Monthly Archives: May 2024

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 1

Prayer, ,

THE “WHY” OF PRAYER

Prayer is one of the greatest mysteries and privileges of our Christian lives! Think of it, God, the Almighty, the Creator of the universe, permits us to approach Him and to engage in conversation with Him. He listens to us. He answers us. He allows us to be partners with Him in His kingdom. How can we ever get our heads around this?

We must, therefore, be careful about the way we use this privilege. We must come to God on His terms and in His way.

We love to pray the words of the Psalms because the psalmist’s prayers so often express the emotions of our own hearts. We iften feel like they did and their words express our hearts in those times when we cry out to God for help.

There is great merit in praying the Bible’s words because we are praying God’s words back to Him.
However, we must remember that the prayers of the Old Covenant, although they teach us great principles, have an important piece missing, i.e., the security and assurance of what God has done for us through Jesus.

Righteousness, in the Mosaic covenant, depended on obedience to the Law. The prayers, recorded in many parts of the Old Testament, have an element of uncertainty because pray-ers had no security in their own righteousness. They called on the name of the Lord for mercy and pleaded for His forgiveness based on the knowledge of His covenant love.

‭Psalms 51:1 NLT‬
[1] “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.”

However, in the New Covenant, we have access to the Father because of the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. He has opened the way to God by taking our sin away. We have the assurance that He has made us acceptable to God. By faith in Him, we are made righteous, not guilty, and cleansed of all our unrighteousness.

‭Romans 5:1-2 NLT‬
[1] “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. [2] Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

We can approach the Father freely and confidently because the blood of Jesus forgives, and takes away all our sin.

‭Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT‬
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. [21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.“

When we pray the prayers of the Old Testament saints, we must attach to them the work of Jesus that removes us from pleading to praise. We do not have to beg God to do anything. We have all His promises which Jesus endorsed by His death, and we can confidently declare our “Amen!” to whatever He said He will do.

Another reason for praying Old Testament prayers with caution is the difference between the focus of the Old and New Testaments. While it is not wrong to pray for physical and material prosperity, the saints in the Old Testament, in the main, were concerned about their circumstances while the New Testament focus is on overcoming the old nature and its influence on our destiny.

We learn God’s way by the many prayers Paul prayed and recorded in his letters.

Paul spent much of his time teaching believers how to overcome sin and how to live by the Spirit. He recognised that continuing in sin negates our new life in Christ and disqualifies us from inheriting God’s kingdom.

‭Galatians 5:19, 21 NLT‬
[19] “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,…
[21] envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

He prays for knowledge and understanding of this new life so that the church grows in maturity as a witness to God’s grace at work in every member.

In the next few weeks we will explore some of Paul’s prayers, listening to his heart, and redirecting our praying into God’s Word, and His will and ways for us.

THE GOD WHO PROTECTS

Christian Life, ,

Have you ever thought about how safe we are in God?

The Bible says that we are surrounded and encased in Him.

Sometimes we need to know that He is ahead of us. Our future is always an unknown. We have important decisions to make that will affect us and our families for a long time. How can we know that the choices we make are the correct ones?

We have His assurance that He goes before us.

‭John 10:27 NLT‬
[27] “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Jesus will guide us unerringly if we listen to His voice. He promised to make our paths straight when we put Him in the centre of everything we do.

‭Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT‬
[5] “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [6] Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

‭Psalms 32:8 NLT‬
[8] “The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”

His guidance also takes care of those times when we take a wrong turn in life. He doesn’t leave us to flounder in our mistakes. He comes to our aid with His gentle voice that redirects us to the right way when we have deviated from His way.

‭Isaiah 30:21 NLT‬
[21]”Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.”

“To the right or to the left” is an expression that, in some cases, implies, getting sidetracked or distracted from God’s path.

‭Proverbs 4:25-27 NIV‬
[25] “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. [26] Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. [27] Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

‭Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT‬
[25]”Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. [26] Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. [27] Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.”

God’s got our backs. He is determined to keep us on track to the end of the road to glory.

However, God is not only all around us; He is also above us and beneath us, moving us upward towards Himself and preventing us from falling away from Him. He is on the throne, urging us to seek Him where He is, above, reigning and in charge of all our circumstances. We are where He is, in Him, safe and secure until the day we see Him face-to-face.

‭Colossians 3:1-3 NLT‬
[1] “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. [2] Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. [3] For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

We also have the assurance that He is underneath us, ensuring that we never fall to our doom.

‭Deuteronomy 33:26-27 NLT‬
[26] “There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. [27] The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’ “

‭Jude 1:24 NLT‬
[24] “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.“

Paul endorsed the sentiments of a Greek poet who wrote,

‭Acts of the Apostles 17:28 NLT‬
[28] “For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

Most of all, God’s got us safely enclosed in His hand.

‭John 10:28-30 NLT‬
[28]”I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, [29] for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. [30] The Father and I are one.”

‭Colossians 3:3 NLT‬
[3]”For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

So, dear readers, in a world full of dangers, uncertainties, and insecurities, we can have the utmost confidence in the God who surrounds us from side to side and above and beneath. His presence encases us and promises us safe passage through all the ‘dangers, toils, and snares’ (of John Newton’s ‘Amazing Grace’), of this life until we reach our eternal home.

