April 8
The life of prayer does not come readily to the converted. The natural man continues to flex his muscle and his inclination is not toward devotion to the Lord or meditation upon His Word or immersion in the activity of prayer. The newly converted man has bigger fish to fry.
The “responsibilities” of life still compel him to devote the preponderance of his time to the pursuit of the things he has been trained to endeavor to attain. Now that he is born again, he may be thankful for the place the Lord has secured for him in heaven, but he believes he still must strive for his place on earth.
When he has gone through trials, however, as David did in the pursuit of the goal the Lord set before him—that of being King of Israel—he comes, to the same conclusion David reached. That is, nothing of value can be achieved without heartfelt, constant prayer. As David said it in Psalm 27:4, “ One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord (in His presence) for all the days of my life, that I may see His beauty and meditate upon His Word.”
It is David’s conclusion that without prayer, life is futile. We who know the presence of the Holy Spirit within us must allow Him to turn our hearts toward this worthy pursuit in fullness of surrender to the Lord and King who longs to hear our voice. Our natural man may resist at the onset. Our mind may drift off to temporal thoughts and we may be required to engage in life’s mundane pursuits, but if we will speak to Him, He will speak to us, and prayer will be our portion.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
April 7
“It is time to arise out of slumber, for our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” These words in Romans 13:11 are sobering. Indeed, if they were true when Paul penned them, how much more imminent is the return of Christ today than it was when Paul languished in a Roman dungeon awaiting execution!
Around us on every side are indicators of the Lord’s soon return. Events in the middle east, wars and rumors of wars, man’s inhumanity to man, the rise of violence not only as a form of entertainment but as an actuality on our streets and in our schools tell us that man has lost his moral compass and we are hurling through uncharted waters of a tumultuous sea of crime and war and evil.
We who profess faith in Christ must be emboldened in this dire hour to take the truth on which we stand to every life that touches ours! Our passion for Christ and the reality that salvation is to be obtained only through His substitionary life, death and resurrection must motivate us to be steadfast in our endeavor to share Jesus’ unspeakable gift to us with everyone whose path crosses ours.
If we remain silent, how many shall miss the glorious gospel message of salvation? If we remain silent, how many will continue to live lives steeped in anger and hatred and violence? If we remain silent, how many will go to a Christ-less grave? If we truly believe what we profess, surely we must awaken from slumber and be employed about our Father’s business of reaching the lost with the truth of Christ’s precious salvation and matchless love for them.
“It is time to arise out of slumber, for our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” These words in Romans 13:11 are sobering. Indeed, if they were true when Paul penned them, how much more imminent is the return of Christ today than it was when Paul languished in a Roman dungeon awaiting execution!
Around us on every side are indicators of the Lord’s soon return. Events in the middle east, wars and rumors of wars, man’s inhumanity to man, the rise of violence not only as a form of entertainment but as an actuality on our streets and in our schools tell us that man has lost his moral compass and we are hurling through uncharted waters of a tumultuous sea of crime and war and evil.
We who profess faith in Christ must be emboldened in this dire hour to take the truth on which we stand to every life that touches ours! Our passion for Christ and the reality that salvation is to be obtained only through His substitionary life, death and resurrection must motivate us to be steadfast in our endeavor to share Jesus’ unspeakable gift to us with everyone whose path crosses ours.
If we remain silent, how many shall miss the glorious gospel message of salvation? If we remain silent, how many will continue to live lives steeped in anger and hatred and violence? If we remain silent, how many will go to a Christ-less grave? If we truly believe what we profess, surely we must awaken from slumber and be employed about our Father’s business of reaching the lost with the truth of Christ’s precious salvation and matchless love for them.
Monday, April 6, 2009
April 6
I wonder how many of us can say with any seriousness the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 119:148. There he says, “…I am awake before the cry of the watchman that I may meditate on Your Word.” How many of us are so eager to delve into our Bibles that we can’t wait to wake up in the morning!
But the Word is health to our bones and life to our spirits. In it are the very issues of life for time and eternity. Should we not eagerly approach it, reverently open it, focusing on its intent and allow our hearts to be penetrated by every nuance of its meaning.
Conversely, should we allow ourselves to fall into somnolence? Are we not aware that to languish through the day in slumber is to waste the precious commodity of time that is allotted to us? And even more devastating to our lives than excessive physical sleep is the spiritual somnolence that can fall upon the unwary.
If we allow ourselves to be lulled into the kind of indifference to the things of the Lord that are our right to understand, to appropriate and to implement into lives of surrender to Him that result in spiritual blessing, then we have let spiritual somnolence rob us of the rich blessing He would lavish upon us if we were spiritually awake and alert.
