Job 19:25-27 (NASB) 
25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!”

It is joy to know the Lord.  But there are those, even after a lifetime of seeing God’s creation and even hearing the gospel, who still resist accepting the free gift of salvation.

I have a friend that moved out of our neighborhood a few months ago to be with family in another state.  He will turn 95 this September and his health has been failing for the last couple of years.  I got to know him because we were in a golf group that played on Fridays and Saturdays.  He was everyone’s hero because he was able to play golf up until he was in his early 90’s and often shot his age or below.  I was thinking about him this morning as I was getting ready for church.  

He is the oldest person that I know that hasn’t made up his mind about the claims of the gospel.  His is still unsure.  I wonder how many people today are in that same situation.  I know he attended church faithfully with his wife until she died a number of years ago.  He is a good person, liked by all and admired by many.  But he still doesn’t believe.

I guess we can’t just assume that an older person has already decided one way or another.  They can still be seekers.  While there is still breath in his lungs and a heartbeat there is still time – so I pray for him.

Heavenly Father, I pray today for a friend who has been seeking You for many years.  My heart breaks for him.  I pray that Your Holy Spirit would enter his heart.  I pray that he would confess, accept Your gift of salvation, and call You his Lord and Savior.  I pray that his remaining time in this life would be joyful anticipation of living with You for eternity.  Amen.

Luke 6:32 (NASB)
32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NASB)
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

John 13:34 (NASB)
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Of all the things that Jesus commanded, the hardest for me is the command to love.  We love our families, our friends, those that we are close to, but I struggle with loving others.  Do you?  It really is a challenge to love those that don’t love you.  Why is that?  Jesus loved us when we weren’t worthy of any love.  Jesus loved us when we didn’t love Him.  Jesus loved us when we weren’t a part of God’s family.  

We are called to love our enemies.  I need Jesus to change me to do that.  Only He can do what seems to be impossible to me.  All I need to do is trust in even the things that are difficult for me.  Trust, yield, believe.  It should be simple if we don’t get in the way.

Jesus, I pray that You would change my unloving heart for others.  Draw me away from my normal tendencies and show me how to love even my enemies.  I don’t know how to do that.  But You have said that I need to, so I am willing and I need Your Holy Spirit to show me how.  Give me a willing heart and one that will do anything for You.  I love You, Jesus.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Have you ever uttered those words when you have felt unable to pray?  The barber of Martin Luther asked Luther for that help.  Luther’s response was to use the example prayer that Jesus provided to His disciples in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 6.  It is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer.  

In his letter to the barber, Luther separated the prayer into seven petitions.

1. Hallowed be thy name.
2. Your Kingdom come.
3. Your will be done on earth, as it is heaven.
4. Give us today our daily bread.
5. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
6. Lead us not into temptation.
7. And deliver us from the evil one.

The first petition is one of praise.  Petition two and three are kingdom prayers, asking God’s plan to be fulfilled.  The fourth is a supplication, asking for our daily needs.  The fifth is a prayer of confession and a call to forgive others.  Petition six asks God to maintain peace in our lives always pointing to Him.  Petition 7 acknowledges that there is evil in the world and that we need God’s protection.

Although Jesus doesn’t specifically say that these are in order of priority, it is interesting that the first three petitions are prayers of praise and kingdom prayers.  These petitions come before asking for our needs.

Luther asked his barber not to recite the petitions, but to use them as a starting point to pray.  Each petition can be expanded to wherever the Spirit leads you in your time of prayer.

Many books have been written over the centuries on prayer.  Why not use the template that our Lord Jesus gave us?  I think God would be pleased that we used His example.

Heavenly Father, You are perfect and Your words are perfect too.  Thank You for giving us an example to communicate with You.  I pray that I would use it in a way that is pleasing to You.  I pray this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God.

Psalm 62:5-8 (NASB) 
5 My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.

“I need You more than the next heartbeat”
From the album “Presence” by Klaus, song “I Need You More”

I was listening to the song above early this morning and when this verse came up, it made me pause and think about it.  As the years have gone by, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me just how much I need God.  I wonder though how often I am desperate for the Savior, but don’t fully honor Him as my Lord.  For If He isn’t both to me, then it is hopeless.  If He isn’t more important than my next heartbeat, if all I need Him for is to be saved from my current situation, then I don’t have a clear understanding of the importance of falling down before an almighty, sovereign God.

I have realized that God’s Lordship is even more important than His work of salvation.  Even if Jesus hadn’t taken on our sin in our place, we would still owe God all the honor and glory He deserves.  He is King of all, Lord of all, creator, and sovereign.  When I look to Him only as Savior, then I am not honoring Him as I should.  He really is more important than my next heartbeat.

Heavenly Father, all honor and glory to You.  Forgive me when I selfishly desire to be saved from my circumstances and don’t put You first as my Lord.  I need You as my Lord.  I praise You that You are also my Savior, but even if that were not so, You still deserve to be my Lord.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Psalm 141:1-2 (NASB) 
1 O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

Revelation Chapter 5

Everyone dreams about what heaven will be like.  The Bible gives glimpses, like the one described in Revelation Chapter 5.  But the view is limited.  C.S. Lewis posited that this was by design by God.  If we really knew how beautiful heaven is, we wouldn’t want to stay on Earth to fulfill the plan God has for us here.

