friendship – Praying Pint

37.y. “You have known the distress of my soul”

Genesis 31:42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

Psalms 124:1-3 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side— let Israel now say—  if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;

1 Chronicles 12:17    David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.”

Psalms 31:7    I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul,

Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you.

Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

6 years Jacob endured hardship of the elements and ever-changing terms of his wages (ten times). Laban sought to change Jacobs’s wages in his favor. God was blessing Jacob and when Laban saw this blessing he would try to capitalize on it by changing Jacobs’s wages toward himself to how God was blessing Jacob. Is this any way to treat your nephew? Is this any way to fulfill and live up to a mutually agreed wage contract? Laban wanted what God had blessed Jacob with and was willing to set Jacob’s wages just opposite. He did this 10 times in 6 years.

I have to imagine that the first time God blessed the work of Jacob’s hands, Jacob was in awe of God’s provision and blessing. Can you imagine the feeling Jacob must have had at the first alteration of his wages by Laban? The wages change but the blessings did not. No matter how Laban changed the wages, God’s blessing of the work of Jacob’s hands did not change. Jacob having witnessed this cheating 10 times and the attitude of Laban deteriorating toward him and he is told by an angel of God to return to his homeland, he determines to go back taking his rightful wages. Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Laban, and certainly anyone living here would have seen the blessings of God on Jacob.

We can tell from scripture that Jacob was fully aware of Laban cheating him. Being cheated or trying to be cheated upon never feels good and can affect the heart and mind of the person being cheated, and yet, Jacob continued without recorded complaint. There was no tit for tat on Jacob’s part. This easily could have consumed him and developed into evil intents, bad work ethic, retaliation, etc…. Jacob did not.

We do well to trust God in all things, honor and glorify Him in all things, and give careful thought to how we serve Him in regards to these.

32.u. “So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace”

Matthew 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Luke 11:29-30   When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.  For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Ezekiel 16:51-52   Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.  Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Jesus condemned them for seeking after a sign, especially when countless signs had already happened before their eyes. It is easy to overestimate the power of miraculous signs to change the heart of doubters and skeptics. (Guzik)

Every believer displays a miraculous sign. They are born again. They are a new creation. They are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. This miracle certainly ought to be seen and witnessed in the lives of every believer. Why else would Paul say “to be ready to give an answer to anyone who, when they see the hope in you ask where is it from.”

Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish – certainly, he died but after 3 days he was spit up onto shore alive. Jonah was a sign to Nineveh and they recognized it. The Queen of Sheba recognized the wisdom God gave Solomon. The central point to be sure in this is; “you are asking for a sign – I am God’s sign – and you have failed to recognize Me”. because of this they will, as an example, rise up in judgment against you. Simply put, Nineveh had lesser signs shining in their presence (it was the Word of God spoken by Jonah) and repented. Greater will be the judgment on those who have been given greater signs – the presence of the Son of God doing signs and wonders daily in your presence. This rejection by the religious leaders is indefensible.

Think about this; Jonah preached for 40 days – Jesus preached for several years. Jonah preached but displayed no miracles – Jesus preached and did miracles, signs, and wonders often. The people of Nineveh repented – the religious leaders rejected a much great witness.

The Word of God has never been so available as it is right now. There is no excuse for not knowing how to find it. There is no excuse for being too busy to find the time to go get your bible – it is in your pocket via your phone. There are hundreds of apps available to help study the bible and hundreds of thousands of resources available with just a click on your screen. There is no excuse for neglecting it. I wonder if it could be said that these religious leaders efforts will stand in judgment against those who are too busy to take time in God’s Word, too busy to meditate on it, too busy to have little to no application in their lives, too busy to hear what quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading, too busy to pray, too busy in worship, too busy to help others, too busy to give, too busy to be kind, too busy to praise Jesus, too busy to ……

We should be very mindful of how we spend our time in light of the abundance and availability of God’s Word in our lives. Anytime idleness and busyness are allowed into our lives, Jesus Christ will never be honored and glorified.