I wonder how many of us can say with any seriousness the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 119:148. There he says, “…I am awake before the cry of the watchman that I may meditate on Your Word.” How many of us are so eager to delve into our Bibles that we can’t wait to wake up in the morning!
But the Word is health to our bones and life to our spirits. In it are the very issues of life for time and eternity. Should we not eagerly approach it, reverently open it, focusing on its intent and allow our hearts to be penetrated by every nuance of its meaning.
Conversely, should we allow ourselves to fall into somnolence? Are we not aware that to languish through the day in slumber is to waste the precious commodity of time that is allotted to us? And even more devastating to our lives than excessive physical sleep is the spiritual somnolence that can fall upon the unwary.
If we allow ourselves to be lulled into the kind of indifference to the things of the Lord that are our right to understand, to appropriate and to implement into lives of surrender to Him that result in spiritual blessing, then we have let spiritual somnolence rob us of the rich blessing He would lavish upon us if we were spiritually awake and alert.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
April 5
The promise in Psalm 103:1, 5 is amazing! It is not only uplifting and reassuring to the youthful believer but also to the more seasoned child of God. Watching life fade and wither is not a pleasant experience—as the old quip states so emphatically, “Getting old isn’t for sissies!”
But this wonderful passage takes the “bite” out of the aging process! It says, “Bless the Lord… who satisfies your mouth with good things…so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” Who has not watched in awe as the eagle soared in power to great heights, allowing the air currents to carry him above the mundane realm of the earth-bound!
And our heavenly Father, Lover of our soul, tells us He wants to lift us on high when the winds of life are adverse, and satisfy us with the good of the land in the pleasant times—even as we age. If we will but bless Him, He will assure that His goodness and mercy follow us for all our days.
We need have no fear of our outer man deteriorating with age. We need only continue to allow our lips to praise our Lord at every juncture of life and He, as only He can, will cause every stage of our life’s journey to be taken in strong, steadfast steps—the kind taken by the young and by the renewed!
Praise God, He has fashioned us to be neither old nor young but eternal!
The promise in Psalm 103:1, 5 is amazing! It is not only uplifting and reassuring to the youthful believer but also to the more seasoned child of God. Watching life fade and wither is not a pleasant experience—as the old quip states so emphatically, “Getting old isn’t for sissies!”
But this wonderful passage takes the “bite” out of the aging process! It says, “Bless the Lord… who satisfies your mouth with good things…so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” Who has not watched in awe as the eagle soared in power to great heights, allowing the air currents to carry him above the mundane realm of the earth-bound!
And our heavenly Father, Lover of our soul, tells us He wants to lift us on high when the winds of life are adverse, and satisfy us with the good of the land in the pleasant times—even as we age. If we will but bless Him, He will assure that His goodness and mercy follow us for all our days.
We need have no fear of our outer man deteriorating with age. We need only continue to allow our lips to praise our Lord at every juncture of life and He, as only He can, will cause every stage of our life’s journey to be taken in strong, steadfast steps—the kind taken by the young and by the renewed!
Praise God, He has fashioned us to be neither old nor young but eternal!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
April 4
Paul understood fully that the tendency of the flesh is toward ease. He recognized that the inclination of most people is to seek comfort, rest, sleep. He knew he had to subdue this tendency within himself and that others with good intentions to labor diligently in the harvest field require the same discipline if their desire to serve Christ is to be fulfilled.
In I Corinthians 9:26-27 he uses the terminology of an athlete when he says, “I do not run uncertainly, I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary; but I buffet my body and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel, I myself should become a castaway.”
Although salvation is a free gift, purchased by the shed blood of Jesus, Paul recognizes that its maintenance requires diligence on the part of the believer once the gift is received. In Philippians 2:12 he says, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Paul knows that our inclination toward spiritual somnolence can overtake us if we allow ourselves to succumb to it.
Paul knows that if we do not require effort of ourselves in the maintaining of our own salvation and the sharing of our faith with others, we will neglect them and they will recede in importance to us. Although the Holy Spirit can keep our effort alive even when we neglect it, in order for us to thrive as believers, we must exercise to be spiritually fit.
Paul understood fully that the tendency of the flesh is toward ease. He recognized that the inclination of most people is to seek comfort, rest, sleep. He knew he had to subdue this tendency within himself and that others with good intentions to labor diligently in the harvest field require the same discipline if their desire to serve Christ is to be fulfilled.
In I Corinthians 9:26-27 he uses the terminology of an athlete when he says, “I do not run uncertainly, I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary; but I buffet my body and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel, I myself should become a castaway.”
Although salvation is a free gift, purchased by the shed blood of Jesus, Paul recognizes that its maintenance requires diligence on the part of the believer once the gift is received. In Philippians 2:12 he says, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Paul knows that our inclination toward spiritual somnolence can overtake us if we allow ourselves to succumb to it.
