From “The Word For You Today” by Bruce Christian

PRAYER (3)

 

“Pray Continually.” 1 Th 5:17 NIV

The Bible says, “Pray continually.”  If you can worry continually, you can pray continually; you just have to change your focus!  Try to picture this:  an enemy army has arrived intent on wiping out Israel.  So Moses says to Joshua, “Take your best soldiers and go fight them. I’m taking two men, climbing the hill that overlooks the plains, raising my hands toward heaven and praying for victory” (See Ex 17:8-9).  As Moses’ hands stretched heavenward, Joshua’s troops prevailed.  But when Moses’s arms grew weary and he dropped them to his side, the tide of battle shifted.  Joshua’s troops were being struck down.  Again Moses stretched his arms toward heaven, bringing the matter before the Lord.  Immediately the battle’s momentum shifted back to Joshua.  Then it struck Moses-He must keep his arms outstretched toward Heaven if he wants to open the door to God’s supernatural intervention here on earth.  There’s a lesson here: if you are willing to invite God to involve Himself in your daily living you’ll experience His power in your home, your relationships, your career, and wherever else it’s needed.  But the other side of the equation is sobering: It’s hard for God to release His power in your life when you just put your hands in your pockets and say, “I can handle this on my own.”  If you do that, don’t be surprised if you get the nagging feeling that the tide of battle has shifted against you and that you’re powerless to do anything about it.  To experience God’s power in your life you must pray continually, pray scripturally, and pray in faith.

 

My Prayer to the Father, August 21, 2012

Heavenly Father
I come to You, Father
Knowing that You are the Great God;
The Eternal God.
That You are defined
By
Love
Mercy
Compassion
Forgiveness
Justice
Holiness
And Truth,
And that these are all
You;
You are all these things.

Heavenly Father
How little we know of You;
With what arrogance
Do we presume upon You.
To think with our finite
Minds that we
Can understand You
Or think we should ever
Be able to know
All You are.

Heavenly Father
My prayer is a simple one
But one I feel we all need.
Father, I ask You
To help my brothers and sisters
To know:
That Your love is bigger,
Wider, deeper,
Than we can ever imagine;
That Your mercy
Extends beyond
What we are
capable of receiving.
That Your compassion
Knows no bounds;
That Your forgiveness
Is available
To anyone who
Sincerely desires it.

Heavenly Father
Let us never forget
That You are Just.
That Your justice
Is as big, wide, and deep
And Your eternal love.
That without Holiness
We shall never see You.
And most of all,
That without Your truth,
As You have decreed it
We shall never
Know You.

In Jesus name, I pray,
Amen.

From “Day-By-Day By Grace” by Bob Hoekstra

A Precious Promise of God’s Completing Work

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phi_1:6)

Now, we return to the category we are calling “precious promises.” (2Pe_1:4). Here we have a priceless one concerning God’s commitment to complete the wonderful work of salvation that He began at our new birth.

If our faith is in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God has started a tremendous saving work on our behalf: ” He who has begun a good work in you.”

He has made us new creatures in His Son. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2Co_5:17). He has supplied us with immeasurable heavenly resources. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph_1:3). What a grand work has been started in us. Yet, God’s saving work is “so great a salvation” (Heb_2:3). Thus, whatever He has already been accomplished with us is only a part of the whole. Wherever we are in this glorious process, there is some completing work that God desires to do. He wants to bring into our understanding, our character, and our daily experience more of that which is fully ours in Christ.

Furthermore, our God wants us to be confident concerning this matter: “Being confident of this very thing.” As noted in our previous meditation, God does not want people living in self-confidence. That misplaced trust is just another form of pride. This does not mean that we Christians are to be without confidence in our lives. It does mean that all of our confidence is to be placed in the Lord. “And we have such trust [confidence] through Christ toward God” (2Co_3:4). Our Lord wants us to have strong assurance in Him that He will complete this work in us.

Also remember, this saving work of God is done within our lives: “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.” The Lord has established an eternal position for us with Him in heavenly places: “and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph_2:6). Yet, He wants to effect a godly walk for us here on earth. “Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Eph_4:1). This walk is not based upon human theories of behavior modification. Our Lord Himself develops this in and through our hearts. “Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight” (Heb_13:20-21).

Dear Lord, I long to walk in more of the reality of that which is mine in Christ. Thank You for these words that build my confidence in You. I humbly repent of my self-confident attempts to do what only You can do. I look to You anew and alone!

