Saturday Prayer & Praise 5/27/2023

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Philip Doddridge: Piercing Heaven – Puritan’s Prayers

Gracious Emmanuel, send down your spirit of love on all your followers, that we may no longer glory in the little distinctions of any faction or denomination.

Instead, may we show we are Christians, standing together under your glorious banner!

May we wear your mark of honor on our shoulders, or like a crown on our heads.

In that way may the spirit of hatred, disgrace, and persecution vanish like a noxious mist before the sun.

And may it again be said everywhere, as it once was:

“Look how those Christians love each other!”

Amen.

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Revelation Verse 5/27/2023

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*Pastor’s Note: I encourage everyone to read and study Revelation in the version of your choice. I offer them in the NLT strictly for ease of reading.

“God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” – Revelation 1:3  NLT

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Faith From The Beginning 5/27/2023

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Predestination and Calling

EACH of these men represent one aspect of God’s choosing us, His calling us to Himself. Abraham is the great example of divine, sovereign election and predestination. He was not a Jew when God first called out to him. He was not even a Hebrew. He was a pagan from the land of Ur. In the last lesson, Objects of Faith, I presented a verse from Joshua, chapter 24, where the writer tells us that Abraham came from an idolatrous family. Passing by the whole nation of Chaldeans, God goes to one single family, and in that one family He passes by all except one man, Abraham, and says to him: “I will make of you a great nation.” – Genesis 12:2.  Such action on the part of God is nothing else but sovereign grace, total and complete unmerited, unearned, favor. There was certainly nothing in Abraham. God did not see a thing in him that made him worthy of being called over many others; but in sovereign, absolute sovereign grace, He chose Abraham, according to His own purpose. Abraham, then, becomes the great example of divine predestination.

Then we come to Isaac. In him we have the second step in the plan of salvation in this passage: “Whom He predestined, these He also called.” – Romans 8:30. Isaac is the great example of effective, divine calling. You will recall how Abraham could not wait for God’s promised son to come, so taking matters into his own hands, he raised up a son of the flesh and called his name Ishmael. Even though Abraham had set his heart upon this son, God said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” – Genesis 21:12. God sets aside the oldest, and takes the youngest. The first becomes last, and the last must be the first. In nature, of course, the reverse is always true. The first is always first with us, and we cannot change it. That is the natural order. One is one, and two comes after one. But in grace God always upsets nature, and turns it up-side-down. God makes the last to become first, and the first to become the last. In grace two always comes before one. So He took Isaac, the second, and said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” Thus to reiterate, “For whom He predestined, these He also called.”

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Studies in the Life of Abraham by M. R. De Haan (1891-1964)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Life In Focus 5/27/2023

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Following the Lord – But Not Wholeheartedly

DEMOGRAPHERS today classify roughly one-seventh of the world’s population as Christian. However, church leaders are quick to point out that many adherents of Christianity, particularly in the West, can only be classified as nominal Christians—that is, Christians in name only. They attend church sporadically and show little if any spiritual commitment.

The faith of Amaziah of Judah was nominal. He generally followed the Lord, but not wholeheartedly (2 Chronicles 25:2). Apparently he practiced the Law, but probably did so more out of tradition than out of heartfelt commitment to the Lord. So it is not surprising to learn that Amaziah took ethical shortcuts when it was convenient. For example, he spared the lives of Israelite children of murderers, in accordance with the Law (2 Chronicles 25:3-4). But then he killed 10,000 innocent Edomites (2 Chronicles 25:11-12).

Amaziah’s legacy is a sobering reminder that nominal faith is almost as bad as no faith at all. A person can lead a fine, upstanding life, yet have little or no relationship with God. If the main point of life is to know, love, and serve God, then merely following a noble religious tradition is of little value, and dangerously self-deceiving.

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Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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What Price Unity?

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For Saturday May 27, 2023

Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests,
but also for the interests of others.