Paul knows that if we do not require effort of ourselves in the maintaining of our own salvation and the sharing of our faith with others, we will neglect them and they will recede in importance to us. Although the Holy Spirit can keep our effort alive even when we neglect it, in order for us to thrive as believers, we must exercise to be spiritually fit.
Friday, April 3, 2009
April 3
In Romans 15:18 Paul gives us sound advice that we would be wise to follow. He says, “I will not speak of any work except what Christ has done through me to win obedience from the Gentiles through word and deed.” Paul’s admonition by example is two fold
First, he acknowledges responsibility for his own words and deeds. He knows that words have power and they are the primary vehicle through which the Lord has chosen to reveal Himself through His servants to those who do not yet know Him. People are convicted of sin and brought into Christ’s arc of safety not only by compelling words but by the living epistle of the lives of believers.
Second, Paul states that he will testify to the power of the Holy Spirit as it is revealed through his service to the Kingdom of Christ but he will refrain from judging the service of other believers. The temptation to do so is great, but the Word says very clearly that “they who compare themselves among themselves are not wise.”
This caution extended in II Corinthians 10:12, behooves us to overcome the very human tendency to paint ourselves in a favorable light by diminishing that which shines through others. Our most expedient course of action is to serve the Lord with a full heart and entrust the success of our endeavors in the behalf of His Kingdom to Him and to allow Him to judge the work of those who labor beside us.
In Romans 15:18 Paul gives us sound advice that we would be wise to follow. He says, “I will not speak of any work except what Christ has done through me to win obedience from the Gentiles through word and deed.” Paul’s admonition by example is two fold
First, he acknowledges responsibility for his own words and deeds. He knows that words have power and they are the primary vehicle through which the Lord has chosen to reveal Himself through His servants to those who do not yet know Him. People are convicted of sin and brought into Christ’s arc of safety not only by compelling words but by the living epistle of the lives of believers.
Second, Paul states that he will testify to the power of the Holy Spirit as it is revealed through his service to the Kingdom of Christ but he will refrain from judging the service of other believers. The temptation to do so is great, but the Word says very clearly that “they who compare themselves among themselves are not wise.”
This caution extended in II Corinthians 10:12, behooves us to overcome the very human tendency to paint ourselves in a favorable light by diminishing that which shines through others. Our most expedient course of action is to serve the Lord with a full heart and entrust the success of our endeavors in the behalf of His Kingdom to Him and to allow Him to judge the work of those who labor beside us.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
April 2
Our natural tendency is to be–well—natural! Part of the fabric from which this tabernacle of flesh is woven is the thread of discontent. When we are not satisfied with our circumstances, our strong inclination is to complain. Some of us even rail against God because we blame Him for our dissatisfaction.
The Word admonishes that we do otherwise. In Psalm107:43 we are told, “Whoever is truly wise will observe and heed the things that evidence the mercy and loving kindness of the Lord." The One who made us and sustains our lives wants us to understand how profoundly He loves and cares for us.
He challenges us to look around, to carefully observe the amazing things His hand has crafted for our enjoyment. We live upon the only planet in our galaxy that is capable of sustaining human life. We are surrounded by color and music and a vast gallery of beauty. The thing we need most—the air we breathe—is free!
If we lust for riches and all that temporal wealth can buy, if we yearn for power and prestige, we’ll never grasp the truth of Psalm 107:43, but if we hunger and thirst after the things of God, we will recognize that He has blessed us with an amazing array of good things—the greatest of which is the eternal salvation Jesus purchased for us with His own shed blood.
Our natural tendency is to be–well—natural! Part of the fabric from which this tabernacle of flesh is woven is the thread of discontent. When we are not satisfied with our circumstances, our strong inclination is to complain. Some of us even rail against God because we blame Him for our dissatisfaction.
The Word admonishes that we do otherwise. In Psalm107:43 we are told, “Whoever is truly wise will observe and heed the things that evidence the mercy and loving kindness of the Lord." The One who made us and sustains our lives wants us to understand how profoundly He loves and cares for us.
He challenges us to look around, to carefully observe the amazing things His hand has crafted for our enjoyment. We live upon the only planet in our galaxy that is capable of sustaining human life. We are surrounded by color and music and a vast gallery of beauty. The thing we need most—the air we breathe—is free!
If we lust for riches and all that temporal wealth can buy, if we yearn for power and prestige, we’ll never grasp the truth of Psalm 107:43, but if we hunger and thirst after the things of God, we will recognize that He has blessed us with an amazing array of good things—the greatest of which is the eternal salvation Jesus purchased for us with His own shed blood.
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