Praying Pint

 

Isaiah 57:17  Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

God is love, and we were created to reflect that truth by loving one another. But as fallen people, we often seek to serve ourselves rather than serve others. We are frequently devoted first to increasing our own gain. People often think of covetousness as an extreme desire for more, but the real question is not how human standards define it, but how God defines it. In God’s sight, covetousness includes any desire for gain that hinders faith in him and love for others—any desire that is selfish in its source and effects, opposed to humble contentment, and inconsistent with true peace.

Our age is deeply selfish, yet it has a hard time recognizing its selfishness. There are many noble causes, shelters built, colleges and schools established, missions abroad and at home, city missions, patriotic funds, famine relief funds, and countless charitable efforts for nearly every evil that appears in the world. I do not ignore these generous works. In many ways, it seems as though love is written across our times. I gladly honor the age—or rather, the Father of all ages, the giver of every good and perfect gift. Still, it is not unkind or envious to suggest that our age often gives only out of its abundance. With one hand it gives thousands, while with the other it holds tightly to tens of thousands. Too often, careful self-interest lies behind these gifts. Nearly all these noble acts of generosity have begun with the Church, yet how few members of the Church give even a tenth of all they possess. People may think they are generous because they notice what they give; God may see covetousness because he sees what they keep back.

The question is this: How does God deal with his people when they become covetous? You might say that he disciplines them and makes them poor in spirit. But that is not usually his way. If it were, his people might simply wait for providential correction and feel justified in continuing down a harmful path until God stopped them. Instead, in his deeper wisdom, God disciplines them by withdrawing a sense of his presence. And often they do not notice. Their condition then becomes dangerous. Since they are less sensitive to the warnings of the Holy Spirit, they rush faster and faster along the path they have chosen. They become increasingly worldly and hardened. What will keep them from crossing a line beyond which the Spirit of God will no longer seek after them?

What we need to learn, then, is to guard ourselves against the earliest signs of this desire and to listen carefully to the Spirit of God while his voice is still clear. If this sinful inclination gains even a little more strength, we may make shipwreck of our faith. (Bowen)

 

Eccleiastes 2:17-26 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

When we face the fact that there is nothing in this world – no person, place or thing – that can meet the deepest ache in our soul is probably one of the most solemn moments of our existence. Many can’t face that kind of reality so they escape into such things as fantasies, endless rounds of activity, drink, sensual pleasures. It is this quality – the ability to face reality – that endears Solomon to us. We don’t have to guess what is going on inside him. He tells us – and in no uncertain terms. What is the next thing Solomon turned to in his frustration with life? Work; and work, especially creative work, can be very satisfying. Solomon is not knocking work, but he is saying that this is not where life is to be found. Clearly, Solomon had considered throwing himself into activity partly to establish something that could be left to his children. But as he contemplates the idea, he concludes: When you die, you have to leave it all to someone else; you cannot be sure if he or she will look after it or ruin it; you have no choice but to give it away as a gift to someone who has not worked for it ; and finally, what benefit does the one who has worked derive from it? . Don’t dismiss this as just despairing pessimism. Remember the purpose of Ecclesiastes – to show that true meaning is not found in the temporal but in the eternal. Here is a real person coming to some real conclusions about life in a real world. (Hughes)

 

John 19:16-18  So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,  and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.  There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

He had been all night in agony, he had spent the early morning at the hall of Caiaphas, he had been hurried from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate; he had, therefore, but little strength left, and yet neither refreshment nor rest were permitted him. They were eager for his blood, and therefore led him out to die, loaded with the cross. O dolorous procession! Well may Salem’s daughters weep. My soul, do thou weep also.

What learn we here as we see our blessed Lord led forth? Do we not perceive that truth which was set forth in shadow by the scapegoat? Did not the high-priest bring the scapegoat, and put both his hands upon its head, confessing the sins of the people, that thus those sins might be laid upon the goat, and cease from the people? Then the goat was led away by a fit man into the wilderness, and it carried away the sins of the people, so that if they were sought for they could not be found. Now we see Jesus brought before the priests and rulers, who pronounce him guilty; God himself imputes our sins to him, “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;” “He was made sin for us;” and, as the substitute for our guilt, bearing our sin upon his shoulders, represented by the cross; we see the great Scapegoat led away by the appointed officers of justice. Beloved, can you feel assured that he carried your sin? As you look at the cross upon his shoulders, does it represent your sin? There is one way by which you can tell whether he carried your sin or not. Have you laid your hand upon his head, confessed your sin, and trusted in him? Then your sin lies not on you; it has all been transferred by blessed imputation to Christ, and he bears it on his shoulder as a load heavier than the cross.

