One of John‘s main purposes was to reveal the deity of Jesus. (Of course another great purpose was to show that Jesus came in the flesh – God incarnate, all of God and all of man.) John states his purpose immediately in the first five verses of his gospel. He refers to Jesus as “the word.” Jesus is God’s ultimate revelation, or word, about Himself. (See Hebrews 1:1-3 at the bottom of the page. ) John reveals Jesus as what I will refer as “Wonderful Jesus,” Son of God and Son of man.
Verses 1-2 reveal Jesus as eternal: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” The Word was there in the beginning; in other words He has always existed. That’s why Jesus could say in John 8:58: “Before Abraham was I am.” Jesus meant exactly what He said, as incredible as it sounded then, and now. In verse 2, we have one of the most startling and controversial declarations: “And the Word was God…” Jesus was not only with God; He was/is God. How could John have made it clearer? What is there to argue about? Jesus is eternal because He is God. We do not have to understand it, nor do we need to explain it, but we need to believe it, live it and share it! Observe in verse 3, that Jesus is the Creator: “All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made…” Paul wrote basically the same thing in Colossians 1:18: “For by Him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth…” Again, what could be clearer? Our eternal, wonderful, Savior is with the Father and Holy Spirit, our creator. In verse 4a, we discover th n.” In John 14:6, Jesus declared: “I am the way and the truth and the life…” He did not say “I know all about life," although He did. He said “I am the life.” What does this mean? One thing that it means is that Jesus is the giver of life. As creator, Jesus made life possible in the first place. Another thing that it means is that Jesus gives us real, abundant life – eternal life that begins here and ends in eternity with Him. It means that Jesus gives meaning and purpose to life. Jesus did not just create life and step away. He became involved in our lives and sustains us in all of life. In Colossians 1:17, Paul wrote: “And (Jesus) is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” This means that Jesus holds all things together, and that includes our lives. In verses 4b-5, we discover that Jesus is light: “….and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness and the darkness does not comprehend it.” In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Jesus came to shed God’s light on all the world, to shed light on who God is and on the loving nature of God. People who prefer darkness do not understand light; therefore, they reject it. This is a shame, for the light is available to all who will put their faith and trust in Him. Matthew 5:14a and 16 show us what our responsibility is in sharing this light: “You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Jesus gives His light to us and we are to reflect it to the world by how we live, speak, serve, worship and witness. John packed a lot in five verses, didn’t he? If people would just believe these verses and internalize them, their lives would drastically change. If Christian people would really believe these verses, and let them guide their lives, they would live victoriously for Jesus. Believe these things about Jesus. Rejoice in them. Jesus is eternal! He is our creator! He is life! He is light! Rejoice! Bro. Joe Hebrews 1:1-3: "God Who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in times past unto the fathers by the prophets. 2. Has in the last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds; 3. Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His Person and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high....."
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“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” NKJV
We do not choose the time that we will be born and live our lives. I believe that our sovereign God knew when we would be born and what would be occurring in the world when we lived out our lives. As Mordecai said to Esther: “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14b) If God didn’t think that you could handle these times, you would have been born in another time. What Jesus said to His disciples in this text applied to them in their time and they apply to us in our time – We are to be His salt and light in the world. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth…” What does this mean? Just think about the uses of salt in the world. Salt is used to flavor food. Job said that he would not want the white of an egg without salt. We are to add flavor to the world. This means that we are to show people what real life, life in Jesus, is all about. Salt can also be an irritant. A cursive reading of church history will show you that when we teach and practice the Christian faith, we can be irritating to the world. We can see this today. In fact, the name of Jesus has become an irritant to many people. Instead of complaining about the times and bemoaning the times, we need to go about bringing flavor, and when necessary, irritation to the world. When we cease being the salt of the earth, we become useless as servants of Jesus: “But if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” We have the light of the world, Jesus, in our lives, and we are to let His light shine for the world to see. This means that we will share what Jesus has done in our lives with the world. It means that we will share the light of the word of God with the world. If we are effective lights, we will live lives that will show that we are serious about living the Christian life. Hypocrisy is a big turn off to the world. It means that we will not do what we should do, and that we will do what we should not do. It means that we will love people like Jesus loved people. Loving people as Jesus did does not mean excusing lifestyles that are counter to Christian teaching. Jesus loves us in spite of our sins and we are to love others in spite of their sins. It begins with loving each other as Christians. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The Love that Jesus brought into our lives is to be shared with the world. It is not our job to judge the world. Jesus will take care of that in His time. It is our job to shed the light of Jesus on the world by what we do not do, by what we do and by what we teach. Nowhere are we told in the Bible to compromise our faith or our lifestyles. According to what Jesus said in the text, it is possible that we could fail to serve as salt and light to the world. Jesus warned that if we do not serve as salt, we will be useless as His servants. It does not mean that we are not saved, it means that we are poor witnesses. Jesus warned that we can fail to shine as lights to the world. It is important that we be both salt and light. Why? Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” As salt and light, we are to bring glory to God. We are, indeed, in the world for such a time as this! Bro. Joe "And (David) appointed certain of Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God Israel. 5. Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemariamoth, and Jehiel, and Matithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals.”
