The Architecture of Prayer

On May 9, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 13: 5

But I have trusted in Thy lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.
This is a psalm of David described as a prayer for help in trouble. This part of the psalm certainly does not sound like he is praying for help though. The structure of this prayer is so insightful. David begins with his woes but by verse three is makes his petition to the Lord. Then by verse 5 of this six verse psalm, he has shifted into trust, thanksgiving and praise. David knows that despite the appearance of some problems in his life, his God will rise up and save him. He confesses that his trust is in the Lord and that ends his troubles. He knows what the end of the story is going to be and he sings his praises to the Lord.

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Burn ‘em

On May 6, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 9: 51 – 56

And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him. And they went, and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make arrangements for Him. And they did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.

James and John had a real zeal for the Lord. They were offended that someone would reject their Lord and they were willing to do something about it. They would have wiped out that whole town if Jesus would have allowed them. But Jesus rebuked them. He said you don’t get it guys. I came to save people, not condemn and judge them. 

According to Bible Commentaries there were significant theological and cultural conflicts between Samaritans and Jews. These differences showed themselves when Jesus’ disciples went into the Samaritan village to make arrangements for their stay there. It is apparent that the arguments between these groups were of no small consequence to either group. In the case of the Samaritans it was significant enough to deny Jesus and his group to stay in their village. To James and John, that rejection was worthy of complete annihilation.

But Jesus apparently did not take exception with the Samaritans views or he would have never sought to stay in a Samaritan town. He certainly did not accept James and John’s view of needful and justifiable action. No, he rejected their reaction completely. Why is this important?

We all are faced with the same opportunities today that James and John faced 2000 years ago. While we are called to be zealous for the Lord and we applaud that zeal when we find it in others, we must have a care how we express our zeal. One commentary said that James and John failed to see the behavior of the Samaritans in the light of the social and cultural fabric. They did not recognize the national prejudices and bigotry at play (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible.). The commentary goes on to say that the Samaritans were not rejecting God, the message or the messenger of God but that is all that James and John could see. It might even be that it was something missing in James and John that caused their strong reaction, something broken in their hearts. We must be careful that we don’t burn others because we do not understand them or their beliefs. We should be careful that we do not condemn whole groups of peoples to hell because of our beliefs. 

Jesus rebuked those two disciples. He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of.” What kind of spirit are they and all of us a part of? It is the spirit of love which is why Jesus gave us the one commandment, that we should love one another as he himself has loved us. Instead of criticizing and condemning others, we are truly to love them and pray for them. And by pray for them I do not mean to pray for God to change them to agree with us or our doctrine. For we might find, like James and John, that it is we who are wrong rather than they. Furthermore, it just is not our job to judge others. Jesus didn’t even judge and if Jesus didn’t then we certainly shouldn’t. Our job is to love everyone right into heaven and then we can let our Father sort it all out. 

Don’t let your zeal for what you think is right cause you to violate the love commandment. Don’t let your ideas condemn others else you might find that Jesus is not rebuking them but rather rebuking you. Be zealous in love and invite all peoples into the Kingdom of God.

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Testify!

On May 5, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Revelation 12: 11

And they overcame him (the devil) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.

Jesus told us that the devil comes “to steal, and kill, and destroy” (John 10: 10). But we are over comers (1 John 2: 13) through him that came to bring us the victory. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith” (1 John 5:4). You see, Jesus overcame the world. He has done his part. In John 16: 33 he told us to take courage for he has overcome the world. And yet some of us are not walking in the full measure of Jesus’ victory. Why? How can that be?

It seems that we have a part in this victory as well. While Jesus has overcome the devil and all of his minions through his blood we must include ourselves in that victory through the use of our testimony, or our confession, and our faith. This means that our words have something to do with the measure of Jesus’ victory we will walk in. Satan is overcome by Jesus’ shed blood and our confession. Faith is believing God’s word, even in the face of contradictory evidence. The expression of faith is the confession of our mouth. What comes out of our mouths demonstrates exactly where our faith is. Are you sick, going to get healed, getting healed or healed? You see, those words indicate levels of faith. There is no condemnation if you are not yet confessing the greater part of faith. It just shows where you are currently. Tomorrow you can be in a different place altogether. Further, the more your confession matches the Word of God, the more of Jesus’ victory you will experience. 

We must all learn to order our words aright. Every one of us must be vigilante regarding the words that proceed from our mouths. Proverb 18: 21 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. We need to learn to wield that power to our benefit. We will thereby overcome the devil and all of his machinations.

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The Blessing

On May 4, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Deuteronomy 28: 2 – 14

2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the Lord your God. 
3Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
5Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways.
8The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
9The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you will keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in His ways.
10So all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of you.
11And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the produce of your ground in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
12The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13And the Lord shall make you the head and not the tail, and you only shall be above, and you shall not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,
14 And do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

You need to know the blessing. This is your heritage and your birthright. This represents part of your covenant rights with the Father. These verses are what Jesus went to the cross to purchase for you. This is the message of the cross. We were lost. We were estranged from our Father. When we had no way back to the Father, Jesus became the way. Father God wanted us in unity with Him. He wanted us to be blessed. He created all this earth in order to bless us, but we lost our way. So, compelled by His deep love for us, He sent His only son that we all might be reconciled to Him.

