Last week, Jesus called his Disciples for the first time, this week they're going to see him in action, confronting a demoniac in the synogogue. Synogogues were not commanded in the Old Testament, they were initiated after the return from captivity from Babylon with a people group known as the Sophrim, or scribes, started by Ezra. Their point was to make certain that people wouldn't fall into the sin that lead to their exile. They started off correctly, but fell into the trap of creating things that God did not command. Through a process called PilPol, they took a majority vote on creating new laws, and even made these new laws equal, in their view, to the Word of God. They justified it by saying that Moses gave them a Written Law, but this was an Oral Law that was also passed down, which, of course, wasn't true.
They are also in Capernaum, which will become Jesus' base of operations from this point forward. He will often return to Capernaum before setting out for another location. While in the synagogue at Capernaum Jesus encounters the demoniac who asks Jesus what business He has being here. The demoniac was upset because Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. Everyone was impressed with Jesus because He spoke with authroity, something not done by other Rabbis in that day. Rabbis had a common practice of quoting other Rabbis to make their points and arguements. Jesus, however, did not do this. He quoted only from God's Word and exposited according to only His own counsel. This, obviously, would have been unheard of .
The unclean spirit, however, proceeded to tell everyone who Jesus was! Jesus did not want this to happen. Rather, He chose to work within established religious means, that God had ordained. He also did not wish to accept the testimony of a demon for His ministry. They were not exactly the most reliable of witnesses and even though what demons spoke of Jesus was true, Jesus did not accept their testimony. Instead He bid it to be quiet and to leave the possessed man.
Obviously this created quite a stir in the locals who saw this, but more importantly for the Disciples with Jesus. The common people went and told all of Galilee about Jesus, which will have ramifacations in Galilee from now on.
The amazing thing about this passage is just how much authority Jesus has. He has entered God's house where He was most at home and taught about the Word. He did not teach as man did, but taught as someone who had more intimate knowledge. Let us consider what teachings we're relying on. Are we regarding teachers or men as higher than what God says? Do we add things to the Word of God that aren't in there so that we feel more Holy? This week, brethren, as we read God's Word let's take it at face value and not read into it anything else. Let's not judge others for things God does not Judge in His Word. Instead, let us become gracious and full of wisdom so that we might have an intimate knowledge of God and His Word, as Jesus did, and now allows us to do.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Mark 1:14-20
Today we get to see Jesus choosing some of His disciples! This is amazing as this is the first act we see since He was tested in the wilderness by Satan. Our passage will be Mark 1:14-20. Let us consider the implications of those He chooses and how we can become better disciples of Jesus based upon those implications.
First off Jesus comes to Galilee AFTER John had been arrested. We know that John was arrested by Herod the tetrarch for calling out Herod’s sin. We also know that Herod was the ruler over the region of Galilee, the very region that Jesus is returning to. It is very pertinent then that we see how Jesus is preaching the same message that John left off with (v. 15). Jesus is saying the kingdom of God is at hand. How is it at hand? Where is the kingdom? Why it is with Jesus, of course, as He is the rightful king! Yet aside from angels, His kingdom doesn’t appear to be full of many citizens… yet.
Jesus chooses His first four disciples, in Mark’s Gospel narrative, who are fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. We know from John’s Gospel account that this isn’t the first time that Jesus called Peter and Andrew, but here is where they really follow Jesus. Jesus calls them though, by saying He’ll make them fishers of men, and immediately they follow Jesus. I’ll talk more about this later, but it is interesting that Jesus promises them this if they follow Him, and it’s that promise that Mark records which causes them to follow Him.
A little further Jesus encounters James and John, sons of Zebedee, whom He also calls. They leave their father in the boat with their hired servants and follow Jesus. They literally leave their inheritance behind! Zebedee was a fisherman by trade also, and his livelihood was in that fishing boat, but James and John account it worth more to follow Jesus than to gain their worldly inheritance. What an example! What would it be like if we were to consider any of our inheritances as nothing to simply follow Jesus!
We started by talking about the kingdom of God, as Jesus did in v. 15. Jesus is choosing, as the first disciples in His kingdom, four fishermen in Galilee. These aren’t priests, respected Pharisees or lawyers, these aren’t even culturally learned men used to debating in the Greek fashion. These are simple fishermen. Why then does Jesus choose these men? Simple: to make them fishers of men. There are a lot of similarities between fishing and evangelizing. You need the right bait. You need to go where the fish are and when they’re biting. You need to have patience when things aren’t going well, but you also need to be prepared with the nets when they are. You need to be prepared for good and bad weather, and you need to find a place for those fish immediately after they are caught.
So brothers and sisters, how would we measure up? If Jesus were just starting His kingdom anew, would we meet the criteria to help grow the kingdom? Are we growing the kingdom at all today? Are we willing to give up worldly inheritances for Jesus? Are we subject to ourselves, or to the King? May we keep in mind that the Bible isn’t our story, and evangelism isn’t about us. As we study the Bible and pray may our hearts always be set upon Jesus, and may we want, above all, His Will to be done. Amen.
Mark 1:9-13
This week we’ll be making a comparison between Moses and Jesus. Our passage is Mark 1:9-13 and I hope we’ll be able to see they have many things in common. While I can’t say for certain that this comparison is what Mark was intending in these verses or in his Gospel account, I can say for certain that Jesus is supposed to be compared to Moses (Deut 18).
First of all we see in those days, meaning that in the days in which John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing people from all over Judea, Jesus came down from Nazareth in Galilee to be baptized. Now Galilee is in the northern portions of what we know as Israel. Galilee would not be under the same jurisdiction as Pilate, but rather under the jurisdiction of Herod the tetrarch. Jesus is leaving that region to come visit His cousin, John. Jesus was there baptized in the Jordan River.
Immediately the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and came upon Jesus. This shows a parallel between the first baptism, by water, and the second baptism of the Holy Spirit. This should ring some bells as to what we covered last week (v. 8 John baptizes with water, Jesus with the Holy Spirit). This shows the two-fold baptism of Jesus, the first being into death, the second into life (Romans 6). Now a voice came out of Heaven and told Jesus that He was God’s beloved Son, in Whom God is well pleased. First off, this should be a key passage promoting the Tri-Unity of God, what with the Father speaking, the Holy Spirit descending, and Jesus receiving. Next it shows that God is pleased in Jesus. We don’t know that Jesus did anything in Mark’s Gospel other than being baptized at this point so it can only allude to things Jesus has done previously, things not recorded, things in Jesus’ character, or things to come. Either way God is well-pleased!
Immediately the Spirit impels (from the root to throw) Him into the wilderness where He is tested for forty days by Satan and being ministered to by angels. Wow! What a turnaround! This is the first act we see Jesus doing after His baptism and it is something the Spirit impels Him to do. Forty is often times a prescribed time of testing for God. This is especially true for Moses. Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days receiving the commands of God. He spent forty years wandering in the wilderness with the lost sheep of Israel so the new generation could be ready to enter the Promised Land. Well here too, Jesus is being tested for forty days, and His testing is so severe that Satan himself was doing the tempting. Now we know from other Gospel accounts (Matthew and Luke) that Jesus resisted Satan’s misuse of scripture. Jesus passes His test, just as Moses passed his test.
There are many other parallels between Moses and Jesus, they both cut a covenant between God and men, they both intercede on Israel’s behalf, they both are aptly named, they both lead their people out of Egypt (literal and figurative), they both speak face-to-face with God, they both are lead by the Holy Spirit, they both are prophets, and they both are chosen by God to lead His people.
Jesus is a prophet like Moses. This is an amazing thing to realize, because it is our goal to be more like Jesus every day and become sanctified by His Word and Spirit. However, Moses isn’t compared to Jesus in the sense we don’t say ‘Moses was a prophet like Jesus’, nay, but rather ‘Jesus was a prophet like Moses’! That’s amazing! What a compliment to have the very Son of God compared to you! Dear brothers and sisters let us strive every day to be more like Jesus, not in the hopes that He would be compared to us, no, that is not something we should hope for, but as believers and followers of Him, let us strive through our testing to be compared to Him. That is the highest compliment we could ever hope to receive.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Mark 1:2-8, John and Us
Today we’re going to look at John the Baptist in Mark’s Gospel account! This is exciting as John is a very interesting character in the Gospel accounts. His ministry, as we will hopefully see, is similar to our ministry. As we consider what he was in relation to Jesus, let us also consider our places, relative to our Savior.
Starting in verse 2 of chapter 1, we get to prophesies about John. This alone should key us into the fact that John is a very important figure. Now the Hebrew Bible is similar to our Old Testament with some slight differences. It is called the Tanakh, which is a acronym for its composition: the Torah, which are the five books of Moses, the Nevi’im which is the prophets, and finally the Ketuvim, which is the writings. Within these lie some differences with our Old Testament such as Daniel being one of the writings, not within the prophets and Joshua, Judges, Kings, and Samuel being found within the prophets. This is all to say that when Mark refers to Isaiah in verse 2, he is quoting from the Nevi’im as a whole, as we can see from verse 2 being a quote from Malachi and verse 3 being a quote from Isaiah (3:1 and 40:3, respectively). Malachi also foretold that John would have the spirit of Elijah (4:5).