27.c. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance”

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:11    And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

James 4:4     You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1 John 2:15-17    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Isaiah 30:1    “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

1 John 5:4   For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 Peter 1:14   As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

John 8:44   You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

1 John 5:19   We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 3:10    By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil

Though, as Christians, we are now alive, we must never forget where we came from. We were dead in trespasses and sins. There are many kinds of life: vegetable life, animal life, mental life, moral life, and spiritual life. A being might be alive in one sense but dead in another. To be spiritually dead does not mean that we are physically dead, socially dead, or psychologically dead. Yet it is a real death, a “dead death” nonetheless. “The most vital part of man’s personality – the spirit – is dead to the most important factor in life – God.” (Wood) “Not in a moral sense, nor a mental sense, but in a spiritual sense, poor humanity is dead, and so the word of God, again and again, most positively describes it.” (Spurgeon) We err if we think that dead in trespasses and sins says everything about man’s lost condition. It is an err because the Bible uses many different pictures to describe the state of the unsaved man, saying he is: Blind, A slave to sin, A lover of darkness, Sick, Lost, An alien, A stranger, A foreigner, A child of wrath, and Under the power of darkness.

Every single person was born out of and into sin. All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. Everyone ever born has been born into sin. Through birth, we have were born into death and destruction and if God’s righteousness was a line we not only have crossed it, but we continually challenge its boundaries. We are born on the other side of God’s perfect, holy, and righteous standards through our sinful birth. We lived in sin, we embraced it and did not even give it a second thought. We followed after the course of this world and the prince of lies, Satan. We followed after it and sought it and its pleasures, wants, and desires. Granted we were born into sin, inherited from Adam, but Satan adds to this sinful nature the temptations and influences through deception and lies to do even more ungodliness. He influences and convinces us that pride, self-worth, self-centeredness, self-reliance, lust, worldly satisfaction, worldly pleasures, and immoral things are not only right but through them, we will gain purpose and meaning in life. Such is the life of the “dead in their sin” mankind. Those born again must never forget where they came from. Those who are made alive must remember that we were very comfortable in this old life just as a dead person would be comfortable in a coffin. We are alive in Christ and there ought to be a strong urge to escape the confines of the coffin and leave it behind. We used to respond to Satan’s temptations, influence, and guidance. We ought to be growing and maturing in things of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives. We ought to be able to discern the things of God and the lies of Satan.

One of Satan’s lies is that he would have us believe that all are children of God, hell is only reserved for really bad people, and as children of God, all good people go to heaven, confusing what it means to be a child of God. In one sense we are, He is our common creator. Satan will throw clouds of doubt over the need to be born again, the need for Jesus Christ, the coming judgment, heaven, and hell. There ought to be a big difference, a change, a new way of thinking, living, and doing when we are born again. The problem is we are continually tempted to choose the worldly and fleshly over the things of God. We choose to seek what the world has to offer more than desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

Another of his lies is that there is no God and all there is to life is what we take from it. We live, we die, the end. Believing in either one of these lies has eternal consequences, eternal hell. We are to remember this is not only how we once lived, but this is what we have been saved from through the grace and mercy of God. What manner of person ought we to be in light of this?

Fill your heart, mind and soul

“and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Psalms 25:12 Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 16:6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Isaiah 50:10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Acts 10:22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man,

Acts 13:26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.

Psalms 31:19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!

Proverbs 1:33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

Matthew 11:28-29 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Psalms 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalms 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

John 3:20-21 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

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.”

The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Are peoples lives, who have respect and reverence for God, different than those who do not? What would be seen in the lives of people who respect and have reverence (fear) of God? Would they read God’s word more? Would they give thanks more? Would they be more forgiving? Would they pray more? Are they more gentle and kind? Are they encouraging? Do they give more? Do they help more? Do they speak words of hope, love, grace and mercy? Do they have more inner peace? Are they more humble? Do they acknowledge God and His leading in their life? Do they reach out to the unsaved? Do they talk of what God is doing in their immediate lives? There is not a day when reading God’s word I do not see something new. Sometimes it teaches me more about who God is, or His promises, or convicts me of an area of my life that needs to change. Without His word I think our soul easily drifts and falls away from being able to hear His quiet voice speaking to our heart. Think about oxygen and the importance of it on every breath. If it were given to your lungs at the same frequency of being in God’s word would your life be hanging on by a thread or would you be declared dead? God’s word feeds our soul and in it we find know and understanding of God, peace, hope, help, strength, love, mercy, grace, faith….