Psalm 25

Psalm 25 TEACH ME YOUR PATHS

Of David

In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.

² I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.

⁴ Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old

In our first meeting we talked about what prayer, and group prayer is and is not. Last week we talked about how Jesus taught us to pray by example of the Lord’s Prayer. This week I would like to talk about prayer in the Old Testament. After all people were praying to God before Jesus came to teach us about prayer.

 A wonderful example of Old Testament prayer is the Psalms. The Psalms are one of the most significant parts of the Old Testament. The Psalms is the poetry of the Bible, songs of praise and prayer.  Written from the time of Moses until about 500BC, most Psalms were written by David.

 Some of the biggest themes of the Psalms are trusting in God and deliverance from ones enemies and knowledge; knowledge of God and His ways.

  Sometimes I think we forget to pray for knowledge of His ways and for His will. It is easy to ask Him to give us what we want, but much harder, I think, to ask him to give us what He wants.  Which if we have trust in God this is what we should always want anyway. 

Don’t be afraid to pray for what you want but even more so don’t be afraid to pray for and accept God’s will,  even in the face of the inevitable.  Like Jesus in Gethsemane (Mat 26:39) “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” “Obviously Jesus knows the Scripture, He knows what will happen to him.  He prays anyway, just as we should always pray even if we think we know the inevitable.  Pray for intervention, pray for comfort but again pray for God’s will and trust in Him.

Jesus goes on to not only accept his Fathers will but defend it (Mat 26:51-54) Jesus knows the most horrible thing is about to be put upon him, to be forsaken by his father and to take all the sins of the world(past, present and future) and He accepts and defends the will of the Father. On this day isn’t it great to know the awesome father we all have in our Lord! And this is why we say Amen! And this is why we pray!

Invitation to Prayer Group

2 Corinthians 1:11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

As I was walking my postal route one day listening to the Bible through my headphones my thoughts turned to prayer, specifically group prayer. I thought about how some of my prayers had come to pass, and how awesome it felt when they came true. That make me think of the time Madeline had testified about her knee and how God had given her strength, and the time Eric told us how our prayers had helped heal his nephew who is now cancer free. Amen! How awesome is it to know He is personally touching and guiding our lives.

I began to wonder if there was more we could do as a church family to pray and learn about prayer, and to share. I thought it would be awesome to have a separate time set aside like Bible study to come together just for this.

While still on my route I called Pastor and told him my thoughts, I was excited. He seemed interested, and I suggested maybe one of the deacons could lead it, he immediately suggested that I do it. I think he it was on my heart, I was excited about it, and maybe I should consider leading it. We prayed about it, and I continue to pray about it.

Yikes! It had only been a few weeks since I had said my first "Grace" at dinner. However I am really excited about this and I could feel God leading me forward. I've been reading .....a lot. And I have been praying ....a lot.

One of my most recent prayers is that most, or all, of you will come and see, and that we will begin a time where we meet as a church family, and pray. This will, at least, be time spent with your church family and at most a powerful prayer experience lifting up God's will.

We are starting next week, at 9:45 and going till 10:15. When we move to summer hours, we will move to 8:45 and run till 9:15. Come, takepart, and join with your brothers and sisters in prayer. Bring your concerns, bring your prayers and remember…Matthew 18:20 ^“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

The Lords Prayer

Most if not all Christians know the Lords Prayer probably by heart. I'm sure many non-Christians know it as well. However when we say we know it what does that mean? Does it mean like a child whose been forced to rehearse their line in the school play? Sure they know the words, and maybe the right inflection, but do they really know they meaning or why they are even saying it? About how many Christians could you say the same sort of thing when it comes to the Lord's Prayer? Are you one of them? I know I was, I knew the Lord's Prayer even before I was a Christian, a result of friends and girlfriends who had been forced to rehearse their lines, but I never knew what it meant. Much like when my Catholic friends would cross themselves I thought it was just some odd ritual.
 I have learned that it is not just some odd ritual, it is the Word of God and should be treated as such and by no means just another ritual. So if we step back and put this prayer graciously given to us what do we learn.
  Approximately halfway through the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is teaching to "great crowds" (Matt 4:25) about a great multitude of things from lust to divorce to anger and fasting and many other things, in the center of all this is how to pray.(Matt 6:9-13) Which is also known as the Lord's Prayer.
Matthew 6:9-13
New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one.

Now if we break it down line by line:

"Our Father in heaven..."
God is our Father. This means we can and should come to him with our problems and requests. And being a merciful Father we should not be afraid to ask for anything, He knows what we need.
"..hallowed be your name..."
Holy, sacred, venerated is your name! We pay respect due to God when we pray. He is God Almighty.  Like our earthly father while we can come and ask anything of Him.
"...your kingdom come,..."
All is His!Everything in Heaven and on Earth.  Everything we have, have had and will have comes from and belongs to God. It is His to give or not give as He sees fit.
"...you will be done..."
It is all because of God's will. It is his will that all the stars in the sky shine at night, and the sun shines in the morning. Amen!
"...on earth as it is in heaven."
He rules this world and all the heaven. Forever and everlasting.
""Give us today our daily bread."
He cares for our every need. From putting bread on the table to shifting world events to controlling heavenly bodies. There for nothing is too big or too little when we pray to Him.
"And forgive us our debts,..."
We are sinners, we need to ask Him for forgiveness when we pray.  Recognize, repent and ask Him to forgive your sins which Jesus died for. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to expose your sins to you.
"...as we also have forgiven our debtors."
We need to forgive those who have sinned against us. Since Jesus is the propitiation for our sins which are forgiven,  should we not forgive others who sin against us?
"And lead us not into temptation,..."
Ask Father God to keep us away from temptation to sin.
"...but deliver us from the evil one."
Ask to keep Satan and all his devils away from us, to not enter our lives.
 