From these prophesies we see John’s mission, to prepare the way for Jesus and to make His paths straight. And so, in verse 4, we see John appearing in the wilderness preaching baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is interesting on many accounts. First, John is in the wilderness preaching this, not Jerusalem or the Temple or a synagogue or anywhere else we might normally expect. Second he’s telling them to repent. Now we know from Luke’s Gospel account that John as a Nazarite from birth. This interestingly puts a parallel between John and another famous Nazarite, Samuel. They both were Nazarites, they both preached repentance, and they both attempted to turn Israel back to God and eventually to their King (David and his descendant and Lord, Jesus).
Next in verse 5 we see all the country of Judea going and people of Jerusalem, to be baptized in the Jordan River (an Old Testament symbol for the baptism of the Israelites in Joshua). These people came confessing their sins and were so baptized. Now we know that baptism is a symbol of death and dying to self (Romans 6), and so these people were agreeing to die to themselves and repent (turn back to God).
Verse 6 tells us of the character and nature of John. He wore simple clothes of camel’s hair and a leather belt and ate locusts and honey. This is a very simplistic life. It shows first that he was not attached to the things of this world. Also it shows his dependence upon God. Surviving in the wilderness is no small task and locust and wild honey cannot be grown or produced (otherwise it wouldn’t be wild!). John was fully dependant on God to carry out God’s mission for John.
And he was preaching, in verses 7-8, that Jesus would come and be greater than John. So much so that John would be unable to even loose the thongs of His sandals. (What humility on John’s part, in spite of the many people coming to hear his message and to be baptized!) This coming person would baptize with the Holy Spirit, unlike John’s baptism of water. This shows not only that the Spirit is about to bring life in contrast to the water’s death, but also the magnificence of the person to come! By agreeing to this baptism the people were, in effect, agreeing to die to themselves and to follow whomever John pointed out as the one who would baptize with the Spirit. This is quite a confession!
It is amazing to consider the work that John performed and his unique ministry in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His was to be no small role and the prophecies of him reflect that. Yet our ministry is very similar to his. He was called to point people to Christ, we are called to point people to Christ. He baptized people who agreed to follow the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit, we the church, baptize people with water who have agreed to follow He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John had the people repent and confess their sins so they might be forgiven, as we do with new disciples today! Finally, John foretold the coming of the Messiah, and so we to are to foretell of the Second Coming of the Messiah of Israel.
Brothers and Sisters let us consider our role in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, albeit a minor one. We have such a privilege to share this Good News with others. We are to subsist purely on God for all of our needs. We need to point people to Christ in a similar way with as much humility as John. Remember, we too are not worthy to loose the thongs of His sandals. May we carry out our mission with reverence and humility and not lose sight of Jesus, who is coming again to rule and reign. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Mark, Introduction
We have decided to cover Mark’s account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ next! This is exciting as it is the first book study we’ve covered since this Lifegroup’s inception. It is only fitting that the first book we study as a fellowship of Christians is the life and ministry of Jesus the Messiah. In order to fully understand Mark’s Gospel, we should first of all cover who Mark was and why he chose to write the things in his account of the Gospel he did. Obviously, the Holy Spirit is the true author and Jesus is the Word incarnate, but there are things we can glean from studying the human author as well.
Our first introduction of Mark (as many scholars believe) is in Mark’s own Gospel narrative! In chapter 14 of Mark’s Gospel account, we come upon Jesus’ arrest and betrayal within the Garden of Gethsemane.
And they all left Him and fled. A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked. Mark 14:50-52
First we see Jesus’ disciples leaving Him en masse. However one person stayed behind: a nearly-naked youth. Literary critics believe this is Mark’s way of showing himself. In a similar fashion, John, in his Gospel account, refers to himself as ‘the beloved disciple’ or ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. This was, as scholars tell us, a way for authors to show themselves within their text.
If this is Mark, however, what does this tell us about him? First it shows his faithfulness to follow Jesus even after His own disciples had left Him. It also speaks to Mark’s boldness as there was a massive cohort of individuals there to arrest Jesus, yet Mark persisted in following. It also shows peculiarly that Mark was underdressed, as it were. This may be an allusion to not yet having the Garments of Salvation, which Isaiah spoke of, but it certainly tells us that this youth made a brash and probably instantaneous decision to follow Jesus into the garden, and especially so to follow Him after He was arrested!
We also encounter Mark, also called John, in Acts 15:37-41, where Barnabas and Paul have a disagreement over Mark. Paul argues that Mark is unfaithful having deserted them in Pamphylia and does not wish to take Mark with them. Barnabas, however, being an encourager by nature, and someone who in the past encouraged Paul when Paul’s ministry first began, wishes to take Mark with them and encourage Mark along the way. The disagreement was so harsh (v. 39) that they had to separate and go their separate ways. While neither Barnabas or Paul was wrong in what they believed, per se, we (given the glorious benefit of hindsight and the completed Word of God) know that Mark went on to write one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus.
Also even Paul saw Mark’s usefulness later in life, as in his final epistle, written to Timothy, he writes and asks that Timothy should pick up Mark and bring him with Timothy because he is useful to Paul (2 Timothy 4:11). Mark, it appears has come quite a long way from being a naked youth, to a deserter, to someone useful to Paul. This takes us to the Gospel according to Mark.
First it should be known that Mark is writing his Gospel account primarily to Romans. Whereas Matthew wrote to Jews, Luke to Gentiles, and John to the church as a whole, Mark is writing to people whose culture and heritage was particularly Roman. This means that Mark places a lot of emphasis on things that would appeal to Romans. These include a sense of immediacy (he uses the word ‘immediately’ frequently), the sense of Jesus having a purpose or mission and carrying out that mission as a perfect soldier/servant, and finally it shows Jesus’ obedience to His Father. These things in particular would appeal to Romans whose chief exemplar of model citizenship would be a Roman soldier.
With this in view, let’s look at Mark’s introduction:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1
This simple introduction to Mark’s Gospel account actually says a lot. First off, he begins with the word beginning. This same word is found to begin both the book of Genesis and John’s Gospel. This is to show that this is a new beginning. A new start for humanity, found through Christ. Next he calls Jesus the Christ, which means ‘anointed one’ in Greek (or Messiah in Hebrew). This signifies that Jesus was anointed for His ministry. Christ has come to mean savior to many people, and they’re not entirely wrong to think that as Jesus was anointed to save, but it means anointed one. Finally Mark refers to Jesus as the Son of God. This denotes not only Jesus’ submission to God the Father (remember Romans seek obedience), but also His prophesied role (Proverbs 30:4 for instance) (and His mission).
This is quite a thing to study and I simply cannot wait to get into Mark’s Gospel account. Let us take Mark’s example. Though he started out a brash youth without much fortitude, he ended up being useful to Paul and also God and went on to pen a Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. What an amazing journey! Consider dear friends, the same God who was at work in Mark’s life is in work in you. Though you may at times fail or desert your post, Jesus came to forgive you of your sins, so that you might carry on His righteousness and tell the world about the God News of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel. Amen!
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Law IV: A Harsher Law
A lot of people suggest that living under the Law would’ve been so difficult, and they are certainly right. No one but Jesus Himself was able to keep the law perfectly. That said, how much more difficult was it for the Jews in the Old Testament than for modern believers? Do we have any laws that are difficult to follow, and how do they stack up to the Old Testament Laws.
Let’s consider some of the Ten Commandments again, since they should be fresh in our minds from last week. The first one we’ll look it is the commandment not to murder. This seems simple enough at first, but confusing afterwards. What is the difference between murdering and killing for war? Was Joshua justified in killing for God when He went to war? Surely he was, as God commanded it. How about when one Hebrew would kill another? Well if it was premeditated it would be considered murder and they would be put to death. If, however, it was accidental, the Hebrew could flee to a city of refuge and if found not guilty of murder, he would be allowed to live within the city of refuge for the rest of his days (or until the high priest passed away).
Now for Christians there are not cities of refuge so it shouldn’t be ambiguous for us, right? Well many Christians will argue over things like the death penalty for the worst criminals and whether this constitutes as murder for us. Or they will argue whether Christians should be police offers or members of the armed services where deadly force may be necessary. Unfortunately (or fortunately) these questions are outside the scope of what we’ll be discussing, but they need to be brought up as they pertain to the difference between Christians and an Old Testament Hebrew living under Mosaic Judaism.
Let’s look at Matthew 5:21. Jesus explains that while they have been told to not murder, He expounds on this to include not only murder but also harboring anger towards a brother. Jesus equates having anger for a brother to actually murdering one! Now let’s consider our Old Testament law of simply not murdering. How does Jesus’ take on it compare to the simple reading? Surely Jesus expects even more!
How about Jesus’ take on adultery in verses 27-28? Jesus says that simply by looking at a woman with lust, one is guilty of adultery! Is this more difficult than simply not committing adultery in the Ten Commandments? Surely it is!
How then are we to think of the law compared to our law (the Law of Christ 1 Corinthians 9:21)? Surely our law is harsher. Jesus expects more of us than was expected under the Old Testament version of these laws. How then are we able to comply if no one could keep the less harsh version of those laws? Through the Holy Spirit, grace, and mercy of our God and by remaining humble through all things. Dear brothers and sisters, let’s strive to keep Jesus’ commandments and to be perfect as He is perfect, fully knowing that we are not perfect this side of eternity, but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the plurality of the church, and through our own sanctification we can become more like Christ each day. Amen!