The greater good is a phrase we hear often today. It has good implications (when a family member gives up a personal preference for the sake of family harmony) and bad (when society decides the unborn and infirm are too big a burden). In other words, the needs of the majority do not always take precedence. But sometimes they do.

In the early church, a situation arose that had the potential to keep the church from becoming the unified body God intended. Initially, the church had a distinctly Jewish flavor—faithful Jews found it hard to immediately give up centuries of laws and traditions that were meaningless to Gentiles. Then Gentiles came into the church, and they found it hard to give up centuries of pagan practices that were offensive to Jews. In Acts 15, we find the church leaders working out a compromise: Jews were to stop insisting the Gentiles keep Jewish laws, and Gentiles were to avoid practices that offended the Jews. The result: peace and unity in the church.

Don’t be afraid to put the interests of others ahead of your own when necessary. The church’s greater good, and God’s glory, will be the result.

In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.
ST. AUGUSTINE

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David Jeremiah, Turning Points with God: 365 Daily Devotions (Tyndale, 2014)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Essential Insights on Faith 5/27/2023

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I am ready to preach the gospel – Romans 1:15

Billy Graham

In God’s economy, a person
must go down into the valley
of grief before he or she can
scale the HEIGHTS of spiritual
glory . . . One must come to the
end of “self” before one can
really begin to LIVE.


Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible®, HCSB © 2009
by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Anecdotal Story 5/27/2023

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Not Relating Faith to Life

Please read Isaiah 58:3-5. (The link will open in a new window).

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” – Matthew 23:23-24.

A businessman in a western city owns six adult bookstores, an X-rated theater, and a Condoms Plus store. He faithfully attends his cultural church, contributes generously to it, and vigorously promotes law enforcement. Titian, the great Venetian painter, painted the most flagrant Bacchanalistic scenes—naked people in sexual orgies; drunkards sprawling, gorging themselves—then used the same talent and brush to paint The Tribute Money. He could pass from Bacchus to Christ, Durant said, “with no apparent loss to his peace of mind.”

Peter the Great of Russia would regularly sing in the church choir, take communion, discuss theology expertly, and fine anyone who talked or dozed during Mass. A few hours later he would abandon himself to immoral, sadistic orgies. He severely punished anyone who insulted the Church, but amused himself by ridiculing the objects of the faith.

Given the certainty that little “clean” money exists in a fallen world, can Christians own or work for businesses that intentionally corrupt spiritual values? Given the certainty that honey bees die out in our hearts while roaches thrive, we must restrain ourselves from moving casually from the most sacred thoughts to the most profane.

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Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Jesus Is Coming Again! – 10

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Scripture Text – Matthew 24:3-14

The Authority

Next Paul gives the authority on which he is making this revelation:

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord.

It is a very significant fact that whenever the coming of Christ is mentioned in the Bible, God always accompanies or precedes the statement with the warning not to tamper with this truth. In the Old Testament the prophetic portions are almost invariably introduced by such expressions as “thus saith the Lord,” “hear the word of the Lord” or other expressions. The Lord knew that the truth of prophecy and the coming again of Christ would be scoffed at by the unbelievers, as well as tragically ignored by the host of professing Christians. Because of this, almost invariably the Spirit adds a warning to remind us of the seriousness of tampering with the truth of the Lord’s return. Note that Paul says, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord.” In other words, if you reject this revelation you are not rejecting the word of man but the “word of the Lord.” Yet, in spite of all these warnings, how much rejection of this truth there is today. Even among orthodox believers one cannot find another doctrine on which there has been greater difference of opinion than that concerning the truth of the coming again of Christ and the Millennium. We have the “Postmillenarian,” the “Amillenarian,” the “Premillenarian,” the “pre-Tribulation Rapturist,” the “post-Tribulation Rapturist,” the “mid-Tribulation Rapturist” and the “Partial Rapturist.” How is a man going to know the truth when apparently sincere and able men are found among all of these groups? There is only one answer and that is to go, personally and directly, to the Scriptures and then receive and accept what they have to say concerning this great truth. We’re going to see what Paul reveals in the remainder of this passage in the following section.

