Posts Tagged ‘Prayer’
The True Freedom Given To All Christians
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Freedom that you cannot earn and can never be taken away, on account of the person and work of someone else, is a Freedom only Christians can experience. The question is, “Have you truly been set free?”
So, first we need to know from what have we been set free, and how did it happen? Quite simply, it took a sacrifice on the part of Jesus to accomplish this feat. We have been set free from the curse of having to be obedient to the law because of what Christ has done for us.
Romans 8:1-4 KJV
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
In other-words, as it is in the following scripture:
Deuteronomy 8:2 KJV
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
And what happened? We see the answer in Hebrews:
Hebrews 8:9 KJV
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Israel showed that no one could obey the law perfectly and that someone needed to do for them what they could not do for themselves; they needed a Savior.
In short the law became a curse to us because we cannot fully be obedient to the law on account of our sinfulness, so Jesus came and fulled the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf.
As we read in Galatians:
Galatians 3: 10-13 KJV
[10] For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. [11] But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. [12] And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. [13] Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
That is why we need to…
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Now that is what true freedom is to all Christians. How about you, have you been set free from the curse of trying to be obedient to the law? Prayerfully, instead you are living the life of faith in Jesus for being obedient for you!,
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Fourteen Years and 170 Essays Later
It is hard to believe that it has been fourteen years since Riff’s Christian Journal began.
During that time there have been 170 essays written with an average of a thousand words per each one. The longest was around 3000 words and the shortest was about 500 words. Of course, many of these words were actual scripture verses upon which the essays are written.
The first essay, written in June of 2009, is titled, “What I believe About Sin & Salvation”. Since then each entry into the journal has been on a different topic using scriptures for the basis of that entry. The scriptures used were done to support the thesis of the essay proving the premise that is the reason for the essay.
In short, these essays were, in some ways based on the “Five Solos” that came out of the Protestant Reformation movement. These are:
➢ Grace Alone
➢ Faith Alone
➢ Christ Alone
➢ Scripture Alone
➢ To The Glory of God Alone
In studying for these essays, a lot has been learned from the scriptures, especially the differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Most notably were the facts that the Old Covenant is a man-centered works based system of religion under the Law and the New Covenant is a God-centered faith based system under Grace. Not the least is the fact that the Old Covenant is obsolete and fading away (see Hebrews 8: 7 – 13. To find out who is the Israel about which is mentioned in these verses read Romans 9: 6 – 8. Then read Galatians 4: 28 to find out who are the children of the promise mentioned in Romans 9.)
Only as the Holy Spirit has guided this writer have these essays been written. They came not from the one at the keyboard but from the Word itself to be used as an incentive for what was being written, and for the premise that was being put forth for the reader to consider.
The writer is totally convinced that if it were not for the Grace of God these essays would not have been written. It has been humbling, invigorating and quite a wonderful blessing, as well as educational, to be used by God in this manor, and I do give Him all the glory for all that has been written.
As God wills, I look forward to many more years of service in this capacity to the Glory of God.
I would like to leave with you a prayer, using scripture verses from Colossians to all of you for your future as a Christian. These are varied verses from Colossians chapter 1.
King James Version:
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints,
For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
For this cause we also, since the day we heard, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness;
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Amen
May God’s blessings be upon every one of you, and may God give you peace in living a life based on the faith of Jesus that has been given to all God’s children by which you believe in Jesus as Lord
Giving Thanks To A Great God
When it comes to eating a most wonderful meal, November is the month for me.
This is a month for giving thanks and nothing says giving thanks more than Thanksgiving. The meals at this time of the year are fantastic. Especially the ones I remember as a kid from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s.
From my Mom to my Grandmothers they all knew how to cook from scratch and using nothing but fresh – never frozen – meats and vegetables, mostly from their garden.
The fresh Turkey was always nicely brown, fork tender and juicy. Filled with wonderful stuffing that was moist and tasty. The “smashed”, yes smashed, potatoes were nothing like today’s “whipped” smooth and wimpy potatoes. Those potatoes, which I still make myself, where hardy, full of russet flavor, buttery and so wonderfully stiff with a thickness that it would hold up to any homemade gravy from the pan drippings of the Turkey. Add a side of corn and you have a fantastic meal. Except…
Except, it was even better when you had a side of homemade cranberry relish, made with real cranberries, apples and oranges with sugar for added sweetness.