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Law III: Ten Commandments II
This week we’ll continue to look at the Ten Commandments, but this time with a different focus. In order to fully understand the law as Moses would’ve seen it, we need to understand our verticals ↕ and our horizontals ↔. Verticals↕ have to do with humans, humanity, God, salvation, and the relationship between all of these things. In present day Christianity, the majority of what preachers and Bible teachers speak on is vertical ↕. Horizontals ↔, however, have to do with God’s overarching plan for humanity. For instance Creation in Genesis 1 would be an example of something horizontal. So too would be the Old Testament Law, as Israel was to be a kingdom of priests (Leviticus 19:6).
With this in mind, let’s take another look at the 10 Commandments in Deuteronomy 5. The first four commandments are most certainly vertical ↕. They have to do specifically with God’s relationship with His people. Having no other Gods, having no idols, not taking the Lord’s name in vain, and keeping the Sabbath are all examples of our relationship with God on a vertical ↕ scale. The next six commandments, however, deal primarily on the horizontal ↔ scale. They deal with man’s relationship with others and are, therefore, a representation of what God’s plan is to be through the execution of His Chosen People.
Next let’s look at the correlation between these laws. The first two laws come with a warning that God is jealous and He will bless those who love Him, but will curse those to the third and fourth generation due to iniquity (verses 9-10). First off this is a vertical ↕ commandment, but look at the penalty. Does keeping this law result in salvation? Not at all! Instead it results in God blessing His followers temporally. These are a vertical↕pair of laws with a horizontal ↔ blessing. Let’s look now at verse 16, and the commandment to honor parents. This too comes with a similar blessing. God will prolong the days of those who honor their parents. Why are these two blessings so similar? It’s because they have a direct correlation. By affirming parent’s authority, you are affirming (horizontally ↔) God’s authority (vertically ↕). God has established that parents are to have authority over their children and so by acknowledging that authority, you are inherently acknowledging God’s authority to delegate parental authority.
If you aren’t confused (which I pray you aren’t!) let’s continue on to the next commandment, do not take the Lord’s Name in vain. This is again, vertical ↕, but God warns those who do that they will not go unpunished (↔). The horizontal ↔pairing for this commandment is the list of commandments 6-9. They all start the same way “do not” and the idea is that by not murdering, stealing, committing adultery, or bearing false witness you are affirming God’s Holy Name. Remember when we studied prayer how Holy God’s name was and is. Only people who know God can take His name in vain, because only they know Him well enough to do so. By murdering or breaking those other commandments on a horizontal ↔ scale, you are defaming His name (↕) as His people.
Finally the Sabbath and coveting have the same ending pattern. These two should be the most obvious to correlate because they go on and on about who should rest on the Sabbath and who/what you aren’t to covet, down to servants, oxen and donkeys. The idea is God has control over all things, time and things and by working on His holy day, you are profaning Him. So too coveting something that isn’t yours suggests you want/need something God hasn’t provided for you and questions His capabilities/authority.
This was a dense subject, but hopefully you can get a grasp on verticals ↕ and horizontals ↔ as well as see the Ten Commandments in a new way you hadn’t before. The way God through Moses intended. God is omniscient and He placed these bits of grain for us to find, to be fed through His Spirit, that we might worship Him more fully.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Law II: Ten Commandments
First let's consider the first commandment: Have no other Gods before Him. This should immediately bring up thoughts of the creation narrative. In Genesis 1 we don't see any interaction with other gods, we only see the assumed nature that there is only one God. We also see that we aren't to have any idols for number 2. In Genesis 3 we see Eve and Adam make an idol out of themselves by trying to become gods themselves through the forbidden fruit. Paul tells us that greed amounts to idolatry, that certainly would be true of Adam and Eve.
Next we seek that we shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain. Hopefully this brings to notion our relationship with God. We should know who God is, but also know Him personally. You cannot take His name in vain if you don't know Him. You might know the President of the United States, or you might just know who they are. This was broken when Adam & Eve ate the fruit, betraying God, whom they knew. The Sabbath should be plainly obvious being drawn from Genesis 1. Just as God rested we are to rest.
Honor our parents should be obviously from both Adam and Eve's rebellion against their Father in Heaven. The next few, do not murder, commit adultery, or bear false witness are also seen in this part of Genesis. Murder is brought about through the eating of the fruit, and thus death entered the world. Adultery shows purity which was lost when Adam and Eve realized they were naked and then bore false witness to God by hiding and then casting the blame one after the other from Adam to Eve to the Serpent.
Finally, the idea of coveting comes from Eve's looking upon the forbidden fruit. The serpent tempted her and she coveted being like God. So she coveted the fruit as it was desirious to the eyes, looked delicious to eat, and was boasted to give her wisdom.
Hopefully this has shown that the 10 Commandments weren't arbitrarily formed, but rather God, through His wisdom ordained them based upon past human failures to show us His excellence, His standards, our shortcomings, but also God's foreknowledge and over-arching plan. May this encourage us to strive continually to be like Jesus, and have peace knowing that God is in control whether we succeed or fail.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Introduction to the Law
When people think of God what attributes come to mind: omniscience, omnipresence, mercy, or wrath? Do people relegate some attributes to the Old Testament God rather than the New Testament? We Christians know that God is the same and does not change (the immutable attribute), but sometimes we fall into a worldly pitfall and think of God differently in Leviticus than we do in Romans. In order to understand the law and all its intricacies, we must first understand why we need a law in the first place. As with everything else, our reasons begin in Genesis.
In Genesis 1 we see the order in which God created all things. We see His omniscience when He names things like “Day” and “Night”, but we also see Him not name things like the stars and the planetary bodies. This is not a glaring oversight, but it is to show His sovereignty. False gods in the middle-east would name the stars or perhaps the stars would be gods themselves, according to their respective tradition. In Judaism and Christianity, outer space (also known as the second heaven) is considered almost unimportant, except to show the power and infinite nature of God. Everything of significance occurs upon either earth or Heaven (the third Heaven, where God is).
We also see in Genesis the fall of Adam and Eve. They were tempted by the serpent and gave in. First of all they gave in because they didn’t know the scriptures, but also because of their covetous desire. It was in their fall that sin entered the world, thus ensuring the need for a law. At their time they had only one law: do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fact that this law was broken illuminates why every other law was broken from this time forward.
As we begin our study of the law it is important to keep these two things in mind, first that God is the same today as He was when He gave the law to Moses. Also that our salvation is contingent upon Messiah always and that keeping the law either during the time of the Old Testament or today will not assure you of salvation, only grace through faith in Jesus. Second, that we all fell in creation and that the law will be predicated upon the assumption of our knowledge of this. Job had no knowledge of Genesis, we however, do. Let’s use this knowledge to interpret the law through a historic and Biblical lens, to better understand what it meant for Old Testament believers and modern ones.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Prayer final
We’ve been talking about prayer and what it means for Christians, as well as how to pray and prayer as a science. Today we’re looking at the culmination of these studies. For that, let’s look at the Lord’s Prayer for His Disciples in Matthew 6:5-13. This prayer should be familiar to most, if not all, Christians. This is the most quoted prayer and the most memorized passage of the scriptures with Psalm 23 being a close second. This is how Jesus taught to pray and so there must be plenty we can learn from this prayer, or rather that we have already learned. You see for the past ten weeks we’ve been studying this prayer.
“Our Father who art in Heaven,” was studied in week 4 when we looked at incense and prayer throughout the Bible and where it culminates in Revelation. We know that our prayers last forever in Heaven and are a soothing aroma to God. We also know that we pray to God the Father specifically, who resides in Heaven.
Next we studied “Hallowed be thy name,” by looking at what it means when we pray in Jesus’ name. We concluded that it was as if Jesus was praying Himself. That it was stamped with His approval. Just as the Roman Centurion sent people in his name who were recorded as if he himself went, so too when we pray it should be as if we were requesting things precisely as Jesus would request and petition them.
“Thy kingdom come, they will be done , on earth as it is in Heaven,” was studied through the context of the Holy Spirit working within us. You see, when we walk by the Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). There are two options for people to be ruled by, either the flesh or the spirit. If we walk according to the flesh we will certainly sin. If we walk by the spirit, however we will do things according to God’s Will. The only time we can pray with confidence is when we pray in the spirit. If everyone were to walk according to the spirit, we would have Heaven on earth (spoiler alert: the Millenial Reign of Christ).
“Give us this day, our daily bread,” was studied in the context of what need both spiritually and physically. In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, but to take concern for today. This should be the attitude of every believer. We are not to have worry, but to have confidence in God. He has and will continue to provide for us. This also equates to our daily knowledge and faith, just as the Israelites gathered in the Manna in the wilderness. We take as much as we need and none will be left over. All the more prescient that we read God’s Word and pray daily.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” was dealt with in the context of praying for others. We concluded that first we need to be walking the spirit, but also that if we are praying for someone they need to be walking in the spirit also. Our greatest and only prayer for nonbelievers then should be for their salvation. What use is it to pray for their physical well-being if their soul is on a fast-track to torment? Believers, however, should be prayed for spiritually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Their overall being is our concern as it is also Gods. The roadblock to all of this prayer however is sin. Sin prevents us from praying as we should. It also prevents non-believers from any prayer other than for Jesus’ mediation. Sin is pervasive and so we should pray that believers do not sin.