The Order

After having warned us not to tamper with this revelation, Paul gives the order of the events at the coming of Christ for His Church:

  1. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven.
  2. The Lord will shout.
  3. The Lord will allow the archangel to speak.
  4. He will blow a trumpet.
  5. The dead in Christ will rise first.
  6. The living believers will join the raised ones.
  7. They will be reunited.
  8. Then they will rise into the air.
  9. They will meet the Lord.
  10. They will remain ever with Him.

Ten definite events will occur, according to this passage. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout.” There is a certain, sweet comfort in the expression “the Lord himself.” The same Lord who nineteen hundred years ago went into heaven to prepare a place for us will come again. Does not every believer’s heart quicken its beat at those words? The “Lord himself”; the One whom, “having not seen [we] love” (1 Peter 1:8); the precious, blessed Lord who left heaven’s glories and laid aside the form of God and took upon Himself our human nature to redeem us from the pit of hell and to lift us into sonship with God—He will come again. Soon we will see the same Jesus who walked the weary way to Calvary, bearing the Cross on which we should have died; the same Jesus who hung on that Cross for six dread hours, with all the weight of a world’s guilt laid upon Him and the infinite wrath of God bursting upon Him for our sin, until the very sun, which He had created, could not bear to behold the sight any longer, and as the Light of the World slipped into the darkness of death, the sun hid its face, God drew the shutters of heaven, blew out the Light of the World and turned His back upon His own Son until He cried out in the inexpressible agony of His soul, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – Mark 15:34. There He bore our sin and shame—the sin that hid God’s face from us—the sin that deserved eternal death. He bore it there. He paid it there for me—for you. Now we are redeemed and saved from hell and damnation because He loved us so.

To Be Continued

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Adapted and modified excerpts from M. R. De Haan, The Second Coming of Jesus.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Love or Death – 6

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Scripture References: 1 John 3:11-24

Christian Love (1 John 3:18–24) – Continued

Abiding (verses 23–24). When a scribe asked Jesus to name the greatest commandment, He replied, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God.’ . . . This is the first and great commandment. The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:34–40). But God also gives us one commandment that takes in both God and man: “Believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another” (1 John 3:23). Faith toward God and love toward man sum up a Christian’s obligations. Christianity is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

Faith toward God and love toward men are two sides of the same coin. It is easy to emphasize faith, correct doctrine, and to neglect love. On the other hand, some say doctrine is not important and that love is our main responsibility. Both doctrine and love are important. When a person is justified by faith, he should know that the love of God is being poured out in his heart (Romans 5:1–5).

“Abiding in Christ” is a key experience for a believer who wants to have confidence toward God and enjoy answers to prayer. Jesus, in His message to the disciples in the Upper Room (John 15:1–14) illustrated “abiding.” He compared His followers to the branches of a vine. So long as the branch draws its strength from the vine, it produces fruit. But if it separates itself from the vine, it withers and dies.

As we have seen, when a believer walks in love, he finds it easy to obey God, and therefore he maintains a close communion with God. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” – John 14:23.

The Holy Spirit is mentioned by name in 1 John for the first time in 3:24. John introduced us to the Holy One (1 John 2:20) with emphasis on the Spirit’s anointing and teaching ministry. (This parallels John 14:26; 16:13–14.) But the Holy One is also the abiding Spirit (1 John 3:24; 4:13). When a believer obeys God and loves the brethren, the indwelling Holy Spirit gives him peace and confidence. The Holy Spirit abides with him forever (John 14:16), but when the Spirit is grieved, He withdraws His blessings.

