In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul informs the Ephesian Christians:
“God has revealed to me a great mystery, namely that both Jews and Gentiles are united as one in the body of Christ, and He has called me to proclaim this message.
For this reason, I pray that you might be strengthened with POWER through His Spirit in the inner man so that you might mature spiritually, be able to comprehend the magnitude of God’s love, and be filled with the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:1-21
Paul’s Doxology (An expression of praise to God)
3:20 This prayer closes with a soul-inspiring doxology.
The preceding requests have been vast, bold, and seemingly impossible.
But God is able to do more in this connection than we can ask or think.
The extent of His ability is seen in the manner in which Paul pyramids words to describe superabundant blessings:
• Able • Able to do • Able to do what we ask • Able to do what we think • Able to do what we ask or think • Able to do all that we ask or think • Able to do above all that we ask or think • Able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think •Able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think
The means by which God answers prayer is given in the expression according to the power that works in us.
This refers to the Holy Spirit, who is constantly at work in our lives, seeking to produce the fruit of a Christlike character, rebuking us because of sin, guiding us in prayer, inspiring us in worship, directing us in service.
The more we are yielded to Him, the greater will be His effectiveness in conforming us to Christ.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) _________________________________
Wednesday, April 12 God Calling by Two Listeners
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. — Ephesians 3:20
I am your Guide. Strength and help will come to you; just trust Me wholly.
Fear not. I am evermore ready to hear than you to ask. Walk in My ways, and know that help will come.
Man’s need is God’s chance to help.
I love to help and save. Man’s need is God’s golden opportunity for him of letting his faith find expression.
That expression of faith is all that God needs to manifest His Power.
Faith is the Key that unlocks the storehouse of God’s resources.
My faithful servants, you long for perfection and see your bitter failures.
I see faithfulness, and as a mother takes the soiled, imperfect work of her child and invests it with perfection because of the sweet love, so I take your poor faithfulness and crown it with perfection.
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25 _____
I always enjoy studying the life and ministry of Paul…
The Apostle Paul was truly God’s Champion!
So let’s take a look at Paul’s life and ministry:
Paul the Apostle, original name Saul of Tarsus, (born 4 BC?, Tarsus in Cilicia [now in Turkey]—died 62–64 AD in Rome [Italy]),
The Apostle Paul was one of the leaders of the first generation of Christians, often considered to be the most important person after Jesus in the history of Christianity.
In his own day, although he was a major figure within the very small Christian movement, he also had many enemies and detractors, and his contemporaries probably did not accord him as much respect as they gave Peter and James.
Paul was compelled to struggle, therefore, to establish his own worth and authority.
His surviving letters, however, have had enormous influence on subsequent Christianity and have secured his place as one of the greatest religious leaders of all time.
Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 are attributed to Paul, and approximately half of another, Acts of the Apostles, deals with Paul’s life and works.
Thus, about half of the New Testament stems from Paul and the people whom he influenced.
Paul was a Greek-speaking Jew from Asia Minor. His birthplace, Tarsus, was a major city in eastern Cilicia, a region that had been made part of the Roman province of Syria by the time of Paul’s adulthood.
Two of the main cities of Syria, Damascus and Antioch, played a prominent part in his life and letters.
Although the exact date of his birth is unknown, he was active as a missionary in the 40s and 50s of the 1st century AD.
From this it may be inferred that he was born about the same time as Jesus (c. 4 BC) or a little later.
He was converted to faith in Jesus Christ about 33 AD, and he died, probably in Rome, circa 62–64 AD.
In his childhood and youth, Paul learned how to “work with his own hands” (1 Corinthians 4:12).
His trade, tent making, which he continued to practice after his conversion to Christianity, helps to explain important aspects of his apostleship.
He could travel with a few leather-working tools and set up shop anywhere. It is doubtful that his family was wealthy or aristocratic, but, since he found it noteworthy that he sometimes worked with his own hands, it may be assumed that he was not a common labourer.
His letters are written in Koine, or “common” Greek, rather than in the elegant literary Greek of his wealthy contemporary the Jewish philosopher Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, and this too argues against the view that Paul was an aristocrat.
Moreover, he knew how to dictate, and he could write with his own hand in large letters (Galatians 6:11), though not in the small, neat letters of the professional scribe.
Until about the midpoint of his life, Paul was a member of the Pharisees, a religious party that emerged during the later Second Temple period.
What little is known about Paul the Pharisee reflects the character of the Pharisaic movement.
Pharisees believed in life after death, which was one of Paul’s deepest convictions.
They accepted nonbiblical “traditions” as being about as important as the written Bible; Paul refers to his expertise in “traditions” (Galatians 1:14).
Pharisees were very careful students of the Hebrew Bible, and Paul was able to quote extensively from the Greek translation.
(It was fairly easy for a bright, ambitious young boy to memorize the Bible, and it would have been very difficult and expensive for Paul as an adult to carry around dozens of bulky scrolls.)
By his own account, Paul was the best Jew and the best Pharisee of his generation (Philippians 3:4–6; Galatians 1:13–14), though he claimed to be the least apostle of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:22–3; 1 Corinthians 15:9–10) and attributed his successes to the grace of God.
Paul spent much of the first half of his life persecuting the emerging Christian movement, an activity to which he refers several times.
Paul’s motivations are unknown, but they seem not to have been connected to his Pharisaism.
The chief persecutors of the Christian movement in Jerusalem were the high priest and his associates, who were Sadducees (if they belonged to one of the parties), and Acts depicts the leading Pharisee, Gamaliel, as defending the Christians (Acts 5:34).
It is possible that Paul believed that Jewish converts to the new movement were not sufficiently observant of the Jewish law, that Jewish converts mingled too freely with Gentile (non-Jewish) converts, thus associating themselves with idolatrous practices, or that the notion of a crucified messiah was objectionable.
The young Paul certainly would have rejected the view that Jesus had been raised after his death—not because he doubted resurrection as such but because he would not have believed that God chose to favour Jesus by raising him before the time of the Judgment of the world.
Whatever his reasons, Paul’s persecutions probably involved traveling from synagogue to synagogue and urging the punishment of Jews who accepted Jesus as the messiah.
Disobedient members of synagogues were punished by some form of ostracism or by light flogging, which Paul himself later suffered at least five times (2 Corinthians 11:24), though he does not say when or where.
Paul was on his way to Damascus when he had a vision that changed his life: according to Galatians 1:16, God revealed his Son to him.
More specifically, Paul states that he saw the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1), though Acts claims that near Damascus he saw a blinding bright light.
Following this revelation, which convinced Paul that God had indeed chosen Jesus to be the promised messiah, he went into Arabia—probably Coele-Syria, west of Damascus (Galatians 1:17).
He then returned to Damascus, and three years later he went to Jerusalem to become acquainted with the leading apostles there.
After this meeting he began his famous missions to the west, preaching first in his native Syria and Cilicia (Galatians 1:17–24).
During the next 20 years or so (c. mid-30s to mid-50s), he established several churches in Asia Minor and at least three in Europe, including the church at Corinth.
During the course of his missions, Paul realized that his preaching to Gentiles was creating difficulties for the Christians in Jerusalem, who thought that Gentiles must become Jewish in order to join the Christian movement.
To settle the issue, Paul returned to Jerusalem and struck a deal.
It was agreed that Peter would be the principal apostle to Jews and Paul the principal apostle to Gentiles.
Paul would not have to change his message, but he would take up a collection for the Jerusalem church, which was in need of financial support (Galatians 2:1–10; 2 Corinthians 8–9; Romans 15:16–17, 25–26), though Paul’s Gentile churches were hardly well off.
In Romans 15:16–17 Paul seems to interpret the “offering of the Gentiles” symbolically, suggesting that it is the prophesied Gentile pilgrimage to the Temple of Jerusalem, with their wealth in their hands (e.g., Isaiah 60:1–6).
It is also obvious that Paul and the Jerusalem apostles made a political bargain not to interfere in each other’s spheres.
