Sweet Aroma Of Prayers

I never really thought about our prayer being like sacrifices. In the same manner as sacrifices, they are offered up petitioning the Lord for forgiveness of our sin or in the spirit of praise to a holy mighty God. Just as the meat, grain and wine offerings are offered for their pleasing aroma, our words, if offered from a clean pure heart are an aroma to be savored as an act of worship.

Lord, let our every word and deed be done and said as worship of Your majesty. Amen

8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."  - Revelation 5:8-10

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!  - Psalm 141:2

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. - Luke 1:10-11

Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.  - Psalm 28:2

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; - 1 Timothy 2:5-8

21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:21-24

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 

2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 

3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 

4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.  - Psalm 63:1-4

Jesus Is God’s Amen

All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Prayer is the place where the past and future are linked repeatedly in our lives. I mention this here because Paul links prayer with God’s Yes in this verse in a striking way.

In 2 Corinthians 1:20, he says (with choppy Greek that comes through in choppy English), “That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” Let’s try to smooth that out.

Here’s what he is saying: “Therefore, because of Christ, we say Amen to God in our prayers to show that God gets the glory for the future grace we are counting on.”

If you’ve ever wondered why Christians say Amen at the end of our prayers and where that custom comes from, here’s the answer. Amen is a word taken straight over into Greek from Hebrew without any translation, just like it has come into English and most other languages without any translation.

In Hebrew, it was a very strong affirmation (see Numbers 5:22; Nehemiah 5:13; 8:6) — a formal, solemn, earnest “I agree,” or “I affirm what you just said,” or “This is true.” Most simply, “Amen” means a very earnest Yes in the context of addressing God.

Now notice the connection between the two halves of 2 Corinthians 1:20. The first half says, “All the promises of God find their Yes in him.” The second half says, “That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

When you realize that “Amen” and “Yes” mean the same thing, here’s what the verse says: In Jesus Christ, God says his Yes to us through his promises; and in Christ we say our Yes to God through prayer.

John Piper 

What do you have 86,000 of today?

BIBLE MEDITATION: 

“My times are in Thy hand.” Psalm 31:15

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God’s greatest gift to you is Jesus. His second greatest gift is time. Every second we have life is a gift from God.

Has it ever occurred to you that for you to cease living, God would not have to take your life? All God would have to do is stop giving you life.

Your time is in His hands. You are a steward of the time He has given you. We have 86,000 seconds in the day no more, no less. The difference is stewardship.

ACTION POINT:

Today is check-up day.  How are you redeeming your 86,000 seconds each day to the glory of God? Are you lagging behind God or running ahead of Him?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Living Out Your Faith

We live in a dark place.

Our nation is divided.

Sin abounds.

We are to be light in the darkness.

1. Ignore the crowd.

11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.

12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. - Luke 7:11-12

Jesus focus is on the widow!

The Gospel comes down to one on one.

You disciple one on one.

Ministry is one on one.

It's personal.

It's relational. 

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."  - Jeremiah 1:5

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. - Luke 12:7

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 

15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.  - Psalm 139:13-16

2. Open your eyes.

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." - Luke 7:13

Slow down and see the hurting people that are all around you.

Don't miss the chance to minister.

3. Follow your heart.

Let your heart go out to others.

We lose loved ones.

We lose jobs.

We get sick.

We get deep in sin.

Sorrow!

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." - Matthew 9:35-38

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

4. Leave the sidelines.

Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." - Luke 7:14

Jesus went to the widow.

He ministers to her.

God cares.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

5. Meet the need.

And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. - Luke 7:15

Lean on the Lord.

He is able!

Let your thinking be about others.

God is worshiped.

They praised God!

Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" - Luke 7:16

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!  - Psalm 150:6

God alone saves through Jesus His Son!

The Gospel is spread.

And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. - Luke 7:17

It's all about Jesus!!

Lift Him up!

Thanks Pastor Kevin!!

When the Potter Is for Us

Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?” (Isaiah 45:9)

The majesty of God is magnified when we see him through the lens of creation out of nothing. He commands nothingness, and it obeys and becomes something.

Out of nothing he makes the clay, and out of the clay he makes us — the pottery of the Lord (Isaiah 45:9) — his possession, destined for his glory, in total dependence on him.

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It is a humbling thing to be a sheep and a pot that belong to somebody else.

There is another amazing statement about God’s majesty, which, when you put it together with God’s absolute power and rights as Creator, explodes with good news for us.

Isaiah 33:21! It says, “The Lord in majesty will be for us!”

For us! For us! The Creator is for us and not against us. With all the power in the universe and with absolute right to do as he pleases with what he made — he is for us!

“No eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Can you think of anything (I mean anything) that is more comforting and assuring and delighting than that the Lord in his majesty is for you?

John Piper 

Add to your calendar: 2 funerals, 1 wedding

BIBLE MEDITATION: 

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it.” Ephesians 5:25

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you know what most marriages need? Two funerals and one wedding where both the husband and the wife die to themselves and come alive to Jesus Christ.

You see, when a man loves his wife passionately, there’s nothing too precious for that man to give up for his wife, except his relationship to Almighty God.

When there’s that kind of love shown to a woman, I dare say the topic of submission would not be an issue.

Most women don’t mind submitting to a man who loves her enough to die for her and shows it by the way he lives for her.

ACTION POINT:

Are you married? Then go on a date this week with your spouse.  Are you single? Pray that God would prepare you to be the spouse your mate will need.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Two Infinitely Strong and Tender Truths

“ . . . declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:10)

The word “sovereignty” (like the word “Trinity”) does not occur in the Bible. We use it to refer to this truth: God is in ultimate control of the world from the largest international intrigue to the smallest bird-fall in the forest.

Here is how the Bible puts it: “I am God, and there is no other. . . . ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10). And: “[God] does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). And: “He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me” (Job 23:13–14). And: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

One reason this doctrine is so precious to believers is that we know that God’s great desire is to show mercy and kindness to those who trust him (Ephesians 2:7; Psalm 37:3–7; Proverbs 29:25). God’s sovereignty means that this design for us cannot be frustrated. It cannot fail.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, befalls those “who love God” and “are called according to his purpose” but what is for our deepest and highest and longest good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 84:11).

This is why I like to say that the mercy and the sovereignty of God are the twin pillars of my life. They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sicknesses, the remedy of all my discouragements.

And when I come to die (whether sooner or later), these two truths will stand by my bed, and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God.

John Piper