I've posted before that sometimes the church looks way too much like the world. I was reminded of this last week as I spent some time with an unbeliever who interacts often with Christians in business settings. This person's view of Christians...and, therefore, Christ...has been tainted from witnessing habitual gossip, slander, judgmental attitudes, backstabbing, and selfishness among those professing to be believers.
We can often brush off our sins with the thought of "afterall, I'm only human" as if somehow that makes our sinning OK. But it is not OK. We are called to "be holy" and to "not be conformed to this world." We are commanded to "put off" the corrupt conduct of our past. This means we don't flirt with a married person and pass it off as being friendly; we don't gossip and pass it off as being concerned about So&So; we don't give a person cause to dislike another Christian by sharing details that should be kept to ourselves; we don't go behind the back of another to get our own way; we don't lie to cover our own reputation. And so on, and so on, and so on.
Until we, the Body of Christ, repent from our sins and "walk in the light," we will continue to misrepresent our Lord and Savior to those who do not know Him.
Yes, our sanctification is a process, but we can habitually walk in holiness if we choose to. I believe that God will honor such a choice and has given us His Word and His Spirit to help us do so. Sin should not be the norm in our life. Let's commit this week to repenting from sin...the sin that may look little in our daily lives but that reveals big issues in our hearts. Yes, God's grace and forgiveness are available should we stumble, but let's not take it for granted. And may the world know better the pure beauty of our Lord by knowing us.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13
INTERCESSIONS
This week I am just posting verses. Please pray as you feel led by God whether it be for yourself, the church, or our nation. I have marked in bold the words below that stood out to me:
- love one another fervently with a pure heart...1 Peter 1:22
- laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking...1 Peter 2:1
- abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul...1 Peter 2:11
- let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit...1 Peter 3:10
- be hospitable to one another without grumbling...1 Peter 4:9
- let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, and evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters...1 Peter 4:15
- therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another...Eph 4:25
For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God...1 Peter 2:15
UPDATE: I just listened to a message by John MacArthur and thought it tied in well with this post. It is the one dated March 27: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Grace_to_You/archives.asp?bcd=2008-3-27
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Prayer for Week 13 (Beginning 3.24.08)
This weekend as Christians gathered to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus, there were no doubt unbelievers in attendance at those services and events. Perhaps they were there at the invitation of a friend or family member, or they were driving by and suddenly found themselves turning into the church parking lot, or they were fulfilling an annual traditional, cultural, or religious requirement (in their own minds) by going to an Easter service. But we know those people were there because of a Divine appointment. After hearing the gospel message, some made a decision to follow Christ while others simply walked away.
INTERCESSIONS:
For those who gave their lives to Christ this weekend:
- that they would increase in the knowledge of God, be fruitful in serving Him, and walk worthy of the One they chose to follow. (that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, Col 1:10)
For those who heard the gospel this weekend, but did not yet give their lives to Christ:
- that they would come to understand that reconciliation and a relationship with God the Father is through Christ Jesus alone (Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6)
- that they would make a decision to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior (that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9)
INTERCESSIONS:
For those who gave their lives to Christ this weekend:
- that they would increase in the knowledge of God, be fruitful in serving Him, and walk worthy of the One they chose to follow. (that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, Col 1:10)
For those who heard the gospel this weekend, but did not yet give their lives to Christ:
- that they would come to understand that reconciliation and a relationship with God the Father is through Christ Jesus alone (Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6)
- that they would make a decision to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior (that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Prayer for Week 12 (Beginning 3.17.08)
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. John 3:19-20
The national news have been heavy with the scandal surrounding New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer. While in watching the details unfold I have indeed thought much about his wife and children; however, my mind keeps focusing on the people responsible for "breaking the case." Numerous bank employees, IRS agents, and federal prosecutors worked tirelessly amidst corruption, lies, and depravity. By their diligence, light shone into darkness and the darkness was exposed.
"There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.
The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me'; And he disguises his face.
In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light.
For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
Job 24:13-17
INTERCESSIONS:
- that Christians will live in purity, opposing and exposing darkness in our nation (And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. Eph 5:11)
- that Christians will remember the mercy God has shown them and show the same to those stumbling in darkness, including the people involved in the Spitzer scandal (For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Eph 5:8)
- that unbelievers will turn from darkness to the Light of the world, Jesus Christ (...to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' Acts 26:18)
- that current and future leaders of America will exercise authority with justice and humility in complete submission to God (The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds... 2 Sam 23:3-4a)
Praise God!