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The Holy Spirit is also the attesting Spirit (1 John 4:1–6), giving witness to those who are truly God’s children. When a believer is abiding in Christ, the Spirit guides him and warns him of false spirits that would lead him astray.

He is also the authenticating Spirit (1 John 5:6–8), bearing witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ. This witness of the Spirit is mentioned in Romans 8:14–16.

Each member of the Godhead is involved in the “love life” of a believer. God the Father commands us to love one another, God the Son gave His life on the cross, the supreme example of love. And God the Holy Spirit lives within us to provide the love we need (Romans 5:5). To abide in love is to abide in God, and to abide in God is to abide in love. Christian love is not something we “work up” when we need it. Christian love is “poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” and this is your constant experience as you abide in Christ.

There are four levels on which a person may live. He may choose the lowest level, Satan’s level, and practice murder. Murderers “shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:8.

Or, a person may choose the next level, hatred. But hatred, in God’s sight, is the same as murder. A man who lives with hatred is slowly killing himself, not the other person! Psychologists have warned that malice and hatred cause all kinds of physical and emotional problems.

The third level, indifference. A man who has constant hatred in his heart, or who habitually murders, proves he has never been born of God. But it is possible to be a Christian and be indifferent to the needs of others.

A man who murders belongs to the devil, like Cain. A man who hates belongs to the world (1 John 3:13), which is under Satan’s control. But a Christian who is indifferent is living for the flesh, which still serves Satan’s purposes.

The only happy, holy way to live is on the highest level, the level of Christian love. This is the life of joy and liberty, the life of answered prayer. It assures you confidence and courage in spite of the difficulties of life.

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 2.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Daily Prayer & Praise 5/26/2023

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Lord, hear our prayer:

Lord, we have come to listen to you and to share with you all that is on our hearts and minds. We have come to praise you and to give you thanks. We have come because you are worthy and because of our need. We have come because you are here and because you have promised to go with us when we leave. Fill us with your love and empower us with your Spirit that we may worship you in Christ.

Amen.

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Some minor adaptation on some prayers.
David Clowes, 500 Prayers For All Occasions © 2003 by David C Cook Publishing
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Bible Verse of the Day 5/26/2023

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INTRODUCTION TO 2 PETER:
As the Christian movement gained steam, churches began to encounter more false teachers in their midst. Second Peter was written to warn about one of these groups—people who were essentially saying that Jesus would not return, so they could live any way they liked. Against this view, 2 Peter argues that the Day of the Lord is surely coming, and that believers should live in light of this truth.

Taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation for ease of reading:

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Reflecting With God 5/26/2023

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Thinking, praying, reading, studying the Bible – when we do these things, we are reflecting on the Word of God. To reflect is to contemplate and/or consider, and God wants us to deeply reflect on His Word so that we can better understand Him.

Friday Reflecting

Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. – Jeremiah 15:16.

The Bible is a rock of diamonds, a chain of pearls, the sword of the Spirit; a chart by which the Christian sails to eternity; the map by which he daily walks; the sun-dial by which he sets his life; the balance in which he weighs his actions.
~ T. WATSON

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Illustrated Message 5/26/2023

5-26-23

Judges 5:3

Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I will sing to Yahweh; I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel.


Faithlife Verse of the Day Art, © 2023, Faithlife / Logos Bible Software.
Scripture used from the Lexham English Bible, LEB © 2012 by Logos Bible Software.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Acts 5:32

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Friday May 26, 2023

Acts 5:32
“The Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Our generation of Christians differs from preceding generations in many ways.

We are a hearing and speaking generation, a reading and writing generation, a capable and industrious generation.

But I do not know if there are many in our midst who would dare to say that we are a Spirit-filled generation of Christians.

The realm of the unseen is distant and unreal to us, notwithstanding all that we read and hear and know about it. It impresses, captivates, and interests most of us only to a comparatively slight degree.

I gather this most clearly from the conversations I hear.