The “circumcision faction” of the Jerusalem apostles (Galatians 2:12–13), which argued that converts should undergo circumcision as a sign of accepting the covenant between God and Abraham, later broke this agreement by preaching to the Gentile converts both in Antioch (Galatians 2:12) and Galatia and insisting that they be circumcised, leading to some of Paul’s strongest criticism against the old school Judaizers, who were in opposition to the New covenant message that we are saved by faith alone (galatians 1:7–9; 3:1; 5:2–12; 6:12–13).
In the late 50s Paul returned to Jerusalem with the money he had raised and a few of his Gentile converts.
There he was arrested for taking a Gentile too far into the Temple precincts, and, after a series of trials, he was sent to Rome.
Later Christian tradition favours the view that he was executed there (1 Clement 5:1–7), perhaps as part of the executions of Christians ordered by the Roman emperor Nero following the great fire in the city in 64 AD.
Paul believed that his vision proved that Jesus lived in heaven, that Jesus was the Messiah and God’s Son, and that He would soon return.
Moreover, Paul thought that the purpose of this revelation was his own appointment to preach among the Gentiles (Galatians 1:16).
By the time of his last existing letter, Romans, he could clearly describe his own place in God’s plan.
The Hebrew prophets, he wrote, had predicted that in “days to come” God would restore the tribes of Israel and that the Gentiles would then turn to worship the one true God.
Paul maintained that his place in this scheme was to win the Gentiles, both Greeks and “barbarians”—the common term for non-Greeks at the time (Romans 1:14).
“Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry in order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them” (Romans 11:13–14).
In two other places in Romans 11—verses 25–26 (“the full number of the Gentiles [will] come in” and thus “all Israel will be saved”) and 30–31 (“by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy”)—Paul asserts that he would save some of Israel indirectly, through jealousy, and that Jews would be brought to Christ because of the successful Gentile mission.
Thus, Paul’s view reversed the traditional understanding of God’s plan, according to which Israel would be restored before the Gentiles were converted.
Whereas Peter, James, and John, the chief apostles to the circumcised (Galatians 2:6–10), had been relatively unsuccessful, God had led Paul through Asia Minor and Greece “in triumph” and had used him to spread “the fragrance that comes from knowing him [God]” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Since in Paul’s view God’s plan could not be frustrated, he concluded that it would work in reverse sequence—first the Gentiles, then the Jews.
During the first two centuries of the Roman Empire, travel was safer than it would be again until the suppression of pirates in the 19th century.
Paul and his companions sometimes traveled by ship, but much of the time they walked, probably beside a donkey carrying tools, clothes, and perhaps some scrolls.
Occasionally they had plenty, but often they were hungry, ill-clad, and cold (Philippians 4:11–12; 2 Corinthians 11:27), and at times they had to rely on the charity of their converts.
Paul wanted to keep pressing west and therefore only occasionally had the opportunity to revisit his churches.
He tried to keep up his converts’ spirits, answer their questions, and resolve their problems by letter and by sending one or more of his assistants (especially Timothy and Titus).
Paul’s letters reveal a remarkable human being: dedicated, compassionate, emotional, sometimes harsh and angry, clever and quick-witted, supple in argumentation, and above all possessing a soaring, passionate commitment to God, Jesus Christ, and his own mission.
Fortunately, after his death one of his followers collected some of the letters, edited them very slightly, and published them.
They constitute one of history’s most remarkable personal contributions to religious thought and practice.
Despite Paul’s intemperate outburst in 1 Corinthians—“women should be silent in the churches” (14:34–36)—women played a large part in his missionary endeavour.
Chloe was an important member of the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11), and Phoebe was a “deacon” and a “benefactor” of Paul and others (Romans 16:1–2).
Romans 16 names eight other women active in the Christian movement, including Junia (“prominent among the apostles”), Mary (“who has worked very hard among you”), and Julia.
Women were frequently among the major supporters of new religious movements, and Christianity was no exception.
Although in his own view Paul was the true and authoritative apostle to the Gentiles, chosen for the task from his mother’s womb (Galatians 1:15–16; 2:7–8; Romans 11:13–14), he was only one of several missionaries spawned by the early Christian movement.
Some of the other Christian workers must have been quite important; indeed, an unknown minister of Christ established the church at Rome before Paul arrived in the city.
Paul treated some of these possible competitors—such as Prisca, Aquila, Junia, and Andronicus—in a very friendly manner (Romans 16: 3, 7), while he looked on others with suspicion or hostility.
He was especially wary of Apollos, a Christian missionary known to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3:1–22), and he vilified competitors in Corinth as false apostles and ministers of Satan (2 Corinthians 11).
He called down God’s curse on competing preachers in Galatia (Galatians 1:6–9) and asserted that some of the Christians in Jerusalem were “false brothers” (Galatians 2:4; compare 2 Corinthians 11:26).
Only in the latter two cases, however, is the nature of the disagreement known:
Paul’s competitors opposed his admitting Gentiles to the Christian movement without requiring them to become Jewish.
The polemical sections of Paul’s letters have been used in Christian controversies ever since.
Paul’s Basic Message
In the surviving letters, Paul often recalls what he said during his founding visits.
He preached the death, resurrection, and lordship of Jesus Christ, and he proclaimed that faith in Jesus guarantees a share in His life.
Writing to the Galatians, he reminded them “it was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified” (Galatians 3:1), and writing to the Corinthians he recalled that he had known nothing among them “except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
According to Paul, Jesus’ death was not a defeat but was for the believers’ benefit.
In accord with ancient sacrificial theology, Jesus’ death substituted for that of others and thereby freed believers from sin and guilt (Romans 3:23–25).
A second interpretation of Christ’s death appears in Galatians and Romans:
Those who are baptized into Christ are baptized into His death, and thus they escape the power of sin (e.g., Romans 6).
In the first case, Jesus died so that the believers’ sins will be purged.
In the second, He died so that the believers may die with Him and consequently live with Him.
These two ideas obviously coincide.
The resurrection of Christ was also of primary importance, as Paul revealed in his Letter to the Thessalonians, the earliest surviving account of conversion to the Christian movement.
Written to Thessalonica in Macedonia possibly as early as 41 AD and no later than 51—thus no more than 20 years after Jesus’ death—the letter states (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10),
“For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.”
Since Jesus was raised and still lives, He could return to rescue believers at the time of the Final Judgment.
The resurrection is connected to the third major emphasis, the promise of salvation to believers.
Paul taught that those who died in Christ would be raised when He returned, while those still alive would be “caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:14–18).
These and many other passages reveal the essence of the Christian message:
(1) God sent his Son;
(2) the Son was crucified and resurrected for the benefit of humanity;
(3) the Son would soon return; and
(4) those who belonged to the Son would live with Him forever.
Paul’s gospel, like those of others, also included
(5) the admonition to live by the highest moral standard:
“May your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____
Our Spiritual Union with God happens only through Jesus’ propitious sacrifice on Calvary’s Cross, and His poured out life and blood…
“I must die or get somebody to die for me. If the Bible doesn’t teach that, it doesn’t teach anything. And that is where the atonement of Jesus Christ comes in.” — Dwight L. Moody
In chapter 2, Paul tells the Ephesian Christians:
As Gentiles, you were once spiritually alienated from Israel, but now you have been spiritually united with them into a living spiritual temple of God.
In the first half of Ephesians chapter 2, Paul traced the salvation of individual Gentiles and Jews.
Now he advances to the abolition of their former national differences, to their union in Christ, and to their formation into the church, a holy temple in the Lord.
In verses 11 and 12 the apostle reminds his readers that prior to their conversion they were Gentiles by birth and therefore outcasts as far as the Jews were concerned.
First, they were despised. This is indicated by the fact that the Jews called them Uncircumcision.
This meant the Gentiles did not have the surgical sign in their flesh that marked the Israelites as God’s covenant people.
The name “uncircumcised” was an ethnic slur, similar to the names that people use today for despised nationalities.
We can feel something of its sting when we hear David say concerning the Gentile Goliath, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26).
