Praying Pint

 

Psalm 145:9     The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Psalm 16:2     “I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you”.

Psalm 73:28      “For me it is good to be near God”.

 

Set aside for a moment the gifts you yet long to have. Can you see — in your morning coffee and stocked pantry and spring leaves and garden plot — that “the Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:9)?

Even still, God knows that his general goodness, the goodness he scatters across all our days, does not remove the pain of particular goods not given. We find in the Psalms the conviction that God not only gives me good but also works my good through everything bad.

We see God’s commitment to work our best most starkly in his commitment to forgive our worst. Indeed, when the psalmists celebrate God’s goodness, they often have the goodness of his grace in mind. “You, O Lord, are good and forgiving” (Psalm 86:5). Through Jesus, God crowns our guilty heads with grace and rescues us from messes of our own making (Psalm 103:4; 107:1–3). He redeems us from the worst we’ve ever done.

And if God worked our good even at our worst, then he certainly will work it everywhere else, even in those places where his goodness seems gone. In Psalm 23, David pictures the goodness of God following him, pursuing him, not just sometimes but “all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6). On some days, God’s goodness chased him toward green pastures and still waters; on other days, it drove him into the valley of death’s shadow; on all his days, it led him toward “the house of the Lord” where he now dwells forever. And thus God’s goodness does with us.

When we get to that house and look back upon our twisting way, we will no doubt see more clearly how not only the pastures but also the valleys carried us closer to heaven — how goodness laced both the giving and the taking. But for now, God bids us to believe what we may not be able to see: The hand that leads us into the land of deep darkness is none other than the hand of God’s goodness leading us home.

And so our own hearts have found a thousand ways to finish that sentence without reference to God. But when we see the hand that holds ours — a hand now bearing scars — and when we hear the counsel he gives and sense the glory he is, we cannot finish the sentence except as Asaph does: “For me it is good to be near God.”

God, the good Father, good Son, and good Spirit. God, the fountain from whom every gift flows. God, the one who created us to commune with him and redeemed us to rejoice in him. God, the definition of good and the one without whom nothing is good. Come valley, come darkness, come lack, come loss — if we get more of God, we have more good than all the earth has to offer besides.  (Hubbard)

 

 

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.” (Matthew 13:3)

Matthew 13 is all about parables, stories Jesus used to describe the work of God and the response of man. Jesus used parables so the hearts of those rejecting would not be hardened further (Matthew 13:10-17). The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay; and the same gospel message that humbles the honest heart and leads to repentance may also harden the heart of the dishonest listener, confirming them in the path of disobedience.

The opening parable of Matthew 13 is famous. Jesus told the story of a farmer casting seed (a sower), and the seed fell on four kinds of soil or ground.

The first seed fell on the “wayside” or footpath (Matthew 13:4) and was quickly eaten by birds. Just so, some receive God’s word with hardened hearts and the devil snatches away the sown word. This represents those who never hear the word with understanding. The word of God must be understood before it can truly bear fruit. One of Satan’s chief works is to keep men in darkness regarding the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

The second seed fell “on stony places” (Matthew 13:5-6). Planted in thin soil on top of stone, this seed quickly grew but then withered and died. Just so, some respond to God’s word with immediate enthusiasm yet soon wither away. They are not willing to endure tribulation or persecution because of God’s truth.

The third seed went “among the thorns” (Matthew 13:7). As it grew, the stalks of grain were soon choked out by thorny weeds. Just so, some respond to the word and grow for a while but are choked and stopped in their spiritual growth by competition from unspiritual things such as the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.

Finally, the fourth seed fell on “good ground” (Matthew 13:8). This brought a good crop of grain, and some respond rightly to the word and bear fruit. They bear fruit in differing proportions, but there is a generous harvest for all.

We can benefit from seeing bits of ourselves in all four soils.

– Like the wayside, sometimes we allow God’s word no room at all in our lives.
– Like stony places, we sometimes have flashes of enthusiasm in receiving God’s word but quickly burn out.
– Like soil among thorns, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches constantly threaten to choke out God’s word and our fruitfulness.
– Like good ground, God’s word bears fruit in our lives.

Yet, notice that the difference in each category was with the soil itself. The same seed was cast by the same farmer. The different outcomes were not the fault of the seed or the sower, but of the kind of soil they landed on.

