Category: Daily Prayers

 

 

Leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity.

–Hebrews 6:1

What causes a Christian to become spiritually stunted, to remain an infant in Christ? In 1 Corinthians 3:2, Paul told us one cause of carnality is a wrong diet. He said, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not able.” In the Bible, there are two categories of spiritual food: milk and meat. Now, there is nothing wrong with milk. But if you keep giving a person milk and no meat, they are not going to grow. That is what Paul was saying here–he could give the Corinthian Christians only spiritual milk.

What is spiritual milk? The writer of Hebrews told us in Hebrews 5:12: “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for somebody to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” Then in chapter 6, he continued, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment” (vv. 1-2).

Spiritual milk refers to the elementary teachings about Jesus Christ–who He is and what He did for us on the cross. The writer said those teachings about Christ are foundational, but they are also elementary. You will never grow as a Christian as long as you keep going over the basic facts of the gospel. You will never grow as a Christian as long as you depend on Christian music to give you all the food you need. You will never grow as a Christian as long as you keep reading your favorite Scripture passage over and over. You have to change your spiritual diet.

Maybe you are in danger of starving to death spiritually because you have subsisted on spiritual milk for too long. There comes a time when you have to move from milk to meat.

 

I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
–Romans 12:1

You may have a desire that corresponds with Scripture and follows common sense. Yet that desire may not be God’s will for your life. That’s because all our desires are subject to God’s sovereign plan.

Consider the example of David. In 1 Kings 8:17–19, Solomon said, “It was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born to you, he will build the house for My name.’” David loved God. He was faithful to God except for a few notable lapses. He was a man after God’s own heart. And David had a burning desire to build a temple for the Lord. God said, “David, that’s a great idea. But you’re not the one who’s going to carry it out.” No matter how good our plans are, ultimately God has the final say.

I think about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus was saying, “Spare Me, Father, from the physical and spiritual agony of the crucifixion.” Yet He went on to pray, “Not as I will, but as You will” (v. 39). And in some inexplicable way, the Father’s will became the Son’s will. It’s the same way for us. Our desires are superseded by God’s sovereign plan.

There’s only one place in the New Testament where the apostle Paul told us to discover God’s will for our lives, and that’s in Romans 12:2. But before that, in verse 1, he commanded us to subject our will to God’s will: “I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” God doesn’t want you to place a dead animal on the altar; He wants a living sacrifice. He wants you to submit your life and your desires to His will. Paul continued, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (v. 2).

Does God speak to us through our desires? Absolutely. But Paul was saying, ultimately, the only desires we can trust are those that have been transformed by the power of God and sacrificed on the altar of God.

 

 

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
–Psalm 37:4

This week, we are learning practical principles for using our desires to determine God’s will. How do we know whether our desires are trustworthy indicators of God’s will? The reliability of our desires is proportionate to our spiritual health.

Let me illustrate that for you. Before I have blood drawn for my annual physical, the nurse asks, “Do you have a fever?” She knows the results may be skewed if I’m sick. It’s the same way in our spiritual lives. Whether our desires are trustworthy indicators of God’s will depends on whether we’re spiritually well or spiritually sick. Godly desires do not flow out of an ungodly heart. Jesus said something similar in Matthew 12:34–35: “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.” An evil heart produces evil words. In the same way, an ungodly heart generates ungodly desires.

Many years ago, my ministry was outwardly successful, but inside I was deteriorating spiritually. My relationship with God was not what it should have been. I wasn’t reading my Bible; I wasn’t praying. During that time, I got a desire to pursue another vocation part-time, and I even began to experience some success in that area. But that desire was flowing out of a spiritually sick heart. When my relationship with the Lord became what it should be, that desire evaporated. Godly desires come from a heart that is spiritually well.

How do we make sure that our hearts are spiritually in tune with God? Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” The Greek word translated as “at work” is energon, meaning “energize.” It is God who is energizing us, giving us the power and desire to accomplish His purpose.

One of the conduits through which God’s power and desires flow into our lives is God’s Word. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “The word of God . . . also performs its work in you who believe.” When we read the Bible, it does a work in our hearts. Another conduit through which we receive God’s power and desires is prayer. That’s why it’s important to set aside time for praying and reading God’s Word.

As God’s power flows into our lives, His desires become our desires. David wrote, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Love God. Allow Him to transform your heart, and He will make His desires your desires.

