Praying Pint

 

 

 

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)

 

Luke 17:11-19  On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

As I ponder the amazing love of the Lord, it strikes me that there’s an ongoing risk of taking our salvation for granted. We have received this unbelievable gift, and rather than bursting with thankfulness and jumping with joy, we tuck it away.

Let’s take a moment to focus on the topic of thankfulness. Luke—the physician—recorded this event in the life of Jesus, showing why we ought to be thankful.

Found in Luke 17:11–19, this is the story of Jesus healing 10 lepers. Once they were healed, the 10 men ran off excited. But only one came back to praise God for what had happened.

Just as these men were physically healed of their leprosy, we receive salvation (or spiritual healing) from Jesus that warrants our gratitude.

First, we can be thankful that Jesus came to us (vv. 11–13). The text says that Jesus went through Samaria and Galilee, both of which were made up of people stigmatized by society.

Samaritans were considered unclean people. Galileans were misfits and rogues. Yet Jesus made the effort to go to them. They did not have to go to Jesus.

Similarly, Christ came down from Heaven in the form of man some 2,000 years ago in order to redeem us.

Second, we need to also be thankful because Jesus hears our cries (v. 14). The text says the men yelled out to Jesus because they were lepers, and the law required them to stay at a distance in order to prevent infecting others. But Jesus stopped and answered their cry for help.

This is significant.

These men realized their own situation—that they were very sick and they could not help themselves. If they could have, they would have already done so. They realized that only Jesus could help them and so they cried out to Him.

Likewise, when we cry out to Christ for our salvation, it is because we understand that we are unable to save ourselves. We are spiritual lepers in need of healing.

Finally, we need to be thankful that Jesus can cleanse us and make us whole (v. 14). Jesus told the men to go show themselves to the priests, and on the way, the men were healed.

They exercised faith in Jesus—they believed He could heal them—and showed obedience as they did exactly what Jesus commanded them to do.

Only Jesus has the ability to forgive sin and cleanse us spiritually, as He cleansed the lepers physically.

Take Time to Thank God

We should be thankful that we serve a God who can heal, cleanse, and save—physically and spiritually—and who comes to us and invites us into communion with Him. When we give thanks to God, He is honored and glorified (vv. 15–19).

The Bible says that only one man came back to thank Jesus, and when he did, he was honoring God.

I encourage you: Be sure that you aren’t like the other nine. Please take the time to come back to God and thank Him for what He has done for you. He came down, He heard your cry, and He answered it by healing your soul.

My friends, we have every reason to be thankful! (Graham)

 

1Kings 2:10  Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

This line describes the death of one of the great men of the Bible – David, the Son of Jesse, the King of Israel. The phrase rested with his fathers is commonly used throughout 1 and 2 Kings to describe the passing of a king from this world. In David’s case, it was certainly valid. Truly, King David passed from this life to his eternal rest and reward.

This marks the end of the earthly life of one of the greatest men ever to walk the earth. As it says in another place, So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor (1 Chronicles 29:28). In David’s life there were certainly a few scandals and many problems, but we don’t hear a word of those scandals or problems at the end of his life. This was proper, for at least two reasons.

First, David had genuinely repented and made peace with God for his prior sins. We all know of his infamous liaison with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah. But we should also know that this was the last mention of this kind of sin mentioned in David’s life, and this was evidence that he really repented. Second, though such scandals and problems were true of David, it would be unfair to characterize his whole life by them. None of us wants to be judged only by our worst moments, and it would be wrong to judge David only by his scandals.

From one perspective David’s reign as a king was a disaster. He suffered from a dark scandal during his reign. David experienced repeated family crisis. He survived an attempted insurrection from his own son, and then a second rebellion. David also endured from three years of famine.

In contrast to David, his son Solomon’s reign seemed perfect. Solomon enjoyed a reign of peace, great prosperity, prominence, and glory.

Yet the Bible has nothing but praise for David and his reign, reflected in passages like Psalm 89:20, Isaiah 55:3-4, Romans 1:3, and Revelation 22:16. In contrast, Solomon is barely mentioned in the rest of the Scriptures and when he is, it is almost in a backhanded way (Matthew 5:28-29 and Matthew 12:42).