From “Light and Truth: Bible Thoughts and Themes,” by Horatius Bonar

The Apostolic Only.

“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” – Php_1:27.

Only! Was this all? Yes, all, in the sense of its being one chief, main thing; pre-eminent above others. As he says for himself elsewhere, ‘This one thing I do;’ so here, he says to them, Only! Ah, what stress he lays upon a godly life, a consistent walk! Whatever be your earthly lot, be it joy or sorrow; whatever your gifts, your privileges, your enemies, or your friends-keep this in special remembrance, as if it were the one thing in life; be men of one idea, one desire, one purpose-live a holy life! How earnestly does the apostle inculcate this!

The word ‘conversation’ is a peculiar one. It does not mean speech or intercourse; it refers to our general deportment or manner of life as citizens-our citizen-life. We have a double citizenship; earthly and heavenly. We are still men in the flesh, citizens of earthly cities; and in the living of this citizen-life, we must not forget whose we are;-we must remember the gospel, and Him whose gospel it is. Our heavenly citizenship we must ever keep in mind, and walk worthy of it; for we are citizens of no mean city-of the joyous city. Let our whole life, with all its goings out and comings in, in every relationship, civil, social, domestic, be ‘as becometh the gospel.’

It is by the gospel that the apostle would have us test ourselves, and mould our life. It was with the belief of this gospel that our life began; thus let it go on. The gospel lifted us up to a higher level; let us remain there, or rather, let us ascend still higher. To bring out this, let us see what sort of gospel it is that we have come into the possession of.

I. It is a gospel of peace-Let us who have believed it walk at peace and in peace; possessors of peace, and makers of peace. Let peace be written on our forehead and speak out in every word, look, motion. Let us be witnesses for peace; living symbols of peace; seeking the things which make for peace, and which will commend, to all who see or hear us, the peace of God.

II. It is a gospel of liberty.-It has brought us into liberty, and broken our yoke. Let us walk as freemen; our whole lives a witness for true freedom. Let our citizen-life be the life of liberty. The Son has made us free; let us see that we be free indeed; that we commend to the bound world the liberty of Christ.

III. It is a gospel of gladness.-There is no gloom in it; and there ought to be none in those who believe it. It should make our faces shine,- shine all over, so that we may make all men see and feel what a happiness it contains. Walk worthy of this happy gospel. Let men see what a treasure you have within. Rejoice in the Lord. Let your joy be ever full, and overflowing. Let your whole life, your citizen-life, your whole deportment, be an exhibition of this happy gospel.

IV. It is a gospel of light-There is no darkness in it. It is all light; all like Him with whom the light dwelleth, who is light, and in whom is no darkness at all. Let us shine; let our life be a bright one. Let our whole demeanor be brightness, like that of the gospel which we profess. Let our ways and words be all brightness. Let us be children of the light and of the day. Our dwelling is in a dark world. Let not that darkness mar or absorb our light, but rather intensify and enhance it. Let each day’s darkness in the world be met with new brilliance in us. Let us bring out the contrast nobly; and so have our conversation as becometh the gospel of light.

V. It is the gospel of holiness.-A holy gospel; a gospel concerning deliverance from sin; a gospel meant to secure holiness; a gospel which embodies the holiness of a holy God. All in and about this gospel is holy. Let our conversation, our citizen-life, be as becometh this gospel. Let us exhibit it, adorn it by a holy life. An inconsistent life is a scandal, a reproach against the gospel. Let us be consistent, circumspect, watching our ways and words. Let it be seen that we are citizens of the holy city.

VI. It is the gospel of Christ.-He is its all; its sum and burden. The news which are so good are about His person and His propitiation; His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His second coming. We are to walk as becometh such a gospel! We are to live as men who believe in such a Christ as this! If this thought were ever before us, should we not be more on our guard against all sin, more intent on advancing in holiness? Shall we not seek to honour the gospel of Christ? Shall we trifle with it, or treat it as a common thing?

VII. It is the gospel of the kingdom-It brings us the good news of the heavenly, the everlasting kingdom. It points us to the open gate into it. It makes us heirs of it. In that kingdom is the city of which we are heirs; the city which hath foundations, into which nothing that defileth shall enter; where all is perfect, glorious, divine; the New Jerusalem. Let us remember our heirship, our citizenship, and walk accordingly. With such a hope, let us be holy; let us set our affection on things above; let us hold fast; let us be faithful; let us live here as sons, kings, priests; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.