 

 

I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment.
–Romans 12:3

We all have desires in life. But how can we know whether our desires reflect God’s will for us? First of all, we need to discover what our desires truly are. It’s healthy to understand who you are and what you want in life. In Romans 12:3, Paul wrote, “I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment.” Then Paul talked about spiritual gifts–the unique desire and power God has given every Christian to accomplish His purpose. Paul was saying, “Before you know what your spiritual gift is, you need to evaluate yourself properly.”

I think the same principle applies to using our desires to determine God’s will. To help you evaluate yourself and your desires, let me offer five questions from my friend and leadership expert Bobb Biehl:

1. If you could do anything you wanted; you had all the time, money, and education you needed; and you knew you wouldn’t fail, what would you do?
2. Where do you see yourself ten years from now? What do you want your job, your living situation, your family relationships, and your relationship with God to be like?
3. If you could accomplish only three measurable things in your life, what would they be?
4. What three changes could you make in your life that would most please God?
5. What is your single greatest strength?

In order to use our desires to discern God’s will, we first have to discover what our desires are.

Second, our desires must be consistent with Scripture. God is never going to give you a desire that is inconsistent with His Word.

Third, our desires should be measured against common sense. Suppose you want to start a software business. There’s nothing in the Bible about that. So how can you know if this desire comes from God? Proverbs 4:5 says, “Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!” For example, ask yourself, How will I provide for my family during the start-up phase? Seek out experts and ask, “What are my chances of success in this business?” You see, usually God doesn’t give us a desire that violates common sense. There are some exceptions to that, but most of the time, God leads us to do things that make sense.

 

 John 8:31-32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

“What is truth?” This was the question that Pontius Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38. It’s such a pivotal, eternity-altering question that I have this page marked in my Bible so I can find it immediately.

Many believe that truth is relative—truth for you is not necessarily truth for me. For instance, if I believe the world is flat, that’s my truth. Questioning my truth would be considered intolerant and would infringe on my rights, at least according to today’s accepted norms. (By the way, I do believe the earth is round!)

However, the Bible has a lot to say about truth which directly contradicts much of what the world believes about the matter.

First, truth is not an idea or an opinion, but a Person.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6, ESV). All truth comes from God, because He personifies truth. As we delve into His Word and are attentive to the Holy Spirit, we can and should know The Truth.

Second, the truth won’t always be popular. Remember Jesus was the embodiment of truth and they hated and murdered Him. The truth can be offensive because it tells us what’s wrong with us.

Imagine going to the doctor and being told you have cancer. You may not like it—you can disagree and get angry—but it’s the truth, and ignoring it can lead to death.

In Galatians 4, Paul addresses the church in Galatia, to whom he had ministered previously. He confronts them with the fact that—though they claim to know God—they are embracing worldliness. He then says, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16, ESV).

Paul was willing to stand up when he saw believers compromising, even if it brought conflict with those he considered friends.

Finally, why is it important to proclaim the truth as set forth in the Bible? Because the truth will set you free.

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31-32, ESV). Jesus goes on to say that those who are in sin are slaves to sin, but those who find hope in Him are released from that bondage. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, ESV).

What is Truth? Truth is Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Truth is the Word of God, the Bible. Truth may not be popular, especially in our world today, but Truth will set you free … and not just for today, but for eternity!

 

When you think about it, we live and act as if we are not going to die. Maybe when we are way older or have been diagnosed with a terminal illness we might concede that we are going to die. However, this is not the normal state of our minds. We leave the house in the morning and give no thought to “this might be the day I die”. How many people will die in road accidents today? Approximately 120 people die each day in traffic accidents, greater than 40,000/year. Unintentional death by falls has 44,000/yr. Unintentional death by Poisoning has 100,000/yr. In all there are close to 225,000 unintentional deaths caused by accidents each year. There were 21,000 murders/yr. 695,000 people die from heart disease/yr. 600,000 people die from Cancer/yr. 3,000 people/yr die from house fires. 108,000 people die/yr due to infectious diseases. Covid had a claim of 1,200,000 deaths. People die every day for a host of reasons and yet they give little thought that today might be the day they enter eternity. 

What happens when we die? The physical body perishes but the spirit of the person lives on. Whether a person wants to acknowledge it or not, there is life after death of the body. 

God’s Word is very clear on this. Every single person will be judged. They will stand before Jesus and every part of their life, thoughts, intentions, and actions will be judged in light of God’s Holiness. Good intentions will never make a person right in the sight of God. Acts of mercy, love, kindness, gentleness, generosity, etc…. will not mean a single thing if they are done apart for His glory and honor. 

We are going to die. It is a fact. We are going to be judged. It is a fact. No one is immune to death. It is a fact. It will claim every last person. It is a fact. Sin is what is judged by God. It is a fact. Sin is the natural intention of our soul and apart from God’s intervention, all would fall short of eternal life. It is a fact.