Before Christ’s coming, Gentiles and Jews kept apart from one another. Jews considered Gentiles beyond God’s saving power and therefore without hope.
Gentiles resented Jewish claims.
Christ revealed the total sinfulness of both Jews and Gentiles, and then He offered His salvation to both.
Christ breaks down the walls of prejudice, reconciles ALL believers to God, and unifies us in one body.
Pious Jews considered all non-Jews (Gentiles) ceremonially unclean.
They thought of themselves as pure and clean because of their national heritage and religious ceremonies.
Paul pointed out that Jews and Gentiles alike are unclean before God and need to be cleansed by Christ.
In order to realize how great a gift salvation is, we need to remember our former, natural, unclean condition.
Have you ever felt separate, excluded, hopeless?
These verses are for you.
Christ’s love overcomes all feelings of alienation and brings outsiders into the body of believers.
Jews and Gentiles alike could be guilty of spiritual pride—Jews for thinking their faith and traditions elevated them above everyone else, Gentiles for trusting in their achievements, power, or positions.
Spiritual pride blinds us to our own faults and magnifies the faults of others.
Be careful not to become proud of your salvation.
Instead, humbly thank God for what He has done, and encourage others who might be struggling in their faith.
Ephesians 2:13-16 New Living Translation
13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us.
He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations.
He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.
16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. ____
Christ has destroyed the barriers people build between themselves and others.
Because these walls have been removed, we can have real unity with people who are not like us.
We have true reconciliation with God and with each other. Because of Christ’s death, we are all unified, on the same side, citizens of the same Kingdom (2:14); our hostility against each other has been put to death (2:16); we can all have access to the Father by the Holy Spirit (2:18); we are no longer strangers or foreigners to God (2:19); and we are all being built into a holy temple with Christ as our chief cornerstone (2:20-21).
There are many barriers that can divide us from other Christians: age, appearance, intelligence, political persuasion, economic status, race, theological perspective.
We stifle Christ’s love when we befriend only those people whom we like or with whom we share similar characteristics.
Fortunately, Christ has knocked down the barriers and has unified all believers in one family.
The Holy Spirit helps us look beyond our potential barriers to the unity we are called to enjoy.
Focus on the cross, which unites all believers.
By His death, Christ ended the reason for angry resentment between Jews and Gentiles, caused by the Jewish laws that favored the Jews and excluded the Gentiles.
When Christ died, He accomplished the purpose of that whole system of Jewish laws.
Then He took the two groups who had been opposed to each other and made them parts of Himself.
“One new people” refers to the single entity that Christ made out of the two. Thus, He fused all believers together to become one in Himself.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ____
For the Christian, prayer is a lifestyle and not just an emergency contact…
The hour of prayer and Bible reading is probably the most neglected discipline of our spiritual walk.
Jesus asked His disciples to tarry with Him in prayer for one hour.
Are we willing to give Him that one hour a day?
God is calling for His church to awake, to arise to righteousness (His way of doing and being right).
This includes a life dedicated to prayer – communion with the Holy Trinity, the great Three in One.
Prayer isn’t something a person does; it is something he lives.
Prayer is where you find mercy and grace—it is where you learn to move throughout the day in the rhythms of grace.
If you are a Christian – a disciple of Christ, which means a follower of Christ, then Jesus needs to be the hub of your life around which everything in your life revolves.
There are too many people who are Nominal Christians, I know because I used to be one of them, meaning I was Christian in name only, but did not have a relationship with Jesus.
That’s where the necessity of our being born-again comes into play.
Jesus said that, “If you love Me you will keep My Word and obey My commandments and then My Father and I will come and make our abode with you” (read John 14:15, 23).
1 John 2:4-6 tells us (in the J.B. Phillips New Testament)
3-6 It is only when we obey God’s laws that we can be quite sure that we really know him.
The man who claims to know God but does not obey his laws is not only a liar but lives in self-delusion.
In practice, the more a man learns to obey God’s laws the more truly and fully does he express his love for him.
Obedience is the test of whether we really live “in God” or not.
The life of a man who professes to be living in God must bear the stamp of Christ.
The New King James Bible puts it this way, “He who says he abides in Him (in Jesus) ought himself also to walk just as He (Jesus) walked.”
Jesus is our hub, our focus, and the way we do this is that we learn to walk daily, by faith, in obedience to His Word, and not by sight.
Listen to what Paul said:
Romans 12:1-2 J.B. Phillips New Testament
We have seen God’s mercy and wisdom: how shall we respond?
1-2 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him.
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. _____
By immersing ourselves in the water of God’s Word and in the Holy Spirit, we are then allowing the Holy Spirit to rewrite the code – the corrupt programming that we all have received from this world, and replace it with God’s programming.
This is the importance of prayer in our life, in fact in First Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to “pray without ceasing.”
In other words what this is saying is that prayer is mostly our listening to God, and in order for us to do this God wants us to keep that vertical connection with Him 24/7 365, just like we read in the Bible that Jesus did.
The Power of Prayer
Prayer moves the arm that moves the world
“God has of his own motion placed himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated himself to answer the prayers of men.
He has ordained prayer as a means whereby he will do things through men as they pray, which he would not otherwise do.
If prayer puts God to work on earth, then, by the same token, prayerlessness rules God out of the world’s affairs, and prevents him from working.
The driving power, the conquering force in God’s cause is God himself.
‘Call on me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not!’
Through prayer, God is challenging us to seek His face and His wisdom, in order that we may gain knowledge on how we should live our lives.
[This is, in fact, the reason we were created, to have this unending communion and fellowship with our Creator, and without that vertical connection with Him, in our life, we are all like fish flopping around on the shores of life, looking for our way back home.]
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” — Jeremiah 32:27
We have to learn to develop the God kind of faith.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, in the face of any and all contradictory feelings and/or circumstances.
Faith is not based on what we see or feel, it’s based on what we believe.
The man with the epileptic son came to Jesus, and in desperation he said “Master, if you can please heal my son!
To which Jesus responded:
“[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ But I say to you, ‘ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!’ ”
if we are to walk this Christian walk, then it is imperative that we learn to live by faith and not by sight, which means we have to learn to hang our life and all of our life circumstances on the trustworthiness and reliability of God and His Word!
Faith is action, based upon belief in God and the truth of God’s Word, sustained by confidence that when God promises something God will keep that promise.
God’s promise to all of us is, if we take the risk and stand on His Word, using our faith, it will not return void, without accomplishing the purpose wherein it was sent.
_______________________________________
Wednesday, March 27, 2023 Kenneth Copeland Ministries Blog
3 KEYS TO DEVELOPING SKILLED FAITH
Have you ever met someone truly skilled at something? It could be a trade, hobby or craft.
They are so adept at what they do that its impressive to watch.
Maybe you know someone like that.
Well, did you know that just as one can develop being highly skilled at a trade, you can develop being highly skilled with your faith? You can!
God has given each of us faith that we can develop (Romans 12:3, New King James Version).
You can grow your own skilled faith and put it to work not only in your life, but you can also use it to help others.
You can become someone who knows how to stand on the Word, declare and release their faith, and see their prayers working.
As you read these 3 Keys To Developing Skilled Faith, receive what Christ has paid for and refuse to accept anything contrary to what the Word says. Grab hold of these truths and begin to walk in more victory in every area of life!
1) Be Moved Only by the Word of God.
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – Romans 10:17, NKJV
It’s easy to be moved by what we see, what we feel, and what we experience.
It’s a discipline to only be moved by the Word of God. But learning to be moved by the Word is not only possible, it’s valuable when it comes to developing skilled faith.
Study the Word by reading it and meditating it.
Listen to messages, and as you do, your faith will develop. You’ll find yourself having more faith in the Word than what you’re experiencing.
The Word will begin to take precedence over what you see in the natural realm.
As you grow and continue these practices, no matter the size of any challenge that comes your way, you’ll be able to remain steadfast in the Word.
Because you will have renewed your mind to what the Word says (Romans 12:1-2), the Word is what you will think and what you will say when challenges come.
