Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; (John 17:20)
Jesus prayed for us during his earthly ministry. If Jesus prayed for us we have no reason to doubt his love for us and we have every reason to also pray for others.
Monday, 31 March 2014
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Help
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (Isaiah 58:9)
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. (Psalm 118:5)
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
When I need Jehovah he is there for me, but he also expects me to be there for other people.
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. (Psalm 118:5)
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
When I need Jehovah he is there for me, but he also expects me to be there for other people.
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
The Power of Prayer
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (Isaiah 58:9)
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. (Psalm 66:18-19)
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. (Psalm 91:15)
We can learn something very important here. There is a solid logical argument from these texts; I'm not sure what to call it: thesis, antithesis, synthesis; something to do with that. What I'm getting at is this: Jehovah states in one place that when I obey him, he will listen to me. The Scriptures teach in the Psalms that when I refuse to obey him, he will not listen to me. So it is solid, it goes both ways: Jehovah listens to those who obey him and them only.
What does it mean for Jehovah to listen to a man? God knows better than you or I, so why would he ever listen to us? I guess it's like the way I want to agree to things that those I love suggest even when I am sure I know better. But I don't quite understand how God who knows all and does no wrong might be similar to this.
I think we are sometimes a bit too deist in our thinking. We think of God as a force in the universe rather than a person with feelings. The verse before the Psalm 91 passage gives the reason for God's listening as: because he has set his love on me. God wants us to love him, how can he be without emotions?
So is there any use in God listening to me?
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. (Ezekiel 22:30)
Yes, I can hold back his judgment and free him to show mercy. What a responsibility!
I love God, so I will ask God to give me more love for him and his creation, and he will listen to me. It is my task to believe that he has answered my prayer whatever I may feel.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. (Psalm 66:18-19)
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. (Psalm 91:15)
We can learn something very important here. There is a solid logical argument from these texts; I'm not sure what to call it: thesis, antithesis, synthesis; something to do with that. What I'm getting at is this: Jehovah states in one place that when I obey him, he will listen to me. The Scriptures teach in the Psalms that when I refuse to obey him, he will not listen to me. So it is solid, it goes both ways: Jehovah listens to those who obey him and them only.
What does it mean for Jehovah to listen to a man? God knows better than you or I, so why would he ever listen to us? I guess it's like the way I want to agree to things that those I love suggest even when I am sure I know better. But I don't quite understand how God who knows all and does no wrong might be similar to this.
I think we are sometimes a bit too deist in our thinking. We think of God as a force in the universe rather than a person with feelings. The verse before the Psalm 91 passage gives the reason for God's listening as: because he has set his love on me. God wants us to love him, how can he be without emotions?
So is there any use in God listening to me?
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. (Ezekiel 22:30)
Yes, I can hold back his judgment and free him to show mercy. What a responsibility!
I love God, so I will ask God to give me more love for him and his creation, and he will listen to me. It is my task to believe that he has answered my prayer whatever I may feel.
Monday, 24 March 2014
Jesus' Friends
Listening to the first half of this sermon for devotion today: https://www.audioverse.org/english/sermons/recordings/5553/01making-friends-for-eternity-part-1.html
These text comes to mind:
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:15)
True doctrine gives you a view of the character of God. The power for witnessing comes from a love for Jesus and his people.
These text comes to mind:
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:15)
True doctrine gives you a view of the character of God. The power for witnessing comes from a love for Jesus and his people.
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Commit
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4:19)
Maybe you are suffering. Maybe you don't feel you are suffering much. Either way, if you are living for Jesus then commit your life, your hopes, your reputation, your security to his power and to be his responsibility. He has commanded us to do good for others (Isaiah 58:6-7; Luke 12:33), if we commit to obey him, he commits to guarantee our present and eternal wellbeing, whatever that may look like.
Commit to Christ.
Maybe you are suffering. Maybe you don't feel you are suffering much. Either way, if you are living for Jesus then commit your life, your hopes, your reputation, your security to his power and to be his responsibility. He has commanded us to do good for others (Isaiah 58:6-7; Luke 12:33), if we commit to obey him, he commits to guarantee our present and eternal wellbeing, whatever that may look like.
Commit to Christ.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Be There
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (Isaiah 58:9)
21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 65:21-25)
The promise to those who are living for Christ is that when they call the Lord shall answer. This promise is echoed in Isaiah 65:24 where in the new Earth, Jesus will speak to us face to face. The new creation will be the ultimate fulfilment of God's promises to those who keep his law. There will be animals there, and they will live harmoniously with each other and with us. There will be buildings there, and agriculture, and we can all enjoy both the producing and the consuming of these things. These things take real work, so there will be real work in paradise. But not onerous work; work that we can enjoy. When Jesus makes the Earth new, you want to be there. Find out how you can please God now, so you can be there.
21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 65:21-25)
The promise to those who are living for Christ is that when they call the Lord shall answer. This promise is echoed in Isaiah 65:24 where in the new Earth, Jesus will speak to us face to face. The new creation will be the ultimate fulfilment of God's promises to those who keep his law. There will be animals there, and they will live harmoniously with each other and with us. There will be buildings there, and agriculture, and we can all enjoy both the producing and the consuming of these things. These things take real work, so there will be real work in paradise. But not onerous work; work that we can enjoy. When Jesus makes the Earth new, you want to be there. Find out how you can please God now, so you can be there.
Monday, 17 March 2014
Jolly
All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15
Being afflicted is not a bad thing; but you had better not stay that way. Being merry is a wonderful thing, try to be cheerful if you possibly can. Let's all cheer each other along the way instead of dragging each other down.
Being afflicted is not a bad thing; but you had better not stay that way. Being merry is a wonderful thing, try to be cheerful if you possibly can. Let's all cheer each other along the way instead of dragging each other down.
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