Tag Archives: giving thanks

THREE LET’S FOR LIFE – 3

Christian Life, ,

Colossians 3:16-17 NLT
[16] “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. [17] And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

Paul doesn’t state the third” let” in so many words but it’s there in essence. Let what comes out of our mouths be a true reflection of what’s inside.

Jesus made this principle clear to His disciples. It’s not what goes in but what comes out that reveals the condition of the heart.

Luke 6:45 NLT
[45] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

A heart made new by God’s grace will overflow with words of praise and gratitude. We must learn to regulate what comes out of our mouths by what we put in. It’s up to us to practise and make a habit of overflowing with words and attitudes that reflect our new nature. Our hearts are like computers. What we put in will come out.

There’s a joy inside of us, there’s new life in our hearts. Let it flow out in expressions of praise and gratitude. Let the message of Jesus first fill our hearts and then flow out of our mouths wherever we are, from the core of our being.

James questions the habit of some who overflow with good and evil words from one fountain. Is this possible? How can this be?

James 3:7-11 NLT
[7] “People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, [8] but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. [10] And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! [11] Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?”

Does this mean that some who claim to be Christians are lying because of what flows from their lips?

God’s salvation does such a radical work on the inside, circumsising our hearts, cutting out the old desires and replacing them with God’s nature, that what is inside us must come out in new words. If there is little or no change, we must question the reality of such a claim. Did salvation really happen? Where is the evidence?

If God’s grace has really changed us on the inside, there will be clear evidence of that change in our lives. Christ’s peace, His message enshrined in His person and entwined in our behaviour, and our response of joyful praise and gratitude from our lips, all tell the story…otherwise, it’s all just plastic fruit we have used to decorate our “tree”. We must let these new habits happen, that is, deliberately and consciously put them into practice to cement the truth of what is in our hearts.

How beautifully Isaiah predicted that one day this great salvation would come to God’s people…and now it’s here!

Isaiah 12:1-6 NLT
[1] “In that day you will sing: “I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not anymore. Now you comfort me. [2] See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” [3] With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! [4] In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! [5] Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. [6] Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”

PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING – 14b

Bible Study, ,

Philippians 4:6 NLT‬
[6] “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

We have some great examples of the link between thanksgiving and prayer in Scripture. The more I read the Word, the more convinced I am that prayer is about having fellowship with the Father and receiving what He has promised rather than about asking Him to do what we want.

Abraham received God’s promise of a son decades before Isaac was born. How did he endure the waiting? He certainly didn’t become impatient or lose hope as time went by. He stood on God’s promise and grew in faith. How did he do that? It’s easy to give up when nothing is happening. Abraham kept his faith growing by “giving glory to God”. As long as he was thanking God instead of complaining or even asking, he had his eyes on God, not on his circumstances.

‭Romans 4:19-21 NIV‬
[19] “Without weakening in his faith, he (Abraham) faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. [20] Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, [21] being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

David is also an excellent example of a man of God who knew how to pray.

‭2 Samuel 7:5, 8, 11, 17-18, 25-26 NLT‬
[5] “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in?…
[8] “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel….
[11]… “‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings!…
[17] So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision. [18] Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?…
[25] “And now, O Lord God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever. [26] And may your name be honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever.”

David prayed God’s promise back to Him and God was faithful to His Word even when David’s descendants forsook the Lord and worshipped idols.

Jesus, our supreme example, thanked the Father for answering Him rather than praying for issues He confronted.

John 6:11 NIV‬
[11] “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.”

‭John 11:41-42 NIV‬
[41] “So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. [42] I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Against the background of His union with the Father and His obedience and submission to the Father’s will, Jesus prayed His thanks, being confident that the Father would always do what He said.

What if, instead of rushing in with our crisis prayers and requests for what we want, we take time to discern the Father’s will or at least are submitted to His ways. Thanksgiving will prepare our hearts to approach Him in humility, allowing Him to be God in all situations. We are disappointed when God does not answer according to our expectations. How much better when we embrace His will with thanksgiving, knowing, as always, that He is working in all things for our good and for His glory.

The Prayer Of Power

Bible Study, , ,

THE PRAYER OF POWER

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better (Eph. 1: 15-17).

Much is spoken and written about the power of prayer, but what about the prayer of power? Paul knew how to pray the prayer of power.

If you were in his shoes, what would you have prayed for these infant Ephesian believers? They had been steeped in superstition, witchcraft and idolatry. They had believed and faithfully adhered to the myths and legends surrounding their beloved Diana and worshipped her with the fervour of religious devotees.

Suddenly, their world was transformed. When they heard the message of Jesus, which was no myth but the truth, based on historical fact. His life and death had happened within their lifetime, and they embraced the message willingly. But what were they to do with the religious “junk” that had filled their minds from birth?

It was a wonder to Paul that they had believed his message and turned away from their belief in idols and their horrible lifestyle, to worship God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He could not stop thanking God for the miracle. Wouldn’t you? But how would they stand up to the pressure of the Roman government? They were the targets of terrible cruelty because they refused to acknowledge Caesar as Lord. How could they, not even to save their lives, because they had confessed Jesus as Lord.

Paul could have pleaded with God to protect them from their persecutors, to keep them safe and to “be with them” wherever they were. These are familiar words, aren’t they? We have prayed prayers like this for our friends and family, haven’t we? How powerful is this kind of prayer? The Apostle John wrote:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him (1 John 5: 14-15).

In their circumstances, what do you think God’s will for them would be? To save them from being persecuted? If that were so, why were so many of them put to death, and by cruel, horrible torture?

Why did He not stop the persecution and deal with the bloodthirsty Nero who ordered it? Is it not possible that God had a plan, even when man’s plan was to exterminate the believers? A quote from one of the church fathers confirms that persecution did not get rid of the problem but fuelled the flames of evangelism and faith.

The 2nd-century Church Father Tertullian wrote that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church,” implying that the martyrs’ willing sacrifice of their lives leads to the conversion of others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_martyrs – retrieved December 2015.

The prayer of power does not focus on the comfort or safety of the ones for who we pray. It centres on God and what He desires through the trials we endure. What does He want for His people? Jesus summed up the Father’s desire in His high priestly prayer recorded in John 17.

Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17: 3).

Do you think God would answer a prayer like that? Of course, He would because He wants us to know Him and His Son, Jesus. He longs for us to experience Him, His love and His mercy, in the fullest way possible. We can only know Him when we open our hearts to Him and allow Him to reveal Himself to us in and through the circumstances of our daily lives.

Unfortunately, we interpret God through our circumstances and end up accusing Him of not loving us, of being indifferent or even punishing us for something we may have said or done. He wants us to understand our circumstances through Him and to respond in faith in Him not matter what happens because He has promised that He will make everything that happens to us work for our good.

When we really know God, when we are willing to trust Him when everything seems dark, when we are convinced that He loves us, no matter what happens, then the trials we face can never destroy us because He has promised that nothing can separate us from His love in Christ Jesus.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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