Granted, it’s easier said than done, but our goal is to remain unmoved in the face of adversity.
Let’s face it, in such times, our emotions can get the best of us, but if we have hidden the Word in our hearts, the Word is what will come to mind and that is what we’ll speak.
We’ll speak faith!
When David faced Goliath, the giant looked troubling before hundreds of cowering, fearful soldiers.
He appeared so big and strong that not even the king or any of his generals stepped out to face Goliath.
The Israeli Army just kept repeating what they saw: a giant who was taunting them night and day, intimidating them.
With an entire Israeli Army befuddled in fear, a young boy, David, stepped forward.
Full of faith and adept with a sling, he fearlessly faced and defeated Goliath.
You see, David wasn’t moved by what he physically saw in Goliath’s size.
David was only moved by his spiritual promises in the living God.
Instead of speaking confusion, disappointment and fear at a bad report (Goliath), David spoke the promises of God, thus releasing his faith, and he defeated the giant easily (1 Samuel 17).
2) Develop a Spirit of Excellence.
“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” – Proverbs 4:20-22
God has called each one of us to develop a spirit of excellence and to operate in it in everything we do.
It’s something that should be part of our character.
We develop a spirit of excellence by first hiding the Word in our hearts, abiding in it, and then applying it in every area of our lives.
It’s not only a standard of living, but also a description of how we live, work, conduct our affairs, and manage our relationships.
It’s going the extra mile and doing the right thing at all costs. It’s living a life of integrity at all times.
Now developing and acting upon a spirit of excellence doesn’t mean we have to be perfect.
But it does mean that we have a desire to live a godly life and do things the right way as defined by the Word.
It means being Christ-like in all our affairs.
After all, the ministry of Jesus was one of excellence, and one that laid the foundation for success.
This is why people who operate in excellence do their job unto the Lord and let Him do the promoting (1 Corinthians 7:17; Psalm 75:6-7).
No matter what position God has called you into, He fully intends to lead you into excellence, success, and a life beyond what you could ever imagine on your own, equipping you every step of the way. Your responsibility is to develop a spirit of excellence and walk in it.
3) Do Not Waver.
“But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” – James 1:6-7
When we waver between listening to God and standing on His promises, versus entertaining all the thoughts running through our minds that are contrary to the Word, our loyalty becomes divided.
As much as we want to stand on God’s Word and cling to His promises, we’re lending our ear to the devil and what the world is throwing at us.
When we speak what we’re hearing that’s contrary to the Word, we give it authority in our lives. And just like it says in the verse above, our choice is simple: We can waver, or we can receive.
God makes it clear that we cannot waver and receive at the same time.
Knowing this, Satan has one tactic in mind—to get us to doubt.
If he can get us to doubt who we are in Christ Jesus, and how effective we are with the Word, then he can deceive us out of our BLESSINGS.
In fact, that’s the only power he has. All other power he has over humanity was stripped by the Son of God.
The only way he can steal, kill or destroy is through telling us idle threats and lies.
So, the next time Satan tries to lie to you, start laughing, “Ha, ha, ha!
You have no power over me, Satan!
It is written that I live by the faith of the Son of God who died for me (Galatians 2:20)!”
When you do this, you’re not taunting Satan, you are refusing to believe what he is telling you and answering his lies, out loud, with the Word of God—the ultimate truth.
Jesus answered Satan’s threats with the Word when He was confronted in the wilderness, and that’s what we’re to do, too (Matthew 4:1-11).
The next time Satan tries to encircle you with lies, submit your thoughts to the Word, and resist the devil by answering with the Word, speaking it out loud (James 4:7; Romans 12:2).
As Kenneth Copeland says, “Your faith is how you access those BLESSINGS and promises.
Don’t let the devil steal your faith—what you believe.
When it looks like things are going the opposite way, Hold fast. When it looks like you’re going under. Hold fast.”
There’s a story Gloria Copeland tells that illustrates this so well.
At a time when helium balloons were used to transport product, one of the large helium balloons became unhinged and started to fly away.
Several men jumped up and held onto the rope to try to hold the balloon down, but it still shot up, and most of the men let go.
However, there was one man that astonishingly kept holding on, no matter how high the balloon flew up.
It was a very long time before they could get the balloon down.
Once they got this man back on the ground, they noticed he wasn’t exhausted, shaking or unconscious, he was absolutely fine.
The medical team asked him, “How did you do that?”
And he said, “Well, when I saw what happened, I just took the rope that I was holding on to, and I tied it around myself. And instead of me holding the rope, the rope held onto me.”
This is an illustration of how we hold fast and conquer with the Word of God—by wrapping our minds, our hearts, and our mouths with the Word and allowing it to hold us up through any trouble.
If we intently apply the Word like this, then we will overcome wavering between thinking what’s contrary to the Word and believing God’s promises.
Grab hold of these 3 Keys To Develop a Skilled Faith, and you’ll learn how to be moved only by God’s Word no matter what situation you’re facing.
As you develop a spirit of excellence and refuse to waver, you’ll walk in total victory and help others along the way!
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) _____
In Luke 22:37, Jesus quoted Isaiah 53:12 to help His disciples realize that others would regard Him as a criminal.
Therefore it would be very difficult for His disciples.
They would face intense opposition, as Peter experienced in the high priest’s courtyard.
Jesus did not want them to underestimate the strength of the opposition they would face, so that they would depend on God alone, and not on themselves, to help them remain faithful.
“At this point Christ emphatically applies to Himself a portion of Isa. 53.
Therefore, to deny that the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah predicts Christ’s passion is to contradict the Savior’s own interpretation of the prophecy.”
It was the false charges that Jesus had claimed Himself to be a king in opposition to Caesar that identified Him as a criminal.
Jesus faced Calvary from Gethsemane, submitting to the Father’s will but still having to warn the disciples to pray in the midst of temptation.
Prayer was a way of life for Jesus. He had a special place in the Mount of Olives where he habitually went for prayer.
The disciples followed, an ironic statement in light of Christ’s original call to “follow me” (5:8-11,27-28; 9:23,59,61; 18:22,28).
Now they followed, but only to fall asleep in Jesus’ greatest moment of need and in the face of Satan’s renewed attack on them.
They followed, but not in the way a person takes up a cross and follows.
22:40. Jesus gave them a prayer assignment. It centered on their chief need.
The renewed activities of Satan called them to pray to escape temptation as Jesus had escaped Satan’s temptation.
Judas and Peter were not the only ones Satan wanted.
He wanted all of Christ’s disciples and would tempt each of them.
Only prayer and Scripture can successfully fight such evil power and overcome temptation.
Very soon, the disciples would be sleeping in Gethsemane when they should have been praying (vv. 40, 46).
Similarly, we often fail to ask God to help us, and instead rely on our own resources.
THE ARREST OF JESUS 22:39-53
This section in Luke’s Gospel consists of two incidents:
Jesus’ preparation for His arrest and crucifixion, and the arrest itself.
The subject of the whole section is proper preparation for persecution.
Jesus’ preparation in Gethsemane 22:39-46 (cf. Matt. 26:30, 36-46; Mark 14:26, 32-42; John 18:1) Luke organized his narrative so Jesus’ praying in the garden follows immediately His instructions to the disciples about their preparation for the crisis to come.
The present situation shows Jesus’ proper approach to it, and the disciples’ improper approach.
The next pericope reveals the consequences of their actions.
22:39-40 Luke earlier revealed that during this week, Jesus had been spending His nights on the “Mount of Olives” (21:37).
It was apparently to this “custom” that the writer referred to here.
Judas would have expected Jesus to go there, and Jesus did not try to elude Judas.
Jesus’ control over His own destiny is again evident in His leading the disciples out of the city to the mount.
Luke did not identify “the place” where Jesus prayed as “Gethsemane” (Matt. 26:36; Mark 14:32), perhaps because he did not want to detract from the action in the pericope.
Jesus focused the disciples’ attention on their need for God’s protection from “temptation” (Gr. peirasmon), and instructed them to “pray” for it (cf. 11:4).