The difference between David and Solomon was found in their different relationships with God. David’s passion in life was simply to be with God (Psalm 84:10), while Solomon’s passion was personal improvement (1 Kings 3:4-15). We can also say that David endured to the end, loving and serving God in the final chapters of his life (2 Samuel 23:1-7), while Solomon forsook God in his later years (1 Kings 11:4-8).

Solomon knew a lot about God. After all, he knew a lot about everything! But David was a true follower of God, a man after His own heart.

In this manner, don’t be caught as a Solomon instead of a David. (Guzik)

 

Psalms 55:22    Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

THE Lord’s people are often heavy laden, their burdens are heavy and their grief great; but the Lord kindly directs them to cast every burden upon Him, and promises to sustain them. Guilt in the conscience and a sense of sin in the soul, often prove an intolerable burden; but the Lord will remove it by the blood of His Son, and the whisper of His Spirit. The care of a family sinks the spirit, and fills with distress; but Jesus says, “Cast them all on Me.” Losses, crosses, enemies, temptations, and the inward conflict, often burden the soul; but our God will sanctify them to us, sustain us through them, and deliver us out of them all. Our God has determined that we shall use Him, feel our dependance upon Him, and glory only in Him. Believer, He will sustain thee by speaking peace to thy troubled heart; by enabling you to leave your intricate affairs in His hands; by strengthening you with strength in your soul; and by enabling you to contrast the present with the future. Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory. O Jesus, teach me to bring every burden to Thy feet, and to cast every care upon Thee! (Smith)

 

John 7:37-39   On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Who is this that stands in the midst of an assemblage of mortals and makes proclamation in a loud and fearless voice, that if any man, not merely in that assembly but throughout the whole world, desire happiness, he should draw near and obtain what he desires? Who is this that offers to heal all human woes and accomplish in behalf of the entire human family, deliverance from the curse? That speaks of himself as a fountain of the water of life springing up in the centre of the earth, and sending forth abundant streams to bless all nations, tribes, and tongues? That not merely undertakes the highest functions of deity, but reveals the deity as present in the very midst of the family of man, bringing to the doors and hearts of men the most distinctive gifts of heaven? He that speaks must be either a madman or God manifest in the flesh.

Draw nigh to him and behold. He opens the eyes of the blind ; but that is little. He heals all diseases; that too, is little. He raises the dead; even that is little. It is one thing to recall men from the grave; another thing to fill their souls with imperishable joy. Behold him then on the cross. He cries out, ” I thirst.” All the billows of the wrath of God pass over him. You ask, ” How can this sufferer heal the woes of men? This thirster quench the thirst of the world?” Understand that those billows are of the wrath of God not against him, but against you and your fellow-sinners; and that he emerges from this deep baptism of anguish with a charter of life for all that shall believe upon him.

In the vanity fair of this world you see over many a shop a scroll bearing the words, ” If any man thirst let him come hither and drink.” The servants of Satan exhibit a thousand blandishments. What Christ alone can do, a thousand illusions of life profess to do. All that they can do is really to destroy the souls that trust in them.

The question for you is: Do you thirst? Have you desires ungratified? Aspirations after a higher, nobler existence; after purity, heavenly wisdom, love, usefulness, communion with the blessed, immortality and glory? Come then to the meek and lovely one, to him whose hand and feet were pierced. His word is nigh thee. Embrace it with thy heart, then shalt thou find him in thy heart; and in finding him, thou findest happiness and a crown of life. (Bowen)

 

Amos 9:9     “For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all sections, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”

The sifting process is going on still. Wherever we go, we are still being winnowed and sifted. In all countries God’s people are being tried “like as corn is sifted in a sieve.” Sometimes the devil holds the sieve and tosses us up and down at a great rate, with the earnest desire to get rid of us forever. Unbelief is not slow to agitate our heart and mind with its restless fears. The world lends a willing hand at the same process and shakes us to the right and to the left with great vigor. Worst of all, the church, so largely apostate as it is, comes in to give a more furious force to the sifting process.

Well, well! Let it go on. Thus is the chaff severed from the wheat. Thus is the wheat delivered from dust and chaff. And how great is the mercy which comes to us in the text, “Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth”! All shall be preserved that is good, true, gracious. Not one of the least of believers lose anything worth calling a loss. We shall be so kept in the sifting that it shall be a real gain to us through Christ Jesus. (Spurgeon)

Ezekiel 18:29    Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?