We ran everything through an old style hand cranked food processor (grinder). Beginning with the cranberries dumped into the intake funnel, as you turned the hand crank to crush the berries out came the ground up berries and juice. Then the apples were added, peeling and all, along with the oranges just sliced with the rind still on, all through the same manual food processor.
Once the right amounts of fruits were added, all the ingredients were mixed with a big spoon while adding sugar to the mixture for the sweetness one wanted. Then it was finished… ummm, not quite.
For best results, the mixture was best made about two weeks before Thanksgiving so that it could sit and marinate, and the results were an added measure of taste that was out of this world. Not to mention, that whoever made this relish always filled a quart-canning jar with the relish, seal it with paraffin wax and a lid, and set it in the back of the refrigerator until…
Until Christmas!
At this point, after having sat for so long in a cold environment the result from the fermenting process gave the relish an extra added boost of extravagant flavor and a taste that no canned relish or sauce could ever duplicate. Can you say “ambrosia”?
Not to be outdone by the meal there was one last thing to have; either a big slice of homemade pumpkin pie topped with homemade whipped cream, or a big hunk of homemade thick apple pie topped with real homemade ice cream. What a way to finish a scrumptious meal.
However, before the meal, one thing was always done before any eating took place, and that was the saying of grace.
Now this was something that the kids always took turns in saying and it was very appropriate for little children to say as it was also the way Jesus wanted people to be in following Him – with the faith of a little child.
Our version went like this…
“God is great, God is good and we thank Him for our food. By His hands, we all are fed. Thank you Lord, for our daily bread. Amen.”
You see, food is a blessing. We do not need to ask God to bless it. It already is blessed because God has given it to us. All we need to do is to be grateful to God for our daily bread and just give Him heartfelt thanks in return.
Even Jesus gave thanks for food as He did at the last supper:
Luk_22:19 (KJV) And he took the bread, gave “thanks”, and gave it unto His disciples…
The food is the blessing…
“God is great, God is good and we thank Him for our food. Amen.”
Why My Prayers Failed
Prayer was never easy. In fact, it was very hard because most of my prayers never got answered; at least not in the way that I wanted. So, what was wrong with me?
In Mar 11:24 we read the following comment by Jesus:
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.”
On this was what I had based all of my prayers. I prayed for what I desired, believed that I would receive them but I never did get them. That was a real downer.
Have you ever felt that way? Have all of your prayers been answered?
Maybe, I thought, I did not have enough faith in either my praying or in God answering them. I mean, I was once told that my faith was not strong enough to “move God” by my prayers. So, how strong does faith have to be?
Then again, it could have been that I wavered in my belief that I would get my prayers answered in the way that I wanted.
Eventually my prayer life began to dwindle. If I could not pray effectively enough to get God to give me for what I was asking, why pray at all.
I still kept reading the Bible on a fairly regular basis, even if I did not do much in the way of praying, and one day while reading from 1John I read a scripture verse that set off a light bulb. To this day I believe that this was God working in me to see something very important about prayer. In chapter 5 I read the following verses:
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Do you see it? Do you see the reason for why my prayers were not being answered in the way that I wanted?
Read verse 5:14 again… If we ask anything “according to His will”… That was it. Here is why my prayers were not being answered, why I failed at praying. I was not praying in a manor according to the will of God.
You see, I was asking for what I wanted, according to my will, and not for what God wanted, according to His will. Even Jesus knew how important this was by reading what Jesus said in Mark 4:36 the night before He was to face a most horrible crucifixion and death.
Mar 14:36 And he (Jesus) said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what you will.
Jesus knew how bad things were going to be for Him yet He still prayed for God’s will to be done and not His. How much more should we do the same?
If you would like to have an effective prayer life here are three things you can do.
1. Acknowledge that God is sovereign and His will is always accomplished. In Daniel 4:35 we read the following:
Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What is it that you do?
2. Speak to God in prayer. Let Him know what are your concerns, worries and needs. Speak from your heart and tell God why you are presenting to Him your petitions. For instance, in Phillipians 4: 6-8 we read this:
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
3. Do no more than Jesus when praying to our Father. Pray your heart felt supplication and why you are making this request, then acknowledge that God is sovereign over all. As we read in Ephesians 1:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
By reading the New Testament on a regular basis, we can learn what God’s will might be for many areas of our life, and during those times we can know that we are praying according to God’s will and be assured that our prayers will be heard and be answered in a way that we wanted.