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

We are one sickness, accident, or some other means away from death, condemnation, judgment, or eternal life. Without belief, repentance, trust, obedience, and reliance on Jesus Christ we are judged unworthy and guilty. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, born-again, a new creation, and will live forever throughout eternity with Him. The judgment our sins deserve is washed away and we are cleansed from it – forever. Yet, people deny God, judgment, sin, eternity, hell, and heaven, and reject His offer of salvation, redemption, and forgiveness. Or they think there is another way to achieve this. Their idea of a god or deity is a means to a “good” afterlife if they do enough good. Others deny there is anything after the body dies. They are one breath away from eternal judgment and eternal torment. More and more people feel free to proclaim that the idea of “God” and “Jesus Christ” are mythical at best.  They will say they are above believing in a God who allows, sickness, famines, earthquakes, storms, cancer, wars, etc….. They declare they will not believe in a God like this. They reject Him and the need for Him. There is no fear of Him or reverence for Him. They live for themselves and what they can accumulate from this world. They are boastful, arrogant, proud, liars, and envious of what this world has to offer, and they find it worthy to denounce God and anything to do with Him. 

Others will say I will wait for another day when scripture says, “Today is the day of salvation”. They wait, giving no thought to the fact today might be the day they die and they die to face eternal judgment and torment because of this delay. 

Death awaits every last one of us. It does not ask our permission or give us fair warning of its arrival. It comes and takes us when our time on earth is up. Scripture says we are to count our days. 

Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. – “live them in light of God, who He is, what He commands; obedient, faithful, reliant, trusting, and loving to honor and glorify Jesus Christ”.

We fill our lives with things in and of this world that remove the thought about God, eternity, and judgment. We fill them with things that surely do not honor and glorify Jesus Christ. We go about our days eating, drinking, and working without a single thought of Jesus most days, let alone, the fact this could be our last day. 

Johnathon Edwards put it like this; “We hang over the pit of death by the finest thread of a spider web. It is but by the grace of God, this thread has not broken. Just because it has not broken does not mean it is strong or that it will hold for years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, or just a single second longer. It is only holding because God has allowed it to hold one more second.”

God is just, righteous, holy, and truthful, and everything He has inspired in the Bible is for the benefit of each person so that they might have a relationship with Him and live with Him for eternity in heaven. Denying He exists does not make it so. Denying the need for Jesus Christ does not make it so. Rejecting God and His offer of salvation through Jesus Christ will result in His righteous wrath and anger against all who have done so. 

Narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life and broad is the way to eternal destruction and torment.

Mat 7:13-14  “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it

Many will say, Lord Lord, Look what we have done in your name, but His response is depart from me for I know you not. 

Mat 7:21-23  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Science works hard to disprove God and His creation. What they can’t explain is covered over by the “Big Bang” theory and string theories to fill in the gaps. Man’s attempts at making sense of God’s Creation apart from God is foolishness to those who believe and worldly wisdom for those who do not. Think about it. People find it easier to believe that the origin of everything came about by a “Big Bang”. If there was nothing, where did the building blocks for the “Big Bang” originate? Something out of nothing is quite foolish. “Post” of the “Big Bang”, we have evolution. This now gives credit to “Nature” or “Natural Events” to occur, given enough time.  Just as the bible seems foolish to those who believe this so does this science to those who believe in God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God’s Word says that mankind is without excuse because God has placed within every heart a seed about Himself and nature proclaims God. 

Rom 1:18-32  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Joshua 24:15.   But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of this world in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

We live and we will die. Our eternal destiny is proclaimed and declared by God. Eternal Life or eternal destruction and torment are the choices. It is every single person’s intentional choice to choose while they live this side of eternity. 

 

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

Romans 5:20-21  Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Most Christians know the story of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” The author was John Newton who was converted to Christ while engaged in the British slave trade in the eighteenth century. He went on to become a pastor and worked energetically to abolish the slave trade in England. Though his memory began to fail him in his final years, he was always clear about two things: “That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”

Newton’s conviction—that God’s grace is greater than our sin—was probably based on Paul’s words in Romans 5:20: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” As he wrote in “Amazing Grace,” Newton considered himself a “wretch” for having trafficked in the buying and selling of fellow human beings. But he found God’s grace and forgiveness to be greater than his sin.

Regardless of what you may have done, never wonder if God’s grace is sufficient for you. God makes “all grace abound toward you” in “all things,” qualifying you for “every good work.”

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
John Newton