Which leads us to “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” as we pray that sin would not affect us or keep us from doing God’s Will. We know that God tests us for our benefit. He knows how we will respond to tests, but we don’t. Temptations, however, come from Satan, the world, and our flesh and try to get us to walk according to the flesh, not the spirit. It is while walking in the flesh that we will certainly sin. Believers should therefore pray that no one give in to temptation but rather that they should flee from them.
It is important to realize that this prayer is expressed in the plural. Believers are not meant to be by themselves, but rather they are meant to be in a group such as a church congregation. We are not individual beings, but rather part of the Bride of Christ. In order to fully carry out God’s Will we must be in a church.
Hopefully this study has been informative as well as enlightening. The goal isn’t for you to solely understand prayer better, but rather that you would pray better. Knowing the functions of prayer and how it all works is important, but not as important as praying itself. Please, please pray often for all your needs and remember just how holy God is, yet His great concern for you a sinner. We owe Him much more than our prayers can afford, so we should give Him our prayers in abundance. Take a moment now to pray the Lord’s Prayer and consider its ramifications.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Prayer IX: Prayer Against Temptation
Last week we discussed how to pray for others. While this subject is quite vast and was not exhaustively covered, we did come to one definitive point: sin is pervasive and affects both believers and unbelievers and is a significant roadblock that bars our prayers. With this in mind, continuing with our theme of prayer, there are some questions to be raised about the sin in regards to temptation and prayer: What is the difference between temptation and trials/testing? Who is behind each? How do we pray for someone undergoing temptation?
First off, what is the difference between temptation and testing? Well surely the main point is who is behind them. With trials/testing we know that they come directly from God. Temptation, however, comes from Satan, demons, the world, and our fallen sin-nature. The origin alone should highlight drastic significance to us. Next, the purpose of temptation is to get us to revert back to walking according to the flesh, which we talked about in Week VII. If we are walking in the flesh, we will surely sin. Testing/Trials however, are meant to prove to us how we are walking. God already knows the answer, but do we? It is God’s way of showing us where we need to improve or where we are succeeding. It is to ensure us of our walk in the Spirit. Before God entrusts us with more talents, he needs us to prove that we are faithful with the ones He’s already given us. Again, God knows whether we’ll be faithful, but it is for our benefit that trials/testing occurs.
So then how do we pray for someone who is often afflicted by temptation? First, we pray of their certainty that through God they can overcome and avoid all temptation.
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. I Corinthians 10:13
Go will provide a way out or through the temptation. Our initial prayer for someone is that they will have the strength to walk by the Spirit. Next our prayers during their temptation should change slightly. In this case we pray that they should flee from temptation. In the initial prayer, we pray that they will seek God fully and walk according to His Will. While that is included during their temptation, our focus is more on their immediate escape through whatever means necessary. Paul tells us to flee temptation. We want all things to work out for God’s glory, certainly, but during temptation the main prayer is to avoid sin.
After temptation has seized someone there are two results; the first, that someone has given in to their sin. If someone has given into temptation our prayers for them are that they would be forgiven. Immediately after sinning man’s proclivity is towards shame and guilt (Adam and Eve), our prayers, then, are towards their forgiveness and knowledge that God is greater than all of their sin combined.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9
After giving in to temptation the shame might compel men to continue to walk according to the flesh and continue to sin, thinking that because they have stumbled once they are defeated and so continue in sin. We should then pray that they would be restored to walking according to the Spirit and seeking God. Finally, we should pray that they would be strengthened against temptation in the future, thus turning back towards our initial prayer.
Finally for those who resist temptation, including ourselves, we should pray first thankfulness towards God. It is through His strength and provision alone that we can resist sin. Remember unbelievers have no choice in sin; they must sin as their spirit is dead and they walk according the flesh. It is in this thanksgiving that we should remember our humility. It is certainly possible in resisting temptation to consider yourself strong, rather than God. This leads to pride and walking according to the flesh. We should pray then, that we would have humility. Lastly we pray that people who have resisted temptation would be able to guide and help others struggling with the same temptation.
In all of these examples people need to be in fellowship with others. Christianity cannot exist in solitude. Believers need the fellowship of others. We should be encouraging others, praying for their resisting temptation and praying for forgiveness when they succumb to it. We should also pray that believers would disciple others so that we can strengthen and encourage our future generations of believers. All this is only possible through God. He strengthens us, helps us escape temptations and tests us to prove to us how He is working in us. Prayer is at once both offensive and defensive.
But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perserverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I Timothy 6:11-12
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Prayer VIII: Praying for Others
When it comes to praying for other people, many things come to mind. Healing, safety/security, spiritual growth, blessings, strength, and other things of this nature. Is there a difference, though, on how we pray for people? Is there a distinction between how we pray for believers vs. non-believers? How about leaders vs. lay people? What are some barriers that get in between our prayers for others? To answer these questions, let's first look at how Paul prayed.
In Colossians 1, Paul is praying for the Spiritual well-being of the church in Colossae. His prayer isn't a simple "bless them," but rather it is more personal. For their spiritual growth and continuation in the faith. Paul speaks of them with fond affection. Paul, however, has never met these believers. He is praying for a church he has never personally been to, and he's praying fervently, personally, and not at all generically. If Paul is praying for believers he has never met with such exuberance, how much more should we, as fellow-believers in Christ, pray for other Christ-followers?
In James 5, we are told to pray for those believers who are sick. Also, if they have committed sin, to raise them up and the sin will be forgiven them. Why does James associate illness with sin? Is all illness caused directly by sin? No, not as such. But is all illness caused by sin entering this world and causing the fall of the entire human race? Absolutely! James goes on to say that we should confess our sins to another and pray for healing. Sin is an absolute roadblock to our praying.
Consider if you have sinned recently and try to pray for someone else. If you have not asked for forgiveness, you cannot pray as you ought. You might be feeling guilty or you may still feel as if you're walking the flesh rather than the spirit. Sin is a roadblock between us and God, but also between us and fellow believers. Also if someone else has sinned and you cannot/do not forgive them, it is also difficult for you to pray for that individual. How can you pray for someone whom you hold a sin-induced grudge over?
Finally, consider unbelievers. How are we to pray for them when their sin isn't forgiven? When it looms over them as a death sentence waiting to be fulfilled. In I Timothy 2:1-4 we are told to pray for all leaders of men and that all men should come to the knowledge of the truth. We cannot pray for someone's physical healing until their sin is dealt with first.
In Colossians 1, Paul is praying for the Spiritual well-being of the church in Colossae. His prayer isn't a simple "bless them," but rather it is more personal. For their spiritual growth and continuation in the faith. Paul speaks of them with fond affection. Paul, however, has never met these believers. He is praying for a church he has never personally been to, and he's praying fervently, personally, and not at all generically. If Paul is praying for believers he has never met with such exuberance, how much more should we, as fellow-believers in Christ, pray for other Christ-followers?
In James 5, we are told to pray for those believers who are sick. Also, if they have committed sin, to raise them up and the sin will be forgiven them. Why does James associate illness with sin? Is all illness caused directly by sin? No, not as such. But is all illness caused by sin entering this world and causing the fall of the entire human race? Absolutely! James goes on to say that we should confess our sins to another and pray for healing. Sin is an absolute roadblock to our praying.
Consider if you have sinned recently and try to pray for someone else. If you have not asked for forgiveness, you cannot pray as you ought. You might be feeling guilty or you may still feel as if you're walking the flesh rather than the spirit. Sin is a roadblock between us and God, but also between us and fellow believers. Also if someone else has sinned and you cannot/do not forgive them, it is also difficult for you to pray for that individual. How can you pray for someone whom you hold a sin-induced grudge over?
Finally, consider unbelievers. How are we to pray for them when their sin isn't forgiven? When it looms over them as a death sentence waiting to be fulfilled. In I Timothy 2:1-4 we are told to pray for all leaders of men and that all men should come to the knowledge of the truth. We cannot pray for someone's physical healing until their sin is dealt with first.
If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained. John 20:23Forgive your brothers and sisters their sins and pray for them, and they will return forgiveness in kind. Do not let sin affect your prayer life, Lord knows it has affected your lives too much already.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Prayer VII: Praying for Yourself
What do people pray for when the pray for themselves? Healing, wisdom, maturity, the location of lost items, faith, to win the lottery? How do we know that these prayers will be answered? How do we pray for ourselves and make sure it is according to God's Will and it can be stamped with Jesus' name? If we are to pray without ceasing as I Thessalonians 5:16 says, how can we do that without running the risk of praying for things that aren't wholesome or pleasing to God? Should we pray for our lost car keys?
Well, the short answer is yes. If we are to pray without ceasing and cast our cares and concerns onto God, then ultimately the lost keys would fall under that umbrella. But let's look further into what praying for ourselves really entails. Galatians 5:16-26 tells us that the flesh wars against the spirit. The flesh seeks worldly things and, ultimately, sin. The spirit, though, desires after the things that the Holy Spirit does. Remember, the Holy Spirit dwells inside us, and by nature makes us into a temple to Him. Therefore in man there can only be two sets of hierarchies with regards to submission.