Let not the picture vanish till you have rejoiced in your own deliverance, and adored the loving Redeemer upon whom your iniquities were laid. (Spurgeon)

 

Isaiah 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Here a confession of sin common to all the elect people of God. They have all fallen, and therefore, in common chorus, they all say, from the first who entered heaven to the last who shall enter there, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” The confession, while thus unanimous, is also special and particular: “We have turned every one to his own way.” There is a peculiar sinfulness about every one of the individuals; all are sinful, but each one with some special aggravation not found in his fellow. It is the mark of genuine repentance that while it naturally associates itself with other penitents, it also takes up a position of loneliness. “We have turned every one to his own way,” is a confession that each man had sinned against light peculiar to himself, or sinned with an aggravation which he could not perceive in others. This confession is unreserved; there is not a word to detract from its force, nor a syllable by way of excuse. The confession is a giving up of all pleas of self-righteousness. It is the declaration of men who are consciously guilty-guilty with aggravations, guilty without excuse: they stand with their weapons of rebellion broken in pieces, and cry, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Yet we hear no dolorous wailings attending this confession of sin; for the next sentence makes it almost a song. “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” It is the most grievous sentence of the three, but it overflows with comfort. Strange is it that where misery was concentrated mercy reigned; where sorrow reached her climax weary souls find rest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. See how the lowliest penitence gives place to assured confidence through simply gazing at Christ on the cross! (Spurgeon)

 

 

Isaiah 29:13  And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

Isaiah 29:15  Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”

Jeremiah 3:10     Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but rather in [blatant] deception [she merely pretended obedience)

Mark 7:6  And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

Titus 1:16  They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

 

“Do I gossip about people” Have I been a troublemaker”” Some people are disease carriers who are not sick themselves. They carry some disease, but they are not ill—just carriers. There are some Christians who are carriers. They can say “amen” with the best can can sing “Nearer My God to Thee” with the loudest, but they are not around very long until suspicions begin to enter the minds of Christians. They are troublemakers and trouble carriers.

Am I heavenly minded or earthy minded” Where do my thoughts tend to stray when they are free to stray where they will” What do I give thought to” Are my thoughts pure and charitable”” If you can find out what you think over, you will know what kind of a Christian you are and what kind of a heart you have. We always think over things that we love, or dispise. (Tozer)

 

Proverbs 16:9        A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

James 4:13-17  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

It is true that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But it is also true that straight lines rarely exist in real life. More often than not, the plans we make involve many twists and turns that we had not planned on encountering. One measure of our trust in God is seen in how we navigate the unexpected changes in our plans.
Jonah had a plan—rather than obey God and head east to Nineveh, his plan was to go west to Tarshish (modern Spain) in order to avoid meeting his enemies face-to-face. But God’s original plan did not change. Instead, God changed Jonah’s plan by casting him into the sea and having him swallowed by a great fish. When faced with the likelihood of dying as fish food, Jonah repented of his disobedience and decided to submit to God’s original plan. Even then, Jonah’s story does not end well. He was not happy with God’s mercy toward Nineveh, and Scripture leaves him in a state of self-pity.
A valuable lesson from Jonah’s life is that God’s plans will not be foiled by human failure or intervention. If God changes your plans, seek His will and follow His lead. (Dr. Jeremiah)

 

Hebrews 9:22  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

John 1:29  The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Before sin entered the world, all was as it should be. Yet when sin came in, no man or woman could outrun or outwit sin’s penalty: death. Scripture tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Only in Jesus—sinless and perfect in every way—can our hideous, immeasurable sin debt be paid, and thus meet the righteous demands of a holy God (John 1:29).

When death arrives, sin’s decay, rot, and destruction come with it. Death needs an entrance to hold you in that state, but in the offering of Jesus, death found none of that. There was no crack, no opening, no entrance in which to enter because there was no sin in Him. The offering of the perfect Lamb of God pleased the Father, and Christ rose from the dead on the third day, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Until Christ came, the grave always won, but Jesus triumphed over the grave. The scope and implications of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary’s cross are enormous. Meditate on it, and it will change your thinking, humble your heart, and refocus your life, as well it should. Death and the fear of it have been vanquished!

