VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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PESTERING-TO-DEATH PRYAER

7/5/09

Screen Shot 2016-05-18 at 10.21.08 AMI’m holding it high over my head—the last puzzle piece that locks all the other pieces of my life in a tight fit. Oh, the ebb and flow of earthly living will eventually scatter the pieces again, but for now I see a completed picture-puzzle. I understand the difference of going from the tossing and turning, no-foundation, “blind” faith to reaching-across-the-chasm, “knowing” faith.

The piece that bridges that gap—that missing piece is prayer. (This is so simple I’m almost embarrassed to write it.)

Elijah said to Ahab, “Go…for there is a sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” Elijah had prophesied that it would not rain, and it did not. But, three years later, in 1 Kings 17:1, he prophecies it will rain.

He could’ve just stood there and waited for GOD to deliver, even though there was not a cloud in the sky. In blind faith he could’ve said, “GOD promised,” and just folded his arms and waited.

I can say, “GOD will bring about revival,” and fold my arms. Oh, but this would be blind faith—hoping only faith—no positive assurances as to when. Blind faith is accomplished by refusing to be in relationship with my FATHER.

Elijah prayed until GOD formed a cloud. He prayed until he knew GOD was going to answer. The repetitive, pestering-to-death, reiterating-the-promises, prayer is the piece that makes for me a “knowing” faith.

SABBATH

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THE TIME REQUIREMENT FOR SABBATH KEEPING

What motivates me to action is remembering a previous joy of similar activities. I have never moved myself into the LORD’s presence and been sorry I did. So each remembrance is sweeter. But time is required to get into His presence.

Preparing to take mushroom pictures is easy, however sometimes it is not pleasant doing it. While getting into GOD’s presence is difficult, once there it becomes the greatest joy. The hard part is moving myself into His presence.

“We must rest entirely, in order that God may work in us; we must resign our own will, yield up our heart, and abandon all the lusts of the flesh. In short, we must desist from all the acts of our own mind, that God working in us, we may rest in him…” John Calvin (ref#187).

“God’s rest is the rest of contemplation on the work that He has made, with all the penetrating influence, and sustaining power, and blessed oversight, that the divine contemplation must involve” R. A. Finlayson (ref#188).

“The worship due to the great Creator requires time for the contemplation of his attributes, as revealed in his glorious works. It requires time, also, to recollect all the manifestations of his wisdom and goodness in the dispensations of his Providence, and to give vocal expression to feelings of gratitude for the benefits received, and the happiness bestowed” Archibald Alexander (ref#175).

“If you are…in need of a spiritual tonic, go to the book of Acts, and there you will find this irrepressible joy that these people had in confirmation of the Lord’s promise” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Sept 16th).

SUPPLICATION

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NON CHRISTIAN Pursuers

[We all have friends and family that sit in our churches but only act like they are Christians. It is up to us to pray for their salvation. Here’s an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

BEGGING TO BRING MY FRIENDS WITH ME

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 5.02.03 PM…FATHER, You multiply mercy and peace and affection to those You dearly love. You set them apart and keep them for CHRIST (Jude 1-2). How I’d love to have ____ in CHRIST, growing in peace and love.

“DADDY, can I bring ____ with me? My enjoyment of Your glory—the blessings that You give me through CHRIST will not be so joyful if (he/she) can’t enjoy Your presence with me.”

I will only be completely happy at the “supper of the Lamb” if all my family and friends are around the table. DADDY, You are the only one who can give consent for them to come with me. To You, DADDY, I will beg and bagger (Luke 11:8) and wear You down (Luke 18:5) in hopes You will relent so they can come. I’m not one of Your constantly obedient children, but remember You have said that even if I’m not a perfect child, if I persist You will answer me (Luke 11:8-10).

DADDY, remember You are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, and…You forgive iniquity (Ex 34:6-7). I look at You and see no reason why You would not let ____ come with me. DADDY, I will continually beg and bagger You about this.

THANKSGIVING

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THE LOVE BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE SON

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 4.55.27 PM…FATHER, before the foundations of the earth, You chose creatures to make Your own and wrote their names in Your book (Eph 1:4) (Rev 17:8). And throughout time You have been drawing them to Your Son for salvation (John 6:37).

We belonged to You first, then You gave us to JESUS (John 17:9). And then JESUS gave us back to You:

“Now…they know and understand that all You[(FATHER] have given Me [JESUS] belongs to You [is really and truly Yours]” (John 17:7 AMP, brackets mine).