These hierarchies aren't in regard to greater or lesser, but in regards to submission. Either the flesh rules or the spirit does, but never the soul. In natural man, only the flesh can rule, but in the supernatural man, by the workings of the Holy Spirit, the spirit can rule.
The chapter ends with Jesus saying not to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself and that each day has trouble of its own. Then should we not pray for today only? Also consider this: God's hierarchy of submission is Father - Son - Spirit. Again this is not a hierarchy of supremacy as God is infinitely supreme and the tri-unity is exactly that, united and equal. However in this supremacy of submission the Spirit is lowest. This allows God's Spirit to harmonize with your spirit, provided you are ruled by the spirit and not the flesh. Natural men's spirit is effectively dead until God quickens it, but once we have been made alive in Christ we can partake in the Heavenly realms, beginning with His Holy Spirit.
So when we pray do not worry over anything. Especially do not worry what is a suitable topic for praying. The only suitable topics are ones you pray for in the spirit. If you are praying in the flesh the criteria of prayer doesn't matter, it is in vain. If, however, you pray in the spirit, the doors of Heaven are open to you and be the prayer trivial or colossal, God hears, listens, and answers. So pray without ceasing and let tomorrow take care of itself. Let the Holy Spirit guide your spirit to a height the flesh can never attain. Walk by the spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
Well, the short answer is yes. If we are to pray without ceasing and cast our cares and concerns onto God, then ultimately the lost keys would fall under that umbrella. But let's look further into what praying for ourselves really entails. Galatians 5:16-26 tells us that the flesh wars against the spirit. The flesh seeks worldly things and, ultimately, sin. The spirit, though, desires after the things that the Holy Spirit does. Remember, the Holy Spirit dwells inside us, and by nature makes us into a temple to Him. Therefore in man there can only be two sets of hierarchies with regards to submission.
These hierarchies aren't in regard to greater or lesser, but in regards to submission. Either the flesh rules or the spirit does, but never the soul. In natural man, only the flesh can rule, but in the supernatural man, by the workings of the Holy Spirit, the spirit can rule.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Matthew 6:24If we cannot serve two masters, and either the flesh rules or the spirit rules, we don't have much of a choice. We must walk by the spirit so as not to carry out the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16). This chapter in Matthew goes on to tell us that God takes care of the birds and the lilies and so He will much more take care of you, His children; therefore, we need not worry about food or clothing. Does this mean we shouldn't pray for these things? Not at all! But rather that we shouldn't worry about these things. Pray to God for them and then be settled, knowing God loves you and will take care of you.
The chapter ends with Jesus saying not to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself and that each day has trouble of its own. Then should we not pray for today only? Also consider this: God's hierarchy of submission is Father - Son - Spirit. Again this is not a hierarchy of supremacy as God is infinitely supreme and the tri-unity is exactly that, united and equal. However in this supremacy of submission the Spirit is lowest. This allows God's Spirit to harmonize with your spirit, provided you are ruled by the spirit and not the flesh. Natural men's spirit is effectively dead until God quickens it, but once we have been made alive in Christ we can partake in the Heavenly realms, beginning with His Holy Spirit.
So when we pray do not worry over anything. Especially do not worry what is a suitable topic for praying. The only suitable topics are ones you pray for in the spirit. If you are praying in the flesh the criteria of prayer doesn't matter, it is in vain. If, however, you pray in the spirit, the doors of Heaven are open to you and be the prayer trivial or colossal, God hears, listens, and answers. So pray without ceasing and let tomorrow take care of itself. Let the Holy Spirit guide your spirit to a height the flesh can never attain. Walk by the spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Prayer VI: Praying in His Will
Have you ever decided you wanted something, but wouldn't allow yourself to have it? Maybe it was a purchase, another piece of dessert, or just saying no to a night with friends before an early morning. Well is God's wants different than His Will? They certainly are. God desires that none, should perish yet wide is the gate that leads to ruin. How then should we react to God's will. Is it similar to the clash between our wants and our will? Our Spirit versus our flesh? His Spirit versus ours? Let's look a little further on this subject this week.
The Spirit's ministry is to conform us to the Son. This process is called sanctification and all believers are undergoing sanctification this side of eternity. When it comes to prayer, however, sanctification's goal, and therefore the Spirit's goal, is to have us pray as Jesus would pray. Last week we saw that when we pray in Jesus' name, we should pray as Jesus Himself would pray. Well good news! We need not (and cannot) do this on our own, the Spirit is there to guide us! He acts as our guide, our path, our friend, and helper to show us how to pray. One isn't born speaking fluent English, and neither is one born again speaking the deep matters of the heart conformed to God's will. The Spirit brings our stubborn selves along until we can pray as such.
So then what is the will of God in regards to prayer? That we become conformed to Jesus' image. If, however, we stray from this, what is the consequences? Well for an unbeliever, they cannot pray according to God's will as the do not have God's Spirit. For believers, it becomes more tricky. First the Spirit will convict men unto repentance. But if a stubborn soul should persist, then God's will might pass them by. Consider Esther 4:13, Mordecai tells Esther that if she doesn't do this thing, God will raise up another. The same could be said for us, but may it never be! Rather strive to pray according to the will of God, for God's name's sake.
This means putting off our old selves. Denying things that we may want. Things for good or for bad, but nevertheless, things not according to God's will. John the Baptist said "I must decrease, He must increase," this is even more true for us who are indwelt by His Spirit. The Psalms also speak of rejoicing to do God's will (Psalm 40:8), so we should not consider this a burden, but rather an opportunity to rejoice and learn. Ask God to to teach you His Will (Psalm 143:10)
God's Will is that none should perish (II Peter 3:9). If that is so why do some perish? Why doesn't God destroy evil? Because He desires that none should perish and come to repentance and so He allows them a chance. If He eliminated evil, He would have to destroy all men who are not covered by His blood. However there will be a day that this is done, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. In the aftermath, all that will be left is those who strive to pray according to God's will. What do we call it when everyone is praying in God's will? Heaven. Heaven will come to earth. Rejoice, brothers and sisters, as we have a Blessed Hope.
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:26-30In this passage, Paul is highlighting what the Spirit does in regards to our prayer. He intercedes, much like Jesus, our mediator. However does the Spirit intercede before we pray to tune our hearts to God so that we would pray better, or does He intercede on the prayer before the prayer reaches God, cleaning it and polishing it? Probably both. The Spirit's whole goal is to make the prayer presentable to God as soothing aroma. First the Spirit strives to conform us to the image of the Son, but second He makes intercession too deep for words before God. In this way He acts as both a proofreader giving suggestions to us, the petitioner, but also the copy editor making final changes before publication in Heaven.
The Spirit's ministry is to conform us to the Son. This process is called sanctification and all believers are undergoing sanctification this side of eternity. When it comes to prayer, however, sanctification's goal, and therefore the Spirit's goal, is to have us pray as Jesus would pray. Last week we saw that when we pray in Jesus' name, we should pray as Jesus Himself would pray. Well good news! We need not (and cannot) do this on our own, the Spirit is there to guide us! He acts as our guide, our path, our friend, and helper to show us how to pray. One isn't born speaking fluent English, and neither is one born again speaking the deep matters of the heart conformed to God's will. The Spirit brings our stubborn selves along until we can pray as such.
So then what is the will of God in regards to prayer? That we become conformed to Jesus' image. If, however, we stray from this, what is the consequences? Well for an unbeliever, they cannot pray according to God's will as the do not have God's Spirit. For believers, it becomes more tricky. First the Spirit will convict men unto repentance. But if a stubborn soul should persist, then God's will might pass them by. Consider Esther 4:13, Mordecai tells Esther that if she doesn't do this thing, God will raise up another. The same could be said for us, but may it never be! Rather strive to pray according to the will of God, for God's name's sake.
This means putting off our old selves. Denying things that we may want. Things for good or for bad, but nevertheless, things not according to God's will. John the Baptist said "I must decrease, He must increase," this is even more true for us who are indwelt by His Spirit. The Psalms also speak of rejoicing to do God's will (Psalm 40:8), so we should not consider this a burden, but rather an opportunity to rejoice and learn. Ask God to to teach you His Will (Psalm 143:10)
God's Will is that none should perish (II Peter 3:9). If that is so why do some perish? Why doesn't God destroy evil? Because He desires that none should perish and come to repentance and so He allows them a chance. If He eliminated evil, He would have to destroy all men who are not covered by His blood. However there will be a day that this is done, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. In the aftermath, all that will be left is those who strive to pray according to God's will. What do we call it when everyone is praying in God's will? Heaven. Heaven will come to earth. Rejoice, brothers and sisters, as we have a Blessed Hope.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Prayer V: In your name, we pray
Have you ever had a nickname before? What was it and what’s the story behind it? How about when you chose a name for your son/daughter, or your stuffed animals, or your car, what were those names and how did you arrive at them? What do you think makes people name one child Winner and the other Loser? Is there inherent power in knowing a name, such as many fictional or mythical stories purport? What about the name of Jesus? What does God’s name mean/what power does it have? Is there inherent power therein or does it all stem from who He is, rather than simply His name?
For today’s study we’re going to be looking at what it means when we pray in the name of Jesus. It seems often that we simply use this as a way to close our prayers, sort of like sincerely, cheers, or your friend, but there’s more to it than that. In olden times families would seal their letters with wax and stamp them with a signet ring, signifying that while the wax was unbroken, this letter bore the exact words of that family and held the same potency as if the head of the family himself was there to say the words.
