Month: June 2023

Job’s friends were brought back to God through his intercessory prayer on their behalf. We even see intercession on the Cross when Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) But how often are we stepping outside of our selfish & self-serving requests to pray on behalf of others…or even taking our eyes off our bellybuttons to look up & beyond to pray for a hurting world? We are called to pray for others…to stand in the gap on behalf of another before our Heavenly Father, praying for His Divine Will, regardless of the circumstances. And pleading that they would recognize & fully understand that God loves them & desires only the very best in their situation.

When friends talk about not growing in the Lord, I use the acronym GROW to help them determine what areas of their walk with the Lord needs attention.

G. Go to a Bible believing & preaching Church. A Church where the infallible Word of God is proclaimed not political/social issues, and the Pastor preaches from the Bible & not some book written by man. Go to a Church where Jesus is honored as the Son of God & Savior of the world, and not just some good man who lived a long time ago. Finally, if you are already part of a Bible believing Church… get involved in some type of Ministry within the Church. Stop being just a consumer on Sundays.

R. Read the Bible daily. As Paul prayed in Colossians, the Word fills you with the knowledge of His Will and understanding so that you may grow in Him. Or as Psalm 119:105 says, ” Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” You can’t expect to grow if the only time you hear God’s Word is on Sunday morning…that’s because you’re only hearing about Him, not experiencing God as you yourself read His Word.

O. Obey God in everything. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Or as II John 6 tells us, “We are to walk in obedience to His commands.” And obedience in everything means just that…everything! No picking & choosing or hiding things in the closet we don’t want to give Him.

W. Witness and tell others about Jesus. Sharing the Gospel with others can be scary, I know…but the Great Commission to go and tell others about the Good News of Jesus is something every Christian needs to do. Paul told the Church in Romans 15:14-21 that he felt they were more than competent to instruct others in the Gospel Message and then quoted Isaiah 52:15, “Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” Sharing Jesus with others is obeying His Word…but think of this possibility, your obedience in witnessing to someone may be the the first & only time they will ever hear about Jesus.

This was Job’s reaction when the Lord confronted him, which is close to Isaiah’s reaction to his vision of God…”Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5) The majesty, power, & astonishment of God had both Job & Isaiah groveling in their insignificance before their Creator, and that stark realization made them well aware of their helplessness & insufficiencies. So why should we be so upset when Satan whispers to us, “You’re worthless.” Or as Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Satan tells me I am unworthy; but I always was unworthy, and yet You have long loved me; and therefore my unworthiness cannot be a barrier to having fellowship with You now.” We are unworthy & will always be unworthy of God’s grace and mercy, but yet, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

It’s quite simple…the righteous love & study God’s Word, the wicked hate it. Faith, discipline & instruction come from revelation of Godly Vision within His Words, and through this knowledge, careful attention to our obligations can be perceived & kept. But when people reject God’s counsel, become unruly & unteachable, they become what Moses called the Israelites in Exodus 32:25, “running wild.” We are told here that happiness is found in knowing God & His Word which is in stark contrast with those who rebel against it. Or as Psalm 119:1-2 paraphrased says, “Blessed are they that walk according to the Law, who keep His statutes, and seek Him with all their heart.

Jesus displayed & demonstrated to His disciples the depth of His love for them by performing the most base & menial task…He washed their feet. Later, He commanded them in the attitude of a servant to do likewise. We are to be eager to serve one another…but we usually put stipulations on it. We want our serving to be adequately recognized, appreciated, and profusely shown gratitude by the person being served. But when Jesus washed the disciples feet He wasn’t looking for accolades or kudos…He was looking for heart changes. In Matthew 6:3 Jesus spoke of giving to the needy & serving them…and that these “acts of righteousness” needed to be done in submission to God & for His glory rather than for personal praise…and they needed to be done without fanfare, and expecting nothing in return…not even a thank you.

We are called to live in such a way that reflects God’s glorious attributes & character. And through the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives, we then are being conformed into the likeness of Christ. (Romans 8:29) Which would be impossible on our own to do in our present physical earthly existence in this corrupt world. But as it says in II Corinthians 7:1, “Since we have these precious promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” Our reverence towards God is then the foundation and principal part of godliness or sanctification… guarding us against unrighteous wants & desires of this world.

Jesus is using the metaphor of the vine and the branches here to show the complete dependence we must have in order to be fruitful. For it’s only when nutrients flow freely from the vine to the branches that fruit can be borne. That’s why no person that’s genuinely united to Christ can be wholly fruitless. So likewise, branches that bear no fruit show a failure to obey God. When we abide or remain in Him, there’s permanence & steadfastness in the relationship…resulting in much fruit. But remember, with the fruitfulness always comes the necessary pruning to increase the crop…and at the time, pruning may be painful. But rest assured, the Master Gardener knows exactly how to prune to insure greater productivity in the future.

As this Scripture shows, there’s only one thing you can dedicate to God – that’s your right to yourself. You can’t give God your faith & trust in Him, because it is Him who gave it to you first. (Romans 12:3) You can’t offer God your gifts & talents, for it’s only by His grace that you have them in the first place. (Romans 12:6) Neither can you hand over your very life, for without God breathing the breath of life into you at birth, you wouldn’t even be here. (Genesis 2:7) So what it comes down to is a battle of the wills over your right to yourself – yours, a selfish, self-serving will – or God’s, a divine & always perfect Will. But if to Christ you do surrender your right to yourself, it becomes an altar where your individual desires die in order that your sanctified surrender can live.

Chapter 7 of the Old Testament prophet Micah is a lament where Micah bemoans the fact that no one righteous can be found…resulting in social & national confusion…that is both the result and punishment of sin and rebellion against God. Jesus, in teaching His disciples about trusting in God alone in Matthew 10:35-37, quotes Micah 7:6…a particularly striking description of the breakdown and division of the family order as sin abounds. Bottom line is this – Jesus demands allegiance that takes priority over the natural ties of life, and therefore, we must place our hope & trust in God alone.

Both Joseph and Nicodemus were wealthy members of the Jewish council of the Sanhedrin. Both were profoundly affected by their encounters with Jesus…but sadly, both were scared to openly profess their faith in Him for fear of reprisals. Their timidity was added to by guilt & shame as they both witnessed the horrors of Jesus hanging on that Cross to die. So moved by it, Joseph boldly asked Pilate for the body & very publicly took it down off the cross…while Nicodemus brought burial spices to properly care for the body. Interestingly enough, none of the Eleven Disciples are mentioned in helping with this Rite. Rather, it was two secret Followers of Jesus, deeply & personally impacted by the Cross, now making public their private decisions… now fearlessly pledging their faith in Jesus Christ .