However, no matter what heaven is like, it is our relationship with God that really matters.  In Revelation 5, John is given a vision of heaven, but the focus is on God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

What can we extract from Revelation Chapter 5 about heaven?  Here are a few that I see.

1. Victory by God is assured.  Even with all of the tribulations of the end times, the final outcome is already set.  God wins and His children will live with Him forever in heaven.
2. Everything will be new.  Every song will be a new song.
3. All creation will focus on God.
4. Worship will be like nothing we have ever experienced.
5. Our prayers are important to God.  They are held in a precious, special place – golden bowls offered as incense to the Lamb.

All the prayers that we have or will offer will be there:  our praises to God, our prayers of thanks, our confessions of sin, and the prayers of supplication.  Our prayers today do not expire, but live for eternity. 

“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”  Amen and Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Philippians 1:6 (NASB) 
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB) 
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

My wife and I have been attending a Bible study at a neighbor’s home where a number of people attend.  There are many denominations represented, so the retired pastor who teaches it attempts to steer clear of doctrinal differences and focus on the gospel.  I have found that even so, it is inevitable that they occur.  At first, I thought this might be a problem for me.  But as I have listened to discussions, I realized that God was using this as a way for me to dig deep into the scriptures to help me understand and clarify my beliefs.  I know that some of these are closely held beliefs by sincere Christians who have come to conclusions different than mine.  There are many mysteries in the Bible that require us to carefully study, pray through, and not just merely read.

In early church history there were opposing groups surrounding whether a person can lose their salvation.  Calvin believed that once saved, saved forever.  It was one of the 5 points of Calvanism called Perseverance of the Saints.  An opposing group, believed that you could fall from grace and lose your salvation.  They were called the Armenians.  Denominations today have doctrinal statements that fall into one or the other of these.  And there are many other examples of doctrinal differences.  What is amazing is that the reason many people today attend a church is not because their doctrinal beliefs line up with that church.  Rather it is for other reasons, like the charisma of the pastor, the type of music used, or the types of programs that are offered.

We Christians will all probably be surprised when we get to heaven.  The mysteries will go away.  But in the meantime, we have been given the scriptures.  What a gift it is!

Can you describe the doctrines of faith that you believe?  Can you defend them in love; understanding the opposing view?  

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gospel of grace through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Thank You for the mysteries of scripture that cause me to rely on the Holy Spirit to teach.  Thank You for giving me a thirst for the special revelation provided in the Holy Bible.  I pray that You would be honored in that pursuit and that I would use it to grow disciples for the glory of the Kingdom.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,   

Romans 8: 14-16 (NASB) 
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

What does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God?  Verse 14 says that if we are truly children of God, then we are being led.  What does that imply?  For me, it means that I am not asking God for what I want, but asking God to instill in me a desire to follow His will.  That is the scary part… for God may want me to do and be something that is not in my plan.  I don’t know about you, but I am really good at planning, at least I tell myself so.  I then justify it all by telling myself that it must be the Spirit that is leading me by putting that plan in my heart.  I wonder…  If I’m not praying for the Spirit to lead me, no matter the consequences, then I may be fooling myself.

God is our Father, our Abba.  The apostle Paul tells us that we need have no fear that we are simply a slave, rather we are adopted and can, in faith, follow Him.  In fact, the Spirit of God within us will confirm to us that we are children of God.  What a comfort.  

Without fear, we can stop our planning and let the Spirit lead us.

Holy Spirit, quiet my heart so that I can listen to Your leading.  Then give me the faith that I need to step forward and follow You.  I know that You will never leave me for forsake me.  It is the prayer of my heart.  I’m listening now.  Amen.   

Always praying for the glory of God,

Ephesians 2:4-9 (NASB)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

I was reminded today how God’s mercy is continuous in our lives.  Even though I may see His mercy at points in time, or in particular situations, it is a mercy that falls upon us without interruption.

In the broken world we live in, the world often conceals our view of the great mercy of God.  Certainly, anyone who doesn’t call upon the name of Jesus will see only mercy that is a result of our actions.  It is a self righteous view that gives us credit for the good acts we see.  And even those of us that are children of God, our sin nature causes us to ask “why” when bad things happen, not seeing that the justice we really deserve is so much worse.

That is why the Incarnation is so amazing.  It was the act of a merciful God that is purely righteous and unable to look upon sin.  Mercy that began before time and continues for eternity.  It is unbounded love for His creation.

Jesus, I cannot comprehend the magnitude of love required to sacrifice yourself for us.  It is a merciful love that You share with the Father.  It is a mercy from the Holy Spirit that revives our cold dead hearts and sings love songs to us.  You are worthy of my unending worship and I praise Your name and I cry it out in joy.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,