Praying God's Will

But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. - 2 Timothy 2:16-22

Can you honestly say that you know what God’s will is for your life, or a specific area of your life? Most Christians today do want to know God’s will but many of us are not sure how to find it. The answer lies in His Word, the Bible. It sounds simple, yet so many of us make it more complicated than it needs to be. We need to open the Bible and ask the Lord to speak to us. We need to start praying God’s Word back to Him. It is in praying God’s Word that we begin to truly understand His will for us.

Our Prayer revised from 2 Timothy 2:16-26:

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that I will “shun profane and idle babblings” that increase ungodliness and “spread like cancer.”  Lord, I pray that I “will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful” to You, my Master.  I pray for Your guidance in leading me to “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”  Dear Father, lead me away from “foolish and ignorant disputes” that “generate strife.”  And, Lord, give me a servant’s heart that does not “quarrel but (is) gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition.”  Use me Lord in those whose lives You want to touch “that they may know the truth,” “come to their senses,” and “escape the snare of the devil.”  In Jesus name, Amen.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~

Intercession: The Throne Ministry # 28

Corporately Praying the Word (continued)

Beloved, as we can see, there is tremendous value in corporately reading the Word of God; and whether we are in a local group, or whether we be one who has been privileged to make a stand alone (and even this can take place in the midst of a group that has not yet "seen"), let us know that in the Spirit we are comprehending with all saints the Divine Counsels of God. The following excerpt taken from the book "Gold Cord" by Amy Carmichael (page 76) illustrates this for us:

"A friend, writing of Bishop Wescott, says this beautiful thing about him: "In the presence of the unseen he met all life, and you could not surprise him out of it. In this atmosphere he worked and breathed. Not only God Himself, but the cloud of witnesses, the communion of the unseen body of Christ, were more real to him than the things seen."

And the same friend tells a story of how the Bishop's chaplain, finding him struggling late and minutely one night over the draft of a service for a humble country church, reminded him that the congregation would not be critical. "They are accustomed to anything," he said. With a gentle, surprised smile, such as Elisha's might have been in Dothan, the Bishop looked up from his desk and said, "You forget: who are "the congregation"? We are only an infinitesimal part of it."

[May we explain that this is in no way referring to mysticism or mediums or spiritualists in any form, but this excerpt is referring to the "cloud of witnesses" who have found that to die is to "gain Christ"; it is referring to those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and as a result are in Christ the same as we are, even though they have already passed into the next age.]

And may we add one more thought to this, could not this also explain, in part, that untraceable scripture in Ephesians 3:10 and 11:

"To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the Eternal Purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord"

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 29)

Who Is Like Our God?

Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. -   Micah 7:18-19 

Have you ever known anyone who truly delights in mercy? Think about it for a moment. How many of us really enjoy extending mercy to others? I am not talking about the kind of mercy that we give in times of need or extend to someone because we feel sorry for them. I am talking about the kind of mercy that the Lord extends to us on a continual basis. And not only does the Lord grant us this mercy, but also the Bible says He loves to do it. Isaiah 30:18 says the Lord waits (or longs) to be gracious to us. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how good God is to us. There is no one like our God.

We also need to be reminded of something else concerning our awesome God: He pardons our iniquities and casts our sins into the depths of the sea. He remembers them no more (Isaiah 43:25). So often, we are the ones who hold on to our sins, not God. We are the ones who condemn ourselves, not God. We are the ones who judge ourselves harshly, not God. And, we are the ones who cannot forgive ourselves, but God does. Jesus says that we are to come to His throne of grace with boldness and to take His mercy with the love to which it is extended to us. Jesus died for us so that we may live in freedom, knowing that all of our sins are forgiven, even the ones we have yet to commit.

To our friends, We pray that today can be a new day for you. We pray that you will accept God's mercy and grace with open arms. We pray that you, in turn, will begin to delight in doing the same for others. We pray that you will fall in love with this awesome God who truly does delight in forgiving all of your sins and waits just to be kind and gracious to you. Ask the Lord to open your heart to receive His mercy and take hold of all that He has for you.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~

Intercession: The Throne Ministry # 27

Corporately Praying the Word (continued)

In First Thessalonians 5:27, we are charged by "The Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren." We must read, if we can read for ourselves, but God has also provided that the brethren be read unto, for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).

We must also remember that not all can read and must be read unto by those who can. Colossians 4:16 says: "And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans." Here we find that God is not only making provision for those who cannot read, but also He is letting us know that there is great power in the corporate, prayerful reading of God's Word, as well as in the individual reading of it.

There is great empowerment, revelation, and wisdom granted unto each of us as we come to know accurately the Word of God, and individual reading contributes to this. However, there is an even greater wisdom and revelation and enablement and power that comes forth when we corporately give attendance to reading God's Inspired Word. This is because multiple revelation and instruction is brought forth as we corporately read together, attend unto, hold unto, draw near unto, turn our minds and our thoughts and our spirits unto God's Word. Thus we corporately know, accurately know, in our spirits and our minds and our thoughts what He is revealing unto us.

Now may we also note that this corporate reading does not hinge upon locality, for we have all experienced times when we received certain Scriptures from the Lord, and then heard from some of or brothers and sisters who are located somewhere else, that at the same time they were receiving the same Words of God. And we also need to be aware that "When ye (we) read" the Word of God, as God leads us by and in the Spirit, that there is a "comprehending with all the saints." A comprehending with all saints, not only with the brethren of our time, but also with all those who are "absent from the body, and present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). "When we read" God's Word as He leads, we are comprehending even with those who have gone on before: we are leaning from their measure of the fullness, and they are learning from what we are receiving: - "There is one body, and one Spirit" (Ephesians 4:4).