The national news have been heavy with the scandal surrounding New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer. While in watching the details unfold I have indeed thought much about his wife and children; however, my mind keeps focusing on the people responsible for "breaking the case." Numerous bank employees, IRS agents, and federal prosecutors worked tirelessly amidst corruption, lies, and depravity. By their diligence, light shone into darkness and the darkness was exposed.
"There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.
The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me'; And he disguises his face.
In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light.
For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
Job 24:13-17
INTERCESSIONS:
- that Christians will live in purity, opposing and exposing darkness in our nation (And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. Eph 5:11)
- that Christians will remember the mercy God has shown them and show the same to those stumbling in darkness, including the people involved in the Spitzer scandal (For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Eph 5:8)
- that unbelievers will turn from darkness to the Light of the world, Jesus Christ (...to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' Acts 26:18)
- that current and future leaders of America will exercise authority with justice and humility in complete submission to God (The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds... 2 Sam 23:3-4a)
Praise God!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Prayer for Week 11 (beginning 3.10.08)
In the book of Jonah, we read about God's mercy on the wicked city of Ninevah:
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; (Jonah 4:11)
Many of the commentaries I read noted the phrase "persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand" as being a Hebrew way of describing children and that God's pity on Ninevah was in part due to these little ones who were unable to make moral judgments. This made me think of the children of America. The way that little boys talk...the way that little girls dress. Or worse, the way that little boys are allowed to talk and little girls are encouraged to dress. The music, the movies, and the magazines all marketed to youth but that rob them of innocence and purity. The most vulnerable of our society...so affected and influenced by the sins of our nation.
This week let us lift the children of America in prayer to the God who loves them dearly.
INTERCESSIONS:
- that children would not imitate sinful parents (But I said to their children in the wilderness, "Do not walk in the statutes of of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols." Ezek 20:18)
- that fathers will be strong spiritual leaders for their families but do so with the gentleness of Christ (And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Eph 6:4)
- that children would hear the gospel of Christ and open their hearts to Him as their Savior and Lord (Gather the people together, men and women and little ones...that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law...and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God... Deut 31:12-13)
- that God will give the children of our nation wisdom and understanding to glorify Him (Both young men and maidens; Old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. Psalm 148:12-13)
"The gourd which Jonah had pity on perished in a night; it withered, and there was an end of it. But the precious souls in Nineveh that God had pity on are not so short-lived; they are immortal, and therefore to be carefully and tenderly considered." - A. R. FAUSSET
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; (Jonah 4:11)
Many of the commentaries I read noted the phrase "persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand" as being a Hebrew way of describing children and that God's pity on Ninevah was in part due to these little ones who were unable to make moral judgments. This made me think of the children of America. The way that little boys talk...the way that little girls dress. Or worse, the way that little boys are allowed to talk and little girls are encouraged to dress. The music, the movies, and the magazines all marketed to youth but that rob them of innocence and purity. The most vulnerable of our society...so affected and influenced by the sins of our nation.
This week let us lift the children of America in prayer to the God who loves them dearly.
INTERCESSIONS:
- that children would not imitate sinful parents (But I said to their children in the wilderness, "Do not walk in the statutes of of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols." Ezek 20:18)
- that fathers will be strong spiritual leaders for their families but do so with the gentleness of Christ (And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Eph 6:4)
- that children would hear the gospel of Christ and open their hearts to Him as their Savior and Lord (Gather the people together, men and women and little ones...that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law...and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God... Deut 31:12-13)
- that God will give the children of our nation wisdom and understanding to glorify Him (Both young men and maidens; Old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. Psalm 148:12-13)
"The gourd which Jonah had pity on perished in a night; it withered, and there was an end of it. But the precious souls in Nineveh that God had pity on are not so short-lived; they are immortal, and therefore to be carefully and tenderly considered." - A. R. FAUSSET
Monday, March 3, 2008
Prayer for Week 10 (beginning 3.3.08)
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
- Jude 25
This week let us remember that
God is by nature a saving God - He desires to save the lost, including the drug dealer down the street, the mother who abuses her child, and the greedy businessman who takes advantage of the poor.
He works in perfect wisdom, and His salvation of sinners brings glory to His Name as His mighty power is displayed through the lives He changes.
He reigns. Even in the midst of wickedness and darkness that is sometimes incomprehensible, our Lord reigns.
This week may we offer abundant praise and gratitude to God as we reflect on His mercy towards sinners, our own salvation, and His wisdom, power, and dominion.
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