June 2016 – Page 2 – Praying Pint

Joy Set Before Him

who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross

Matthew 27:27
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God

Philippians 2:8
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

Psalms 69:19
You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair

Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions

The verse that always sticks in my head and heart is “for the joy set before Him he endured the cross”. He could have called down a legion of angels but did not do it. We are the joy He bore the cross for. He knew our helpless state before a Holy God and chose to bare our sin so that trusting in Him and this sacrificial act we would be saved. However it does not end there. He also said that He would send us a helper (Holy Spirit) to speak to our heart and soul and lead us through this life in a way that honors and glorifies God. How much do we truly endure for Him? The absolute best we can give is our whole heart’s desire to live and obey His guidance everyday.

No Thought For Their Children

Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
and we bear their iniquities.

Matthew 27:24

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Exodus 20:5
for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments

Lamentations 5:7
Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
and we bear their iniquities.

I add comments today from a sermon preached by Johnathan Edwards which brings home the message of disregarding God and making decisions without Him in mind. These scriptures today describe the sins of man carried out on their children well after death.

It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence, that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noon-day; the sharpest sight cannot discern them.

Words Without Action

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works

Matthew 26:69
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath:“I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Matthew 10:32
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven

John 18:25
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed

Proverbs 30:8
Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God

What is it like to look into the mirror and know you have denied God? I wonder if we even truly consider this as part of our daily work with Him. We aren’t persecuted here for our belief like other place of the world. However I think we still deny Him in other ways. Love your neighbor as yourself, give generously, be kind, be humble, Love your God with all your heart mind and soul, be joyful, be a servant, make disciples, live victorious, trust God in all things, live by faith, continually grow in knowledge of God, live in the power and strength of God…… the list goes on and on if we read only but a little of scripture. We look in the mirror and say we do not deny Him yet on the other hand I don’t think we look close or deep enough. How appropriate is this scripture:

Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting

We are not alone

If God is for us, who can be against us

Oh God, open our eyes that we may see the wondrous work of Your hand. Open our mind that we may understand Your awesome power and might over everything there is. Open our heart to receive and know Your grace, mercy, and love. Open our ears that we may hear Your leading and guidance. Open our mouth with Your words that we may speak of your love, show grace, mercy, kindness, hope and faith.

Matthew 26:53
Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels

2 Kings 6:15
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha

2 Chronicles 32:7
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah

Not as I will

My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work

When I read this passage and along with other scriptures, where the disciples all say they will never leave or deny Jesus even until death – I have the same thoughts as the disciples. I will not deny Jesus and not my will but as God wills for my life. The reality is that there is a battle that goes on everyday with fulfilling these thoughts of fully living for and doing what God purposes. Throughout each day there are times of being selfish, unkind, greedy, proud, unthankful, lacking faith, not obeying, self seeking …….. My food is more to do with my will than God’s. I am so thankful for His grace and mercy, for his forgiveness, for never leaving me in this state but rather leading me closer and closer to Him. Do you know what also helps me in my walk to stay closer to Him? – The encouragement and examples I witness in the walk of my brothers and sisters in Christ. We all have times of being weak, lacking faith, helpless, proud, self serving, but God does not leave us and He allows us to see His work in others as encouragement and examples – Living to honor and glorify God is also showing hope, love, peace, humbleness, kindness, faith, joy, to those needing encouragement to do His will. Be a living example today.

Matthew 26:39
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will

Isaiah 50:5
The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame

John 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work

Giving – Is It Your Best

Well done my good and faithful servant

What does it take to convince us that it is more blessed to give than to receive? There are opportunities everyday to give generously. Giving of our time, finance, and kindness. A generous giving starts in the heart with a desire to honor and glorify God. Also, within the heart and mind, there is an understanding that all we have are gifts from God and we are just humble servant caretakers of these blessings. As humble servants and caretakers there is no thought “This Is Mine” but rather a deep thankfulness and awareness from whom these truly belong. Helping and giving to others with love and joyfulness reflects the condition of the heart. Serving does not replace giving – Giving does not replace serving – Serving and Giving do not replace Love. For one month try giving more than you receive, serving more than being served, loving more than you are loved.

Matthew 26:6
Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her

Deuteronomy 15:12
For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land

Matthew 25:10
And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come

Depart From Me

How sad to hear from God “Depart From Me”

We can not be blind to the responsibility God has given us. We are to continually be generous with our giving, kind with our actions, joyful with our responses, hopeful with our advice, and always seasoning those around us with love, grace and mercy. Do not lose sight of the purpose we are on this side of eternity.

Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. ’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? ’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. ’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life

Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,
but he who is generous to the needy honors him

Proverbs 17:5
Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished

Galatians 6:8
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith

You Welcomed Me

For we who have believed enter that rest

Having faith and believing in the return of Christ is fundamental to doctrine. How weak is our faith and belief if we claim this to be true but do not live like it is true. If we truly believe in His return and cling to His promise of salvation through trusting in the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross, and tightly grab hold to the promise of eternal life with Him – what should our daily life look like lived out with these in mind. We come to God for forgiveness of sin because at some point He alone made us aware of His righteousness, our sin, the work of Christ on the Cross and the need for forgiveness. This God given grace and mercy is a gift of eternal life to all who believe and a death sentence to all who reject it. So I come back to “how should we be living each day in light of this grace and mercy”? Do we train ourselves to be humble, giving, generous, kind, loving, helpful servants – or do we get lost in the activities of the day that pull us away from serving Him through all of life’s activities. Search your heart and see if this at all applies to how you live. God wants to lead and direct us through the entire day – Why? so that we honor and glorify Him – And How do we do that? – loving Him and living for Him with all our heart, mind and soul. Live for His honor and glory every moment.

Matthew 25:31
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. ’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? ’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me

Malachi 3:18
Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him

Ezekiel 34:20
“Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them:Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock

Hebrews 4:2
For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest

Faithful to the Master

Enter into the joy of your master

How much has God entrusted with you? What has He placed within your control to use the talents He has given you? How do we use these talents? Are we using them in a way that honors and glorifies God? Or are they buried way down within us and never to see any fruit? God has given us great promises in light of His grace and mercy. He has entrusted each of us with talents to be used to honor and glorify Him alone. These talents take on many different forms – generosity, kindness, patience, love, joy, hope, encouragement, discipleship, teaching, gentleness….. Notice I did not say any profession… that is because no matter what vocation we are in we are given these other talents to be used in what we do every day to bring honor and glory to God. To have talents given to us and then not use them for His purpose, honor and glory is to fall into the category of “Wicked and Slothful servant”. Choose this day to live for Him with your talents.

Matthew 25:14
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more. ’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. ’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more. ’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. ’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours. ’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth

Who is Invited

These are the true words of God

Many times we are given examples of being followers of Christ through marriage. In Matthew we see the need to be ready for the bridegroom for He is coming. In Revelation the marriage is explained as the church is the bride of Christ and that the bride should be ready or will not be invited to the marriage feast. In Isaiah God is the compassionate redeemer Husband. The compassion of God is found in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Through grace and mercy God has called out to His bride. What do you think is in store for those who take this invitation lightly?

Matthew 25:1
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. ’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. ’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. ’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us. ’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. ’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour

Revelation 19:7
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God

Isaiah 54:5
For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you