What is there in this text for us that is worth a few minutes of our time? What I saw here was that David appointed these men to do daily and continually what we should do. These musicians were sent to the tent where the Ark of the Covenant was housed to serve God. They were sent “to minister (serve) before that Ark of the Lord.” They were to use their musical gifts and talents to serve the Lord on a daily basis, just as God has given us gifts to serve Him daily. Jesus saved us and gifted us to serve Him in conjunction with our gifts. What does it mean they were to “record”? A study of the word translated “record” here can also mean to make “petition,” interestingly, however it can also be translated to "celebrate.” If there is one thing that the world needs from us today is to use our gifts to celebrate the Lord as a witness to the world. “Celebration” can many things. It can mean to really celebrate in our worship services. But, more importantly, it can also mean to live joyfully for Jesus before people in our daily lives. We should have attitudes of celebration. They were also to “thank…the Lord God of Israel.” We have also been called to use our Spiritual gifts in a spirit of thanksgiving. In order for us to do this we need to have thankful hearts. I remind myself of this often. Really and truly, when I count the blessings in my life, I have to be thankful. I remind myself of this when I get in a funk – come on you know what I mean – and have a difficult time praying. The old song is true: “Count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." They were “to….praise the Lord God Israel.” I don’t know how these musicians sounded, or how their music praised the Lord, but I can imagine Asaph clanging those cymbals in a joyful praise of the God that he served. We don’t have cymbals to clang, at least that I know of, you might have cymbals in your church, but we do have hearts full of love and thanksgiving for the Savior who gave His life for our salvation. I hope that this message of thanksgiving has been a blessing to you and has prepared you for this special time of Thanksgiving. Bro. Joe ."Give unto the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness."
Throughout the Bible we are called upon to worship the Lord. We are to give umbrage to our Creator, and we are to offer Him devotion and praise. The essence of worship is to offer praise to His Holy Name. Why is worship of the Lord so important to us and to our spiritual growth? Worship of the Lord calls us away from self. The very act of worship signals that there is One greater than "me." In fact, if we cannot get away from "me," we will see our church's work as "our work" and not as the "Lord's work." It is possible that many churches never grow beyond the "righteous few" because the "righteous few" are satisfied with themselves. (I suspect that I am meddling....) Churches, if they are truly churches, belong to Jesus Christ, and are in the world to lift Christ up to the world. Worship is a reminder that we are in the service to One Who is greater than ourselves and our opinions. Otherwise we make a church work a human endeavor alone, and that is not why churches exist. Worship of the Lord, then, calls our attention to the Lord. We usually open our worship services in prayer, seeking the Lord's blessings on our endeavor. If fact, if the Lord does not bless the endeavor, it will not result in true worship. I think it was Paul Tillich who wrote that "there is a God-shaped vacuum in every human being." (I might have my theologians mixed up.) Since the Lord is real, we cannot escape His attention. The Holy Spirit in us as believers reminds us that there is One greater than ourselves, and it is to Him we owe our allegiance. Otherwise we are just singing songs and giving empty speeches to the wind. True worship of the Lord brings us together in Him. We are worshipping individually, but we are worshipping in concert with other believers. I do a lot of individual worship today, but I am always keenly aware that I am not worshipping alone. There are millions of other believers who are calling upon Him the same time. Frankly, I find great joy in the knowledge that there is always a chorus of prayers at any time during the day. I sincerely hope that this chorus of prayers will never cease! We will never know, this side of eternity the good that the prayers of God's worshipping people are accomplishing. Do not take worshipping the Lord lightly. Worship Him daily through the reading and study of His word, and through prayer. Your worship of the Lord is important!!! Bro. Joe “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Jesus’ disciples saw the value of His prayer life and they wanted to learn to pray as He did. If Jesus needed to pray, they certainly needed to pray, and so do we. Prayer is not something that we should take lightly, for it is our pipeline to the Lord. