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Approval of God

The Apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonian church (and to us): 

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us . . . walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.  (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, 12, NASB)

Paul says that when he came to Thessalonica, it was after much turmoil.  God gave him the boldness to teach the Gospel to them.  He says that he taught the Truth to them, and with God’s full approval.  Paul & company were not seeking the approval of people, rather of God.  This is hard, else Paul would not have addressed it.  Many of us don’t want to be unpopular, so we go with the flow.  It’s hard to go against the flow and go with God.  

Paul says that they didn’t go to the Thessalonians with ulterior motives, or out of greed, but rather out of love.  This should be our motivation as well.  We’re to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Why, then, should we not share the Gospel?  

1 Thessalonians 2:12 image.  Found at Virtual Bible Study, 
https://virtualbiblestudy.com/1-thessalonians/2/. 

Paul compares the tenderness with which he taught them with a nursing mother to her child.  He says that he not only taught the Gospel, but devoted his life to them, such was his affection for them. Finally, Paul exhorts them to “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”  Everything we do should be devoted to this! 

God calls us to love Him with all of our being, and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.  We should share the Gospel with the same motives as Paul did.  To do so will make us worthy of God’s glory! 

Worship:  “Living Waters,” by Keith & Kristyn Getty

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Heirs

Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Galatia: 

Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.  (Galatians 3:24-29, NASB)

Paul tells us that the purpose of the Mosaic Law was to point us to Jesus.  He says that the Law is a tutor.  “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”  If we were under the Law, we’d have to follow “every jot and tittle”, which, because of our sin nature, would be impossible.  But because Jesus came to take away our sins, we can now rely on faith in Him to have fellowship with God! 

The Apostle Paul, c. 1657, Rembrandt van Rijn.  Found at Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle. 

Because we’re “baptized into Christ,” we are “sons [and daughters] of God though faith in Christ Jesus.”  Paul says that there’s no difference between us, for we “are all one in Christ Jesus.”  Finally, Paul concludes with “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

So, for those of us who belong to Jesus, we’re under faith instead of the Law of Moses; we’re all sons and daughters of God; we are all one in Christ; and we’re all descendants of Abraham!  What a legacy we have because of our faith  in Jesus! 

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM!  (SHA’ALU SHALOM YERUSHALAYIM!)

Worship:  “Who You Say I Am, by Hillsong Worship 

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Power

So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And Peter stayed many days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.   (Acts 8:39-43, NASB)

Dr. Luke, the author of the Acts (called the Acts of the Apostles, or the Acts of the Holy Spirit), tells of a miracle performed by the Apostle Peter in the port city of Joppa.  A woman called Tabitha (aka Dorcas) has died.  Luke reports that Peter had been summoned to the place, and had cleared the room.  “But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.'”  Tabitha next arises from death.  Luke says that “It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

Inline image
Saint Peter (c. 1610–1612) by Peter Paul Rubens.  Found at Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter

Peter had become indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  For those of us who love Jesus, the same Holy Spirit lives in our hearts!  The Bible says that the same power is available to us.  Peter, who not long ago, had denied knowing our Lord, now had healed the lame, purged evil spirits out of someone, and now raised Tabitha from the dead.  It gives me great hope to know that the Holy Spirit lives in me!

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM! (SHA’ALU SHALOM YERUSHALAYIM)

Worship:  “I Can Do All Things,” by Twila Paris 


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I AM He!

Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.  (John 18:3-6, NASB)

The Apostle John wrote about the encounter that Jesus had on Mount Olivet the night He was betrayed.  Jesus knows all the things that would befall Him that night–after all, He’s God!  The crowd comes upon Jesus, but a curious thing happens when He asks them for Whom do they seek.  Jesus answers, “I AM He.”  I remember a sermon in which the pastor suggested that Jesus answered the crowd with one of the names of God, “I AM!” No wonder they all fall down! 

