Premier Prayer Guide (2) - Adoration Prayer
In this series of blogs I am thinking about how the Lord's Prayer, as Jesus' response to His disciples request to be taught how to pray (Luke 11:1f), is so much more than just a prayer to say and is an outline of what prayer involves. In the last blog I looked at Abba prayer and now I would like to consider Adoration prayer, which is what we are entering into in the words, 'Hallowed be your Name', the second line of the Lord's Prayer (See Matthew 6:9).
The Lord's Prayer teaches us of this important adoration aspect of prayer. Before we seek the advancement of God's kingdom on earth and before we start asking God for His help, we need to take some time to adore the Holy One in the contemplation of His Name and in worship, praise and thanksgiving.
God's Name is more than just an 'identification tag', like our names might be today. In biblical thought God's Name is the revelation of who He is and what He does (cf. 1 Sam. 25:25 for this understanding of what a name signifies). Some have said that the Old Testament contains about 16 names for God, all revealing various truths about Him. (See the list below).
Every revelation of God's Name is holy and is to be hallowed, treated as high, lifted up and holy, worthy to be revered and adored. Isaiah 6:3 tells of how the seraphim in heaven worship and adore God's Holy Name crying:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory".
Revelation 4:8 reveals that the same repeated heavenly adoration continues:
'And the four living creatures, ..... day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" ' (ESV)
In prayer we join in with this heavenly chorus of perpetual adoration of God.
This threefold repetition of holy emphasizes that holiness is the main characteristic of God's being. This word 'holy' (qadosh in Hebrew, hagios in Greek) refers to the idea of separation, or that God is set apart and high above all that He has made. Though God draws near and is imminent, He is also 'high and lifted up' in transcendence. Isaiah 'saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up' (Isaiah 6:1) and the seraphim are adoring this lofty set apartness of God.
Isaiah 57:15 says:
'For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:"I dwell in the high and holy place .....'(ESV)
One possible way to enter the heavenly chorus of adoration might be to use the names of God revealed in Scripture.
Here are some of God's revealed names in the Old Testament for us to use as we take some time in adoration prayer. *
* El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty, All Sufficient One, speaks of God's power and provision, Genesis 17:1)
* El Elyon (The Most High God, speaks of the exaltation of God, Genesis 14:18)
* Adonai (Lord, Master, speaks of the Lordship of God, Genesis 15:2)
* Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah, YHWH, God's special Name of promise, covenant and salvation, Genesis 2:4; Exodus 3:14; 6:3)
* Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner, speaks of God as the flag of encouragement, hope and focus in the battles of life, Exodus 17:15)
* Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd, speaks of the intimacy, care and friendship of God, Psalm 23:1)
* Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals, speaks of God our healer and restorer, Exodus 15:26)
* Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There, speaks of God not abandoning Jerusalem but abiding and restoring, Ezekiel 48:35)
* Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness, speaks of God straightening out our relationship with Himself, Jeremiah 23:6)
* Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You, speaks of God setting us apart for Himself, Exodus 31:13)
* El Olam (The Everlasting God, speaks of the eternity of God, Genesis 21:33)
* Elohim (God, speaks of the plurality of God as majestic Creator and hints of the Trinity, Genesis 1:1)
* Qanna (Jealous, speaks of God's zeal for His people as His exclusive bride, Exodus 20:5)
* Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide, speaks of God as the provider of the substitute sacrifice, Genesis 22:14)
* Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace, speaks of God as giver of completeness, Judges 6:24)
* Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts, The Lord of Armies, speaks of God as mighty and victorious over all attacks, 1 Samuel 1:3)
We could also use God's names revealed in the New Testament as we adore and revere Him.
* Father (The source of all fatherhood, good and generous to all, Ephesians 3:14-15; Matthew 7:11)
* Jesus (Our Saviour, Matthew 1:21)
* Holy Spirit (Our Helper, Ephesians 1:13; John 14:16)
(*I adapted this list of God's names from the article on God's Names at https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm)
Friday, 15 July 2016
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Premier Prayer Guide (1) Abba Prayer
Prayer is possibly our most important activity and the main way to make progress in our lives in the Lord. Through prayer we tap into the beyond imagining resources of heaven (See Ephesians 3:20). But prayer is also possibly our biggest challenge and might be for some our most neglected opportunity. I find myself regularly repenting of my lack of sustained, decent praying. I am always wanting to learn more about how to pray and I repeatedly find myself being led back to the Lord's Prayer as the resource for an effective prayer life. The Lord's Prayer was Jesus' response to His disciples request to be taught how to pray (Luke 11:1f). The Lord's Prayer is so much more than just a prayer to say. This simple outline of what prayer involves is a rich and helpful guide to our praying. In the next few blogs I would like to share some thoughts on the four big ways of praying that Jesus teaches us in the Lord's Prayer. We will look at Abba prayer, Adoration Prayer, Advancing Prayer and Asking Prayer.