We, the church, have become the downtrodden and abased. But Jesus, our Lord, went to the cross in order to put us back in right standing with our Father. He took on the curse and became the curse so that we could again walk in the righteousness with which God adorned us at the beginning of the age. We must now reclaim that heritage and our rights and no longer be the oppressed but rather live as the kids of the King. We must accept our rightful place and step into it. You are the child of the Most High. What more do you need? You are a princess, a prince of the greatest kingdom ever to be. Stand your ground as an heir to the promise and no longer see yourself as a slave nor let anyone convince you of your lowly station in life. The King of all put His son on the cross so that you can stand in the blessing created for you. Celebrate who you are in Him.

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Hey Dad!

On May 3, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 8: 15

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

Which part of this verse would you like to talk about; the part about the spirit of slavery or the Abba, Father part? In fact, they are really the same. We have been given the spirit of adoption; we have been adopted into the family of God. No longer is He a deity only. He is now Daddy, Papa. He isn’t far removed to those who have received this spirit of adoption. He is as close as your next breath.

This expression, “Abba, Father” is one of intimacy, familiarity and fellowship. This isn’t the name or title you would call the priest. This is what you would call your earthly father in the most special times, when you felt closest to him. When you reach this level of comfort and relationship with God, then you will find that the spirit of fear no longer reigns in your heart. Then you will notice how many people really do live in some level of fear. You will begin to stand out, at least to yourself, as very different because you just are not afraid. You understand with the deepest part of your being that your Dad is not only the biggest guy on the block but also that He is watching out for you and will make things alright for you. This confidence is not a form of denial. It can recognize danger and risk. It also is not foolhardy. When, however, you know that your Dad is powerful and you know that He is looking after you, then you don’t have to fear. It is simply a confidence born of trust and experience.

When a person is beset by fear, they truly are slaves. Fear will take your life prisoner. You will make decisions based on the part that fear plays in your life. Without even realizing it, fear begins to control aspects of your life. If it is left unchecked, it will grow like a weed. Soon you will discover that it has taken a deep root in your life and is so well entrenched that it is hard to remove.

My advice is to cry out to God, “Abba, Father” and let Him bring intimate, personal, familiarity into your life. If He is always “God” to you and never “Dad”, then you will likely never gain the kind of confidence and trust that sets you free from oppression. The New Covenant is all about Him moving into our lives and setting up house in our spirits. He longs to be with us. There is no longer separation unless we put it there. You have been adopted into the household where there is complete comfort and peace. You need be a slave to fear no longer. Be freed by the love of the father.

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Destiny Thinking

On May 2, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 8: 5

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

So the question is, “What am I thinking about?” Is this convicting or what? I must admit that the greater part of my thoughts in a day are about things of the world rather than spiritual things. I am thinking about my work, my family, my workout, my diet, leisure, and on and on. What percentage of the day am I really considering my heavenly Father, big brother and the Spirit of God? How often am I considering Dad’s goals and wishes? In truth, the things of the Spirit and prayer are taking up a smaller portion of my day than the things of the flesh. How, then, can I truly say that I am a spiritual person. Those whose thoughts are predominantly of the world and the things of the flesh are those who are “according to the flesh”.

I believe we are all called to be people of the Spirit. That is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. Before he left the earth he said that it was to our advantage that he leave so that he could send the Spirit (John 16: 7). We are the New Testament temples because the Holy Spirit has come to make his abode in us. We were destined to have our being in him. Far too easily, though, the world comes to dominate our thoughts and everyday existence. Perhaps today’s verse acts as a reminder of who we are in Christ Jesus, who we are in the redemptive power of the Lord Jesus. However, we get to choose whether we will stand in the office preserved for us. We get to decide whether we will live according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. With that power comes responsibility. That is always the rub with the allocation of power.

Where we live our lives, whether in the flesh or in the Spirit begins, as it always must, with our thoughts. That is why David prayed for God to make the meditation of his heart acceptable in God’s sight (Psalm 19: 14). David realized that his heart and mind must hold onto the thoughts of God if he was to be successful. Paul taught this same idea in Romans 12: 2, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If we are going to live our destinies then we must marshal the power of our minds and direct it towards God. We will have to intentionally seek direction and assistance in not only what we do but in what we think and think about. As a man thinks, so is he (Proverb 23: 7).

I am convinced that if we will invest our thinking time and power on the things of God, we will do all things better, even the things that are worldly, like our jobs. Our destinies are tied up in God’s thoughts. Think on Him and his ways and fulfill your destiny!

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Deep Pit

On April 29, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 8: 8

All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

King David wrote in Psalm 17: 3 that he purposed that his mouth would not transgress. That is a noble goal. Maybe setting that goal was enough for David to be able to accomplish it. For others of us, though, some tools may come in handy. Today’s verse is just such a tool and it might be a good one for one of those index cards.

The eighth proverb is a message from wisdom. She is crying out in the streets trying to get our attention, trying to help us. We are to seek wisdom, only a fool wouldn’t. Well, when we seek and find wisdom we get all that she is and she tells us that her mouth only utters righteousness. Surely that is wisdom, speaking nothing but righteousness. Now here is how you can use this verse as a tool for yourself even though it is wisdom speaking. Because you seek wisdom you can make this same declaration. If you have purposed in your heart that your mouth will not transgress then confess that all of the utterances of your mouth are righteous. After a while your brain will catch on. Then it will begin to regulate your mouth. 

Honestly, if you do not transgress with your mouth then you are a holy person indeed. Our mouths are deep pits into which we fall. Keep your mouth straight and you will find your paths straight too. Let God’s power help you to cover over that deep pit and make a straight way for you.

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