 

Many people say that if there is a God, He is not fair. Even in times of great trauma and loss, Christians understand that life doesn’t seem fair. This is especially true in a culture that says everyone should be treated the same.

What do we do, then, when we encounter more difficulty than others, when we face our own unique troubles, and when we’re tempted to feel disappointed in God? Ezekiel told the people of his day to trust in the wisdom and ways of the Lord. He said, “Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 18:31).

When Abraham could not fully understand what the Lord was doing, he simply said, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25) That is a good sentence to remember, for we can rest assured and give thanks today that the Judge of all of the earth will always do what is right. (Dr. Jeremiah)

 

1 Corinthians 2:1-2    And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

When Jonah preached to the Ninevites, he simply delivered the short message God gave him. The same was true when Paul entered the city of Corinth. He didn’t have an elaborate presentation, nor was he a spectacular orator. He simply preached the message of the Cross.

Sometimes in our church programming we try too hard to be innovative. There’s nothing wrong with creativity or with doing things with excellence, but we must always remember the power resides in the Gospel itself. The same can be true for us as individuals. Perhaps you’re afraid your personality is inadequate for winning others to Christ, or maybe you worry about having the biblical knowledge necessary to share your faith.

Leave those concerns with God. Just a simple word, a quoted verse, a proffered prayer, or a moment of testimony can have a remarkable, long-term effect. When it comes to witnessing, remember, little is much when God is in it. (Dr. Jeremiah)

 

Revelation 3:17  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Remove the sense of need, and blessings lose their meaning. Food does not benefit the satisfied. Likewise, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed because their desire draws them toward God’s fullness.

Christ satisfies this hunger without making the soul indifferent to need. The believer’s joy comes not from self, but from Christ, whose life continually meets our living desire.

Desire is not banished from heaven; it joins satisfaction. As the branch receives from the vine, desire brings us to the throne of grace—and keeps us there.

A Christian without a sense of need is a sorrowful sight. Laodicea claimed to need nothing, but this was not spiritual fullness or a heart so enlarged by God’s love that no further grace was desired.

The true follower of Christ cannot rest in personal sufficiency. If his own need were fully met, he would immediately take up his neighbor’s need.

Grace does not destroy our sense of need; it teaches us to value God’s gifts and long for more. “Unto him that hath shall be given,” and the Spirit’s gift awakens deeper desire for God.

A sense of complete fullness often marks only low spiritual attainment. When desire grows dull, we have usually lingered too long on the path of life.

Worldly prosperity has always been a serious danger to the Church. However we explain it, the desire for spiritual blessing is often weakened when worldly wealth increases.

Christian communities may even have certain advantages in the pursuit of wealth: their principles tend to limit personal extravagance, and their habits often encourage industry, providence, economy, self-discipline, caution, and thoughtfulness.

Yet as wealth grows, spiritual danger often grows with it. The chief dangers include:

• Pride, as wealth is mistaken for proof of special favor.
• Self-confidence, as dependence on God quietly weakens.
• Worldliness, as earthly treasure begins to command the heart.
• A divided consecration, as increasing possessions become harder to surrender fully to Christ. (Bowen)

 

 

Heb 11:32-35  And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

I also long in the tender mercies of Christ that among us there may be the following: . . .  Answers to prayer; miracles should not be uncommon. I am not a miracle preacher. I have been in churches where they announced miracle meetings. If you look in the Saturday newspaper you will see occasionally somebody who will hit town and announce, “Come out and see some miracles.” That kind of performing I do not care for. You cannot get miracles as you would get a chemical reaction. You cannot get a miracle as you get a wonderful act on stage by a magician. God does not sell Himself into the hands of religious magicians. I do not believe in that kind of miracles. I believe in the kind of miracles that God gives to His people who live so close to Him that answers to prayer are common and these miracles are not uncommon. John Wesley never lowered himself to preach miracles once in his life. But the miracles that followed John Wesley’s ministry were unbelievable. On one instance he had to make an engagement, and his horse fell lame and could not travel. Wesley got down on his knees beside his horse and prayed for its healing. Then he got back up and rode, without the horse limping, to where he was going. He did not publicize the miracle and say, “We’ll have a big tent here and advertize it.” God just did those things for him. While C. H. Spurgeon did not preach healing, he had more people delivered in answer to his prayer than any doctor in London. Those are the kinds of miracles I am talking about. (Tozer)