God incarnate came to Earth to die so that we might have eternal life. What confidence, what comfort, and what cause for worship we have. Let us boldly shout for joy because, in Christ Jesus, death has lost its sting! (Hibbs)

 

 

Galatians 5:1  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

1 Corinthians 15:58    Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

 

This “liberty” gives us free access to heaven’s charter: the Bible. Believer, here is a precious promise: “When you pass through the rivers, I will be with you.” That promise is yours. Here is another: “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from you.” That too is yours. You are welcome at the table of God’s promises. Scripture is an unfailing treasury, filled with boundless grace. It is heaven’s bank, and you may draw from it freely, without restriction. Come in faith, and every covenant blessing is open to you. Not one promise in God’s Word will be withheld. In deep trouble, let this freedom comfort you; in waves of distress, let it strengthen you; when sorrow surrounds you, let it be your solace.

This is your Father’s love-gift, and you may receive it at all times. You are also free to approach the throne of grace. Every believer has the privilege of coming to the heavenly Father whenever needed. Whatever our desires, difficulties, or needs, we may lay them before him. No matter how greatly we have sinned, we may ask for pardon and expect mercy. No matter how poor we are, we may trust his promise to provide all that is necessary. We may come to his throne at any hour—in midnight darkness or under the heat of noon. Use this right, believer, and live in the fullness of your privilege. You are free to all that is stored up in Christ: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Whatever your need, Christ has a full supply for you. What freedom is yours: freedom from condemnation, freedom to claim the promises, freedom to approach the throne of grace, and finally, forgiven, redeemed, and justified to enter heaven. (Spugeon)

 

1 Timothy 6:10    “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows”

It has been said that money talks, and the world often puts immense effort into trying to get the inside word on what money is saying. But Jesus warns of the division that money (the god Mammon) can foster, and we must be mindful of its influence.

Some men’s deepest desire is to possess, and so, in self-service and self-worship, they sacrifice themselves, and even their loved ones, upon the altar of wealth. Scripture condemns such unbridled pursuit. Yet, money and material possessions are not wrong.

When God calls His people to venture out for the kingdom, He simply delivers the necessary tools so that His laborers can do what is needed.  But I ask you, to whom? To the world, yes! But to God, and those who build, it is a means to reach souls and advance God’s kingdom.

May it be that in heaven there will be those who say, “Thank you for using your resources to tell me about Jesus and share the love of Christ.” That, my friend, is true wealth! (Hibbs)

 

 

 

Luke 7:19-23  calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

 

What do we do when things go sideways, especially when that sideways challenges what we thought we knew about God? How does faith find a way forward? The story of John the Baptist may help us find our way when life is unpredictable and God doesn’t do what we thought he would.

Sometimes we wait and wait for something that never comes. We may even think we deserve what we are waiting for (John couldn’t be blamed if he had thought he deserved a miracle—or at least a little help), and so we expect and we wait. And the disappointment that comes from those dashed expectations can be crippling. We may even watch those around us get things they are seeking Jesus for, and the unfairness starts to make us ask if we might have missed something in understanding Jesus.

But that wasn’t all Jesus said. After Jesus told John’s disciples to tell their imprisoned, confused, and suffering leader t

That’s an odd follow up. Why would anyone stumble because such good things were happening? But this is the part that was perhaps just for John, and may be helpful for us too when we face the disappointment of missed expectations. Maybe Jesus was telling John not to give up hope in the kingdom or the Messiah because others were experiencing the miraculous—and he wasn’t. Jesus’s encouragement was (and still is) this: Even though you don’t get what you want, even though this may not be exactly what you were expecting, it doesn’t mean I am not who I am. Don’t lose hope or faith in me.

It’s hard to accept good things for others when we want, when we need some good to come our way too. We can become bitter, we can lose faith; we can decide that we are better on our own. But it’s a lesson we need to be careful to listen for in our own times of frustration. God is still God, even when we are confused, frustrated, disappointed, and just waiting. Don’t lose faith when others receive a blessing and you feel left in the cold and dark. The fact that others are receiving is evidence that Jesus is Jesus, the Messiah, even if the way he works is not exactly what we expected, or wanted. (Hudberg)