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are opening up the power of heaven in our lives. Prayer is always important. Prayer is important when we are going through tough times. What a comfort it is to know that all I have to do is to begin talking to God and immediately know that He is listening and has already given me a solution that I will discover in time. Sometimes it seems when we pray that God is not listening. We are going through some tough problems and they just continue on and on. It seems that God has not heard and is not acting on our behalf. We need to remember that these are the times when Jesus is “taking us to school.” I know that when I had a long period of illness, and it seemed that God wasn’t there, that He revealed to me that he was “taking me to school.” I will call it prayer school. There are things that God is working out in our lives that we were unaware of, and while God has our attention, He is revealing them to us and pulling these things from our subconscious minds to our conscious minds. There are things that we are aware of that we are not doing anything about, and, while He has our attention, the Lord is leading us to confession and repentance. Prayer is important when we have decisions to make in our lives. There are some decisions that are easy to make and we know that it is the right decision. There are other times, however, when the decision is not as clear cut, and we have to literally agonize before God before we can reach the decision. This is especially true when a decision will bring about a change in our lives and in the lives of our families. At these times, we need to know with assurance that we have God’s approval for that which will bring change, not just to us, but also to our families. Perhaps you are reading this now because you have such a decision to make and you do not know which way to turn. I can assure you that God knows what the right decision will be, and He will lead and guide you to the right answer and will be with you in the process. It has always been interesting to me that Jesus in His infinite wisdom spent all night in prayer the night before He called out His twelve disciples, and with the exception of Judas, made them apostles who shared His word all across the Roman Empire and beyond. (Luke 6:12) If you have a decision to make, take it to the Lord in prayer, hear His answer and obey Him. I don’t know how, but you will know the answer when it comes. God has a way of making Himself clear to us in our minds and hearts. I have found this to be true and I know that you will also find it to be true. Prayer is important when things are going well in our lives. When things are going well we have the tendency to relax and think that we can make it on our own. This is part of being human, but it is also part of the devil’s work. When everything is going our way, the devil will lull us to sleep if we let him. If we aren’t careful in these times, we will not pray as we should. If things are going well with you at the present time, go immediately to God in prayer, thank Him for the good times and ask Him to help you to stay away from temptation. When I was an Associational Missionary, and working primarily with pastors, I always told the pastor whose church was thriving that I had put him at the top of my prayer list. Why? Because the devil was aware of the successes of his church and would attempt to destroy his work. We need to take Paul’s advice in 1 Thessalonians 5:16: “Pray without ceasing.” I hope that you get the point that it is always important to pray. There is never a time when prayerlessness will make our lives better. Bro. Joe “Seeing that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast the profession of our faith. 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
The high priest was an important person in Judaism. For example, The high priest entered the Holy of Holies each year to make atonement for the people. Since Jesus came, we do not need a human high priest, but we do have a great High Priest – Jesus Himself. One of our main teachings is “the priesthood of the believer.” The idea of this teaching is that every Christian is his or her own priest. This teaching is true, because Jesus is our High Priest. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from believers was torn in two. At that moment, Jesus became the only high priest that we will ever need. The first important fact revealed here is that Jesus “is passed into the heavens.” When Jesus ascended to heaven, He ascended to the real Holy of Holies, not the material one. This truth is profoundly illustrated in Hebrews 9:24-26: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true: but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. 25. Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with the blood of others. 26. For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Wow! Our High Priest does not minister in an earthly sanctuary, but in the sanctuary of heaven itself. If Jesus had not passed into the heavens, He could not be our Great High Priest. The second important fact revealed here is that because of what Jesus has done, we should “hold fast the profession of our faith.” This means that we should stay faithful to Jesus, who died for our sins, arose for our justification and ascended for, among other things, our access to the throne of God. Satan is always trying to call our attention away from our dedication to Jesus. He will use anything to get us not to “hold fast.” To show you how far Satan will go, he will even use the natural love for our families to call us away from our dedication to Jesus. When we are tempted we need to remember all that Jesus has done for us. The third important fact revealed here is that Jesus paid a high price to become our High Priest. Verse 15 assures us: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” In His love and concern for us, Jesus experienced every temptation that we have to face, but, unlike us, He never sinned. He did this in order for Him to be able to die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Besides that, we have a high priest who understands what we go through in our daily temptations. He can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Jesus knows what we are going through and, because of who He is, goes through it all with us. He is the One who gives us the power to overcome the temptations and the trials of this life. It is good to know that He understands. The bottom line here is that because of our Great High Priest, we can “therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and the grace to help in time of need.” That is a deal that should not be denied. Bro. Joe “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