Abba Prayer
Today lets take a quick look at Abba Prayer as revealed in the first line of the Lord's Prayer.
Jesus said, 'Pray then like this:
Our Father in heaven'
(Matthew 6:9).
Jesus is here teaching us that prayer begins as an intimate relationship with God 'our Father'.
This is in contrast to a meaningless, repetitive, mere 'heaping up empty phrases'. Prayer is so much more relational than just saying 'many words' (Matthew 6:7).
When we pray, we relate to a 'Father who knows what we need before we ask him'.
(Matthew 6:8).
This prayer relationship with our Father is not meant to be a sort of religious performance to be 'seen by others' (Matthew 6:5). In fact the heart of prayer begins in a 'secret' intimacy with 'your Father' as you find a place of solitude to be with Him (Matthew 6:6).
This does not mean that prayer is a totally private thing just for me and my God. In one sense all prayer is personal but never totally private. The Father is never only my Father. All prayer is really a 'family' thing for we are praying to 'OUR Father'. Even when I get alone geographically with the Father, I have spiritual access to Him as part of His huge community of believers 'who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 1:2. See also Ephesians 2:18). What I am saying is that praying people are Church people and on a regular basis they will express this spiritual family belonging by gathering with brothers and sisters in Christ to pray together in addition to their alone times of prayer (See Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:42).
For some people the name 'Father' may be a bit of a challenge because their earthly father was not a good reflection of the 'heavenly' Father. It is important to realize that God is the first and finest Father, the originator of all fatherhood (Ephesians 3:14-15). Prayer relates to the perfectly good 'heavenly' Father.
That our Father is 'in heaven' also refers to the fact that He is not restricted in any earthly sense and is everywhere present in the unseen realm of spiritual reality (which is heaven).
This personal spiritual intimacy with God as 'Father' is not possible without the re-creative and enabling work of God's Spirit. In John's Gospel we are taught that those who believe in Jesus, in the sense of receiving him, are born of God and become His children. The Apostle Paul teaches about a work of God's Spirit who adopts us into God's family and enables us to pray and call God 'Abba, Father.' Abba is an ancient Aramaic word meaning something like our word Dad. (See John 1:12-13; 3:6-8; Romans 8:15).
Having believed and received Jesus and with the help of God's Holy Spirit within us we can enter into Abba prayer.
One way of enjoying our relationship with 'our Father' could be to slowly and reflectively repeat the simple prayer, 'Abba, I am one of your beloved children'. As we quietly say this little prayer to our Father we can recall the amazing revelation that we are His 'beloved children' (Ephesians 5:1. Here the word 'beloved' is used as a translation of the Greek word 'agapetos' which means dearly loved, much loved.)
Prayer is grounded in this wonderful reality of the love of God 'our Father in heaven'.
Abba Prayer
Today lets take a quick look at Abba Prayer as revealed in the first line of the Lord's Prayer.
Jesus said, 'Pray then like this:
Our Father in heaven'
(Matthew 6:9).
Jesus is here teaching us that prayer begins as an intimate relationship with God 'our Father'.
This is in contrast to a meaningless, repetitive, mere 'heaping up empty phrases'. Prayer is so much more relational than just saying 'many words' (Matthew 6:7).
When we pray, we relate to a 'Father who knows what we need before we ask him'.
(Matthew 6:8).
This prayer relationship with our Father is not meant to be a sort of religious performance to be 'seen by others' (Matthew 6:5). In fact the heart of prayer begins in a 'secret' intimacy with 'your Father' as you find a place of solitude to be with Him (Matthew 6:6).
This does not mean that prayer is a totally private thing just for me and my God. In one sense all prayer is personal but never totally private. The Father is never only my Father. All prayer is really a 'family' thing for we are praying to 'OUR Father'. Even when I get alone geographically with the Father, I have spiritual access to Him as part of His huge community of believers 'who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 1:2. See also Ephesians 2:18). What I am saying is that praying people are Church people and on a regular basis they will express this spiritual family belonging by gathering with brothers and sisters in Christ to pray together in addition to their alone times of prayer (See Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:42).
For some people the name 'Father' may be a bit of a challenge because their earthly father was not a good reflection of the 'heavenly' Father. It is important to realize that God is the first and finest Father, the originator of all fatherhood (Ephesians 3:14-15). Prayer relates to the perfectly good 'heavenly' Father.