With regards to Jesus, though is this true? Let’s begin by looking at Exodus 3:13-15. Here God is speaking one-on-one with Moses through the burning bush. He reveals to Moses His name. This seems like a truly intimate meeting between them. God has not, in recorded scripture, revealed His name to anyone prior to this. His name is also a name forever and a memorial-name to all generations. This name is supposed to last. This one name, the only name of God given to us, is what is commonly written today as Yahweh. This name was so holy, that in times past, when scribes would make copies of a text, they would need to ceremonially bathe before they wrote this name. This is particularly astonishing in passages in the Pentateuch or Isaiah where the Name is used frequently. Yet this doesn’t yet explain what it means when we pray in Jesus’ name. It adds some weight and, hopefully, some reverence, but nothing that shouldn’t have already been there.
Our next passage, Matthew 7:22-23, illustrates people who did things in Jesus’ name, but Jesus simply says He never knew them. He doesn’t say that He knew them once, but not anymore, or He was acquainted with them, but not good friends. Nay, rather He says He never knew them! This is particularly scary for believers as it directly applies to people who think they’re doing things for Jesus, but don’t have a relationship with them. Not only did they do normal things, but they also cast out demons, performed miracles, and prophesy. They did these things, yet did not know Jesus. How sad to think that people could do so much work for the Lord, but do not know the Lord of the Work. This passage applies to prayer extensively in that we need to make sure our prayers are about God and having a relationship with Him. Not about ourselves or simply doing, but rather knowing and growing in relationship to Him. Yet this does not explain what praying in His name means.
Matthew 8:5-10 tells the story of a centurion who came and asked Jesus to heal his slave. He told Jesus that Jesus did not need to come Himself, but only say the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus then marvels at this centurion’s faith, especially that he is a Gentile. Like all of scripture, though, we must read this in context, synoptically with its other passage in Luke 7. Luke’s version does not have the centurion come himself, but rather some Jewish leaders from the local synagogue and then some friends of the centurion. Yet it is the same story, resulting in Jesus marveling at the centurion’s faith. While this passage shows the authority of both Jesus and the centurion, for our purposes it shows just what it means to come, or do things, or pray in someone’s name. It is as if that person or persons came themselves.
Consider this, when you pray in Jesus name, you are, in effect, saying that you prayer is what Jesus would pray, if it were He who lived, and not you. You are acting as His ambassador. When you pray for earthly or base things, yet say you are doing it in His name, you are profaning that holy name, the name so holy scribes needed to take a bath just to write it. From now on, when you pray and you decide to close In His Name, remember what you're doing, Who you're doing it to and for, and remember all the weight it carries with it. It is your privilege as priests, but it is also your responsibility. May the God of all comfort keep you holy in your prayers.
For today’s study we’re going to be looking at what it means when we pray in the name of Jesus. It seems often that we simply use this as a way to close our prayers, sort of like sincerely, cheers, or your friend, but there’s more to it than that. In olden times families would seal their letters with wax and stamp them with a signet ring, signifying that while the wax was unbroken, this letter bore the exact words of that family and held the same potency as if the head of the family himself was there to say the words.
With regards to Jesus, though is this true? Let’s begin by looking at Exodus 3:13-15. Here God is speaking one-on-one with Moses through the burning bush. He reveals to Moses His name. This seems like a truly intimate meeting between them. God has not, in recorded scripture, revealed His name to anyone prior to this. His name is also a name forever and a memorial-name to all generations. This name is supposed to last. This one name, the only name of God given to us, is what is commonly written today as Yahweh. This name was so holy, that in times past, when scribes would make copies of a text, they would need to ceremonially bathe before they wrote this name. This is particularly astonishing in passages in the Pentateuch or Isaiah where the Name is used frequently. Yet this doesn’t yet explain what it means when we pray in Jesus’ name. It adds some weight and, hopefully, some reverence, but nothing that shouldn’t have already been there.
Our next passage, Matthew 7:22-23, illustrates people who did things in Jesus’ name, but Jesus simply says He never knew them. He doesn’t say that He knew them once, but not anymore, or He was acquainted with them, but not good friends. Nay, rather He says He never knew them! This is particularly scary for believers as it directly applies to people who think they’re doing things for Jesus, but don’t have a relationship with them. Not only did they do normal things, but they also cast out demons, performed miracles, and prophesy. They did these things, yet did not know Jesus. How sad to think that people could do so much work for the Lord, but do not know the Lord of the Work. This passage applies to prayer extensively in that we need to make sure our prayers are about God and having a relationship with Him. Not about ourselves or simply doing, but rather knowing and growing in relationship to Him. Yet this does not explain what praying in His name means.
Matthew 8:5-10 tells the story of a centurion who came and asked Jesus to heal his slave. He told Jesus that Jesus did not need to come Himself, but only say the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus then marvels at this centurion’s faith, especially that he is a Gentile. Like all of scripture, though, we must read this in context, synoptically with its other passage in Luke 7. Luke’s version does not have the centurion come himself, but rather some Jewish leaders from the local synagogue and then some friends of the centurion. Yet it is the same story, resulting in Jesus marveling at the centurion’s faith. While this passage shows the authority of both Jesus and the centurion, for our purposes it shows just what it means to come, or do things, or pray in someone’s name. It is as if that person or persons came themselves.
Consider this, when you pray in Jesus name, you are, in effect, saying that you prayer is what Jesus would pray, if it were He who lived, and not you. You are acting as His ambassador. When you pray for earthly or base things, yet say you are doing it in His name, you are profaning that holy name, the name so holy scribes needed to take a bath just to write it. From now on, when you pray and you decide to close In His Name, remember what you're doing, Who you're doing it to and for, and remember all the weight it carries with it. It is your privilege as priests, but it is also your responsibility. May the God of all comfort keep you holy in your prayers.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Prayer IV: Incense
What is something aromatic that you particularly enjoy? A scented candle, soap, shampoo? How about the smell of a campfire or a charcoal grill? Do smells remind you of your childhood or an enjoyable moment? If any of those things are true about you, what about for God? What smells does He enjoy and what is our role in that?
Continuing on with our theme of prayer, let's look at aromatic sacrifices to God beginning in Genesis 8. Noah offers a sacrifice to God as the first thing he does after getting off of the ark. He doesn't build a house, but rather sacrifices animals from the ark. He just spent a good portion of time (a century) building the ark, stockpiling it, and caring for these animals on their voyage, yet he sacrifices one of each of the clean animals. He sacrifices something that was dear to him. But he builds an altar there, burns a sacrifice to God the Father, not the Holy Spirit, or God the Son, but rather the Father Himself.
The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; (Genesis 8:21)This sacrifice was a soothing aroma to Him. Let's continue onto Exodus 30. In this chapter for the first nine verses, God explains how to offer incense before Him upon the altar. The sacrifice is a sacrifice to the Father of incense. This incense was offered directly before the veil to the Mercy Seat itself. As you may know, the Mercy Seat was were God chose to dwell upon the earth. It was the symbol of His presence built in the exact proportion to mimic that which was in Heaven. In the Old Testament the veil kept sinners from their righteous God, except once a year, on Yom Kippur when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and offer a sacrifice directly to God. In our new covenant, however, the veil was torn by Jesus' death and He reigns as our High Priest, offering Himself as both sacrifice and mediator to God the Father. This passage illustrates how things were, so we can better understand how things are.
Verse 9, God specifically lays down things He doesn't not want, things His priest should not offer. Only priests could offer sacrifices in the Old Testament, and the same is true in the New, only all believers are priests, having not been born into the Tribe of Levi under the Order of Aaron, but rather born again into the Tribe of Christ in the Order of Melchizedek. This verse shows just how particular God is about His sacrifices though and we need to take extra caution that we aren't adding anything that He has not commanded or anything He specifically commanded against.
In Leviticus chapter 2, the grain offerings made by the priest are outlined. Everything about this sacrifice tells us something about Christ from the oil for His anointing to the grain of the Word. Specifically we're looking at the frankincense offered and that the whole sacrifice was a soothing aroma to God. It was offered by priests, upon an altar, to God the Father. In verse 11 God says again that which He doesn't not want sacrificed to Him. No leaven, which we know is sin, and more specifically the sin of pride. Remember, knowledge puffs up, like leaven or yeast, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. What, then, is the incense, what does it symbolize and mean for us specifically, and how does this correlate to what's going on in Heaven?
Before we can answer that we need to look a little further at how devastating the leaven and unauthorized sacrifices are. Isaiah 1:1-16 is a great example of this. The southern kingdom of Judah was serving other Gods, worshiping on the high places, and not doing what God had asked. He was just another god, not THE God. In verse 11 God says He has had enough of burnt offerings and in verse 13 He says that incense is an abomination to Him. This is because of their treachery and apostasy. There is hope, however, in verse 16. Though are sins are like scarlet, they will be made white as snow.
Revelation 8:1-5 gives us our answer. Incense is the prayer of the saints. It is eternally before God. Your prayer will outlast your earthly bodies! This incense, prayer, is a soothing aroma, pleasing to God. It has to be true though. It has to be authorized. If it comes with leaven, it is an abomination. Remember the Exodus example, there was a veil between the altar and the Mercy Seat. When Christ died, He took that altar and tore it in two, so that sinful man would be able to be in the presence of a Holy God. When we sin or pray in an unauthorized, leavened, or strange manner, we are, in effect, putting the veil back up. Strive to keep your prayers true and holy!
