Praying Pint

 

Revelation 2:3-5  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

 

The church must claim again her ancient dowry of everlastingness. She must begin again to deal with ages and millenniums rather then with days and years. She must not count numbers but test foundations. She must work for permanence rather than for appearance. Her children must seek those enduring things that have been touched with immortality. The shallow brook of popular religion chatters on its nervous way and thinks the ocean too quiet and dull because it lies deep in its mighty bed and is unaffected by the latest shower. Faith in one of its aspects moves mountains; in another it gives patience to see the promises afar off and to wait quietly for their fulfillment. Insistence upon an immediate answer to every request of the soul is an evidence of religious infantilism. It takes God longer to grow an oak than to grow an ear of popcorn. It will cost something to walk slow in the parade of the ages while excited men of time rush about confusing motion with progress. But it will pay in the long run–and the true Christian is not much interested in anything short of that. (Tozer)

 

Isaiah 48:10    “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”

Job 23:10  But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

Psalms 66:10  For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

Proverbs 17:3  The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.

This has long been the motto fixed before our eye upon the wall of our bedroom, and in many ways it has also been written on our heart. It is no mean thing to be chosen of God. God’s choice makes chosen men choice men. Better to be the elect of God than the elect of a whole nation. So eminent is this privilege, that whatever drawback may be joined to it we very joyfully accept it, even as the Jew ate the bitter herbs for the sake of the Paschal Lamb. We choose the furnace, since God chooses us in it.

We are chosen as an afflicted people and not as a prosperous people, chosen not in the palace but in the furnace. In the furnace beauty is marred, fashion is destroyed, strength is melted, glory is consumed, and yet here eternal love reveals its secrets and declares its choice. So has it been in our case. In times of severest trial God has made to us our calling and election plain, and we have made it sure: then have we chosen the LORD to be our God, and He has shown that we are assuredly His chosen. Therefore, if today the furnace be heated seven times hotter, we will not dread it, for the glorious Son of God will walk with us amid the glowing coals.

 

Proverbs 22:9    He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.

Proverbs 11:25  Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

Proverbs 19:17  Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 21:13  Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. 1

Peter 4:9  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Are you a puddle or a pipeline? When water collects in a puddle, it becomes stagnant and brackish; it has no outlet or circulation. A pipeline, on the other hand, is filled with water; its job is to convey refreshing liquid to the spigot for the benefit of others. What flows in is meant to flow out.

Proverbs reminds us that God blesses those who live according to His will. But His blessings are never intended for selfish consumption. From the beginning, God told His people they would be blessed to become a blessing to others.

Think how God has blessed you—your time, resources, and opportunities. Are those blessings collecting like stagnant puddles, or are they flowing like life-giving streams? The healthiest Christian life is one marked by both receiving and releasing. Ask the Lord today to make you a channel of living water. As you bless others, you’ll discover something wonderful: God keeps the pipeline full. (Dr. Jeremiah)

God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.

 

Song of Solomon 5:8   “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.”

 

Such is the language of the believer panting after present fellowship with Jesus, he is sick for his Lord. Gracious souls are never perfectly at ease except they are in a state of nearness to Christ; for when they are away from him they lose their peace. The nearer to him, the nearer to the perfect calm of heaven; the nearer to him, the fuller the heart is, not only of peace, but of life, and vigour, and joy, for these all depend on constant intercourse with Jesus. What the sun is to the day, what the moon is to the night, what the dew is to the flower, such is Jesus Christ to us.

What bread is to the hungry, clothing to the naked, the shadow of a great rock to the traveller in a weary land, such is Jesus Christ to us; and, therefore, if we are not consciously one with him, little marvel if our spirit cries in the words of the Song, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, tell him that I am sick of love.” This earnest longing after Jesus has a blessing attending it: “Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness”; and therefore, supremely blessed are they who thirst after the Righteous One. Blessed is that hunger, since it comes from God: if I may not have the full-blown blessedness of being filled, I would seek the same blessedness in its sweet bud-pining in emptiness and eagerness till I am filled with Christ. If I may not feed on Jesus, it shall be next door to heaven to hunger and thirst after him. There is a hallowedness about that hunger, since it sparkles among the beatitudes of our Lord. But the blessing involves a promise. Such hungry ones “shall be filled” with what they are desiring. If Christ thus causes us to long after himself, he will certainly satisfy those longings; and when he does come to us, as come he will, oh, how sweet it will be! (Spurgeon)

 

Psalms 119:57   The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words.