That our Father is 'in heaven' also refers to the fact that He is not restricted in any earthly sense and is everywhere present in the unseen realm of spiritual reality (which is heaven).
This personal spiritual intimacy with God as 'Father' is not possible without the re-creative and enabling work of God's Spirit. In John's Gospel we are taught that those who believe in Jesus, in the sense of receiving him, are born of God and become His children. The Apostle Paul teaches about a work of God's Spirit who adopts us into God's family and enables us to pray and call God 'Abba, Father.' Abba is an ancient Aramaic word meaning something like our word Dad. (See John 1:12-13; 3:6-8; Romans 8:15).
Having believed and received Jesus and with the help of God's Holy Spirit within us we can enter into Abba prayer.
One way of enjoying our relationship with 'our Father' could be to slowly and reflectively repeat the simple prayer, 'Abba, I am one of your beloved children'. As we quietly say this little prayer to our Father we can recall the amazing revelation that we are His 'beloved children' (Ephesians 5:1. Here the word 'beloved' is used as a translation of the Greek word 'agapetos' which means dearly loved, much loved.)
Prayer is grounded in this wonderful reality of the love of God 'our Father in heaven'.
Friday, 1 July 2016
Why desire the gift of prophecy?
Why desire the
gift of prophecy?
In 1 Corinthians 14:1, the Apostle Paul says, ‘Pursue love, and earnestly desire the
spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy’ (ESV).
The question is, why is the gift of prophecy so special?
In trying to answer this question, let me share a few thoughts
about the New Testament gift of prophecy.
1. The Apostle Paul writes about the New Testament gift of prophecy as a lower level of prophetic
revelation. It is not at all on the same high and perfect level of inspiration
as the Prophetic and Apostolic writings of the Bible. As we will see, the New
Testament gift of prophecy is not perfect but “in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9)
and it needs to be tested and evaluated by the Scriptures, which are on a much
higher level of inspiration and are perfect (See 1 Corinthians14:29, 37-38; 1
Thessalonians 5:20-22; 2 Timothy
3:15-17; Psalm 19:7; Romans 7:12).
We occasionally hear people who speak in a rather
disparaging way about Bible teaching and then rave about a prophetic word that
was given. Though some Bible preaching is below standard, we do need to beware
of thinking that prophetic words are somehow better or more powerful than the
Scriptures. In fact the exact opposite is true. It is the written “law of the Lord”
that is “perfect” and always able to “revive the soul” (Psalm 19:7).
2. As was noted above, the
gift of prophecy must be submitted to the words of Scripture.
1 Corinthians 14:37-38 says:
‘37 If anyone thinks
that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am
writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this,
he is not recognized. ‘(ESV)
As a foundational Apostle of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:8-10),
Paul was given God’s special ‘grace’ to write Scripture. His letters were
recognized and included in the Bible as ‘a
command of the Lord’. 1 Corinthians 14:37-38 spells out the need for people
who move in the prophetic gifts to ‘acknowledge’ and ‘recognize’ the
Scriptures. If such prophetic people don’t do this and if their prophecies are
therefore inconsistent with the teaching of the Bible, then they are to be ‘not
recognized’ and their prophecies not accepted.
3. The gift of prophecy is not perfect but is “in
part”.
1 Corinthians 13:9 says:
“For we know in part and
we prophesy in part.” (ESV)
As has been said, the Scriptures are ‘perfect’, not ‘in
part’, but prophecies today are only partially right and that is why they need
to be evaluated. So when we hear someone share a prophetic word, we need to
listen for the good ‘part’, as it were. The person sharing the prophetic word
may indulge in a bit of preaching or commentary that gets added to the ‘part’
that was given as a gift from God and occasionally, there may even be bits of
the sharing that are ‘evil’ which must be rejected. This leads us to the next
point.
4. Prophetic words
must be carefully evaluated and the good parts kept.
1 Corinthians 14:29 says:
‘Let two or three
prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.’ (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 says:
‘20 Do not despise
prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from
every form of evil.’ (ESV)
Most of the time, I think that we can leave this evaluating
to the individual. I don’t think that church leaders need to give a comment on
the value of every prophetic word that gets shared. If something ‘evil’ gets
said, then a correction would be in order.
This evaluating must also be done in a loving context. This
is why 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, is between 1 Corinthians 12 and 1
Corinthians 14, the gifts chapters. If we do not encourage a loving environment
in our church meetings, people will be too scared to share anything for fear of
being corrected. My point is that we so value the gift of prophecy that we encourage
people to have a go and share a word. If they get it a bit wrong, we just
lovingly let it go (and say nothing). If they happen to get it badly wrong, we
lovingly correct the error without making people too scared to ever have a go
again.