I am not now thinking only of the many empty and meaningless conversations which take place among Christian people. I am thinking mostly of our conversations about Christian themes. We speak of our work with fervor and enthusiasm. But as soon as the conversation turns to the hidden life it grows dull.

How rare it is to meet believers who live such a rich inner life with God that they need but open their mouths and let quiet, fervent words come from their overflowing hearts.

In our day we know very little about walking in the Spirit and overcoming the flesh. Willfulness, craving for power, passionate love of honor, envy and slander are not only unconquered but oftentimes unacknowledged sins in Christian circles.

God gives the Spirit only to those who obey Him. They are not sinless folk, but they are such as permit themselves to be convicted of their sins. And who have a will to overcome them.

“’Tis true, Thy plants are there;
But, ah, how weak and rare!”

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O. Hallesby, God’s Word for Today: A Daily Devotional for the Whole Year, translator Clarence J. Carlsen (Augsburg, 1994)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Christian Quote 5/26/2023

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5-26-23 j.c. ryle

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Food For Thought 5/26/2023

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A Word Fitly Spoken

Some time ago in Schenectady, N. Y., before an audience which included many young engineers from General Electric, I spoke of feeding upon Christ, pointing out that the physical action of today was the result of last week’s food, and that the spiritual action in any life is the result of previous feeding upon Christ.

I said, “For example, a young man trained as an engineer, with bright prospect before him, hears the call of God to go out to Africa as a missionary, leaves his position, and faces the Dark Continent. He has been feeding on Christ.”

I had not more than pronounced the benediction that a young man came up to me and asked, “Why did you say what you did about an engineer going to Africa?” I answered that, as I was preaching, the Holy Spirit had led me. And the young man replied, “I am an engineer and God is calling me to Africa, and I must leave my career and go there as a missionary.” It was a “word fitly spoken” which reached his particular case.

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Spiritual Nuggets 5/26/2023

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God’s Will: It’s Confusing

It’s sometimes difficult to understand why God does what He does, or why He asks us to do certain things. God goes so far as to list precise materials and calculations in Exodus 26 for the tabernacle—the portable temple the Hebrew people built for God in the wilderness. You can imagine the conversation:

Nadab says, “Aaron, is it okay if I use leather for this curtain?”

Aaron responds, “No, you know the rules. If God commands it, you have to do it. I don’t want another golden calf incident. I made that mistake once; I won’t make it twice.”

“But there is more leather,” says Nadab.

“I’m not having this discussion any longer,” Aaron says sternly. “Let’s just get the job done.” (“For an elder, you think he would know better,” Aaron says under his breath.)

Aaron, in this fictional scene, is rightfully frustrated because God does know better. Most of us know the answer before we ask God, “Why?” But we ask Him anyway. God’s will can be confusing, and it’s for this reason that discerning it requires great prayer and a dedication to an ongoing relationship with Him. Trying to understand God’s will without that close relationship cannot only be detrimental to us, but also to others. We see this in the golden calf incident later in the exodus narrative (Exodus 32).

And isn’t this often the case? God knows what we need before we do; we just don’t always realize that He has already given instructions.

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Connect the Testaments
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Lexham English Bible, LEB © 2012 by Logos Bible Software.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Links open in new window and are in the Lexham English Bible, LEB, unless otherwise noted.
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Love or Death – 5

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Scripture References: 1 John 3:11-24

Christian Love (1 John 3:18–24) – Continued

John names three wonderful blessings that will come to a believer who practices Christian love.

Assurance (verses 19–20). A believer’s relationship with others affects his relationship with God. A man who is not right with his brother should go settle the matter before he offers his sacrifice on the altar (Matthew 5:23–24). A Christian who practices love grows in his understanding of God’s truth and enjoys a heart filled with confidence before God.