I want to use the letters in the word “thanks” to show some things for which we should give thanks to God. T – Truth – In John 8:32 Jesus said: “And you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.” Jesus said about Himself in John 14:6: “I am the way the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me.” Let’s be thankful that through Jesus Christ, we can be saved and made free. Our salvation is built on the foundation the truth of God in Jesus Christ. H – Hope – Life can seem hopeless at times, but when we lean upon the Lord we know that life is never hopeless. He is the God of all hope. Joel 3:16 illustrates the truth of this: “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem: and the heavens and earth shall shake: But the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” A – Almighty – Our Lord is all powerful. There are many things that He will not do, but there is nothing that He cannot do. Throughout the Bible, we see God’s power at work for the benefit of His people. Even in the seeming defeat of the cross, we see His power at work on our behalf. N – New life – One of the main themes of the Bible is that because of the love that the Lord has for us, we can have newness of life. “Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:14 K – Knowledge – The greatest statement of God’s knowledge is in Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” As the Lord is all-powerful, He is also all-knowing. He knows the beginning and the end, a He knows everything in between. S – Surety – We can always be sure that God is all-knowing, that He all-powerful and that above He is all-loving. We can be sure that God wants the best for us and wants us to want the best for ourselves and for the people in our lives. We can be sure that even His discipline will for our best. I trust that this acronym spoke to your heart and assured you that you need to give thanks to God today. Amen Bro. Joe “And when (Jesus) had come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him. 19. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but said unto him, Go home to your friends and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and has had compassion on you.”
The incident referred to in the text pertains to the encounter that Jesus had with the man who was demon possessed and ran naked and wild among the tombs. After Jesus had rid the man of the demons, it was natural that he would want to follow Jesus, but Jesus did not tell him to follow Him as He did to His disciples. Rather, He told the man to go back to his home and share with others the miracle that he had experienced. Because of what happened to the man, he was given the responsibility of sharing it. This is a good lesson for us. We need to share with others what Jesus did, and is still doing, for us. Jesus told the man to go home to his friends. Can you imagine the surprise of the man’s friends when they saw him “clothed and in his right mind.” They would obviously be curious about what had happened to return him to sanity. The last time they saw the man he was out of control, now he was changed. We have heard many stories about people who lived wild lives and were changed by the gospel, and about how surprised the people who knew him were. They noticed the change in him and wondered what had happened. It might be that you did not live a “wild” life before you were saved, but Jesus has done a work in your life, and He wants you to tell people about what He did for you. We are not told how the man’s friends reacted to his new life, but I imagine that, among other things, they wanted to know what happened to bring about this change. Whether the change is dramatic, as in the case of the demoniac, or undramatic, the reason for the change in our lives needs to be shared. Jesus told the man to tell his friends “what great things the Lord had done for (him).” Surely, Jesus has done something in your life that needs to be told. The “great things” that Jesus does for us might not be as dramatic as this story, or the experience of Paul, but He wants us to share them with others. You might not have a sensational story to tell, but you do have a story. Jesus told the man that He “had compassion on (Him).” Many people do not understand that God is compassionate. They have majored on the stories in the Old Testament of how God brought judgment and wrath on those who disobeyed Him. These stories are real, but they are not the full story. The full story is that God is compassionate towards us. God’s wrath is not meant to replace His compassion. The whole story of the Bible is how God loved the world so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to save people from their sins. We need to share the positive story about the compassion that God has for people. One of the best ways that we can share His compassion is to be compassionate towards others in our own lives. Just as Jesus demonstrated the compassion of God, we can demonstrate it as well. Jesus has done a work in your life that He wants you to share. Go to people and tell them about what Jesus has done for you, that He loves them and has compassion for them. Bro. Joe “Jesus said unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.”