In addition, when we realize that our prayers may not always be according to Gods will, not knowing what it is that God is going to do, we can acknowledge that we will accept God’s answer to our prayer.
During those times when we do not know the reason for what God is doing, or why, we can still have peace in our hearts with the answer that God gives.
Knowing that God is sovereign and it is He Who works all things after the counsel of his own will, we, too, will be able to say, as Jesus said, “nevertheless not what I will, but what you will.”
If prayer is not being answered in your life you might begin to start all of your prayers, being reminded of God’s will, with the beginning of the model prayer that Jesus gave to all of us. As Jesus says in Matthew 6:
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray like this: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Jesus, Politics and Peace
Too many people believe that Christianity and politics go together, especially among the evangelical community. However, what does God say in Scripture about Jesus and politics.
The results of the thesis mentioned are in the first verses you are going to see.
From 1 Timothy 2: 1, 2:
1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1Ti 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
How does the recent election year wrangling fit in with these verses? They do not. Everything that happened during that time went against everything that God said for Christians to do.
In addition, in everyday politics, with different parties seeing different views contributing to divisions among so many people, notably among Christians, these commands from God are not being obeyed; anything but being obeyed.
Here are a few other verses to read. See how politics fits into any of them.
2Ti 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Rom 13:1 let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
The premise of all of these verses is that Christians are to live in peace with everyone. In politics that cannot be done. It is that simple.
Voting is one thing, as long as we remember that when the counting is over Christians are to accept the results of the election, without reservation, because the results are God’s will. To rebel against the results of an election is to rebel against God.
One cannot be involved with politics and live in peace with “everyone”. You either follow Jesus, and be obedient to Him, or you follow your political party’s leaders and do what they say and be at odds with everyone who does not believe in your politics. Is this how you, a Christian, want to be?
As 1 Timothy 2: 2 says, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life – with everyone – in all godliness and honesty.”
You just cannot serve both Jesus and politics and have peace with everyone. It is one or the other. Choose wisely.
May God open your heart and give you insight and wisdom. Amen.
What Is The Primary Purpose Of Prayer?
Everyone prays at some time or another, but not all prayers receive answers or results in the way that the person who prayed wanted.
Let us get this out of the way before we go one-step further. Unless you are a Christian, a true disciple of Jesus, God does not hear your prayer and it will not receive an answer. The bible teaches that God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. That is a topic for another post.
Now, since that is out of the way we can proceed.
Most Christians, who repent of their sins and receive forgiveness, in one way or another, will always worry when they pray. Maybe it is about how they prayed, was it good enough. On the other hand, it could be they will worry that their prayer will not receive an answer or, if it is, the answer is not what they want.
Do you have peace when you pray? If not, why not? It is because you are not sure if the answer to your prayer will be what you are wanting it to be, even if you receive an answer at all.
The secret to having peace when you pray is simple. Read the following verses:
Eph_1:5 (KJV) according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph_1:9 (KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
Eph_1:11 (KJV) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
1Jn_5:14 (KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
God is in charge. There is nothing done outside His will. We have an imperfect will. God has a perfect will. Unless we realize that “God’s will” will always be done we will always pray for what we want expecting to get our own way, and be upset if we do not. However, in God’s perfect will, what He wants He will always accomplish.
We cannot change God’s will, never could and we will never be able to do so. Imagine an imperfect, sin infested human, telling God what He should do because it was you who asked Him.
You see, the secret to prayer is just telling God about why you are praying and what it is that you would like to see because of your prayer; there is nothing wrong with that, as long as we trust in Him no matter how He responds to your prayers, and accept His will.
God may not answer right away because it is not time to answer. He already knows what the proper time will be to respond. In addition, the answer may not be what you want, but it will be what God wants, and God only wants you to trust in Him for the response that He gives.
We must realize that God’s timing is always the right time. In addition, the answer that He gives is always the right answer. God always knows what is best as He always does according to His will.
When we finally realize that God always works all things according to His will is when we can start having peace in our prayers. God knows why we pray and what we would like, but our will is not always the best response. God wants us to trust in Him fully, completely and lovingly in His answer to our prayer.
No matter what we pray or what we would like for the answer to be, when we trust in the Lord for His response, no matter what it is, then we can have true peace in our prayers for we know that they will “always” be answered according to God’s will.
Just pray and then trust in the Lord for the right answer. For the primary purpose of prayer is just learning to know God’s will in all things and then trusting in Him for the answer that He gives.
