Friday, November 22, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
How Should We Pray For Our Leaders?
"Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses.” Joshua 1:16, 17
The Israelites lost their beloved leader Moses just when they were arriving at the border of the land promised to them by God after decades of wandering in the wilderness. They might have been overwhelmed with uncertainty had the Lord not already chosen Moses’ successor Joshua, someone they knew and trusted. The people unanimously accepted his leadership and swore unconditional obedience to him. More importantly, they prayed that the Lord would be with him just as he had been with Moses.
It seems an easy task to ask the Lord to be with leaders who are trusted and have proven themselves godly men and women. The challenge comes when they are not, yet 1 Timothy 2:1-4 instructs us to pray for all men, including (maybe especially) our leaders: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
The reason we are to pray is not to bend them to our political will but rather that they will be saved and know truth. We pray because when they (and we) are obedient to God, it goes well for us as a nation as God promises in Deuteronomy 28:1-3: “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.”
It's sobering to read through portions of 2 Kings to see what happened when a king turned away from God, and the blessings the nation received when he was obedient. When those in authority do what is right in their own eyes, refusing to recognize the holiness and sovereignty of God, the nation will suffer. Likewise, when a leader is obedient to the Lord the people are at peace, much like the children of Israel were as they prepared to enter the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership.
When we pray for God to be with our leaders we acknowledge that the Lord is ultimately in control and can follow in obedience. This is a prayer that pleases Him.
The Israelites lost their beloved leader Moses just when they were arriving at the border of the land promised to them by God after decades of wandering in the wilderness. They might have been overwhelmed with uncertainty had the Lord not already chosen Moses’ successor Joshua, someone they knew and trusted. The people unanimously accepted his leadership and swore unconditional obedience to him. More importantly, they prayed that the Lord would be with him just as he had been with Moses.
It seems an easy task to ask the Lord to be with leaders who are trusted and have proven themselves godly men and women. The challenge comes when they are not, yet 1 Timothy 2:1-4 instructs us to pray for all men, including (maybe especially) our leaders: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
The reason we are to pray is not to bend them to our political will but rather that they will be saved and know truth. We pray because when they (and we) are obedient to God, it goes well for us as a nation as God promises in Deuteronomy 28:1-3: “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.”
It's sobering to read through portions of 2 Kings to see what happened when a king turned away from God, and the blessings the nation received when he was obedient. When those in authority do what is right in their own eyes, refusing to recognize the holiness and sovereignty of God, the nation will suffer. Likewise, when a leader is obedient to the Lord the people are at peace, much like the children of Israel were as they prepared to enter the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership.
When we pray for God to be with our leaders we acknowledge that the Lord is ultimately in control and can follow in obedience. This is a prayer that pleases Him.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Faith Over Feeling
"Because of practices invading both the culture and the church that promote experience over doctrine and feeling over faith, Christians might get the idea that they are missing out on something and need "deeper" experiences with God. Although we have a Savior who died for us and we have the scriptures, which are "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3.16, 17), it is being suggested or implied that this is not enough.
Could it be that Christians are not immersing themselves in the study and learning of God's word, and therefore are trying to fill that void with ways to have spiritual experiences? We should remember the power of God's word, and that it is our spiritual nourishment. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12)."
- Marcia Montenegro
Could it be that Christians are not immersing themselves in the study and learning of God's word, and therefore are trying to fill that void with ways to have spiritual experiences? We should remember the power of God's word, and that it is our spiritual nourishment. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12)."
- Marcia Montenegro
Sunday, September 15, 2013
A Test of Faith
"Our loving Father does not wish any child of his to have one moment's anxiety or one unsatisfied need. No matter how great our need may be, no matter how numerous our requirements, if we only "prove him" in the manner he bids us, we shall never have room enough to receive all the blessing he will give (Malachi 3:10).
...Why is it we find it so hard to trust him? Has he ever failed us? Has he not said over and over and over again that he will grant all petitions offered out of a pure heart, "in his name"? "Ask of me"; "Pray"; "Prove me"; "Try me." The Bible is full of answers to prayer - wonderful answers, miraculous answers - and yet somehow our faith fails us, and we dishonour God by distrusting him!"
From The Kneeling Christian by An Unknown Christian
...Why is it we find it so hard to trust him? Has he ever failed us? Has he not said over and over and over again that he will grant all petitions offered out of a pure heart, "in his name"? "Ask of me"; "Pray"; "Prove me"; "Try me." The Bible is full of answers to prayer - wonderful answers, miraculous answers - and yet somehow our faith fails us, and we dishonour God by distrusting him!"
From The Kneeling Christian by An Unknown Christian
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Treasure of a Different Kind
One of my favorite devotionals is Peace For the Journey by Elaine Olsen. Here is an excerpt that spoke to my heart today:
"Jesus speaks to the pull that exists between temporal wants and eternal fulfillment. He charges his followers with the "letting go" of the fleeting and with the "cloaking" of the lasting - an enduring purse filled with the unfailing, untouchable, and the indestructible treasures that await our arrival in our final rest. Indeed, we may not be able to take "it" with us when we go, but we can be certain that "it" is waiting for us when we reach our final destination.