‭Psalms 5:12 NLT‬
[12] “For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.”

Only in Thee, O Savior mine,
Dwelleth my soul in peace divine,
Peace that the world, though all combine,
Never can take from me.
Pleasures of earth, so seemingly sweet,
Fail at the last my longings to meet;
Only in Thee my bliss is complete,
Only, dear Lord, in Thee!

  1. Only in Thee a radiance bright,
    Shines like a beacon in the night,
    Guiding my pilgrim bark aright,
    Over life’s trackless sea.
    Only in Thee, when troubles molest,
    When with temptation I am oppressed,
    There is a sweet pavilion of rest,
    Only, dear Lord, in Thee!
  2. Only in Thee, when days are drear,
    When neither sun nor stars appear,
    Still I can trust and feel no fear,
    Sing when I cannot see.
    Only in Thee, whatever betide,
    All of my need is freely supplied;
    There is no help nor helper beside,
    Only, dear Lord, in Thee!
  3. Only in Thee, dear Savior, slain,
    Losing Thy life my own to gain,
    Trusting, I’m cleansed from ev’ry stain;
    Thou art my only plea.
    Only in Thee my heart will delight,
    Till in that land where cometh no night
    Faith will be lost in heavenly sight,
    Only, dear Lord, in Thee!

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #5263
All representative texts • Compare texts^ top
Author: Thomas O. Chisholm
Dianne Shapiro, from “The Singers and Their Songs: sketches of living gospel hymn writers” by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (Chicago: The Rodeheaver Company, 1916)…

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Christian Life, ,

We often hear or read that history is “His story”. When we think about it, how true that is from God’s perspective.

However, God isn’t only writing, He has already written a massive story, the first page before time and the last page after the end of time. His story covers everything relating to this earth from its re-formation in Genesis 1 to its restoration in Revelation 21.

He tells us what was happening in the heavenly realm before He breathed out the first word of creation at the beginning of time. However, we must research carefully and picture the story from the snippets of information scattered throughout the Bible. This makes the story more interesting, like putting together a jigsaw puzzle to see what the big picture is about.

Let me say that I don’t have all the details of the story. Perhaps I have what I need to help us uncover the plot.

We can attach many themes to the Bible, but the one theme that stands out above others is the story of salvation – God’s plan to rescue creation from the threat of total destruction. “Creation” means, first, His human creation because we are the focus of His attention. Second, natural creation has a big part to play in His rescue plan.

‭Romans 8:20-22 NLT‬
[20] “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, [21] the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. [22] For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

Why does God want to rescue and restore everything He has made? Despite the horror of what has happened since sin came into the world, God still desires a human family of sons and daughters to live with Him forever and to share in the administration of His world.

He did what was necessary to deal with the sin problem… punished His own Son in our place… forgave and removed our guilt and restored in us His own presence, the Holy Spirit. He also set about restoring His image in us, distorted by a rebellious nature that demands attention and does everything to satisfy its own selfish desires, so that we become like His Son.

He supervises all our circumstances to teach us how to trust His love and to submit to His authority. He tests us, with hardships and difficulties, to examine our progress towards His goal.

Sometimes we feel like clothing in a tumble dryer, tossed around by inexplicable hardships that leave us frustrated and bewildered. Is this really God? How can I be sure that He is still in control?

The way we interpret these happenings will determine our progress towards God’s goal. Lose our trust in God and we continue to flounder in uncertainty and insecurity. Keep our eyes on the bigger picture, and our struggles fall into place, start making sense, and keep us on track with God’s plan.

Paul gives us a good rule-of-thumb to help us see things from God’s perspective…

‭Philippians 3:12-14 NLT‬
[12]”I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. [13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Forget what has happened in the past and what’s happening now and press on in faith and patience towards the goal of God’s perfection. He is with us in this purpose. He promised to finish what He started.

‭Philippians 1:6 NLT‬
[6]”And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

‭2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT‬
[18] “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

So, the things that happen to us only make sense when we take the long look. Today may be dark and dismal but the bad times won’t last forever. Our future is bright with God’s promise of glory in His presence in resurrected bodies and the nature of Jesus perfected in us.

THE MERCY SEAT

Devotion, ,

Romans 9-11 summarises God’s salvation plan for both Jews and Gentiles.

‭Romans‬ ‭11:28‭-‬36‬ ‭NLT‬
[28] “Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [29] For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. [30] Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. [31] Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. [32] For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.”

Paul’s conclusion led to this outburst of praise.

[33]” Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! [34] For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? [35] And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? [36] For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

Mercy! What is mercy? Sometimes we learn more from what the Bible doesn’t say than from what it does say.

Let’s go back to the Ark of the Covenant where the dimensions of the Mercy Seat, the gold-covered lid of the box which housed the Ten Commandments, are given. The Ark of the Covenant was the central point of the Tabernacle, God’s visual aid to teach His people the truth about mercy and to show them mercy because of the blood. The Mercy Seat was the place where Israel’s sins were atoned for by the application of blood.