Peace From Prayer
Prayer is the most intimate form of communing with God. The more that you pray, the stronger your faith becomes and the deeper will be your trust in the Lord’s will for you. Prayer will give you peace that passes all understanding.
Beginning in the New Year I would like to get you thinking about your prayer life. However, instead of giving my thoughts about praying I am just going to let God’s Word speak to you, and pray that God will open your hearts and give you understanding into His Word.
Just read and think about the following verses. Contemplate what they mean to you and think about how they will affect you and your life of prayer.
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Imagine having such peace just from talking with God. Prayer is nothing more than just talking with God and letting Him know your thoughts, your concerns, your joy and sorrows. God does listen and He will answer your prayers in ways that He knows is best for you. In doing so He will give you such peace that the world just cannot match nor understand.
Just think, God does hear the prayers of His Children and answers them in ways that only result in peace for you; no matter what is the answer. You will accept it and will joy in His decision.
Make this New Year a new time of praying and just spending time with God. You will not regret doing so.
Peace, true peace, is such a wonderful feeling, especially in knowing that it came from God just for you.
A Good Reason For Prayer
For the Christian prayer is an important avenue to God. Actually, prayer is only for the Christian as they are the only ones who stand before God forgiven for their sins, and have been given the right to come directly to God with our petitions. All other people are still under God’s wrath and God’s condemnation. So, being a Christian allows us a way to talk with God anytime anywhere for any reason.
Therein lies the reason for prayer.
God knows our needs even before we think of them and come to having a desire to call out to Him. Our prayers cannot change God’s will nor can it bring anything to Him that He does not already know and for which He has not already a planned response. So, if God knows all things and controls all things through His direct and permissive will, then why is there a need for prayer? Why should we pray if we cannot influence God or change His will in any manner shape or form.
Because prayer is not for us to bring God around to our way of thinking. Prayer is for our benefit. Through prayer we can, and will, grow in our reliance upon and trust in God. You see, prayer allows us to come to God and tell Him all about our problems, our concerns, our joys and our sorrows. We can tell Him what we would like, how we think the results should be in a given situation, why we need the things for which we ask, in short, we can bare our souls desires to Him and let Him know what it is exactly what “we” want and yet, be completely reliant upon Him for the answer, no matter what it is, knowing that He has our best interest at heart.
We may not get the answer that we want, but can rest assured that we will get an answer. How we respond relies upon our trust in Him for knowing His way is always the best way.
For instance, we know what it is that God tells us in Romans 8: 28:
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
All true Christians are the “called” of God and since we are called by God to be His children do we not think that He will take care of us in the best way possible? That is what prayer is all about – trusting in God and relying upon Him for our care while in this life.
As this trust and reliance upon God grows we will find how much at peace we can be no matter what the situation is in which we find ourselves.
In Philippians 4: 6, 7 we read:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We can pray to God for any and all reasons and, if we do so with an understanding of how God responds and how we find our faith, trust and reliance upon God growing, we can have a peace no one else in this world will ever know. We can have much or we can have little, we can even be in the worst of times but we can still have this peace, a peace that keeps us in God’s will and love knowing that what is happening is for God’s praise and for our good.
So, dear Christian, pray always. Actually prayer is nothing more than talking with God, not some ritual that we must repeat or go through every time we want to come before God. He knows you, He loves you and He is always there whenever you want to be with Him. What I like is that we can talk with Him whether we have a need or not. Just to talk with God about anything is the greatest feeling there is, but only if we grow in our trust in Him and in our reliance upon Him for responding to us in a way that is good for us. The peace that follows is something that this world does not have nor will it ever know or experience.
So, what is a good reason for prayer? Anything at all and the peace that we can find within it. And, remember this. The more you pray, or talk, with God the more your trust will grow and you will become more reliant upon God for being there at anytime you want to talk with Him. The result is peace of mind and peace of heart, and feeling the love of God fill you with joy unspeakable no matter what the situation is in which you find yourself.
Oh, one more good reason for praying is the fact that God wants to hear from you, but He will only listen to you if you are a Christian. So, why not submit now to Jesus as Lord of your life, confess your sinfulness and you will find that Jesus is also Savior of your soul. He is the only way to the Father and only through Jesus, and no one else, can we have access to the throne of God.
Peace is waiting for you, and you can find it in Jesus through your prayers to the Father.
Riff's Christian Journal 