In John 4, while Jesus ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well at Sychar, Jesus’ disciples went into the city to get food. When they returned, they asked Jesus to eat and He told them that He had “meat to eat that you know not of.” Jesus added that His food was doing the will of the Father. Not only did Jesus do His Father’s will, He has called us to do the same. We need to ask ourselves how carefully we follow God’s will for our lives – or if we even think about it. It is important that we know and do God’s will for our lives. God wants us to know and to do His will. God called upon people in the Bible to do His will. Abraham left his native Ur of the Chaldees in order to obey God’s will for his life. Moses left a comfortable shepherd’s job in Media to lead Israel out of Egypt because it was God’s will for his life. Moses was initially reluctant, but he did it anyway. We could cite many times in the Bible when people did God’s will, but we must remember that doing God’s will wasn’t just for people in the Bible. Both Abraham and Moses were flesh and blood people like we are, but they surrendered to God’s will. We should do the same. In His “Model Prayer” in Matthew 6:10, Jesus prayed: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." All of us should pray for God’s will to be done, not just in a general sense, but in reference to our own lives. Jesus is the prime example of doing God’s will. We not only have the statement that He made in John 4, but we also have His prayer in Gethsemane, where He prayed: “…nevertheless not my will but your will be done.” Because of the will of the Father, Jesus did what was necessary for our salvation. All of this being true, we should take God’s will for our lives seriously as well. We need to know and do God’s will for our lives. The first step is for us to know God’s will for us. It is as simple as asking God what His will for you is. He will give you an answer in your heart and mind. Jesus knows what His will is for you, and He is ready to let you know what it is. Perhaps you need to know that He wants you to teach a certain Sunday School class, sing in the choir or be the outreach leader in your church. You just need to ask Jesus what He wants of you and listen with heart, mind and soul. The next step for us is to do God’s will for our lives. Obviously, it is not enough just to know what God’s will is. We must put hands, feet, hearts and minds to that knowledge and actually do God’s will. I remember that when I had to make a public decision concerning my call to the ministry, I was so nervous that my hands were sweating. I don’t recall a lot of what the preacher said that day in his sermon, because I knew that in order to do God’s will I had to take the next step. I knew that when I made that decision, my life would change and the way that people viewed me would change. There would be no turning back. That was fifty-three years ago, and I still remember the nervousness and excitement of following through on God’s will for my life. To be in God’s will, I had to do what I had to do. Though God’s will for you might not be as radical for you as it was for me, it will still be the same for you. Determine that once you know God’s will, you will do whatever it is. Are you presently living in God’s will for your life? Is what you do each day in your life now God’s will for your life? Reflect for a few moments on what you just read. Are you ready to do God’s will for your life? Bro. Joe “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
As surely as we live there will be a “day of trouble.” This text gives us one solemn prospect and three solemn promises pertaining to the day of trouble. The Lord wants us to be aware of all of life’s exigencies and of His availability in them. Let’s see what the text promises. First, there is always the prospect of trouble. No one lives a trouble-free life. We are always going to face troubles of some kind. This is not a lovely prospect and seems negative in outlook, but is nevertheless true. There can be personal troubles that cause us to be depressed. There can be family troubles that can cause us great distress. There can be troubles at work that make our jobs more stressful. There can be troubling people who come in and out of our lives, causing us to have a problem loving them.. (You could probably name some right now. lol [maybe]) Someone has written that “life is alternate shade and sunshine.” This is true. It would be nice if trouble warned us before it came, but it seldom does. We could handle trouble better if we could always anticipate it. Alas, that cannot be done. We just need to be aware that we will have to face troubles of all kinds in this world. (Adam and Eve lost that world for us, and we haven’t done a whole lot to improve on what they did.) What can we do about these inevitable troubles that we will face? We usually try to handle them ourselves based on our own expertise. When we do this we usually get into deeper and deeper trouble. The Lord gives us the answer. Second, there is always the privilege of prayer. In the text written above, the Lord said “call upon me in the day of trouble.”Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) When we belong to Jesus, He is never out of range for us. I once read that, “The Lord is in hearing distance all of the time.” This is true, though in the midst of trouble we sometimes forget it. The hymn is true that tells us: “O, what peace we often forfeit, O, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” We need to pay attention to those words that we sing and really think about what they mean. We are like one man I talked to years ago who told me that he was going to work out everything for himself and then turn it over to God. This is the reverse of reality. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul reminded us to “pray without ceasing.” In Luke 18:1 we read: “And (Jesus) spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint.” We need to memorize and remember passages like these to remind us of our need to pray. They will also remind us of the power of prayer in our lives. No one can take the privilege of prayer from us. Third, there is always a promise of deliverance. The language here is definite: “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee.” He did not say, “I might deliver thee.” His deliverance is certain. There are at least two ways that the Lord delivers us in the day of trouble: (1) He delivers us from the trouble. (2) He delivers us through the trouble. Either way we are delivered. When the Lord delivers us we should always praise and glorify Him: “I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me.” In this way, we give credit to the Lord for our deliverance. We cannot deliver ourselves without the Lord’s intervention. We need to remember that though we will face troubles in this life, we are not alone in facing them. Take God at His word and call upon Him. He will deliver you, and when He does praise Him. Believe it and practice it. Bro. Joe |
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