers us salvation, We need to to believe in Him. God needs us for His glory and purpose and in return He has promised us many many wonderful blessings:
“What no eye has has seen, what no ear has heard and what no human mind has conceived- these are the things God has prepared for those who love Him” 1 Cor 2:9
Everything we do, everything we need, everything we desire; it is from our Father in heaven... and how do we communicate with Him... yes through Prayer. Jesus prayed alone so many times and for long hours every once in a while. He needed to listen to what His Father was telling Him to do.
So when Paul advises us to pray without ceasing, he is dead serious. We need to be in constant communication with God and though His Spirit, what we need to do will be revealed to us.
When we stop praying, God cannot use us yet He wants to work in us.
Friday, October 30, 2009
God Remembers
“I will never forget you”
The word “God Remembers” appears many times in the Bible. God has over time remembered His faithful people in moments when it was least expected. Note that scripture does not say that He ever forgot. God Does not forget, He said so Himself.
We need to know that no matter what we are going through, or what we have done, or who we are, God knows all of this and He will always remember us.
In the beginning, God initiated a covenant with His people, and through this covenant He made promises to His people, he was bound to keep these promises. When the time came for the people to receive the promises, God remembered His covenant. And when God remembers He responds in a huge way- When He remembered Noah, the floods began to subside, When He remembered Rachel and Hannah and they conceived, when He remembered the Israelites, they started their journey out of slavery, when he remembered Abraham he saved Lot from a city about to be destroyed. Friends, when we are faithful to God, He will remember us and bless us beyond what we can ever imagine. We should never falter in our obedience of His commands because in a covenant, both parties have to keep their side of the promise if they are to reap the benefits.
The covenant we now have with God is like a marriage of sorts. This covenant was renewed when Jesus came to earth. At the Lord’s supper we are reminded that Jesus’ death initiated a new covenant to save us ALL. That God loves us no matter what, and that we have a relationship with God our Father that can never be broken by Him.
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”-Luke 22:20
So, let us make sure God remembers us, let us accept His unconditional love that works miracles in us, and mostly, let us always keep in mind that never at anyone moment has the Almighty Father forgotten about us not once!
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbors, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.- Jer 31:31-34
The word “God Remembers” appears many times in the Bible. God has over time remembered His faithful people in moments when it was least expected. Note that scripture does not say that He ever forgot. God Does not forget, He said so Himself.
We need to know that no matter what we are going through, or what we have done, or who we are, God knows all of this and He will always remember us.
In the beginning, God initiated a covenant with His people, and through this covenant He made promises to His people, he was bound to keep these promises. When the time came for the people to receive the promises, God remembered His covenant. And when God remembers He responds in a huge way- When He remembered Noah, the floods began to subside, When He remembered Rachel and Hannah and they conceived, when He remembered the Israelites, they started their journey out of slavery, when he remembered Abraham he saved Lot from a city about to be destroyed. Friends, when we are faithful to God, He will remember us and bless us beyond what we can ever imagine. We should never falter in our obedience of His commands because in a covenant, both parties have to keep their side of the promise if they are to reap the benefits.
The covenant we now have with God is like a marriage of sorts. This covenant was renewed when Jesus came to earth. At the Lord’s supper we are reminded that Jesus’ death initiated a new covenant to save us ALL. That God loves us no matter what, and that we have a relationship with God our Father that can never be broken by Him.
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”-Luke 22:20
So, let us make sure God remembers us, let us accept His unconditional love that works miracles in us, and mostly, let us always keep in mind that never at anyone moment has the Almighty Father forgotten about us not once!
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbors, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.- Jer 31:31-34
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