A “condemning heart” is one that robs a believer of peace. An “accusing conscience” is another way to describe it. Sometimes the heart accuses us wrongly, because it “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” – Jeremiah 17:9. The answer to that question is, “God knows the heart!” More than one Christian has accused himself falsely, or been harder on himself than necessary; but God will never make such a mistake. A Christian who walks in love has a heart open to God (“God is love”) and knows that God never judges wrongly.

John may have remembered two incidents from Jesus’ life on earth that illustrate this important principle. When Jesus visited Bethany, He stayed at the home of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38–42). Martha was busy preparing the meal, but Mary sat at His feet and listened to Him teach. Martha criticized both Mary and Jesus, but Jesus knew Mary’s heart and defended her.

The Apostle Peter wept bitterly after he had denied his Lord, and no doubt he was filled with remorse and repentance for his sin. But Jesus knew that Peter had repented, and after His resurrection the Lord sent a special message (Mark 16:7) to Peter that must have assured the hot-headed fisherman that he was forgiven. Peter’s heart may have condemned him, for he knew he had denied the Lord three times, but God was greater than his heart. Jesus, knowing all things, gave Peter just the assurance he needed.

Be careful that the devil may accuse you and rob you of your confidence (Revelation 12:10). Once you confess your sin and it is forgiven, you don’t need to allow it to accuse you anymore. Peter was able to face the Jews and say, “But you denied the Holy One and the Just!” (Acts 3:14) because his own sin of denying Christ had been taken care of and was forgiven and forgotten.

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No Christian should treat sin lightly, but no Christian should be harder on himself than God is. There is a morbid kind of self-examination and self-condemnation that is not spiritual. If you are practicing genuine love for the brethren, your heart must be right before God, for the Holy Spirit would not “pour out” His love in you if there were habitual sin in your heart. When you grieve the Spirit, you essentially separate yourself from the supply of God’s love (Ephesians 4:30–5:2).

Answered prayer (verses 21–22). Love for the brethren produces confidence toward God, and confidence toward God gives you boldness in asking for what you need. This does not mean that you earn answers to prayer by loving the brethren. Rather, it means that your love for the brethren proves that you are living in the will of God where God can answer your prayer. “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments” (1 John 3:22). Love is the fulfilling of God’s Law (Romans 13:8–10); therefore, when you love the brethren, you are obeying His commandments and He is able to answer your requests.

A believer’s relationship to the brethren cannot be divorced from his prayer life. If husbands and wives are not obeying God’s Word, for example, their prayers will be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).

These verses do not, of course, give us all the conditions for answered prayer, but they emphasize the importance of obedience. One great secret of answered prayer is obedience, and the secret of obedience is love. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” – John 14:15.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. . . . If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” – John 15:7, 10.

It is possible, of course, to keep God’s commandments in a spirit of fear or servitude rather than in a spirit of love. This was the sin of the elder brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:24–32). A believer should keep His Father’s commandments because this pleases Him. A Christian who lives to please God will discover that God finds ways to please His child. “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4. When our delight is in the love of God, our desires will be in the will of God.

To Be Continued

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Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 2.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Daily Prayer & Praise 5/25/2023

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Lord, hear our prayer:

Lord, we have come with our burdens and with the things that weigh us down. We have come with our brokenness and the hurts within our lives. We have come with our doubts, our questions and our fears. We come with our loss and our need to be made whole. We come feeling locked up and locked in. We come to be set free to become living examples of what the Holy Spirit can do.

Amen.

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Some minor adaptation on some prayers.
David Clowes, 500 Prayers For All Occasions © 2003 by David C Cook Publishing
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Bible Verse of the Day 5/25/2023

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INTRODUCTION TO 2 PETER:
As the Christian movement gained steam, churches began to encounter more false teachers in their midst. Second Peter was written to warn about one of these groups—people who were essentially saying that Jesus would not return, so they could live any way they liked. Against this view, 2 Peter argues that the Day of the Lord is surely coming, and that believers should live in light of this truth.

Taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation for ease of reading:

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