Look at what you have, believer, and compare your share with what others have. Some people have their share in the fields; they are wealthy, and their harvests bring them great increase. But what are harvests compared with your God, who is the God of harvests? What are overflowing barns compared with him, the true Gardener, who feeds you with the bread of heaven? Some have their share in the city; their wealth is great and flows to them in steady streams until they become like a reservoir of gold. But what is gold compared with your God? You could not live on it, and your spiritual life could never be supported by it. Place it on a troubled conscience—could it ease its pain? Offer it to a discouraged heart—could it silence even one groan or lessen one sorrow? But you have God, and in him you have more than gold or riches could ever buy. Some have their share in what most people love: applause and fame. But ask yourself, is your God not worth more to you than that? Even if thousands of trumpets sounded your praise, would that prepare you to cross the Jordan or comfort you as you face judgment? No. There are sorrows in life that wealth cannot relieve, and there is a deep need at the hour of death that no riches can meet. But when God is your portion, you have more than everything else combined. In him, every need is met, whether in life or in death. With God as your portion, you are truly rich, for he will provide what you need, comfort your heart, ease your grief, guide your steps, stay with you in the dark valley, and then bring you home to enjoy him as your portion forever. “I have enough,” said Esau; that is the best a worldly person can say. But Jacob answers, “I have everything,” a confession too high for earthly minds. (Spurgeon)

 

Proverbs 24:10  If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

Psalms 91:15  When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

Isaiah 40:29  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

2Corinthians 12:9  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Deuteronomy 33:27  The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’

Psalms 69:20  Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

Hebrews 5:1-2  For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

Hebrews 5:8-9  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Isaiah 53:4  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

 

Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. –Psalm 119:165

When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he had good reason to be anxious. He was imprisoned and facing what could have been his execution. Yet instead of becoming anxious about his circumstances, Paul experienced God’s peace. In Philippians 4, Paul shared his three-dose antidote against the poison of anxiety.   Dose number one: Pray persistently. Verses 6–7 say, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I love the way The Living Bible paraphrases the first part of verse 6: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” Guard against anxiety by turning your worry list into your prayer list.   Dose number two: Think truthfully. Look at verse 8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Let me tell you a secret: Media outlets—conservative, liberal, and in between—often get our attention by capitalizing on our anxiety. Quit allowing your anxiety to go through the roof by listening to conspiracy theories and other foolishness designed to make you tune in. Instead, focus on what is right and pure. Did you know the Bible uses those same words to describe God’s Word? Psalm 19:8 says, “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Make God’s Word your focus.   Dose number three: Live obediently. Philippians 4:9 says, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” It’s not enough to know God’s Word—you have to practice God’s Word. When you practice what you know to be true, your anxiety decreases and your peace increases.   God has not promised to take you out of your circumstances, but He has given you everything you need to conquer the mountain of anxiety and experience His peace—if you will pray persistently, think truthfully, and live obediently to Him. (Jeffress)

 

Proverbs 10:31  The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

Proverbs 10:11  The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

Proverbs 10:20  The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

Psalms 120:3  What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?

What a marvelous, God-designed gift is our tongue! We use it for talking (even saying tongue-twisters) and for tasting and eating. It can do so much good when we use our words to encourage, to lift up, and to build up. We can use our speech to share the Gospel and lead people from the kingdom of darkness into the realm of grace. We can say, “Thank you,” “I love you,” and “How can I be of encouragement to you today?”

But the same tongue can also cause a lot of pain and trouble. As Christians, we must break our tendency to gossip, curse, lie, flatter, criticize, and brag.

Spend time each day in the Word of God, guarding your heart so that only righteous words come out of your mouth. “From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom.” The tongue reveals what the heart is storing.  (Dr. Jeremiah)

This morning I share thoughts from a friend who is a model to me of dedication, faith, trust, and Hope in God.

Galatians 6:9  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Isaiah 40:30-31  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Romans 2:7  to those who by patience in well-doing

Leviticus 26:4  then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

·       So, I reminded myself:

o   Don’t grow weary in the quiet work.

o   Don’t grow weary in the unseen work.

o   Don’t grow weary in the publicly seen work.

o   Don’t grow weary when the results are not immediate.

o   Do continue to place your trust, your hopes, and your confidence in the Creator God who has always existed outside of time and space and about whom David wrote the heavens are simply “the work of your fingers” (Psalm 8:3 – NIV).

o   It’s by his grace that what is done faithfully today may become part of something far greater than what we can see. (Tuttle)

 

Genesis 24:63   “Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide.”

 

Very admirable was his occupation. If those who spend so many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes, could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable society and more interesting engagements in meditation than in the vanities which now have such charms for them. We should all know more, live nearer to God, and grow in grace, if we were more alone. Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere. When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed. Isaac found Rebecca while engaged in private musings; many others have found their best beloved there.

Very admirable was the choice of place. In the field we have a study hung round with texts for thought. From the cedar to the hyssop, from the soaring eagle down to the chirping grasshopper, from the blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dew, all things are full of teaching, and when the eye is divinely opened, that teaching flashes upon the mind far more vividly than from written books. Our little rooms are neither so healthy, so suggestive, so agreeable, or so inspiring as the fields. Let us count nothing common or unclean, but feel that all created things point to their Maker, and the field will at once be hallowed.

Very admirable was the season. The season of sunset as it draws a veil over the day, befits that repose of the soul when earthborn cares yield to the joys of heavenly communion. The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder, and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe. If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well, dear reader, if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide, but if not, the Lord is in the town too, and will meet with thee in thy chamber or in the crowded street. Let thy heart go forth to meet him. (Spurgeon)