5. This gift of
prophecy is available to all Christians in the New Covenant
1 Cor. 14:31 says:
‘For you can all
prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged.’ (ESV)
This not to say that all will have a prophetic motivation or
a prophetic ministry or even operate regularly in a prophetic sphere of
ministry. The three big lists of gifts in the New Testament speak of spiritual
gifts in three main ways. Romans 12:6-8 speaks about motivational gifts as the
gifts we have and that God by his grace has given to us in a constituted way.
Ephesians 4:11-12 is about the ministry gifts that we become. This passage is
about leadership ministry gifts and different spheres of ministry for all God’s
people. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 is
about manifestation gifts, the gifts we seek, which are given situationally and
are not constituted. It is these manifestation gifts of prophecy that are
available to all believers in Jesus. God can use any one of us to manifest a
gift of prophecy in a given situation as needed.
6. The gift of
prophecy is to be eagerly desired.
1 Cor. 14:1 says:
‘Pursue love, and
earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.’ (ESV)
1 Cor. 14:39 says:
‘So, my brothers,
earnestly desire to prophesy…’ (ESV)
It is not just a case of saying, ‘If God wants me to
manifest this gift, He will give it to me.’ Some who are theoretically
accepting of the spiritual gift of prophecy are actually not very keen to ever
actually share a prophetic word. We need to move from a passive intellectual
acceptance of the possibility of prophetic gifts to a passionate seeking that
we ‘may prophesy’. Come to church asking God to give you a word of prophecy.
7. The gift of
prophecy is not to be despised.
1 Thessalonians 5:20 says:
‘Do not despise
prophecies.’ (ESV)
This seems to be the opposite extreme from those who value
prophecies over Scripture. It may be because prophecy is only ‘in part’ and lower
than the perfection of the Bible that some ‘despise prophecies’ as too simple
or too obvious. For example, if someone shared a prophetic word about how God
loves us, a person who despises prophecy may think that it is so obvious
because the Bible tells us this. It may however be very encouraging for someone
to be assured of God’s love.
8. The gift of prophecy is to be desired
because it is very useful in building up, lifting up and cheering up.
1 Corinthians 14:3 says:
‘The one who
prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and
consolation.’ (ESV)
This is the normal function of the gift of prophecy: to
build up, encourage and comfort. This gift of prophecy may occasionally be
corrective or directive, but this would be exceptional and therefore must be handled
with much more care. In our church I feel that people can be given freedom to
share words that build up, lift up and cheer up, but words that correct or direct
may not be shared without first running it by an Elder. This is because a word
of correction or direction that is wrong could do some serious damage!
Sunday, 26 June 2016
Walking in Love
How many of us like walking? Is walking good for you?
In some parts of Scripture, 'walk' refers to living the Christian life, like Ephesians 5:1-2, which is about Walking in Love. (Notice how v2 says, Walk in love” in the ESV translation. The NIV translates it as, 'Live a life of love'.)
I read somewhere about a young man who told his father that he was going to get married. The father asked, "Are you in love?" “I am," said the son. “How do you know you're in love?" asked the father. He replied, "Last night as I was kissing my girlfriend good-night, her dog bit me and I didn't feel the pain until I got home."
Is that love? I don't know, but what I do know is that in Ephesians 5:1-2 walking in love means to be forgiving and to be giving.
Firstly, walking in love means that we must imitate God and be forgiving. (Do to others as God did to us).
It says:
'Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. [5:1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [5:2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:32-5:2 ESV)
Do you see how these verses command us to be forgiving like God is forgiving?
What does it means to be forgiving?
It means if someone hurts or owes us we just let it go instead of paying them back, or operating in that 'you owe me' way (Mt. 18:28)
'Forgiving' in Ephesians 4:32 is a translation of 'χαρίζομαι', from χάρις meaning grace. In other words, we extend grace. Col. 2:13 says that God has 'forgiven (χαρίζομαι) us'. IE. We extend grace as God extended grace to us.
Grace has a lot of meanings, one of them is (according to Leon Morris's commentary on John 1:4) 'that which causes joy or winsomeness or kindness, showing underserved favour.'
I like to sum this up as BE NICE! To forgive people is to be nice to them, even if/when they are nasty to us! When the preacher goes on and on boring... we extend grace. When the worship is too loud, too soft, too long, not any of the songs we know or like... we extend grace. When a visitor sits in your favorite seat...we extend grace. When the youth do things that seem offensive to our culture ... we extend grace. When the coffee is lousy after church .... we extend grace
Secondly, walking in love means that we must imitate Christ on the Cross and be giving. (Live by the principle of the Cross).
The passage says:
"Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2)
This passage tells us two great things about the Cross of Christ.