“Lord, plow and prepare the soil of my heart to receive Your word and give an abundant harvest for your honor and glory.” (Guzik)

 

 

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:20

A well-known piece of Christian art is a painting titled The Light of the World by nineteenth-century artist William Hunt. The painting is based on Revelation 3:20 and shows Christ standing at the door of a house which appears not to have been opened in a long time. In one hand He holds a lantern while the other hand is raised, knocking on the door. Often unnoticed in the painting is the fact that the door has no handle on the outside, meaning it can only be opened from the inside by the occupant.

In his letter to the church at Laodicea, Christ rebuked the church for their lukewarmness—their lack of passion for the things of God (Revelation 3:15-17). And He pictured Himself standing at the door of their church, knocking, hoping to be invited in to enjoy fellowship with them. He does not force His way in but waits to be invited in.

To avoid losing your passion for Christ, welcome Him into your heart moment by moment to sustain constant fellowship with Him throughout your day. (Jeremiah)

 

 

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

–Matthew 11:28

Several years ago, when I was cleaning out some old files, I came across a list of goals I had made for myself in November 1984. The goals were specific: the size church I wanted to pastor, how many books I wanted to write, and so on. As I looked over those goals, I realized I could check off every single one. I was overwhelmed by gratitude to God for allowing me to achieve those goals–but also amazement that I still wasn’t satisfied. I was focused not on what I already had but on people who had more than I did and people who’d done more than I’d done. That’s why you should never depend on outward circumstances for your inward happiness.

There’s a popular parable that goes like this: “Every morning in Africa when the sun comes up, a gazelle awakens and knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will perish. Every morning in Africa when the sun comes up, a lion awakens and knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will go hungry. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a gazelle or a lion–every morning in Africa when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

That’s the tenor of our age, isn’t it? We feel like we have to keep running, chasing after things we think will make us happy. What are you chasing? A certain amount of money in your investment portfolio? A certain size home? A certain position in your company? A degree? A relationship? There’s nothing wrong with working toward those things–unless you’re under the delusion that achieving that goal will satisfy you. The fact is, none of those things can provide lasting satisfaction.

Instead of running, wouldn’t you rather be resting? In Matthew 11:28, Jesus promised, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Too many Christians read those words and think, That’s a sweet thought, Jesus, and in heaven, I’ll be able to rest for eternity. But You don’t understand my life right now. I have to keep running just to keep up.

You don’t have to wait until you die to rest. Jesus said to stop chasing the money, the job title, the relationship, or the dream that will never satisfy. Instead, learn the secret of contentment. God has given you everything you need to enjoy life. (Jeffress)

 

 

 Psalms 73:7    Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.

 Ecclesiastes 11:9     Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

 Isaiah 5:11-12    Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!  They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.

 Isaiah 47:8     Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, 

 Isaiah 56:12     “Come,” they say, “let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure.”

 Amos 6:1     “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria

 Amos 6:4-6   “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,  who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,  who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

 Luke 16:25     But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

 Jude 1:12      These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;

 Revelation 18:7     As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’

 2Ti 3:1-5  But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,  treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

 

 

 Hebrews 10:38-39   but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

 Hebrews 10:26-27    For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

 2 Peter 1:4     by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

 Deuteronomy 32:29    If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

 Philippians 3:19      Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

 Romans 13:13     Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

 James 5:5     You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

 Job 21:11-15    They send out their little boys like a flock, and their children dance.  They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.  They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol.  They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.  What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’

 

 

 Jeremiah 2:17    Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?

 Jeremiah 3:10      Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.”

 Jeremiah 15:6     You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.

 Ezekiel 3:20      Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.

 Hosea 4:16  Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the LORD now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture?

 Hosea 11:7    My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.

 

 

Jhn 6:66  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

 2 Peter 2:20-22    For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.  What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

 1 John 2:19    They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

 John 8:31     So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

 Zephaniah 1:6  those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.”

 1 Samuel 15:11      “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.”

 Psalms 36:3      The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

 Psalms 125:5      But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the LORD will lead away with evildoers!

 Isaiah 1:4     Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

 Jeremiah 2:13     for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

 

 

 Philippians 3:8    Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

 1 John 3:2      Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is

 Revelation 21:3    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

 Revelation 21:22-23    And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Isa 45:19  I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

 

 

Psalms 73:25    Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

 Psalms 16:11     You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 Psalms 16:5     The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

 Psalms 17:15     As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

 Psalms 37:4     Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 Psalms 43:4      Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

 Psalms 63:3    Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

 Psalms 89:6     For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD

 Matthew 5:8     “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.