I am indebted to Pastor Ken Legg for drawing my attention to this detail.

God gave Moses instructions for each piece of furniture in the tabernable including the Ark and its covering.

‭Exodus‬ ‭25:17‬ ‭NLT‬
[17] “Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.”

Strangely, there is one measurement missing – its height. How was Bezalel to know how high to make the lid?

‭Exodus‬ ‭37:1‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] Next Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.
[6] Then he made the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.

Once again, no measurement for the height.

So, how high did he make the lid? We can only guess that he used the same measurement as for other articles of furniture in the Tabernacle.

Does the Bible give us an answer to this puzzle? Yes, it does.

‭Psalms‬ ‭103:8‭-‬11‬ ‭NIV‬
[8] “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. [9] He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; [10] he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. [11] For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love (mercy) for those who fear him;”

The Hebrew word “chesed”, here translated “love” or alternatively, “mercy”, is untranslateable in English. It takes in every facet of God’s love within His covenant, towards His people.

Think of God’s love expressed in His mercy towards Jew and Gentile alike… all equally rebels and guilty before God. What does He do? Confine them all to hell forever? No! He shows them equal mercy because of “chesed”.

David writes, in Psalm 36

‭Psalms‬ ‭36:5‭-‬9‬ ‭NIV‬
[5] “Your love (chesed), Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. [6] Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. [7] How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. [8] They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. [9] For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

Only the incalculable dimensions of the universe can somehow, yet inadequately, describe God’s mercy….as big as God Himself.

How can we ever understand this “chesed” outside of one great event?

Sometimes a songwriter captures in words, the Father’s heart and conveys to us a tiny glimpse of what His mercy has provided for us…

Listen to the words of Keith and Kristen Getty’s song, “The Power of the Cross”…

“Oh to see the dawn
Of the darkest day
Christ on the road to Calvary
Tried by sinful men
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood

Oh to see the pain
Written on your face
Bearing the awful weight of sin
Every bitter thought
Every evil deed
Crowning your blood-stained brow

This, the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh to see my name
Written in the wounds
For through your suffering I am free
Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live
Won through your selfless love

This the power of the cross
Son of God slain for us
What a love, what a cost,
We stand forgiven at the cross”

Only through the cross can we glimpse the dimensions of God’s mercy. This is the height of God’s mercy expressed in one crowning act.

‭1 John 4:10 NLT‬
[10] “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

‭Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT‬
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. [21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

This is God’s word to us today. Mercy always awaits us at the Mercy Seat. We have access to the Father through the Son. We have the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness. Our weakness qualifies us to receive God’s mercy that is as high as the heavens that are above the earth.

Our response, captured in the words of another beautiful song written by Jarrod Cooper…

“King of kings, Majesty
God of Heaven living in me
Gentle Saviour, closest friend
Strong Deliverer, beginning and end
All within me falls at Your throne,

Your Majesty, I can but bow
I lay my all before You now
In royal robes I don’t deserve
I live to serve Your Majesty

Earth and Heaven worship You
Love eternal, Faithful and True
Who bought the nations, ransomed souls
Brought this sinner near to Your throne
All within me cries out in praise.

Your majesty, I can but bow
I lay my all before You now
In royal robes I don’t deserve
I live to serve Your Majesty.”

FULL STEAM AHEAD – 13

Christian Life, ,

Peter 5:10-11 NLT‬
[10] “In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. [11] All power to him forever! Amen.”

Peter concludes this gem of a letter with a vote of confidence in the Ones who occupy the theme of his writing, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

He puts everything into their correct order – ‘a little while’ of suffering now, an eternity of glory with Them. Though Peter doesn’t mention the Holy Spirit by name, he knows that He is always present because He administers to us all that God has made available by His grace.

The interim on earth is an important time for us. It is the apprenticeship we serve here for our place and function in God’s eternal kingdom.

Trouble is, we are often so caught up in the struggles of this life that we lose sight of their purpose. Learning to take the long look is the secret of navigating trouble with patience, perseverance, and hope.

‭2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT‬
[18] “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

We learn to ‘have finished with sin’ by celebrating the weaknesses that keep our feet on the ground in place of flying above in the realm of make-believe or mouthing our discontent and unbelief, and wiping off our unhappiness on others. When we trust God instead of trying to change what we don’t like, God will trust us with a future more glorious than we can imagine.

So, as Peter urges us throughout his letter, let’s stay within the boundaries of God’s infallible and enduring Word. Through this Word, we have been born again. Through this Word, we have the prescriptions for living holy lives.

Through this living Word, Jesus Himself, we have the model and mentor for enduring the sufferings associated with this life and the prospect of an eternity with Him. Through this Word, we have the promise of a support system that will see us through to the end, God’s Holy Spirit who dispenses all the grace and mercy we need to overcome all the obstacles on our way to glory.

It’s full steam ahead for all who have the goal in mind with no intention of not reaching it. All the negatives we experience mean we will not fail because God is determined to keep us on track. He wil do whatever it takes to get us home safely. It’s His promise!