A.) The Cross is the once-for-all event where salvation was achieved by Jesus. It says that “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
B.) The Cross is also the ruling principle of the Christian life. This verse says that we must imitate and express this kind of Christ on the Cross love. We must “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Oxenham wrote, 'Love ever gives. Forgives, outlives, And ever stands With open hands. And while it lives, It gives, For this is love's prerogative-- To give, and give, and give.’
Thirdly, walking in love means that we express (out to others) what we experience (from God).
I read something by a doctor that said that 'the more love a baby gets from his mother, the more he is capable of giving love.'
The truth is that we can only express what we experience. That's what Ephesians 5:1-2 is saying:
'Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children (of God). [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.' (ESV)
These verses are saying that it's only as we experience being loved by God, our Father; being 'beloved' (or dearly loved) children of God, that we can we express love to others.
Note too that this experience of God’s Fatherly love is a corporate thing. The verse speaks of “beloved CHILDREN”, Not just as one child alone. It may be that God’s love flows best in His family, as against each individual always just alone with God.
So, to 'walk in love', look again at God’s forgiving love, look again at Christ’s giving love, and receive again God’s Fatherly love for His children.
Let me feel again the warmth of Your love, O Father God, that I may learn again to 'walk in love'. Amen.
In some parts of Scripture, 'walk' refers to living the Christian life, like Ephesians 5:1-2, which is about Walking in Love. (Notice how v2 says, Walk in love” in the ESV translation. The NIV translates it as, 'Live a life of love'.)
I read somewhere about a young man who told his father that he was going to get married. The father asked, "Are you in love?" “I am," said the son. “How do you know you're in love?" asked the father. He replied, "Last night as I was kissing my girlfriend good-night, her dog bit me and I didn't feel the pain until I got home."
Is that love? I don't know, but what I do know is that in Ephesians 5:1-2 walking in love means to be forgiving and to be giving.
Firstly, walking in love means that we must imitate God and be forgiving. (Do to others as God did to us).
It says:
'Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. [5:1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [5:2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:32-5:2 ESV)
Do you see how these verses command us to be forgiving like God is forgiving?
What does it means to be forgiving?
It means if someone hurts or owes us we just let it go instead of paying them back, or operating in that 'you owe me' way (Mt. 18:28)
'Forgiving' in Ephesians 4:32 is a translation of 'χαρίζομαι', from χάρις meaning grace. In other words, we extend grace. Col. 2:13 says that God has 'forgiven (χαρίζομαι) us'. IE. We extend grace as God extended grace to us.
Grace has a lot of meanings, one of them is (according to Leon Morris's commentary on John 1:4) 'that which causes joy or winsomeness or kindness, showing underserved favour.'
I like to sum this up as BE NICE! To forgive people is to be nice to them, even if/when they are nasty to us! When the preacher goes on and on boring... we extend grace. When the worship is too loud, too soft, too long, not any of the songs we know or like... we extend grace. When a visitor sits in your favorite seat...we extend grace. When the youth do things that seem offensive to our culture ... we extend grace. When the coffee is lousy after church .... we extend grace
The passage says:
"Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2)
This passage tells us two great things about the Cross of Christ.
A.) The Cross is the once-for-all event where salvation was achieved by Jesus. It says that “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
B.) The Cross is also the ruling principle of the Christian life. This verse says that we must imitate and express this kind of Christ on the Cross love. We must “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Oxenham wrote, 'Love ever gives. Forgives, outlives, And ever stands With open hands. And while it lives, It gives, For this is love's prerogative-- To give, and give, and give.’
Thirdly, walking in love means that we express (out to others) what we experience (from God).
I read something by a doctor that said that 'the more love a baby gets from his mother, the more he is capable of giving love.'
The truth is that we can only express what we experience. That's what Ephesians 5:1-2 is saying:
'Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children (of God). [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.' (ESV)
These verses are saying that it's only as we experience being loved by God, our Father; being 'beloved' (or dearly loved) children of God, that we can we express love to others.
Note too that this experience of God’s Fatherly love is a corporate thing. The verse speaks of “beloved CHILDREN”, Not just as one child alone. It may be that God’s love flows best in His family, as against each individual always just alone with God.
So, to 'walk in love', look again at God’s forgiving love, look again at Christ’s giving love, and receive again God’s Fatherly love for His children.
Let me feel again the warmth of Your love, O Father God, that I may learn again to 'walk in love'. Amen.
Thursday, 23 June 2016
From 'Prison to Praise'
Do you feel trapped and alone and faint of heart? Are people out to 'get' you and maybe trap you and trip you up?
That's how David may have felt as he prayed Psalm 142.