...We may not see the fullness of that inheritance in this day. Rarely do we feel it and, even less likely, do we ever understand it. We simply live in the certainty of it, knowing that our faith will soon be made sight. And when it is, when faith gives way to the glorious rewards of a long and mostly unseen obedience, we will witness the bounty of our deliberate storing. Only heaven is strong enough, deep enough, wide and completely vast enough to bank that kind of faith.
We may not "count it all joy" now, but we will then, after we make one faithful choice after another, until we realize that every current, spirit-spoken "yes" in our hearts has reaped for us an eternal and resolute "yes" in our Father's." (p. 154-155)
Sunday, April 7, 2013
What the Blind Man Saw
Sometimes Jesus passes by and a miracle happens but we miss it because we are blinded by things like problems, pride, fear, and preconceived notions. Our pastor gave a sermon a while back on John 9 which tells the story of how a blind man was healed by Jesus but those around him remained blind to what just happened. Here's how it goes (underline emphasis is mine):
"As He (Jesus) passed by, He saw a man blind from birth and His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." ... When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?" Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one."
So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight." They said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."
They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet."
The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner." He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
So they said to him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?" They reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from."
The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."
They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?" So they put him out. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him."
Jesus passed by and restored sight to a man blind from birth. It was a miracle, something impossible, but what is also amazing is the response of those who witnessed it.
The disciples were concerned about what sin caused the man to be blind in the first place. They were blinded by the problem of why the man was blind instead of anticipating what Jesus was about to do.
The neighbors were concerned whether this could really be the one they knew as the blind beggar. They were blinded by his past and status.
The Pharisees were focused on the fact that Jesus broke the law of the Sabbath by healing someone. They were blinded by rules and regulations.
The parents were more concerned about what others might think. They were blinded by pride and fear.
The only one who really "got it" was the blind man. All he knew was he was blind and now he could see. His eyes, physically and spiritually, were opened and he saw Jesus for who He was. It is almost funny how he responds to everyone who questioned him (and what a grilling he endured!). To the neighbors who seemed to be talking among themselves as if he wasn't there, he seemed to be jumping up and down saying "Hey! Over here! It's really me!" To the Pharisees, I can almost sense the wry humor as he says "now here's an amazing thing...you have no idea who healed me yet I can see for the first time in my life, but you are more concerned about whether he was qualified to do it. Smart guys, you are." And the parents' response was likewise amazing. They should have been thrilled that their son was healed but they were more concerned about offending the leaders and being kicked out of the synagogue than rejoicing in a miracle.
But I sometimes miss the blessing for the same reasons these people did. We all do. Jesus passes by and we let pride, rules, fear of what others will think, and preconceived notions blind us to the blessing of His nearness. He performs nothing short of a miracle and we miss the point of it.
I want to live with eyes open so I see when Jesus is passing by and can take part in the great work He wants to do so that the Father is glorified.
"As He (Jesus) passed by, He saw a man blind from birth and His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." ... When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?" Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one."
So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight." They said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."
They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet."
The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner." He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
So they said to him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?" They reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from."
The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."
They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?" So they put him out. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him."
Jesus passed by and restored sight to a man blind from birth. It was a miracle, something impossible, but what is also amazing is the response of those who witnessed it.
The disciples were concerned about what sin caused the man to be blind in the first place. They were blinded by the problem of why the man was blind instead of anticipating what Jesus was about to do.
The neighbors were concerned whether this could really be the one they knew as the blind beggar. They were blinded by his past and status.
The Pharisees were focused on the fact that Jesus broke the law of the Sabbath by healing someone. They were blinded by rules and regulations.
The parents were more concerned about what others might think. They were blinded by pride and fear.
The only one who really "got it" was the blind man. All he knew was he was blind and now he could see. His eyes, physically and spiritually, were opened and he saw Jesus for who He was. It is almost funny how he responds to everyone who questioned him (and what a grilling he endured!). To the neighbors who seemed to be talking among themselves as if he wasn't there, he seemed to be jumping up and down saying "Hey! Over here! It's really me!" To the Pharisees, I can almost sense the wry humor as he says "now here's an amazing thing...you have no idea who healed me yet I can see for the first time in my life, but you are more concerned about whether he was qualified to do it. Smart guys, you are." And the parents' response was likewise amazing. They should have been thrilled that their son was healed but they were more concerned about offending the leaders and being kicked out of the synagogue than rejoicing in a miracle.
But I sometimes miss the blessing for the same reasons these people did. We all do. Jesus passes by and we let pride, rules, fear of what others will think, and preconceived notions blind us to the blessing of His nearness. He performs nothing short of a miracle and we miss the point of it.
I want to live with eyes open so I see when Jesus is passing by and can take part in the great work He wants to do so that the Father is glorified.
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