But God is faithful! He'll watch out for you and keep your prayers as they are sacred. Do not consider your prayer time lightly! Rather, strive for holiness and do not sacrifice from that which is leavened. Dear brothers and sisters you, as priests of the Most High, offer yourselves as a sacrifice upon the altar of your own cross daily to God the Father. See that it is full of incense, and therefore a soothing aroma to God.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Prayer III: Redundancy in Prayer
The old Christian adage of how often should one pray is often responded by the correct, if ambiguous answer, more. The inevitable follow-up questions revolve around what we should be praying more for and how often we should pray for the same thing. Thankfully, Jesus, through St. Luke illustrates this for us in Luke 18:1-8.
The previous verses for this passage are talking about eschatological things and this passage is a continuation of that. However, Luke through the Holy Spirit, tells us the meaning behind this parable is specifically to pray and not to lose heart, this is particularly beneficial as parables are often difficult to understand and in many cases have multiple meanings.
The parable is about a widow who presumably has no son who could protect her, obviously no husband as she is a widow, and also no father who she could return to as she has to find a judge to defend her by herself. She is also asking for legal protection from her opponent; the cause of the opposition is not provided yet it could possibly be over land rights as she has no son or husband and someone from the tribe of her husband may be seeking to gain her land. This is all speculation of course, but it seems viable, if not probable.
The judge though, a wicked character in this parable responds that
Jesus also says that God will bring about justice quickly. Well how quickly is quickly? Do we get a response the same night that we pray? How about that same week? When do we stop? Well, the answer is a little more nebulous than some would like. The answer is, obviously, in the Lord's time. We don't know how soon He will respond, how He will respond, and what our role in that is.
So when is quickly? A few examples of quickness are when St. Paul prayed for the thorn to be taken from his side. He only had to pray three times to get a response, and then not the one he was expecting, but still the one he desired, that God's will should be done in his life for His glory. So then is the answer that we need to pray only three times? No, but rather until we receive a response. If God responds in a way that is clearly answering the prayer, either favorably, or in the moment what seems unfavorably, we know the prayer has been answered.
Next quickly could be that God begins to bring about His justice and though your prayer may be lacking, the Holy Spirit also makes prayers with you, inward groaning for what your truly need. Also Jesus, our great Mediator, makes intercession for us in the heavenly realms, adding His potency to our prayer. Every prayer you make is added to, increased, and made proper before God. Therefore quickly may mean that it is expediently made into and prayed for as it ought to be.
The final explanation for quickly that we'll look at brings us to Daniel 10 where Daniel prayed fervently for 21 days before Gabriel came to him. Now, Gabriel had begun coming to answer the prayer immediately as Daniel began, but the principality of Persia slowed his arrival, until Michael came to help. This could mean that our prayers are begun to be answered immediately, but it takes some time for them to be answered because of the influence of the world, Satan, and his minions. That is not to say this isn't in God's will, as it must be, but rather an explanation for our present enigma.
Jesus concludes by going back to the original context, asking if He will find faith when he returns. Remember, the context is eschatological and so the question is when He returns will He find faith. If the purpose of the parable is to remind us to pray continually and not to lose heart and He questions whether He'll find faith, then man's natural tendency must steer him away from faith. This puts the onus on us to continually strive for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints.
So what should our response be? To pray and not lose faith! Pray, pray, and pray some more. Pray for the same thing continually, provided it aligns with God's Word. Check the Bible daily to see whether your prayers are so. Do not lose heart! If you find yourself becoming discouraged remember this parable. The woman's petition wasn't answered at the onset by the wicked judge, yet she held onto hope. We who have an honest, righteous judge should hold onto the even greater hope we have in Him. Dear brothers and sisters, pray, and do not lose heart.
The previous verses for this passage are talking about eschatological things and this passage is a continuation of that. However, Luke through the Holy Spirit, tells us the meaning behind this parable is specifically to pray and not to lose heart, this is particularly beneficial as parables are often difficult to understand and in many cases have multiple meanings.
The parable is about a widow who presumably has no son who could protect her, obviously no husband as she is a widow, and also no father who she could return to as she has to find a judge to defend her by herself. She is also asking for legal protection from her opponent; the cause of the opposition is not provided yet it could possibly be over land rights as she has no son or husband and someone from the tribe of her husband may be seeking to gain her land. This is all speculation of course, but it seems viable, if not probable.
The judge though, a wicked character in this parable responds that
"Even though I do not fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out." 18:4-5.It is not for her correctness in this matter, but rather her stubbornness that clings to the only person who can save her. The Lord then makes his point clear when He says that if this unrighteous judge responds favorably, how much more will a God who is righteous, who does love you, respond if you pray day and night, clinging to the only one who can save you, both from the wrath to come, but also in and through your present afflictions.
Jesus also says that God will bring about justice quickly. Well how quickly is quickly? Do we get a response the same night that we pray? How about that same week? When do we stop? Well, the answer is a little more nebulous than some would like. The answer is, obviously, in the Lord's time. We don't know how soon He will respond, how He will respond, and what our role in that is.
So when is quickly? A few examples of quickness are when St. Paul prayed for the thorn to be taken from his side. He only had to pray three times to get a response, and then not the one he was expecting, but still the one he desired, that God's will should be done in his life for His glory. So then is the answer that we need to pray only three times? No, but rather until we receive a response. If God responds in a way that is clearly answering the prayer, either favorably, or in the moment what seems unfavorably, we know the prayer has been answered.
Next quickly could be that God begins to bring about His justice and though your prayer may be lacking, the Holy Spirit also makes prayers with you, inward groaning for what your truly need. Also Jesus, our great Mediator, makes intercession for us in the heavenly realms, adding His potency to our prayer. Every prayer you make is added to, increased, and made proper before God. Therefore quickly may mean that it is expediently made into and prayed for as it ought to be.
The final explanation for quickly that we'll look at brings us to Daniel 10 where Daniel prayed fervently for 21 days before Gabriel came to him. Now, Gabriel had begun coming to answer the prayer immediately as Daniel began, but the principality of Persia slowed his arrival, until Michael came to help. This could mean that our prayers are begun to be answered immediately, but it takes some time for them to be answered because of the influence of the world, Satan, and his minions. That is not to say this isn't in God's will, as it must be, but rather an explanation for our present enigma.
Jesus concludes by going back to the original context, asking if He will find faith when he returns. Remember, the context is eschatological and so the question is when He returns will He find faith. If the purpose of the parable is to remind us to pray continually and not to lose heart and He questions whether He'll find faith, then man's natural tendency must steer him away from faith. This puts the onus on us to continually strive for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints.
So what should our response be? To pray and not lose faith! Pray, pray, and pray some more. Pray for the same thing continually, provided it aligns with God's Word. Check the Bible daily to see whether your prayers are so. Do not lose heart! If you find yourself becoming discouraged remember this parable. The woman's petition wasn't answered at the onset by the wicked judge, yet she held onto hope. We who have an honest, righteous judge should hold onto the even greater hope we have in Him. Dear brothers and sisters, pray, and do not lose heart.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Prayer II: Pray to God, For God, Through God
When people pray in groups there is often a temptation to correct the theology of the previous prayer "God our Father and our Mother..." followed by "God we know all the pronouns of you in the Bible are male and that you are always referred to as Father and never as mother...". There is also a temptation to pray for others benefit or to not pray because of your fear of others or because others have prayed for what you have already prayed for. But there is also a group of people who use prayer as a means to show-off, to gossip, or for their own self-righteous intent.
Our passage this week, Luke 18:9-14 deals with two people praying in public, in front of others. This parable is immediately proceeded by the parable of the unrighteous judge, which we will look at next week. This passage, however, continues that theme on prayer. The first man, the Pharisee was someone who was supposed to be a model in the community. Pharisees knew the law better than most and tried to practice it the most. They were often used by the scribes and lawyers as the examples of the best of men, and the example of good people. The tax collectors, by contrast, were viewed with contempt. These were usually Jews who worked for Rome, collecting taxes on Rome's behalf. Often times, these tax collectors would garnish their own wages by raising the taxes of individuals, collecting all the profit from these raised taxes. They were considered traitors in this regard, as they sought their own material gain, exploited their fellow Jews, and worked with Rome.
Jesus puts these stereotypes on their head as He makes the tax collector into the humble man seeking righteousness, and the pharisee as a man praying to himself for his own gain. The Pharisee stood off by himself, elevating himself to a position above others, thanked God that he was not like others, and then sought to justify himself through his works of fasting and tithing. This was not a prayer to God asking for anything, or even exalting God, but rather exalting the Pharisee. In fact Luke says that the Pharisee was praying to himself! (18:11)
The tax collector, by contrast, doesn't raise his countenance, doesn't consider himself worthy of being separate, apart, or holy, but stands off beating his breast asking for forgiveness. The tax collector is the one acknowledging himself as a sinner, and thus in need of a savior. The Pharisee, remember, thought to make himself righteous through his actions of tithing and fasting.