David prayed this Psalm as a cry for help when he was 'in a cave' , alone and surrounded by enemies trying to 'trap' him. He was down and faint of spirit, not sure which way to turn.
And his prayer ended with these words of faith:
Psalm 142:7 ESV
'Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.'
We too can turn to God in our need and, like David say,
'Let me be found in the place of your praise, in the midst of your people, experiencing your protection and provision!'
May the LORD, who alone is our only ultimate Refuge and Portion in Life (Psalm 142:5), bring us all from 'prison to praise'!
That's how David may have felt as he prayed Psalm 142.
David prayed this Psalm as a cry for help when he was 'in a cave' , alone and surrounded by enemies trying to 'trap' him. He was down and faint of spirit, not sure which way to turn.
And his prayer ended with these words of faith:
Psalm 142:7 ESV
'Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.'
We too can turn to God in our need and, like David say,
'Let me be found in the place of your praise, in the midst of your people, experiencing your protection and provision!'
May the LORD, who alone is our only ultimate Refuge and Portion in Life (Psalm 142:5), bring us all from 'prison to praise'!
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
The Question of Suffering
Terrible things are happening all over the earth. People get shot and killed in a night club. A politician in England gets killed in her constituency. Why do such awful things happen?
The Bible book of Job was written to deal with this huge question of suffering, excessive suffering when people have not sinned excessively.
In theological thinking this is called 'Theodicy'. The question of God's justice in the light of Human Suffering.
In Greek and later Western thought, theodicy led to the conclusion that God was not almighty or not just, and assumed that humans were innocent.
In Biblical Hebrew thought, God is always both Almighty and Perfectly Just, and human beings are never entirely innocent in the sight of God.
And so for Job and his friends ( in the Biblical book of Job) the logical conclusion was that every person’s suffering was an indication of his guilt before God.
This theology often clashed with human experience.
Many people, like Job, had not sinned exceptionally but suffered exceptionally.
This gave rise to a great problem, and the God to whom the believer would always turn in times of trouble became the enigma.
In the speeches of Job in chapters 3 to 37, we hear the flawless logic of ‘orthodox’ Israelite theology and ‘the writhing of soul of the righteous sufferer who struggles with the great enigma’ (NIV Study Bible, p717).
The Biblical solution is also unique, and has to do with the great adversary (Job 1 and 2).
Incapable of contending directly with God, Satan seeks to frustrate the works of God on earth, and especially God’s special relationship with His believers, men like Job.
By accusing Job of being righteous merely for self gain, the way is opened for the great challenge.
God lets the accuser have his way with Job, within specified limits, and Job is robbed of every sign of God’s favour.
Job’s friends add to his suffering with their ‘orthodox’ theology.
God had become the great enigma, but Job clings to his God in persevering faith, knowing that one day he will be vindicated (See Job 13:18; 14:13-17; 16:19; 19:25-27).
Though he complains and curses the day of his birth, Job will not curse or deny God.
We read in Job 2:9-10 (ESV):
'Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." [10] But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.'
Eventually everyone is silenced, and then God speaks to Job ‘bringing the silence of regret for hasty speech in days of suffering and the silence of repose in the ways of the Almighty’ (NIV Study Bible p717) (See Job 38:1-42:6)
God also hears Job’s prayer for his friends (Job 42:8-10), and restores Job’s blessings (Job 42:10-17).
The message of Job may be summarized as follows:
God treasures our righteousness most of all. The adversary seeks to overthrow the purposes of God by attacking the righteousness of godly people. The suffering of the truly godly is the battlefield where Satan comes against God. Our persistence in faith expresses the victory of God. The suffering of the righteous finds meaning in great spiritual battle of the ages. 'The author of Job reveals information concerning the unseen spiritual battles that go on in this world. Since some of these events are a mystery to mankind, it is impossible for people to always understand the reason why God allows certain things to happen. This shows that reason cannot be the sole basis of a person’s relationship with God. Although wisdom writings encourage a rational understanding of life, they recognize the limitations of human wisdom and call people to fear God and put their faith in Him’ (From 'Exploring the Old Testament' by S.J. Schultz & G. Smith).
The story of Job reveals principles that need to be remembered when we reflect on suffering:
1. The Complexity of Truth
Simple theological answers don’t always fit a situation.
Job suffers exceptionally but has not sinned exceptionally (Job 4:7-8; 6:10,24, 10:6-7).
Sickness is not always a judgment on us (See also John 9).
When the LORD answered Job, He didn’t explain why but pointed to the limits of human knowledge (eg: Job 38:2, 39:1, 42:3).
2. The Attacks of Satan
The Book of Job teaches of the reality and role of Satan in our sufferings (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7)
(See also 2 Cor. 12:7-10; Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38).