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 28)

A Necessary but Challenging Lesson

Psalms 27:14

There are many lessons for us to learn in God's School of Obedience. With space for just two, I have chosen principles that aren't easy. Yesterday, we learned that Christians must trust the Lord. Today, let's tackle patience: Believers must learn to wait upon Him.

Have you ever wondered why the psalmist coupled the admonition to wait upon God with encouragement to be strong and courageous? The reason is that sometimes delaying is the hardest thing to do.

Modern culture is in such a hurry. Gotta have it now! Gotta do it now! Can't wait! We've been primed to stay in a permanent state of readiness. It takes courage to be still when the world is rushing past. Everything in us hollers, "Go!" while God whispers, "Wait." But people are quick to act, because they are afraid of missing out on something. Believers who buy into that attitude make a move and then hope God will bless them.

God leaves nothing to chance. He does not place a decision before us with the hope that we'll make the right choice. That would be irresponsible and out of character. The Father is more than willing to show His children what to do, because He is personally interested in their welfare. But until the Lord makes clear what is the way forward, we've got to pause and wait. 

Waiting upon God is not passive. It is not lazy. It is not an excuse to be careless. In fact, the opposite is true. Those who pause are seeking His will—which means that they are praying, searching Scripture, perhaps even fasting. And they are still serving the Lord wherever they can.

~Charles Stanley~

Abundant Forgiveness

“Then Peter came to Jesus and ask, ‘Lord how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seventy times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”Matthew 18:21-22

Sin’s offense hurts. There is no doubt about it. Sin wounds indiscriminately. It is no respectr of persons. Sin builds walls. It ravishes relationships and it separates. Sin is a sorry excuse for wrong behavior. Just the sound of the word solicits negative emotion. Sin is deceptive, carnal and Christ-less. Sin is unfair, sad and sometimes sadistic.

Sin follows a process of desire, conception, birth, maturity and death. James describes its diabolical development. “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:15). So sin is not to be taken lightly. Certainly its infliction of pain cannot be ignored for long. It can kill relationships.

Nonetheless, when you are sinned against you are to forgive. When someone’s sin assaults your attitude, you are to forgive them. When someone’s sin berates your work, you are to forgive them. When someone’s sin violates your trust, you are to forgive them. When someone’s sin steals your joy, you are to forgive them.

When someone’s sin crushes your dreams, you are to forgive them. When someone’s sin steals from you, you are to forgive them. This level of forgiveness is counter-intuitive and counter-cultural, but it is the way of Christ. Forgiveness is God’s game plan. You will lose if you don’t forgive. Unforgiveness is tortuous to the soul. It is unhealthy for the body and emotions. Unforgiveness fills prescriptions and leaves hollow lives in its wake.

It doesn’t matter who is the most right or the most wrong. Forgiveness cuts through the varying degrees of guilt and erases the entire debt. True forgiveness comes from the heart of the one offended. It is not a flippant acknowledgement, but a sincere removal of anything that is owed. When the offended one forgives, he or she wipes out the expectation for an apology, a pay back or change. It is forgiveness clear and simple. Forgiveness is letting go of the hurt, anger and shame. When you forgive you are free. You are free from the shackles of sin. When you forgive you trust God to judge others in His time. His judgment is just. God can be trusted with the consequences of sin’s offense.

Lastly, you continue to forgive others because your heavenly Father continues to forgive you. Without Christ’s forgiveness we are all men and women most miserable. Jesus does not deal in forgiveness quotas. The forgiveness of the Cross was swift, full, final and forever. Unlock your relational restraints with the key of forgiveness. Write a letter with tear soaked ink outlining your forgiveness. Call or e-mail someone today and let them know because you are forgiven, you forgive them. Set free others with forgiveness and you will be set free. There is freedom in Christ. Forgive fast—and forgive often.

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a).

Prayer: Whom by God’s grace do I need to forgive? Have I accepted Christ’s forgiveness?

~Wisdom Hunters Devotional~

God's School of Obedience

1 John 1:3-6

Starting at age five, our children are enrolled in school and given lessons to learn each year. We are students too. At salvation, we became participants in the Lord's school of obedience. There, we are discovering the necessity of trusting Him and waiting for His direction. We are taught the importance of commitment and learn to search His Word for guidance. God also wants us to learn these lessons:

• Listen attentively to the Spirit's promptings. Our God does not speak in an audible voice, but He makes Himself heard quite clearly through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the Spirit is our Helper who will bring to mind Scripture passages we have studied (John 14:26) and show us how they apply.

• Obey the next step. Abraham was called to leave his home and journey to an unknown destination (Gen. 12:1). He obeyed even though the way was unclear to his human mind. We, too, must step out in faith even when we do not know all the details of the itinerary.

• Expect conflict. We can't live obedient lives without having trouble with the world (John 16:33). Our friends or family may drift away when they realize certain interests of ours have changed. Some may hurl criticism our way or call us unkind names, while others may reject us completely.

Practicing a lifestyle of obedience doesn't mean we'll never make mistakes. But it does require diligence if we are to succeed. Obeying the Father was Jesus' priority and purpose in life, and we should make it ours as well. Which of these lessons do you want to tackle first? 

~Charles Stanley~