"And when Jesus finished these saying, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as scribes." (Matt 6:28-29) Meaning he was not quoting other teachers, he wasn't stumbling or confused in his teaching, he was confident and interesting. Imagine sitting on that hillside listening to the Word of God, every word feeding you and enlightening you. Imagine God telling you how to pray, and then be thankful that He has.
 Glorify God in your prayer, ask for anything, just ask that it be Gods will! Pray for forgiveness, and be thankful for the One who gave it to you!

Gay Marriage

So North Carolina passed a marriage amendment today making marriage between one man and one woman in that state. Now God had already done this some time ago, so I don't see what the big deal is. That being said in America we have separation of church and state, why any state should be sanctioning any one's marriage these days is beyond me. Marriage should be up to the churches, and civil unions should be up to the state. Marriage is a holy union, something set aside by God to be holy. It has nothing to do with rights or taxes or health proxy's, these are man made things.
 There are certainly churches which sanction gay marriage, I don't see how its allowed under the bible, and I will not attend those churches as is of course my right in America. I happen to attend a church which does not sanction gay marriage, which again is my right as an American. Even if I did not have this right, and it seems to be on the horizon that the freedom OF religion is getting more in jeopardy, I would still hold this belief and attend this church.
 Like many sins homosexuality is a sin, while I am not gay I am too a sinner, does this mean I cannot go to church? Of course not. Should the sick not be allowed to go to the hospital? Does this mean the church should allow, endorse or even encourage my sin? Of course not. We try daily with the help of the Holy Spirit to see, repent and turn from our sin.
  God tells us to love each other, and God does love sinners. So yes I do believe homosexuals should have every right under the law as all people of this country should. Call it civil union, call it what ever you would like, but to me marriage will always be according to God's definition.

In the End we Will Be Judged, not by man

Two well known Christians died this week, Chuck Colson and Voice of the Martyrs Senior Editor Tom White. I don't know much about either man and would not try to say too much about either character, or guilt in anything they may or may not have done. However just from news reports and tidbits I have heard throughout the years it seems that one was a good man who died a bad man, and the other was a bad man who became a good man.
  Tom White apparently committed suicide after being accused of molesting a little girl. Chuck Colson was a Nixon heavy hitter who spent some time in jail, and went on to be lifted up by Jesus to start a prison ministry.
  As I said I don't know much about either man, unfortunately I am sure both will be portrayed in the media in the worst possible light,  deserved or not.  Now it is really hard to say about Mr. White "but look at all the good he did' or " he really cared and loved his family" when he apparently did something so heinous as to touch a young girl. No excuse, no reason just too bad he did not ask for the forgiveness that he should have known was there for him. Personally I do believe his punishment should have been harsh, assuming his guilt, but to be a coward to not face up to it just adds to the disgrace.
 Chuck Colson on the other hand  took his disgrace and turned it, humbly, about service for God. "One of the most wonderful things about being a Christian is that I don’t ever get up in the morning and wonder if what I do matters. I live every day to the fullest because I can live it through Christ and I know no matter what I do today, I’m going to do something to advance the Kingdom of God.”— Charles Colson

 Mostly I hope the world will not just sit back and take a "sound bite" look at these men's lives and condemn Christians in general. We Christians know we are sinners, we are far from perfect, which is why we are so thankful for Jesus. Without him we have no hope, yes even for Mr. White there was hope. And in the end I will not judge either of these men for the one who paid for their sins will.  Just as I hope I will not be judged by men for being a Christian according to these men's worst moments.

E.M. Bounds on Prayer

I just recently started reading a book on prayer called "E.M. Bounds on Prayer" only three chapters, and the foreword so far, and I must say I am impressed with this mans life and thoughts on prayer.
 Born in 1835 on the American frontier with little to no formal education.However in his lifetime he was to become the head of his own congregation, serve as a chaplain in the Union army during the civil war, have two wives(after the first had passed away suddenly) numerous children(three who passed away at a young age), and walked away from a lucrative job including a pension for the sake evangelism. (Read the book to find out about that!)
 He was a man who would wake at 4 am in order to pray until 7 am,then after a breakfast would turn to Scripture and writing, both sermons and books. (the preceding was taken from excerpts from the preface of Hendrickson Christian Classics of the same book)
 Chapter one seems, rightfully so, to approach prayer quite seriously. After all prayer is communication with God All Mighty, All Knowing, the Everlasting God. The first chapter in "On Prayer" is all about the need to communicate, to pray, to Him with the whole being of man. Heart, soul, mind and body.