“Jesus…promised to work for us in such a way that the very love that the Father has for the Son would be the experience of our own hearts….The love the Father has for the Son is nothing but infinitely joyful admiration and fellowship….” John Piper (ref#94, p38-39).

FATHER, because I’m steeped in sin, my old nature, that cannot be regenerated, feels Your wrath and therefore thinks that You hate me and concludes JESUS came to save me from You. But You, Yourself love me (John 16:27). I am precious in Your eyes and honored and You love me (Isa 43:4). You demonstrate Your own love toward me by the coming of JESUS (Rom 5:8).

FATHER, You love me even as You love JESUS (John 17:23). I’m thrilled that the love You have bestowed upon JESUS, can be in me (John 17:26). Thank You.

CONFESSION

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FLESH TOO BUSY

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 4.48.33 PM…FATHER, Richard Lovelace has labeled the world as our “corporate flesh” (ref#108, p86). The world’s a busy place—people actively doing what seems best in their own eyes—displeasing You, FATHER, whether they are displaying open rebellion toward You or simply ignoring You.

My “private flesh” is busy, too—busy ignoring You to the point of exhaustion. In attempting to please You my flesh can never work hard enough. The laws the Pharisees created for Sabbath observance is a good example of flesh too busy.

 “…the Pharisees…hedged it (the Sabbath) with repressive regulations so as to avoid the possibility of breaking the Sabbath” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p1464, [Luke 6:1]).

Paul accuses the Galatians of observing days, months, season and years all in an effort to train the flesh to please You (Gal 4:10).

When I find myself exhausted it is because I overextend myself—trying to perform beyond my capacity (ref# 101, p122). “Permit me not to labour at work which thou wilt not bless…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p134). Motivate me to obey Your voice, not my flesh. Motivate me to obey what I hear from You today—only today. You do not strap heavy burdens on my back—You do not require the hectic pace the world requires.

ADORATION

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CLOTHED WITH THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 4.44.08 PM“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,…” (Isa 61:10 ESV).

FATHER, I will rejoice with holy joy, to Your honor. For the beauty of Your grace has clothed me with a durable covering. You have provided this garment for protection and ornamentation. It is the image of the church—how You defend it and make it beautiful (ref#16, [Isa 61:10]). 

“For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown…to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations” (Isa 61:11 ESV).

May I be pleasing to You with the righteousness and salvation that JESUS CHRIST clothes me. I rejoice to think of the fathomless blessings that shall spring forth for future ages and spread to distant regions—from generation to generation. How great is Your salvation that shall be published and proclaimed to all the world and the ends of the earth shall see it (ref#18, [Isa 61:10-11]).

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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SABBATHING-UP

4/10/2016

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 4.38.31 PMGOD does as He pleases but until I see His obvious moves, I go along day by day, or I should say, Sabbath by Sabbath following His prompting on my heart. Lately my mind has been selecting activity options to fill these Sabbaths. 24-hours is a lengthy period to have to fill with spiritual activity living in a physical world.

Lists prepared for Sabbath pursuit sound a bit legalistic—law centered, instead of faith centered. And GOD has given me an experience on this Sabbath that proves list making is a mistake.

As I was at a time of private reading this LORD’s Day, He caused the words in the book to penetrate my heart and fill it to almost bursting. It was a similar experience D. L Moody had as he sought the fullness of the HOLY SPIRIT:

“…one day, walking down a street in New York…suddenly God overwhelmed him with this mighty blessing. It was so mighty that Moody felt he would be killed by it, and he held up his hand and said, ‘Stop, God’” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#194, November 20th)!

I can identify with “Stop, God!” I’ve had enough of His spiritual truth to certainly last me until next Sabbath just in my private reading today.

I am familiar with reaching a point in public or private prayer where I know I am finished. There is nothing more my heart wishes to say to the LORD. I have a friend that calls such a phenomenon, “praying up.”

GOD has just caused me to experience, “Sabbathing up.” Even though there are hours left before Sabbath’s end, I have taken in all that I can assimilate today.

I have to smile, I am like those who are fearful about impeding retirement wondering if they’ll be able to find satisfying activity to replace the job hours. Most surprise themselves by finding their days fuller than before. Sabbath living is the same.

Leaving the workweek behind, I’ll watch the LORD fill my Sabbaths with purposeful activities that will give me great spiritual joy and strength whether it take 24 hours or one. He knows my needs and desires.