3. The Big Picture
A bad thing can have a good outcome in the end.
Job ends up with twice as much as he had before, and greatly blessed (Job 42:10-17).
4. The Hope of Eternity
The Ultimate Biggest Picture. Job’s talk about dying gradually changes through the book.
From despair and longing to die (Job 3:11); that death is the end of everything (Job 7:9-10); that death is the ‘”land of gloom and darkness” (10:20-22).
Then a question of life after death surfaces (Job 14:7-14). "If a man dies, shall he live again?” (v14)
Finally, Job reaches an answer of faith in Job 19:25-27 (ESV) 'For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. [26] And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, [27] whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!'
Beyond the grave he will meet God as Redeemer, and not as angry Judge. Though he still has questions about his suffering, his faith has won through.
5. The Wisdom of God
Human wisdom is lacking. Job’s comforters, and their simplistic doctrine of justice, is inadequate (Job 42:7). God alone is wise (Job 28:12-13, 23, 38:1-4f)
6. The Sovereignty of God
The reason why good can come out of bad is the LORDSHIP of God. He is in control and even overrules in the affairs of Satan and people (Job 1:12, 2:6; 12:13-16). We may not always understand or like what He does, but we trust Him whatever (Job1:21; 2:10; 13:15). Job 13:15 (ESV) says, 'Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.'
7. The Opportunity for Growth
God tests us to develop us. Job is tested severely, not to punish him, but to take him higher: in faith (Job 19:25-27), humility (Job 41:4-5), seeing God (Job 42:5), repentance (Job 42:6), prayer (Job 42:8-9) and blessings (Job 42:10-17).
God allows Satan to attack Job to prove that Job’s devotion to God is more than ‘cupboard love’ (Job 1:9-12; 2:3-6).
Hopefully this wisdom from the book of Job can help us in these troubled days I which we are currently living.
The Bible book of Job was written to deal with this huge question of suffering, excessive suffering when people have not sinned excessively.
In theological thinking this is called 'Theodicy'. The question of God's justice in the light of Human Suffering.
In Greek and later Western thought, theodicy led to the conclusion that God was not almighty or not just, and assumed that humans were innocent.
In Biblical Hebrew thought, God is always both Almighty and Perfectly Just, and human beings are never entirely innocent in the sight of God.
And so for Job and his friends ( in the Biblical book of Job) the logical conclusion was that every person’s suffering was an indication of his guilt before God.
This theology often clashed with human experience.
Many people, like Job, had not sinned exceptionally but suffered exceptionally.
This gave rise to a great problem, and the God to whom the believer would always turn in times of trouble became the enigma.
In the speeches of Job in chapters 3 to 37, we hear the flawless logic of ‘orthodox’ Israelite theology and ‘the writhing of soul of the righteous sufferer who struggles with the great enigma’ (NIV Study Bible, p717).
The Biblical solution is also unique, and has to do with the great adversary (Job 1 and 2).
Incapable of contending directly with God, Satan seeks to frustrate the works of God on earth, and especially God’s special relationship with His believers, men like Job.
By accusing Job of being righteous merely for self gain, the way is opened for the great challenge.
God lets the accuser have his way with Job, within specified limits, and Job is robbed of every sign of God’s favour.
Job’s friends add to his suffering with their ‘orthodox’ theology.
God had become the great enigma, but Job clings to his God in persevering faith, knowing that one day he will be vindicated (See Job 13:18; 14:13-17; 16:19; 19:25-27).
Though he complains and curses the day of his birth, Job will not curse or deny God.
We read in Job 2:9-10 (ESV):
'Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." [10] But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.'
Eventually everyone is silenced, and then God speaks to Job ‘bringing the silence of regret for hasty speech in days of suffering and the silence of repose in the ways of the Almighty’ (NIV Study Bible p717) (See Job 38:1-42:6)
God also hears Job’s prayer for his friends (Job 42:8-10), and restores Job’s blessings (Job 42:10-17).
The message of Job may be summarized as follows:
God treasures our righteousness most of all. The adversary seeks to overthrow the purposes of God by attacking the righteousness of godly people. The suffering of the truly godly is the battlefield where Satan comes against God. Our persistence in faith expresses the victory of God. The suffering of the righteous finds meaning in great spiritual battle of the ages. 'The author of Job reveals information concerning the unseen spiritual battles that go on in this world. Since some of these events are a mystery to mankind, it is impossible for people to always understand the reason why God allows certain things to happen. This shows that reason cannot be the sole basis of a person’s relationship with God. Although wisdom writings encourage a rational understanding of life, they recognize the limitations of human wisdom and call people to fear God and put their faith in Him’ (From 'Exploring the Old Testament' by S.J. Schultz & G. Smith).