Only Luke wrote that He told them to pray specifically for this, and only Luke mentioned that Jesus gave this command to all the “disciples.”
The effect is that the reader sees all the disciples as needing to pray because of the danger of failing.
22:41-42 Luke presented Jesus praying as any disciple could pray (cf. Rom. 11:4; 14:11; Eph. 3:14; Phil. 2:10).
His posture reflects His submissive attitude: “He knelt down.”
Luke did not record that Jesus lay prostrate during part of His prayer vigil (cf. Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:35).
The prayer itself reveals complete dependence on the Father’s will.
Jesus asked for removal of the “cup,” the symbol of His sufferings consequent to God’s judgment on sin (cf. Ps. 11:6; 75:8; Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:15-17; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24).
He requested it only if it was possible, i.e., if the Father was “willing” (Gr. ei boulei).
In any case, He submitted to His Father’s will above all.
Throughout his Gospel, Luke made frequent references to Jesus’ conscious fulfillment of God’s purposes.
The submissiveness of Jesus’ prayer is a model for all disciples.
When we do not know God’s will specifically, we can voice our request, but we should always submit our preferences to God’s will.
Luke pictured Jesus as a real man, not a demigod.
“The effect of the saying is that Jesus, facing the temptation to avoid the path of suffering appointed by God, nevertheless accepts the will of God despite His own desire that it might be otherwise.
He does not seek to disobey the will of God, but longs that God’s will might be different. But even this is to be regarded as temptation, and it is overcome by Jesus.”
One very important lesson that we can learn from the Bible is that in spite of how bad things may look, in the end God is ALWAYS in control and He always has the last word!
From Max Lucado:
Christ Through the Bible Jesus: Master of God’s Domain
God hasn’t kept the ending a secret. He wants us to see the big picture.
He wants us to know that He wins. And He also wants us to know that the evil we witness on the stage of life is not as mighty as we might think.
Many passages teach these truths, but my favorite is a couple of verses recorded by Luke.
Jesus speaks the words on the night before His death. He is in the upper room with His followers.
They are shocked to hear His prophecy that one of them will betray the Master.
Their defensiveness leads to an argument, and the argument leads Jesus to exhort them to servanthood.
Then in an abrupt shift, Jesus turns to Simon Peter and makes this intriguing statement:
“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31, 32).
This passage gives us a glimpse into an unseen world. It raises many questions, but it also affords many assurances, the chief of which is the chain of command.
God is clearly in control, and the devil is on a short leash.
Did you notice the verb that followed Satan’s name? Ask.
“Satan has asked. . . .”
The devil didn’t demand, resolve, or decide. He asked.
Just as he requested permission to tempt Job, he requested permission to tempt Simon Peter.
Sort of recasts our image of the old snake, doesn’t it?
Instead of the mighty Darth Vader of Gloom, a better caricature is a skinny, back-alley punk who acts tough, but ducks fast when God flexes.
“Uh, uh . . . I’d . . . uh . . . like to do a number on Peter—that is, if you don’t mind.”
The chain of command is clear. Satan does nothing outside of God’s domain, and God uses Satan to advance the cause of His kingdom.
(From When Christ Comes by Max Lucado)
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) _________________________________
Sunday, April 2 The Winning Walk
GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
“And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” — Luke 22:39-44
Before Jesus would endure the physical suffering you’ve just considered, He would experience emotional and spiritual torment that was far greater.
In the garden, the full scope of Jesus’ mission became readily apparent.
Jesus knew, once He left the garden, all that would occur: the treacherous betrayal by one of His own; being derided and made sport of by soldiers; a circus trial in which guilty politicians proclaimed judgment on an innocent man; brutal beatings; and then, the cross, the bearing of your sin and mine.
Without a doubt, this was the most terrible of missions ever given to an individual.
As you imagine the serene garden scene, contemplate the anguish Jesus must have felt; the mental strain as He tried to grapple with His Father’s will:
“Are you sure this is what You want Me to do?”
Take your time; there is no hurry. Allow your thoughts to center on Jesus in His most holy moment.
Remember that His anguish was so great, His sweat became like drops of blood.
Next, reflect on the cup set before Him.
Throughout the Old Testament, the cup signified God’s wrath; it was a symbol of God’s judgment against sin from which God makes the rebellious nations drink.
Jesus is the only one who ever lived whose sin didn’t contribute to that cup, who didn’t deserve to drink God’s wrath – and yet, here, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He surrendered to His Father’s will:
“Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”
Having considered Christ’s obedience, think about your own life mission.
Are you in a Garden of Gethsemane moment?
Is God calling you to do something you naturally want to resist, but His persistent voice is calling you forward?
Following God’s will often requires substantial sacrifice.
Is there a sacrifice God is asking you to make, perhaps on behalf of your family, for the sake of a friend, to serve your church?
Let our Lord’s example guide you to a new commitment to be faithful and obedient to your mission, regardless of the cost.
Prayer Lord, thank You for accepting Your mission; now I pray that You will grant me a willing heart to accept mine.
I can be so mindful and even resentful of the sacrifices required to love my family, serve in my vocation, be a part of Your family and church, that I forget the glory of Your prayer, “Not My will, but Yours be done.”
This journey of Truth starts with our studying of the Bible…
Peter’s first epistle examines the Believer’s Privileges and Duties…
Book Profile: 1 Peter
• A circulating letter to first-century Christians scattered over the northern part of modern Turkey
• Delivered or recorded by Silas (5:12), a friend and coworker of the apostle Peter
• Sent from Rome identified by the code name Babylon (5:13)
• Written shortly before the outbreak of the Neronian persecution in A.D. 64
• Addressed an audience made up of both Jewish and Gentile Christians, with the majority Gentile Written during a time of political, social, and personal persecution
• Emphasizes the reality of suffering in the lives of Christians, but also offers words of encouragement and challenge Has suffering as a primary theme, mentioning it sixteen times by using eight different Greek terms
1 Peter 1:1-25 Suffering Strengthens
In verse 2 “See how Peter says that he was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the foreknowledge of God the Father.
Furthermore, he explains what his apostleship is like by saying that it is in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Moreover, we who believe in [Jesus] have also been sanctified by the Spirit, and he sprinkles us too with his blood in order to cleanse us.
For how can we not know that God sanctifies us by his own Spirit and cleanses us believers with his own blood? For Christ was God in human flesh.”
(Andreas of Caesarea – AD 563–614)
Peter’s initial desire was to give the believers a lift, an encouraging word.
His emphasis in the first two verses should most likely be translated:
“To the chosen ones who are strangers in the world, scattered. . . according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.”
Peter linked their scattering to the foreknowledge of God.
In other words, the difficulties God’s people face do not surprise God.
God the Father knows about everything His chosen people face.
He works it all out as part of His plan.
According to the foreknowledge of God the Father also suggests that all we go through is “according to God’s fatherly care.”
God knew our circumstances of pain before the world began and cares for us in accordance with His fatherly care.
This occurs through the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Even in the midst of pain, the Holy Spirit is molding, shaping, and growing believers.
The Holy Spirit is turning every circumstance, every sorrow, every hardship into a tool of spiritual maturing.
In the same sentence Peter spoke of being obedient to Jesus Christ.
Obedience conveys the idea of listening and submitting to what is heard.
It involves a change of attitude in the believer.
In the midst of pain, it is difficult to listen to God, let alone obey Him.
Yet, since we are chosen of God and are objects of His fatherly care, we are never out of His plan.
He is designing our sanctification, our spiritual growth. Knowing that, we can continue, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to obey the commands of Jesus Christ.
That obedience begins with accepting Jesus as personal Lord and Savior and continues by living life each day just as Jesus told us and leads us to live it.
We obey the call of Jesus to salvation, the word of Jesus in the Bible, and the encouragement of Jesus found in personal relationship with Him each day.
Sprinkling by His blood reflects the language of Numbers 19 and the red heifer purification rites (cf. Exod. 24:4-8; Heb. 9:13-21; 10:22,29).
For Christians, the blood of Christ on the cross covers our sins and brings us salvation.
