Nov/090
Love…
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Col 13:13)
By faith we are justified and not by works. It is by faith in Jesus Christ that we walk upon the narrow way and are children of God. It is faith in Jesus that enables us overcome the devil’s attacks upon us. By faith we can have a correct view of the things about us and overcome the trappings of this Godless world. In fact, without this same faith we cannot please God. And yet love is greater then faith. Rom 3:28 , Rom 5:2 ,Gal 2:16, 1Pe 1:9, Rom 9:32, 2Co 5:7, Gal 3:26, Eph 6:16, Heb 11:3, Heb 11:6, 1Jn 5:4
Hope in God’s mercy gladdens our hearts giving us strength to go onwards – for God himself watches over us. Those who have this hope please the LORD, so such a man is truely blessed. Our hope is a saving hope, a hope of salvation that protects us from the evil one and urges us on in sanctification. This hope is a great one because it is based on the promises of the God who cannot lie. Therefore, this hope is an anchor to our souls. In fact, it is so great a hope that we must always be prepared to share it with others. But love is greater then even our hope that lies within. Psa 16:9, Psa 33:18, Pro 10:28, Psa 146:5, Psa 147:11, Jer 17:7, Rom 8:24, 1Th 5:8, 1Jn 3:2-3, Tit 1:2, Heb 6:18-19, 1Pe 3:15
Why?
Because God has mercy on those that love Him and the same shall go to heaven. Love for fellow believers is a sign of a true christian. Those that do not love God, do not love Jesus Christ and so don’t belong to God. So how do we love God? By keeping His commandments. But this is a problem for us. For all mankind has broken God’s commandments – in fact we, in our fleshly, currupted nature, hate Him. And yet, while we were still busy hating and rebelling against Him, God showed His love for us by sending Jesus Christ (God incarnate) to take the penalty for our sin. God through His love had mercy upon us and gave us faith to believe on Jesus Christ and a love for Him (causing us to want to live for him), thereby giving us the hope of salvation. So love is greater then faith and hope, for without God’s love toward us none of us would have either faith to believe on Jesus, or the hope of salvation and would thus be damned. Exo 20:6 , Psa 69:35-36, Joh 13:34-35, 1Jn 3:14, 1Co 8:3, Joh 5:42-43, Joh 8:42, Joh 14:15, 1Co 16:22, 1Jn 4:8-9, Rom 3:23, Joh 7:7, Rom 1:30, Rom 5:8, Eph 1:4 -7, Eph 2:4-6, Gal 5:6, 2Co 5:14-15, 1Jn 4:19, 1Jn 4:10, 1Pe 1:8, Rom 5:5
Sep/090
Hallowed be your name…
“After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For your is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
When I have prayed in the past, my prayers have often resembled some huge spiritual wishlist: “Keep us safe today, save so-and-so, help us grow more like you, provide for this-or-that, keep so-and-so safe on the roads today, forgive me for doing that, help me do this – oh, and please help our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world…”
Now, of course, all of that is important and Jesus Himself encourages us to pray all these things. For instance, the above prayer has six petitions that He tells His disciples to pray over, and this is by no means the only example from Matthew “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: for every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8). Also…“And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22).
Furthermore, James too encourages us to requests things of God in faith. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraides not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (James 1:5-6)
And yet, the very first petition is not really a petition at all, but is in fact an instruction to praise God. Then the next two ask that God’s will might be done, and it ends with affirmation that everything is God’s and He is all powerful.
Surely, it is right to begin any prayer with praise for God. It was He – the creator of the cosmos, in comparison to whom mankind is nothing but foolish worms, who came to earth – who reduced Himself to a state less then that of the angels. It was He who – despite our filthy, pathetic wretchedness – received all the agonizing punishments of our sins that we would have had to have suffered for all eternity. It is because of His great love and mercy that we have been forgiven and become sons and daughters of God. It is God who gives us, through His grace, life in abundance and graciously answers so many of our prayers in the positive – and even when the answer is a negative one it works together for our good. And it is He who is justice itself and will punish the nations for their deeds.
Do we not have an incomprehensible amount of things to thank Him for? How much time do we spend thanking and praising Him? And do we ever say with Christ Himself, “nevertheless, not my will but thine be done” – understanding that all our prayers are nothing but filthy rags compared to what He has done. We could never thank Him enough.