Chick-fil-A and the "Nevers" of the Gospel

With all the Chick-fil-A talk and many other things going on lately, I have been feeling a little self-righteous lately. Aggravated that others cannot see “the Truth” I pray that I will overcome and give over my stiff neck to Jesus. So let me read from The Valley of Vision about the “Nevers” of the Gospel.

O Lord,

May I never fail to come to the knowledge of the truth, never rest in a system of doctrine, however scriptural, that does not bring or further salvation, or teach me to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, or help me to live to soberly, righteously, godly; never rely on my own convictions and resolutions, but be strong in thee and in thy might; never cease to find thy grace sufficient in all my duties, trials, and conflicts; never forget to repair to thee in all my spiritual distresses and outward troubles, in all the dissatisfactions experienced in creature comforts; never fail to retreat to him who is full of grace and truth, the friend that loveth at all times, who is touched with feeling of my infirmities, and can do exceeding abundantly for me; never confine my religion to extraordinary occasions, but acknowledge thee in all my ways; never limit my devotions to particular seasons but be in thy fear all the day long; never be godly only on the Sabbath or in thy house, but on every day abroad and at home; never make piety a dress but a habit, not only a habit but a nature, not only a nature but a life.

Do good to me by all thy dispensations, by all means of grace, by worship, prayers, praises, and at last let me enter that world where is no temple, but only thy glory and the Lamb’s.

Acts 4: 19-20 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges.  As for us we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”

Acts 4:31 after they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

And so let us pray to God, by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, that we will proclaim His name boldly, Amen

Fullness of Joy in Prayer

“Prayer is God's appointed way to fullness of joy because it is the vent of the inward burnings of our heart for Christ” - John Piper

It’s a great definition of prayer! Now I would like to ask, when do you pray, in the morning or at night? When you are sad, happy, desperate, lonely, or thankful? Perhaps you pray before a big meeting or before a big life event?

These are all great times to pray, it’s hard to think of a time when it not a good time to pray. We are all so flawed, but He is perfect, and I think it is natural to ask for help from the One who can, the only one who can, ultimately help.

Anyone who says that they don’t need help is lying, as John Donne said “No man is an Island” and as we read in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

We all need help, but how do we ask for help from God? We pray. This is why I think in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 it says “never stop praying”…..we always need help

To paraphrase the John Piper quote on prayer; if your heart burns for Christ, you are happiest when in prayer, for it brings out your deepest desires.

·      When sad we can be happy when you turn your cares over to Him, through prayer

·      Joyful when desperation turns to hope in Him, through prayer

·      When loneliness turns to acceptance into His family, through prayer.

·      When thankfulness turns into glorifying God for all that he has done, and you recognize all He has done in your life for His glory

So pray with me this morning that we will never cease in praying, under all circumstances, for any reason, and that we will glorify God by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

John 17

Not to bring anyone down this morning but I must ask this question; what would you pray for if you knew you were dying? Make no mistake about it; just as you are living you are dying. Knowing this truth do you have the consolation of knowing Jesus and that with Him you will live forever? Are you living your life getting to know and in preparation of meeting God? These are some questions I ask myself when I get ready to pray, if I knew I was going to die tomorrow, what would I pray for.

In the Gospel of John verse 17:1- 26…the longest prayer by Jesus is, in large part and graciously, about us. Jesus is speaking to the Father about the followers of the Word, His followers, you and I. Awesome! I would read the whole chapter, but I will leave that to you, but I just have to read my favorite verse John 17:9 Jesus says, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

If that doesn’t give you a chill up your spine, or a leap in your heart, I’m not sure what will.

Like when we sing the song “the wonderful cross”

Oh, the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die
And find that I may truly live

Die in your old ways, come live in Jesus, and ask to be sanctified by the Word as Jesus has prayed for you! Pray to God by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus that we are dying of this world to truly live in His name. Amen!

Meditating on the Truth

So far in our prayer group we have discussed many things about prayer. Today I would like to change the subject somewhat and talk about something I never associated the God; meditation.  Meditation about God and prayer and instead of trying to paraphrase or recreate my views on what I have learned about meditation I am going to just read from “Knowing God” by J.I Packer.  Certainly I could not say it any better and I hope it leaves the same impact on you as it did on me.

Before I read it for you I want to share what I was meditating on the day, WWJD. A common inspirational question we ask ourselves from time to time in certain situations, and I think while it can be a helpful tool in our lives it can be dangerous if not immediately followed by WDJD. What did Jesus do, if we ask WWJD without asking what Jesus did do we are substituting our thoughts for His actions, not good. So when you meditate on God and His word I strongly suggest you have a Bible handy.

Meditating on the Truth

How are we to do this? How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.

We have some idea, perhaps, what prayer is, but what is meditation?  Well may we ask for meditation is a lost art today, and Christian people suffer grievously from their ignorance of the practice.

Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God as a means of communion with God.

Its purpose is to clear one’s mental and spiritual vision of God, and to let His truth make its full and proper impact on one’s mind and heart. It is a matter of talking to oneself about God and oneself; it is, indeed, often a matter of arguing with oneself, reasoning oneself out of moods of doubt and unbelief into a clear apprehension of God’s power and grace.

Its effect is ever to humble us, as we contemplate God’s greatness and glory and our own littleness and sinfulness, and to encourage and reassure us-“comfort” us, in the old, strong, Bible sense of the word- as we contemplate the unsearchable riches of divine mercy displayed in the Lord Jesus Christ. ……

And it is as we enter more and more deeply into this experience of being humbled and exalted that our knowledge of God increases, and with it our peace, our strength and our joy. God help us, then, to put our knowledge about God to this use, that we all may in truth “know the Lord”.