Tag Archives: answer

CALL ON HIS NAME

Christian Life, ,

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.

O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Charles Converse / Joseph Scriven

Never has there been a greater invitation…no, solution… to the issues of life than to call on the name of the Lord.

When Adam’s family fell apart, his descendants began to call on the name of the Lord.

Genesis 4:26 NIV
[26] “Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.”

David responded to God’s goodness by calling on His name.

Psalms 116:12-13 NIV
[12] “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? [13] I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.”

If you need to be saved, call on His name.

Romans 10:13 NLT
[13] For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

If you need help, call on the name if the Lord.

Psalms 121:2 NIV
[2] My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

“To call upon the name of the Lord is a sign of knowing Him and a way of connecting to Him. There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing Him personally. Calling on the name of the Lord indicates personal interaction and relationship. When we call upon the name of the Lord, as a form of worship, we recognize our dependence upon Him.”
(What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord?
http://www.got questions.org)

Psalms 116:1-2 NIV
[1]”I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. [2] Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.”

For those who are connected to the Lord by faith, calling on His name is not only a way of life but also imperative. Why?

“In summary, those who call on the name of the Lord are those who recognize Him as Savior. Whether it is a first-time calling upon Jesus’ name for forgiveness of sins or a continuous calling as the relationship progresses and grows, giving Him lordship over our lives in surrender to His will, calling on the name of the Lord is vital to spiritual life. Ultimately, calling on the name of the Lord is a sign of humility and dependence on God our Creator and Redeemer.”

Jesus insisted, “Without me, you can do nothing!”

Trouble is, we think we can. Born with an attitude of independence, even as believers in Jesus, we find it difficult to hand over the controls to Him. We call Him “Lord” but we ignore what He tells us to do.

Luke 6:46-48 NIV
[46] “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? [47] As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. [48] They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.”

We say we believe in Him but we still try to play “God” in our own and other people’s lives. We still have the crazy notion that we must handle the difficulties we face by ourselves. We think that God is only concerned with the really big issues in life. The rest is up to us.

To be led by God’s Spirit is the hallmark of every child of God.

Romans 8:14 NLT
[14] “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Not to be led by the Spirit is rebellion and foolishness.

To be led by God’s Spirit is to call on His name in every situation that needs help. That means every detail of everyday life, like the branch in the vine.

Not to be led by His Spirit means that I must be God in everything I face. I must be God in my relationships with others. I must be God to my husband and my children. I must be God at home and at work. I must be God in my life in society and in my country. I must make the rules and obey them.

It’s either God or me. We can’t both sit in the driver’s seat.

Problem is, wheb we insist on doing the driving, the consequences are dire.

Luke 6:49 NLT
[49] “But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

So then, since we have entered by faith into a partnership with Jesus where He is Lord and we are not, we are obliged to live out what we profess. We have given back to Him His right to lead us but, to do so, we must call on His name.

Solomon gives us, in a nutshell, Jesus’ prescription for our lives…

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.“

When we insist on playing God in our own and others’ lives, we rob ourselves, and them, of the opportunity to experience His grace in its many facets. We miss out in the wonder of His interventions, and the development of our faith into a robust, secure connection with Him that weathers every storm. Even worse, we mess with God’s purpose for ourselves, and our loved ones, to transform us into the image of Jesus through the ALL THINGS in which He works for our good.

My friends, this is imperative if we are to live “care free in the care of God.” We must learn to call on His name as a lifelong expression of our utter dependence on Him.

Your Prayer Has Been Heard

Christian Life, , , ,

YOUR PRAYER HAS BEEN HEARD

“But the angel reassured him, ‘Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer had been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you — many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.'” Luke 1:13-15 (The Message).

“Your prayer has been heard.” That must have been a shock for Zachariah. What prayer? He and Elizabeth had prayed many prayers in their long lives together. Which one was the angel referring to? Perhaps they were still awaiting answers to some of their prayers and some had long been shelved – especially their prayer for a child. You don’t keep praying for something that is long past its “sell-by-date”.

Perhaps it just wasn’t God’s will or perhaps He had forgotten that childbearing ceases after a certain time, or perhaps, God forbid, He had just not heard them. Isn’t that the way we think when God is silent on the things that we are screaming about?

Zachariah had some important lessons to learn about God that day.

Firstly, Zachariah had to learn that God’s time table and his didn’t necessarily have to coincide. God was putting their details into a much bigger picture. If that entailed a long wait for them, it was part of their discipline in God’s kingdom. God’s silence does not mean He has not heard. It means He is working on a bigger plan and we need the patience to wait until His bigger plan is revealed.

Secondly, he had to learn that chronological age is no deterrent to God. The fact that they were old was irrelevant; in fact is suited God’s plan because no one could doubt that it was God at work.

Thirdly, God only works in supernatural ways when there is no possibility of working through the natural. The angel made it clear to him that Elizabeth would have a child by him. This was not going to be a virgin birth like the birth of Jesus. John the Baptist was as human as anyone else. He had an important role to play in preparing the way for the Messiah, but it would be through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, not through any supernatural birth or abilities given to him by God.

We often have the false idea that God overrides the natural and arbitrarily does miracles in answer to our prayers. This is not to deny the miraculous but to put it in perspective. For instance, Jesus refused to turn stones into bread at Satan’s instigation, not only because “Daddy hadn’t told Him to”, but also because that would not have been a miracle; it would have been magic because stones have no “bread’ properties.

Yet Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, using ordinary food in an extraordinary way to meet needs because there was no other way. How often do we ask God to step in and do things for which He has made us responsible? We ask Him to make us more patient in the hopes that He will suddenly fill us with patience, or some other virtue, supernaturally. Instead, He orchestrates circumstances that demand that we exercise patience, and patience grows!

The lessons Zachariah had to learn are for us too. God is writing His big story, and giving us the privilege of being a part of it if we put ourselves at His disposal. He wants us to move away from demanding His attention to willingly fitting into the bigger picture for His glory.

Delight in the Lord

Pastor's Desk, ,

Dear Family

David brings to us the following words of wisdom found in Psalm 1:1–2 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

I got thinking recently about the phrase “But his delight is in the law of the LORD….” I was just marveling about just how incredible God’s Word actually is and just how easy it is to take delight in it. “Delight” as defined in dictionaries means “to please greatly, to take great pleasure”.

There is something there for every situation, every question, every doubt, every anxiety, every sticky situation. It’s simply incredible! Furthermore, it just never gets boring, or stale, or ‘heard it all before’ or ‘who cares?’ It somehow remains vibrant and personal and challenging and true to life. The writer to the Hebrews defines the Word as “living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Wow!

And then of course, it never ceases to surprise us and literally delight us! Have you ever noticed that you can read the same verse a hundred times and suddenly, out pops a meaning you hadn’t thought of before? Like a windscreen wiper will bring vision to a driver, so the Word can bring clarity to a situation in a instant. Eish!

So David draws this comparison – Don’t waste your time doing what everyone else is doing, or follow the ways of the world, rather, get cosy in extreme joy with God’s Word all the time. When we do that we automatically become the recipients of a further promise (not that we need one after all this good stuff), but God promises we are then “Blessed”.

So what are you waiting for? Delight and blessing just by getting stuck into His Word. It’s a win-win!

Paul