'Tis not enough to bend the knee,
And words of prayer to say;
The heart must with the lips agree,
Or else we do not pray.

One must prepare about what to pray for, one must think about what to pray for, one must feel, desire, need, want what one prays about. Not in the selfish ways you as the reader are likely to think.( Yeah, hmm what do I really want? What do I really need? I really want world peace.) Those are all well and good but prayer is not about you, it is about God. Pray what you want God to do in your life, pray what His will is for you and the world to do. Pray that He comes and brings world peace as He will. For we have the thoughts of man and He does not have thoughts like ours. So before you pray take time to contemplate, really contemplate, God and His will, then apply it to what you pray for.

 Chapter two is about humility. "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Mt 20:16) This world is all about accomplishments, as measured by other people. We pay grown men  millions of dollars to swing a bat at a ball, and they only connect about one third of the time, for about 160 games a year. I love baseball, but it is also a game played by children. How much more important is God! Without whom there is no life, much less baseball. Compare His accomplishments to that of a baseball player? I think not.  "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." Job 40:2
We are nothing without God, we are nothing compared to God, and we are nothing without Gods providence. So come and pray not like the Pharisee but like the tax collector. Do not pray for others to hear that they may be impressed, be humble before your God when you come to pray. "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:14

Chapter three is about devotion. Devotion is a word used far to little today or in such a small manner and often in a sarcastic manner. Who would consider them selves truly devoted to their spouse?Maybe they would be devoted to their vocation, or (worse yet) to their avocation. But are you devoted to God? Have you devoted yourself to prayer to God?  E.M. Bounds devoted  three hours a day, waking early for the purpose, do you have that kind of devotion? God gave his only Son to suffer and die for your sins, can you find devotion in your heart to that God? If your not sure perhaps you should read or reread one of the Gospels. May I suggest you read it at one sitting that the fullness of the Gospel not be watered down. Lest I be called a hypocrite by people who know me, I have not yet reached that point where I pray three hours a day, especially not at one sitting. I am fairly close however if all totalled up through the course of a day, and someday perhaps I will find that dedication and devotion as E.M. Bounds had.

  How do you feel about your Church? The bride of Christ.  Are you going to Church? Does your Church preach the Gospel? (If not, may I suggest you find one that does as your soul may depend on it) Are you like allot of Christians who go to church begrudgingly because you were raised that way,  or that you think it's "good enough"?  Are you happy at the end of the sermon because you know its almost time to leave? "Amen!" You think "I'll make the game after all" or "Whew, back to bed" or  just "Thank God that's over with"? Be honest with yourself, because your pastor may not know your answer but God does.
  Which brings me to your pastor, how do you view him? As a self righteous orator judging you from afar spouting scripture and "-ism's"? A judgemental teacher that no one could live up to? A political preacher telling you how to live your life? or, worse yet, a really good story teller? May God forbid you have any of these type of people leading you. For yes they are a leader, for good or bad. And this is why first you should find one that preaches the gospel, and second find one that "connects" with you. The second being purely a luxury. A good pastor is one who is divinely called by God who will share the whole word of God with you. Not simply teach lessons, or preach only the "good news". Being that your Pastor is divinely called by God and is commanded to teach you His word and will be judged by God not only for his actions but also by yours, you should show your pastor the respect he deserves. That being said you should never rely upon your pastor wholly for the Word. Be as a Berean for "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11 Paul who was teaching them the Good News as a pastor, but yet they compared everything he said to Scripture.By the way do you have "great eagerness" for the Word of God? I pray you do.

So after only three chapters on prayer we have preparation, devotion and humility. A good place to start no doubt. God hears all prayers and answers all prayers, even the "foxhole" prayers of atheists. For all the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit has done for me, I choose to pray in the best manner I can and I assume I will be forever learning how to do just that. To God be the glory!

The Valley of Vision, Vocation

Heavenly Father,

Thou hast placed me in the church

which thy Son purchased by his own blood.

Add grace to grace that I may live worthy

of my vocation.

I am a voyager across life’s ocean;

Safe in heaven’s ark, may I pass through

a troubled world

into the harbour of eternal rest.

I am a tree of the vineyard thou hast planted.

Grant me not to be barren, with worthless

leaves and wild grapes;

Prune me of useless branches;

Water me with dews of blessing.

I am part of the Lamb’s bride, the church.

Help me to be true, faithful, chaste, loving,

pure, devoted;

Let no strong affection wantonly dally

with the world.

May I live high above a love of things temporal,

sanctified, cleansed, unblemished, hallowed

by grace,

thy love my fullness,

thy glory my joy,

thy precepts my pathway,

thy cross my resting place.

My heart is not always a flame of adoring love,

But, resting in thy Son’s redemption,

I look forward to the days of heaven,

where no langour shall oppress,

no iniquities chill,

no mists of unbelief dim the eye,

no zeal ever tires.

Father, these thoughts are the stay, prop,

and comfort of my soul.