To people sprinkled with Christ’s blood and obedient to Christ, Peter gave the typical Christian greeting.
Peace reflects the Hebrew greeting shalom, wishing wholeness and meaningful life.
Grace is the explicitly Christian greeting, placing believers under the blood of Christ to receive God’s free, undeserved grace and hope for living each day.
God the Father has given us who believe a living hope as a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Peter piled up expressions in verses 3-5 to talk about a believer’s relationship with God through salvation.
His opening words are those of worship and praise, reminding us that salvation did not come because of who we are or because of what we have accomplished.
Salvation came as a gift of mercy.
Salvation represents a new birth (see John 1:13), a changing of who we are.
Salvation makes us dead to sin and alive to righteousness in Christ.
Peter linked our salvation relationship to what he termed “a living hope.”
Peter is without question the apostle of hope.
The hope that he had in mind is the eager, confident expectation of life to come in eternity.
Hope in the New Testament always relates to a future good!
Amid present and difficult dangers we are justified in viewing the future with optimism because we are securely attached to the God who deals in futures.
Furthermore, our hope is a living hope because it finds its focus in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Our living hope comes from a living, resurrected Christ.
Do you need encouragement?
Peter’s words offer joy and hope in times of trouble, and he bases his confidence on what God has done for us through Christ Jesus.
We live with the wonderful expectation of eternal life (1:3).
Even more, our inheritance—eternal life—begins immediately when we trust Christ and join God’s family.
God will help us remain true to our faith through whatever difficult times we must face.
The “last day” is the Judgment Day of Christ described in Romans 14:10 and Revelation 20:11-15.
No matter what trials or persecution you may face, your soul cannot be harmed if you have accepted Christ’s gift of salvation.
You will be protected by His power and receive the promised rewards.
The term born again refers to spiritual birth (regeneration)—the Holy Spirit’s act of bringing believers into God’s family.
Jesus used this concept of new birth when He explained salvation to Nicodemus (see John 3).
This term is a wonderful metaphor of new life from God.
A person cannot be a Christian without a fresh beginning based on the salvation Christ brings.
When we receive God’s magnificent gift, He brings us new freedom, a new identity, and a new family.
The Jews had looked forward to an inheritance in the Promised Land of Canaan (Numbers 32:19; Deuteronomy 2:12; 19:8).
Although the nation had received that right of inheritance, eventually they defiled their faith under the influence of foreign nations.
The people’s sins had caused the promise to become only a fading memory.
Christians now look forward to another inheritance, a priceless inheritance—eternal life in the eternal city of God.
God has reserved the inheritance; it will never fade or decay; it will be unstained by sin.
The great news is that you have this inheritance now if you have trusted Christ as your Savior.
How many times during the last week have you praised God because of the new life and inheritance He has promised you?
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
_________________________________
Monday, March 20 Worthy Brief
TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” — 1 Peter 1:3-5
Watching Yeshua (Jesus) lay down His life to die on the cross was not what His disciples were expecting, but rather a shocking, perplexing, and apparently hopeless ending to what had seemed like a promising fulfillment of Messianic hope.
The shattering ordeal of Yeshua’s trials, torture, and horrific death must have left them all feeling bereft, miserable, and uncertain of the future.
What would they do now? What would their future hold?
As deep and depressing as their shock was, Yeshua’s disciples had only to wait three days for the restoration of their vision, hope, and joy.
A massive inversion of their reality, exactly what He had predicted, His bodily resurrection, was another shock, but this time…indescribable joy, wonder, and phenomenal relief; and a restoration of meaning, purpose, and vision which carried them the rest of their lives.
As His disciples, our life often follows this pattern: trial, testing, perplexity, suffering, despair, etc…..which then yields to the opposite feelings and experiences of hope, healing, restoration, relief, and the faith and character which emerge along with vision and renewed purpose.
As our Lord knew before He died that He would rise again, He also knows the good things which He portends for the future of His disciples, that is, us, who have been passing through a season of stress and uncertainty.
He really, truly wants us to believe in the rest of this wild story; to really and truly accept the fact that He will, again, turn the world upside down as “all things work together for good for them that love God and are the called according to His purpose”!
Witnessing and being exposed to the serious and nasty things that are happening around us now, how can we imagine that anything good can emerge from it all?
The future seems bleak and downright frightening. But let us remember the Lord’s cross — His disciples’ shock and despair…and the predicted, inevitable resurrection which followed!
Be at peace, remembering the unalterable pattern God has given us in the revelation of His Son.
Enter the new year assured in your faith foundation —and the secure expectation that once again, with Him, as the Apostles did 2000 years ago…..we too, will “turn the world upside down”.
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Going to Christian College in Dallas, Texas) Baltimore, Maryland
The history behind this great hymn, by Martin Luther, is interesting…
Martin Luther is one of the key figures in church history, a man mightily used by God to bring reformation to the church.
The year 1527 was the most difficult of his life.
After ten demanding years of leading the Reformation, a dizzy spell overcame him in the middle of a sermon on April 22 of that year, forcing him to stop preaching.
Luther feared for his life.
On July 6, while eating dinner with friends, he felt an acute buzzing in his ear and lay down, again convinced he was at the end of his life.
He partially regained his strength, but a debilitating discouragement set in as a result.
In addition, heart problems and severe intestinal complications escalated the pangs of death.
Of this ordeal, Luther wrote, “I spent more than a week in death and hell.
My entire body was in pain, and I still tremble.
Completely abandoned by Christ, I labored under the vacillations and storms of desperation and blasphemy against God.”
What was worse, the dreaded black plague had entered Germany and spread into Wittenberg.
Many people fled, fearing for their lives.
Yet Luther and his wife Katy remained, believing it was their duty to care for the sick and dying.
Although Katy was pregnant with their second child, Luther’s house was transformed into a hospital where he watched many friends die.
Then without warning Luther’s one-year-old son Hans became desperately ill. With death surrounding him on every side, Luther was driven to seek refuge in God as never before.
Psalm 46 became the strength of his soul.
As a result, Luther expanded its truths into the hymn for which he is most famous, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
Its majestic and thunderous proclamation of God who is our all-sufficient refuge in our weakest moments has become the enduring symbol of the Reformation.
Like Martin Luther, the author of Psalm 46 found solace and refuge in God during difficult times.
The background for this song of praise is unknown, but it was probably written after a military victory over a foreign power that attempted a siege against Jerusalem.
It may have been written after the destruction of the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (2 Chr. 20:1-30).
Or perhaps it was recorded after the destruction of King Sennacherib and the Assyrian army during the reign of Hezekiah (2 Kgs. 18-19).
According to the superscription, it was written by one of the “sons of Korah” and was “for the director of music.”
Psalm 46:1-11
It is generally thought that the historical background of the Psalm is the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem when it was besieged by the Assyrian wolf, Sennacherib (2 Kgs. 18:13—19:35; Isa. 36:1—37:36).
At this time the people of Judah were tremendously conscious of God’s presence with them in a unique way.
And so the Psalm celebrates the praises of Him who is Immanuel—God with us.
The word “Alamoth” in the title may refer to the pitch of the music, denoting that it was to be high for the treble and soprano voices, or it may have been implored to refer to certain shrill-sounding instruments (cp. 1 Chr. 15:20).
46:1–3 It starts off by telling us that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
(He is also “abundantly available for help in tight places” – NASB marg.)
Blessed are we when we realize that our safety and protection lie not in riches or armies but in Jehovah alone!
Imagine the worst that can happen!
Suppose the earth itself should melt as if caught in the flow of a gigantic volcano.
Suppose an earthquake should toss the mountains into the midst of the sea.
Suppose a flood of water should roar and foam over the land, or that the mountains should stagger with wild convulsions of nature.
Or think of the mountains as symbols of empires or cities, and the waters as nations.
The very foundations of society are crumbling; kingdoms are toppling and disintegrating.
The nations of the world are churning with political, economic, and social confusion and trouble of unprecedented intensity is enveloping the world.
But God … !