SABBATH

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HELPS FOR OBSERVING THE SABBATH

“Let the whole day be consecrated to the service of God, especially in acts of worship, public and private. This weekly recess from worldly cares and avocations, affords a precious opportunity for the study of God’s word, and for the examination of our own hearts” Archibald Alexander (ref#175).

“Use physical refreshments so we can feel strong and well in our worship. God does not require fasting and weight loss on this day….Always practice self-control so that you do not even begin to sin, and so that you do not lose alertness from a full belly.

Work very hard to make this day spiritually beneficial….Naps are not a religious part of the Lord’s Day except as they help us to attend to its duties….All pains and labors on the Lord’s Day are lawful if they help us keep it as we should.

Do works of love and necessity. Visit the sick. Revive the poor. Help the distressed. Rescue perishing people or even animals.

Be careful about sports and recreations. Good sense about these on Sunday is found in ancient legislation of emperors and nations. We can summarize the best sentiments by reminding you that the Lord’s Day is supposed to be full of joy in Him that He might be praised and glorified” John Owen (ref#176).

“…a people truly flourish when religion flourished among them. And this is the effect of Sabbath-sanctification; when that branch of religion is kept up other instances of it are kept up likewise; but when that is lost, devotion is lost either in superstition or in profaneness. It is a true observation, which some have made, that the streams of all religion run either deep or shallow according as the banks of the Sabbath are kept up or neglected” Matthew Henry (ref#18, [Jer 17:19-27]).

SUPPLICATION

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SICKNESS – LIFE THREATENING

[The majority of our prayers concern physical health. We all know someone who is dealing with a life-ending disease. Here is an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

NOW GLORIFY GOD IN PASSIVE SERVICE

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 3.27.14 PM…FATHER, aid ____ now in glorifying You passively rather than in an active consecration to Your service. Cause (him/her) to flourish in the graces that were perhaps dormant until now. Develop and exercise these spiritual gifts to their utmost capacity. “Patience is to be cultivated, resignation is to be exhibited, faith is to be exercised, love is to be tried, and example is to be set” Octavius Winslow (ref#61, Aug 12th).

Help ____, for in helplessness (he/she) lies. Show Your presence, FATHER, when (his/her) conscience accuses (him/her) of sin, when (his/her) mind is harassed by foreboding thoughts, when (his/her) eyes are held awake by personal anxieties (ref#76, p165). You alone, LORD, will make (him/her) dwell in safety; You alone will give (him/her) peace to lie down and to sleep (Ps 4:8). You have “a balm for every wound, a solace for all anguish, a remedy for every pain, a peace for all disquietude” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p165).

FATHER, I pray that ____ approach Your throne of grace with confidence, so that (he/she) may receive mercy and find grace to help in (his/her) time of need (Heb 4:16), for prayer will open (his/her) eyes to see Your hand in trouble. It will not interpret Your providences, but prayer will see justice in them and recognize You in them. Prayer is the window that (he/she) will be able to see Your wise ends in trouble. Prayer drives away unbelief, saves from doubt and delivers from vain and foolish questionings (ref#64, p54). FATHER, teach ____ to glorify You now passively.

THANKSGIVING

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GOD’S WORD IN NATURE-CHANGING

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 3.17.40 PM…FATHER, I thank You for Your Scriptures. And I thank You for providing the SPIRIT who guides me as I read.

I can easily fall back into reading with the mind of my flesh, using my natural “sense and reasons without the Holy Spirit…” (Rom 8:6 AMP). But by reading this way I’m only looking for information to help me. Without the SPIRIT to help, Your Word is external. It does not change me inside. It only gives me advice to act independently of You.

“God’s word,…is still living; it is instinct with energy; it is keener than any two-edged sword: that can but pierce flesh, but this finds its way to the dividing line between the animal life and the immortal spirit: it pierces the deepest recesses of our nature; it analyses the very emotions and purposes of the inmost heart” Arthur S. Way (ref#38, p229, [Heb 4:12]).

I praise You that Your Word “is a sifter of the reflections and conceptions of the heart” Kenneth S. Wuest (ref#37, p519, [Heb 4:12]). Its energy seeks to get into and stay with me. It has the ability to stir me and work in me to a degree that I can’t get away from it (ref#28, p83).

All thanks to You, FATHER, that Your Scriptures are able to instruct, reproof, and train me in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). Thank You that Your Word will never pass away (Matt 24:35). The HOLY SPIRIT brings life to me through the Word which grants life to me both now and forever (Rom 8:6). Thank You. AMEN!