Jesus was, is, and will always be, God Almighty.  He is Jehovah.  As such, He was capable of just sending everyone in that crowd straight to hell.  Why didn’t He?  I think because this wasn’t the Father’s plan.  Jesus often said that He came to the earth to do His Father’s business, not His own.  Jesus prayed that His Father would remove the cup of all that He was about to go through.  But He also added, “Not My will, but Yours be done.”  

https://www.garymorland.com/stare-at-this-picture-to-gain-confidence-in-the-middle-of-your-worst-day/

Jesus knew He still had to go to the cross.  He had to die so we could be delivered from our sins.  He had to go through excruciating, unspeakable torture, and the agony of crucifixion so He could forgive those who tormented Him.  He had to die to take away our sins.  This was, and is, God’s plan of salvation.  Jesus rescued me from an eternity in hell.  Instead, I’ll be with Him, forever (that’s a long time!) in heaven!  Do you know Jesus? 

Worship :  “We Bow Down,” by Twila Paris 
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War

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.” For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.  (Psalm 122:6-9, NASB)

Israel is at war.  She’s at war with evil.  God has commanded us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

Psalm 122 contains this admonition.  It says to pray this prayer:  “May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.”  While the psalmist prays for peace and prosperity, he also promises prosperity to those who love Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is God’s city.  He chose this city as the location of His Temple forever.  Therefore, the psalmist seeks “good” for the city. 

Psalm 122:6 image.  Found at Revival Focus,
 https://www.revivalfocus.org/pray-peace-jerusalem/.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Please pray for wisdom and strength for Prime Minister Netanyahu as he leads the Beautiful Land in these perilous times.  Please pray that God will protect the hostages in their horrific situations.  Please pray for the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Israeli Defense Force as they confront this evil face-to-face, that God will protect them.  Amen! 

Worship:  “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem,” by Joshua Aaron 
“Hatikvah” (Israeli National Anthem)
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The Helper II

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you . . . But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.  (John 14:16-17, 26-27, NASB)

Jesus, in this account from the Apostle John, is speaking to His disciples following the Last Supper.  He’s telling them about the Holy Spirit, Who would appear soon.  Jesus wants to reassure them, because He’s about to leave them.  

Jesus “will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.”  Jesus calls Him “the Spirit of truth,” and says that “the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him.”  Indeed, the world doesn’t WANT to know Him.  But Jesus tells them that they do know Him, and He will dwell in them forever.  

Last Supper, by Dagnan-Bouveret, 1896.  Found at Wikipedia
, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper_in_Christian_art. 

Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will help them; that God will send Him in Jesus’ name; “He will teach you all things”; and He will remind the disciples of all the things which Jesus said and did.  Finally, Jesus leaves them with His perfect peace (Shalom), which He differentiates from the world’s peace.  He tells them, “Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  When God tells us to not be afraid, we should listen! 

For those of us who are saved by Jesus, the same Helper and Teacher indwells us.  He won’t leave us or forsake us.  My heart is God’s home!

Worship:  “Holy Spirit Rain Down,” by Heritage Singers 
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The Great Commandments

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  (Matthew 22:34-40, NASB)

This passage from Matthew is about Jesus expounding on His “two [great] commandments.”  

As Jesus was in Jerusalem, about to take the punishment and execution that we all deserve, certain Pharisees decided to confront Him.  A Mosaic lawyer stepped up, “testing Him.”  The lawyer asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replies with a passage we now find in the book of Deuteronomy:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  Jesus calls this “the great and foremost commandment.”

“Christ and the Pharisees,” by Ernst Zimmerman.  Found at Psephizo
, https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/how-do-we-make-sense-of-jesus-commandments/.

But Jesus adds a second, which He says is “like it”:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Imagine how different this world would be if we could execute on these two commandments!  It seems so simple!  Just how important are these great commandments? Jesus says, “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  The 613 commandments in the Torah can therefore be summed up with:  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  [And] love your neighbor as yourself.” 