The story of Job reveals principles that need to be remembered when we reflect on suffering:
1. The Complexity of Truth
Simple theological answers don’t always fit a situation.
Job suffers exceptionally but has not sinned exceptionally (Job 4:7-8; 6:10,24, 10:6-7).
Sickness is not always a judgment on us (See also John 9).
When the LORD answered Job, He didn’t explain why but pointed to the limits of human knowledge (eg: Job 38:2, 39:1, 42:3).
2. The Attacks of Satan
The Book of Job teaches of the reality and role of Satan in our sufferings (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7)
(See also 2 Cor. 12:7-10; Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38).
3. The Big Picture
A bad thing can have a good outcome in the end.
Job ends up with twice as much as he had before, and greatly blessed (Job 42:10-17).
4. The Hope of Eternity
The Ultimate Biggest Picture. Job’s talk about dying gradually changes through the book.
From despair and longing to die (Job 3:11); that death is the end of everything (Job 7:9-10); that death is the ‘”land of gloom and darkness” (10:20-22).
Then a question of life after death surfaces (Job 14:7-14). "If a man dies, shall he live again?” (v14)
Finally, Job reaches an answer of faith in Job 19:25-27 (ESV) 'For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. [26] And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, [27] whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!'
Beyond the grave he will meet God as Redeemer, and not as angry Judge. Though he still has questions about his suffering, his faith has won through.
5. The Wisdom of God
Human wisdom is lacking. Job’s comforters, and their simplistic doctrine of justice, is inadequate (Job 42:7). God alone is wise (Job 28:12-13, 23, 38:1-4f)
6. The Sovereignty of God
The reason why good can come out of bad is the LORDSHIP of God. He is in control and even overrules in the affairs of Satan and people (Job 1:12, 2:6; 12:13-16). We may not always understand or like what He does, but we trust Him whatever (Job1:21; 2:10; 13:15). Job 13:15 (ESV) says, 'Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.'
7. The Opportunity for Growth
God tests us to develop us. Job is tested severely, not to punish him, but to take him higher: in faith (Job 19:25-27), humility (Job 41:4-5), seeing God (Job 42:5), repentance (Job 42:6), prayer (Job 42:8-9) and blessings (Job 42:10-17).
God allows Satan to attack Job to prove that Job’s devotion to God is more than ‘cupboard love’ (Job 1:9-12; 2:3-6).
Hopefully this wisdom from the book of Job can help us in these troubled days I which we are currently living.
Thursday, 16 June 2016
BE USED in doing Good Works
Our CLCB Vision slogan is Be Changed, Be Nice, Be Used.
This blog is about the 'BE USED' part of it.
The challenge is to BE USED in doing Good Works. We are not save by our good works but we are saved to do good works. Good works are the fruit not the root of our salvation. They express but don't earn salvation. This is how Ephesians 2:8-10 puts it:
'[8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.'
Doing good works is not just about us trying hard, it's a matter of co-operating with God and working out what He works in. We see this call to co-operate with God in Philippians 2:12-13, which says, 'work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.' It's a matter of 100% me working it out and 100% God working it in. But we can't work out what God isn't working in and God works in our lives by His Spirit.
The promise of the New Covenant is found in Ezekiel 36:27 where we hear God say 'I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.' The heart of the New Covenant is this Divine enabling from within (See Jeremiah 31:31-34). The difference between law and grace is this matter of enabling. The law tells us what God wants and condemns disobedience, grace enables us to obey God (See 2 Tim. 2:1). It's therefore very important that we keep on receiving grace and allowing God to work in us by His Spirit.
This blog is about the 'BE USED' part of it.
The challenge is to BE USED in doing Good Works. We are not save by our good works but we are saved to do good works. Good works are the fruit not the root of our salvation. They express but don't earn salvation. This is how Ephesians 2:8-10 puts it:
'[8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.'
Doing good works is not just about us trying hard, it's a matter of co-operating with God and working out what He works in. We see this call to co-operate with God in Philippians 2:12-13, which says, 'work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.' It's a matter of 100% me working it out and 100% God working it in. But we can't work out what God isn't working in and God works in our lives by His Spirit.
The promise of the New Covenant is found in Ezekiel 36:27 where we hear God say 'I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.' The heart of the New Covenant is this Divine enabling from within (See Jeremiah 31:31-34). The difference between law and grace is this matter of enabling. The law tells us what God wants and condemns disobedience, grace enables us to obey God (See 2 Tim. 2:1). It's therefore very important that we keep on receiving grace and allowing God to work in us by His Spirit.
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