The worst that can happen is no cause for fear. God Himself is still with us!
46:4 He Himself is the river whose streams shall make glad the city of God.
Actually the city of Jerusalem has no river. But everything that a river is to an ordinary city, God is to His holy habitation—and more, for He is the fountain of life and refreshment, the river of mercy and goodness!
There the majestic Lord will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, in which no galley with oars will sail, nor majestic ships pass by (Isa. 33:21).
46:5 It is because God is enthroned in Jerusalem that she shall never be moved.
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
It has been a long dark night for God’s people, but soon the morning will dawn and Christ will take His rightful place, showing Himself strong on behalf of His own.
46:6 The nations of the earth may rage in fury; the kingdoms may totter.
When God speaks in His wrath, the earth will melt in subservience to Him.
46:7 These words look forward in a special way to the Great Tribulation when the earth will be racked with violent disturbances of nature, with political upheaval, with wars and pestilences, and with inconceivable distress.
Then the Lord will appear from heaven to crush all insubordination and rebellion and reign in righteousness and peace.
At that time the believing remnant of the nation of Israel will say,
“The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
The assurance of this verse is inexpressibly sweet.
The LORD of hosts is with us, that is, the LORD of the angelic armies of heaven.
But He is also the God of Jacob.
Now Jacob means “cheat” or “supplanter.” Yet God speaks of Himself as the God of Jacob.
Put the two thoughts together and you learn that the God of the angelic hosts is also the God of the unworthy sinner.
The One who is infinitely high is also intimately nigh. He is with us in every step of our way, our unfailing refuge in all the storms of life.
46:8 By the time we get to verse 8 the tumult and cataclysms have ended.
Man’s day is over. Now the King is seated upon His throne in Jerusalem.
We are invited to go out and examine the field of His victory.
Everywhere we look we see the wreckage of His defeated foes.
Everywhere lies the evidence of the awful judgments which have descended on the world during the Tribulation and at His glorious appearing.
46:9 But now that the Prince of Peace is enthroned, wars have ceased throughout the world.
What councils and leagues and summits have been helpless to achieve, the Lord Jesus brings about by His iron rod.
Disarmament has passed from discussion to actuality.
Weaponry is scrapped, and the funds formerly spent on munitions are now diverted into agriculture and other productive channels.
46:10 The voice of God rings out to all the inhabitants of the earth in accents of assurance and supremacy.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Every fear is stilled, every anxiety quieted.
His people can relax. He is God. His cause is victorious.
He is supreme among the nations, supreme over all the earth.
It is from verse 10 that Katharina von Schlegel, the author of the hymn “Be Still, My Soul” drew inspiration:
“Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the winds and waves still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.”
46:11 No matter what may happen or how dark the hour may be, the believer can still say with confidence and fearlessness,
“The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
____
If the One who directs the armies of heaven is on our side, who can be successfully against us?
The God of the unworthy worm Jacob is a fortress in which we can all take refuge from the storms of this uncertain life!
Be still, the morning comes, The night will end; Trust thou in Christ thy Light, Thy faithful Friend. And know that He is God,
Whose perfect will Works all things for thy good: Look up—Be still. (Florence Wills)
Nothing occurs beyond the reach of God’s power!
Awareness of God’s power provides rest and encouragement to all Christians.
Are you weary? Look to the protection and strength of God.
The world can be overwhelming at times AND OUR PROBLEMS AND TRIBULATIONS CAN BE OVERBEARING, but remember that God has everything under control.
So RELAX and find your REST in Him.
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) ________________________________
Wednesday, March 15 God Calling by Two Listeners
GUIDANCE IS GUIDANCE
Be still before Me. How often in a crisis man rushes hither and thither.
Rush is a sign of weakness. Quiet abiding is a sign of strength.
A few quiet actions, as you are led to do them, and all is accomplished wisely and rightly, more quickly and more effectually than could be done by those who rush about and act feverishly.
Guidance IS Guidance, the being led, the being shown the way. Believe this.
Softly across life’s tumult, comes a gentle Voice, “Peace, be still.”
The waves of difficulty will hear. They will fall back. There will be a great calm.
And then the Still Small Voice of Guidance.
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25) _____
In these verses, James is discussing the difference between true wisdom and false.
When he speaks about wisdom, he is not thinking of how much knowledge a man has, but how he lives his life from day to day.
It is not the possession of knowledge but the proper application of it that counts.
We have here a portrait of the truly wise man.
Basically, this man is the Lord Jesus Christ; He is wisdom incarnate (Matt. 11:19; 1 Cor. 1:30).
But also the wise person is one who manifests the life of Christ, one in whom the fruit of the Spirit is evident (Gal. 5:22, 23).
We have also a portrait of the worldly-wise man. He acts according to the principles of this world.
He embodies all the traits that men glorify.
His behavior gives no evidence of divine life within.
As in the previous chapters, James began his discussion of human speech with a practical exhortation and continued to deal with increasingly basic issues.
He spoke of the importance of controlling one’s mind next to enable his readers to understand how to control their tongues.
Wisdom in the mind affects one’s use of his or her tongue.
Note the key words “wise” and “wisdom” (vv. 13, 17), which bracket the thought of this section, as well of the prominence of “peaceable” and “peace” that conclude it (vv. 17, 18).
The real qualifications of a teacher (v. 1) are wisdom (the ability to view life from God’s perspective) and understanding (mental perception and comprehension).
James probably had the Old Testament sage in mind.
We can perceive understanding in others quite easily, but wisdom is more difficult to identify.
James said to look at a person’s behavior if you want to see if he or she is wise.
The wisdom James had in mind did not result so much in what one thinks or says but in what one does.
One of the marks of wisdom is gentleness, meekness, humility. The Greek word prauteti (“gentleness”) occurs in non-biblical literature to describe a horse that someone had broken and had trained to submit to a bridle.
It pictures strength under control, specifically the Holy Spirit’s control.
Psalm 32:8-9 Expanded Bible
8 The Lord says, “I will ·make you wise [instruct you] and ·show [teach] you ·where to [the way you should] go.
I will ·guide [counsel] you and ·watch over [my eye will be on] you.
9 So don’t be like a horse or donkey, that doesn’t understand.
·They must be led […whose temper/or gallop must be restrained] with bits and reins, or they will not come near you.” ____
The evidence of this attitude is a deliberate placing of oneself under divine authority.
The only way to control the tongue is to place one’s mind deliberately under the authority of God and to let Him control it (have His way with it; cf. Matt. 11:27; 2 Cor. 10:1).
James’ concept of wisdom was Hebraic rather than Greek, moral more than intellectual (cf. 1:5).
“The problem seems to be that some self-styled chief people, thinking they were endowed with superior wisdom and understanding, had divided the church because of their teaching, which betrayed a misuse of the tongue.”
“It is very difficult to be a teacher or a preacher and to remain humble; but however difficult it is, it is absolutely necessary.”
Bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” are motives that must not inhabit the heart of a teacher or he will find himself saying things he should not.
These are attitudes toward others and self that are the antithesis of graciousness that seeks the welfare of others before self.
Jealousy and ambition are manifestations of arrogance, and they result in promoting self rather than the truth the teacher is responsible to communicate.
Lying against the truth means teaching untrue things, things that oppose the truth.
Those who boast of wisdom are not following God because humility does not mark their lives.
This is as true of Christians as it is of non-Christians.
This type of so-called “wisdom,” which springs from jealousy and ambition, does not have its source in the fear of the Lord.
It comes from the spirit (philosophy) of this world (cf. 2:1-7).
It consists of only what is natural, excluding the supernatural influence of God’s Spirit.
Furthermore it is demon-like in its deception, hypocrisy, and evil.
“Wisdom is not measured by degrees but by deeds.
It is not a matter of acquiring truth in lectures but of applying truth to life.”
God is not the God of disorder but of order and peace (Gen. 1; 1 Cor. 14:33).
He opposes every evil thing (1 John 1:5).
Therefore ungracious jealousy and personal ambition are not part of the wisdom He provides.