In the morning, I pray “Shema” to remind me of Jesus’ two great commandments.  It’s in Deuteronomy, which Jesus quotes here.  I personalize it:  “O Lord, You are my God.  I shall love You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength.  I shall also love my neighbor as myself.”  As I said, this exercise gets my day off on the right track.  It helps me to remember and to establish God’s priorities for my day.  This gives me great hope for my day!

Worship:  “Love the Lord,” by Lincoln Brewster 
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Let’s Be Ready

And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  ( Luke 17:26-32, NASB)

In this account from Dr. Luke, Jesus speaks about His Second Coming.  He compares the time of His glorious return with the times of Noah and Lot, which are very similar.  In fact, they’re very similar to what we see going on in the world right now:  People going about their busy lives, ignoring God; oh, and rampant evil all around.  

In the time of Noah, “they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.”  Sounds like people doing normal activities.  Likewise in the days of Lot:  “They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”

Luke 17:26 image.  Found at Knowing Jesus,
 https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Luke/17/26. 

But they were forgetting about God.  There was also great wickedness, which is why God “destroyed them all.”  Jesus warns us to be ready for His appearance, and to not be complacent.  Jesus cities the example of Lot’s wife, who turned around while they were fleeing from Sodom.  She became a pillar of salt.  Jesus’ message?  No turning back!

Jesus is coming back for His elect.  While we don’t know the time of His reappearance, we can take comfort in His warnings to us:  Be ready, be not complacent, and no turning back!  For those of us who love Jesus, we’re assured of eternity with Jesus in heaven.  That’s MY hope! 

Worship:  “Fly Away,” by FFH
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Ask

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”  (Luke 11:9-13, NASB)

This passage is from Dr. Luke’s account of Jesus’ discourse on prayer.  Jesus says that we don’t have because we haven’t asked.  If we were to ask, and if it’s in God’s will, we will receive the affirmative answer to our prayer.  People often say that God hasn’t answered their prayers.  God ALWAYS answers the prayers of those who love Him.  The potential answers are “Yes,” “No,” and “Not yet.”  

Jesus compares the love of His Father to that of earthly fathers.  He says that if a child asks his dad for something good, then the dad won’t give him what’s bad.  Likewise, if we ask our heavenly Father to give us the Holy Spirit, He won’t turn us down.  We’re the “evil ones” here in this comparison.  Jesus says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Luke 11:13 image.  Found at DailyVerses.net,
 https://dailyverses.net/luke/11/13.

We can rest assured that our heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them.  This truly gives us hope.  We have a good, good Father! 

Worship:  “Good Good Father,” by Chris Tomlin
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My Lack of Faith

And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”  (Mark 9:21-24, NASB)

Jesus was out on the road.  He was asked for help by a man whose son was demon-possessed.  The discussion they had is above.  The father asked Jesus if He could do anything to help.  Jesus replies, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”  All things are possible!  If we would only believe!  The father replies with a statement that reminds me of myself:  “I do believe; help my unbelief.

I’ve always equated the “unbelief” here with a lack of faith.  How do I know that, like the father, that I lack faith?  Because Jesus says that “all things are possible” if we have faith.  Elsewhere, Jesus says that if we would only have faith the size of a mustard seed, then we could move mountains!  Hence, I know that I lack faith!

Mark 9:24 image.  Found at Oaks of Righteousness,
 https://vickytorico.wordpress.com/2017/05/05/%E2%80%8Bi-believe-help-my-unbelief/.

God has convicted me through the writings of Ann Graham Lotz, that when I ask Him to forgive my sins, to name them.  One thing I do during my morning prayers is to confess my lack of faith.  I then ask the Holy Spirit to help me do better today, to help me have faith, as He is faithful to me!  “I DO believe; help my faith!”

Jesus knows that we lack faith.  He said that if we would only believe, that “all things are possible!”  It’s possible for God to heal me from ALS.  It’s possible for Him to heal Cheryl Neely miraculously from Multiple Sclerosis.  “All things are possible!”  There is hope, if only we would have faith! 

Worship:  “Faithful Still,” by KingsPorch