So what does this passage mean in the context of prayer? Well first and foremost, exactly what Luke tells us it means, not to view yourself as righteous and not to view others with contempt. This is especially true when we pray in groups. If you are too caught up on others' prayers and not focused on God, you will begin fault-finding and consider yourself righteous. Or at least you will view others with contempt. This is not to say we should accept all people with terrible theology, but our prayer to God should not be focused on correcting that. Instead we should ask for wisdom and confront them after.
Also we should have no concern over what others think while we pray. Our prayers are for God alone and if we pray multiple times in a group, so be it! Don't multiply your words, but if the Holy Spirit is leading you to pray, then pray! If you are not lead to pray, then remain silent, as God is the one to Whom you should pray, and praying out of obligation to men is not an acceptable prayer to God. Last week we looked at asking for wisdom, well perhaps we need to ask for wisdom on when to pray.
Remember that we are strengthened when we come together as the body. But don't let anyone or one member, especially yourself, become elevated within the body. Instead seek, with humility, to come before God in the group to praise Him, thank Him for the gifts He has given, not what you have done, to confess that we are sinners in need of a savior, and lastly that His will might be done through us, and in our lives.
Our passage this week, Luke 18:9-14 deals with two people praying in public, in front of others. This parable is immediately proceeded by the parable of the unrighteous judge, which we will look at next week. This passage, however, continues that theme on prayer. The first man, the Pharisee was someone who was supposed to be a model in the community. Pharisees knew the law better than most and tried to practice it the most. They were often used by the scribes and lawyers as the examples of the best of men, and the example of good people. The tax collectors, by contrast, were viewed with contempt. These were usually Jews who worked for Rome, collecting taxes on Rome's behalf. Often times, these tax collectors would garnish their own wages by raising the taxes of individuals, collecting all the profit from these raised taxes. They were considered traitors in this regard, as they sought their own material gain, exploited their fellow Jews, and worked with Rome.
Jesus puts these stereotypes on their head as He makes the tax collector into the humble man seeking righteousness, and the pharisee as a man praying to himself for his own gain. The Pharisee stood off by himself, elevating himself to a position above others, thanked God that he was not like others, and then sought to justify himself through his works of fasting and tithing. This was not a prayer to God asking for anything, or even exalting God, but rather exalting the Pharisee. In fact Luke says that the Pharisee was praying to himself! (18:11)
The tax collector, by contrast, doesn't raise his countenance, doesn't consider himself worthy of being separate, apart, or holy, but stands off beating his breast asking for forgiveness. The tax collector is the one acknowledging himself as a sinner, and thus in need of a savior. The Pharisee, remember, thought to make himself righteous through his actions of tithing and fasting.
So what does this passage mean in the context of prayer? Well first and foremost, exactly what Luke tells us it means, not to view yourself as righteous and not to view others with contempt. This is especially true when we pray in groups. If you are too caught up on others' prayers and not focused on God, you will begin fault-finding and consider yourself righteous. Or at least you will view others with contempt. This is not to say we should accept all people with terrible theology, but our prayer to God should not be focused on correcting that. Instead we should ask for wisdom and confront them after.
Also we should have no concern over what others think while we pray. Our prayers are for God alone and if we pray multiple times in a group, so be it! Don't multiply your words, but if the Holy Spirit is leading you to pray, then pray! If you are not lead to pray, then remain silent, as God is the one to Whom you should pray, and praying out of obligation to men is not an acceptable prayer to God. Last week we looked at asking for wisdom, well perhaps we need to ask for wisdom on when to pray.
Remember that we are strengthened when we come together as the body. But don't let anyone or one member, especially yourself, become elevated within the body. Instead seek, with humility, to come before God in the group to praise Him, thank Him for the gifts He has given, not what you have done, to confess that we are sinners in need of a savior, and lastly that His will might be done through us, and in our lives.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Prayer I: What are you praying for? (Seek wisdom)
There's a joke I always enjoyed that goes something like this: There was a politician, a pilot, and a mariner stranded on an island for a few days. While out exploring, the politician comes across a golden lamp. Upon rubbing it, a genie appears offering three wishes. Not wishing to do the wrong thing and wishing to poll his constituents, he finds the pilot and the mariner and asks them what to wish for. They both exclaim "I know what to wish for!" The pilot wishes for a plane so he can take off and leave the wretched island. His wish was fulfilled. The mariner wished for a boat so he could take the boat off of the island. His wish was also fulfilled. The politician, though, couldn't come with anything. For hours he couldn't think of anything he could do to get off of the island. Out of frustration he exclaimed "I wish my two friends were back here so they could help me!" His wish was fulfilled.
One of the common misconceptions about prayer is that it is a wish factory. If you wish for something and pray about it, it will be so. This is (hopefully) obviously false. Some people have unfortunately decided that God must not be real then, if their wishes aren't fulfilled through prayer and since Christians aren't winning the lottery, God must not be real. Some people would respond that these people just aren't being sincere enough, and if you were truly sincere, you would get what you wished/prayed for, adding to the trouble, misinformation, and complication, not to mention being a horrible witness to non-believers.
What about us though? As true believers, what do we pray for? What are our deepest utterances and hopes towards? Should we wish through God as unbelievers might wish at 11:11 on the clock, or through wishing wells, upon a shooting star, or New Year's festivals? Absolutely not. What then, should we wish/hope/pray for, if we could ask for anything and receive it? How should the yearnings of our heart look, and to whom should we present them? Let's look at someone who actually had this opportunity. Let's look at Solomon in II Chronicles 1.
God appeared before Solomon and told him to ask what God should give him. Solomon did not wish for money, honor, long life or the death of his enemies, but rather wisdom to rule God's people. He did not wish for something on his behalf such as money or long life. He did not ask for something that would have benefit the people such as the death of Israel's enemies. Instead he asked for something that would benefit God, wisdom. Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom, it is with the wisdom of God he penned those words, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now let's consider our prayers. Are we praying for things for ourselves or others? Would our prayers please God? We don't need to be perfect, in this same chapter we read that Solomon did as king what God strictly forbid kings to do. Nevertheless, knowing fully what Solomon would do, God granted wisdom. How much more should we, as priests of the Most High God and members of His body the church, seek wisdom. Not wisdom for the gain of money or long-life, but the wisdom of God that can only come from God. All of our prayers need to stem from this thought: May God grant me the wisdom to do what He wills me to do. Remember, Solomon didn't ask for himself or for others but for God Himself; let us pray likewise.
One of the common misconceptions about prayer is that it is a wish factory. If you wish for something and pray about it, it will be so. This is (hopefully) obviously false. Some people have unfortunately decided that God must not be real then, if their wishes aren't fulfilled through prayer and since Christians aren't winning the lottery, God must not be real. Some people would respond that these people just aren't being sincere enough, and if you were truly sincere, you would get what you wished/prayed for, adding to the trouble, misinformation, and complication, not to mention being a horrible witness to non-believers.
What about us though? As true believers, what do we pray for? What are our deepest utterances and hopes towards? Should we wish through God as unbelievers might wish at 11:11 on the clock, or through wishing wells, upon a shooting star, or New Year's festivals? Absolutely not. What then, should we wish/hope/pray for, if we could ask for anything and receive it? How should the yearnings of our heart look, and to whom should we present them? Let's look at someone who actually had this opportunity. Let's look at Solomon in II Chronicles 1.
God appeared before Solomon and told him to ask what God should give him. Solomon did not wish for money, honor, long life or the death of his enemies, but rather wisdom to rule God's people. He did not wish for something on his behalf such as money or long life. He did not ask for something that would have benefit the people such as the death of Israel's enemies. Instead he asked for something that would benefit God, wisdom. Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom, it is with the wisdom of God he penned those words, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now let's consider our prayers. Are we praying for things for ourselves or others? Would our prayers please God? We don't need to be perfect, in this same chapter we read that Solomon did as king what God strictly forbid kings to do. Nevertheless, knowing fully what Solomon would do, God granted wisdom. How much more should we, as priests of the Most High God and members of His body the church, seek wisdom. Not wisdom for the gain of money or long-life, but the wisdom of God that can only come from God. All of our prayers need to stem from this thought: May God grant me the wisdom to do what He wills me to do. Remember, Solomon didn't ask for himself or for others but for God Himself; let us pray likewise.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Reasons For Division: Why We Cannot Have Fellowship
Theology – Who is God? Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 48:16-17, Exodus 34:6-7
Christology – Is Jesus God or is He just and angel? Hebrews 1:1-14, Isaiah 48:17 John 8:58
Pneumatology – Is the Holy Spirit God or is He just a force? Ephesians 4:30, Matthew 12:31-32, Romans 8:9-11
Soteriology – How to become saved? Saved from what or whom? Why become saved? Saved by grace or through works or sacraments? Is the Gospel about social justice? John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-10, Romans 6:23, Romans 3:23, I Titus 2:5, Romans 5:9.
Bibliology – Is the Bible the only revelation of God or are we still receiving more? Is it sufficient or do we need more? Has it been corrupted or is the Old Testament sufficient? Should we add or take out parts of it? 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6, Revelation 22:19, Galatians 1:8, Romans 1:18-23+, Hebrews 1:1-2
Immorality/Impropriety – I Corinthians 5:11-13, Revelation 22:15, I Timothy 6:1-12, 2 Timothy 2:22, Acts 3:19-21, Revelation 2:16
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