“There is a kind of person who is undoubtedly clever; he has an acute brain and a skilful tongue; but his effect in any committee, in any Church, in any group, is to cause trouble, to drive people apart, to foment strife, to make trouble, to disturb personal relationships.
It is a sobering thing to remember that the wisdom that that man possesses is devilish rather than divine, and that such a man is engaged on Satan’s work and not on God’s work.”
In contrast, the wisdom God gives has several characteristics.
It is pure, meaning free of the defilements mentioned.
It is peaceable, namely, peace-loving, peace-practicing, and peace-yielding.
It is gentle or considerate of others.
It is reasonable, that is, open to reason and willing to yield to reasonable requests.
It is full of mercy in that it is actively sympathetic to the needy, and it is full of good fruits (good works).
It is unwaveringly single-minded in its devotion to God rather than double-minded.
It is, finally, without hypocrisy, namely, true to appearances.
“Thus ‘purity’ is not just one quality among others but the key to them all.”
People committed to preserving peace must teach the Word of God peacefully to reap a harvest of righteousness (cf. 1:20).
That good fruit will not come if teachers sow it in words and ways that inflame and antagonize people (cf. 1 Tim. 5:1-2; 2 Tim. 2:14, 24-26).
“To ‘raise a harvest of righteousness’ demands a certain kind of climate.
A crop of righteousness cannot be produced in the climate of bitterness and self-seeking.
Righteousness will grow only in a climate of peace.”
“Winsome speech comes from a wise spirit. A controlled tongue is possible only with cultured thought. A mouth filled with praise results from a mind filled with purity.”
To restate James’ thought in this chapter, our words are very important as we seek to carry out the ministry God has called us to fulfill.
We cannot control our tongues easily.
Therefore we should not be too quick to take on a teaching ministry.
The only One who can control our tongues is God, who can give us wisdom.
The marks of the wisdom He provides are humility, graciousness, and peace.
James warns against anything that does not bear the fruit of good works: unfruitful religion (1:25-26), unfruitful faith (2:26), and unfruitful wisdom (3:17-18).
The Apostle Paul instructed the Philippian church that the solution is that we should put on the mind of Christ.
Philippians 2:2-11 The Message
He Took on the Status of a Slave 1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor:
Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.
Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top.
Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.
Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage.
Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.
He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.
Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!
Having become human, he stayed human.
It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges.
Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father. Amen
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things) _________________________________
Thursday, March 16 The Winning Walk by Dr Ed Young
FROM ABOVE
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” — James 3:17
How easy it is for us, in today’s culture, to be swallowed by it all – bigger, better, more.
How important it is that we get still and know that we can receive the wisdom from above that God promises to His children.
Notice that this wisdom is – first of all – pure. That means it is without mixture or alloy.
It calls us to be holy, to be separate, and to swim upstream against the current of our world.
With wisdom from above, we are able to interpret things from a divine dimension, and we understand something of the way God works.
We can go with the crowd, or we can act on the basis of wisdom from our Living God.
Choose correctly, and you will receive the ability in any situation, and in any relationship, to understand how God would have you live – and what He would have you do. ____
Romans Chapter 10 signals a shift in Paul’s emphasis from God’s dealings with Israel in the past, specifically, before Christ’s death, to His dealings with them in the present.
Paul’s teachings were most distasteful to the unconverted Jews.
They considered him a traitor and an enemy of Israel. But here he assures his Christian brethren to whom he was writing that the thing that would bring the greatest delight to his heart and the thing for which he prays to God most earnestly for Israel is that they may be saved.
Romans 9:31-33
31 “…but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain that law.
32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works.
They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
33 just as it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I AM LAYING IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND THE ONE WHO BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.’ ”
The reason for Israel’s failure mentioned in 9:31-33, namely, is her rejection of Christ; and so this led Paul to develop that subject further in this section.
These verses open up with Paul expressing his feelings of compassionate concern (“my heart’s desire and my prayer”) for his fellow Israelites’ salvation (9:1-3).
Paul’s mention of their deliberate rejection of Christ (9:32-33) evidently triggered this emotional expression.
“The reality of his love is seen in the fact that he prayed for them.”
Ironically it was Israel’s “zeal” that set her up for failure.
Zeal also characterized Paul’s life, which in many ways duplicated Israel’s experience as a nation.
It had also kept him from believing on Christ too (cf. Acts 22:3; Gal. 1:14).
Paul and Israel both had zeal for God, but it was zeal that lacked (was “not in accordance with”) “knowledge,” knowledge that Jesus is the Messiah (1 Tim. 1:13).
The Jews were ignorant of “the righteousness” that comes from “(of) God” as a gift (1:17).
They sought to earn righteousness by keeping the Law (“to establish their own”).
Instead, they should have humbly received (submitted to) the gift of righteousness that God gives to those who believe on His Son (cf. Phil. 3:9).
Israel as a whole, excluding the believing remnant, failed to gain a righteous standing before God because she tried to win it “with (by) works.”
A “stumbling stone” on the racetrack over which she “stumbled” impeded her progress.
Intent on winning in her own effort, Israel failed to recognize the “Stone” prophesied in Scripture, who was sent to provide salvation for her.
The following quotation, from Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 (cf. 1 Pet. 2:6-8), sums up the problem.
God intended the Messiah to be the provider of salvation.
However, the Jews did not allow Him to fulfill this function for them.
Consequently this Stone became a stumbling block for them (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23).
Israel’s rejection of Jesus Christ did not make God unfaithful or unrighteous in His dealings with the nation.
What it did do was make it possible for Gentiles to surpass the Jews as the main recipients of salvation.
The truth is for all of us that there are times when we all fall into the trap of trying to get right with God by doing certain things or obeying certain rules.
We may think that attending church, doing church work, giving offerings, helping people who are poor, or being nice will earn God’s favor and be enough to grant us eternal life with him.
After all, we’ve played by the rules, haven’t we?
But Paul’s words sting—this approach never succeeds.
Paul explains that a true relationship with God doesn’t come by trying to earn His favor or by being good enough.
It comes by realizing that we can never be good enough.
We must depend on Jesus Christ to rescue us from sin’s eternal consequences and introduce us to God by bringing us into His very presence as a forgiven and righteous people.
Only then will God look at us as though we have never sinned and welcome us into His presence (Colossians 1:21-22).
This is the whole reason for the Cross of Calvary, that necessitated that Christ pour out His life’s blood as a propitiation for OUR sins.
Consequently we can be saved only by putting our faith in what Jesus Christ has done.
If we do that, then we will not be disappointed.
Have you ever been asked, “How do I become a Christian?”
These verses in Romans 10:8-12 will give you the answer:
Salvation is as close as your own lips and heart.
People think it must be a complicated process, but it is not.
Romans 10:8-12
8 …“THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him.”
So then if we sincerely believe in our hearts and profess that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord, we will be saved!
SELAH (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
_________________________________
Sunday, March 12 Inspiration Ministries Daily Devotional
THE WORD OF FAITH
“The word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Romans 10:8–9 (NASB)
Even mature Christians can find themselves depending on their reputations and experiences, relationships and abilities, and position or status. But Paul taught that before God, none of these things matter. He made it clear: We are not saved because of anything we do or justified because of our works. The key is faith alone.
We must act on faith. We must confess with our mouths and declare that Jesus is Lord. We must believe in our hearts that “God raised Him from the dead.”
When Paul talked about the “word of faith,” he used the Greek word rhema, indicating a specific word God gives at specific times. Paul was saying that God has a particular word for each situation we face. It is a word He has prepared before the foundation of the world. It is the exact word we need.
We will need to speak the word of faith at some point and, for the first time then, declare that Jesus is Lord! We will also need wisdom or guidance, deliverance or healing, discernment or salvation at other moments. God has a word of faith in each situation.
As the Bible promises, the word of faith is near you. Declare that Jesus is your Lord. Trust Him. Declare His Word to be true. Let Him give you the word of faith. Be ready to speak His Word and act in faith.
Reflection Question: What special word has God been whispering in your heart recently? ____
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 