Ask Anything...

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him

1 John 5:13 -15  (NIV)

What's the point? The point is that we know we have eternal life. The point isn't that we know the secret faith formula to get whatever we want. 

To know we have eternal life is to know we are in Christ, receiving his love and loving others with his love puts us securely in his will. If we seek his will and pray accordingly, his word says he will give us what we ask. Since Christ loves us enough to die for us, he surely listens to our prayers. 

OK, so let's get real here. I have prayed and not gotten what I have asked for. It is easy to say, "Well, that wasn't God's will then." Maybe. I have prayed for people's salvation and they seem to reject God and I know it is God's desire that all men be saved (I Timothy 2:4). I think we must consider that God's will is ultimately that we are made new in the image of Jesus Christ and sometimes waiting in him to answer prayer shapes our faith in ways we cannot perceive or imagine. He may hear us but may be doing something we just don't understand or see. 

Faith is believing that God loves me and is working out everything for my good according to his will and in his faithful timing. 

Father, help us to pray and wait upon you to work you will in our lives. Praise be to you in us today!

THE LORD WILL FULFILL

"Though the LORD is on high, 
     he looks upon the lowly,
     but the proud he knows from afar.
 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
     you preserve my life;
 you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,

     with your right hand you save me.
 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
     your love, O LORD, endures forever - 
     do not abandon the work of your hands."
 Psalm 138: 6-8

It truly is amazing that God, the Lord of heaven and earth, though he is on high, looks upon the lowly. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3) The deal is that if you are full of yourself you can't see God. Sometimes we don't seek God until we feel we need him. What is good is when you are in place that you always know you need him. 

Because of God's enduring love for us we can rest in the knowledge that he will fulfill his purposes for our lives. I know this is not always easy to apply, but, the truth, what the Lord tells us through the Bible, is that he will fulfill his purposes for our lives.

Thank you, Father, for your love for me. Open my eyes to see you in my life. Fulfill your purpose for me. Praise be to you in us today!

JOYFUL, THANKFUL,PRAYERFUL= GOD'S WILL: I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Well, I have been pretty sick these last few days. This strain of the flu is awful. Up until today just reading the Bible was all I could manage. It feels good to be able to write again. What does the Apostle Paul have for us in his closing remarks?

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Many moons ago I was blessed to be able attend Capernwray Bible School in Carnforth, England (http://www.capernwray.org.uk/).  There was this fellow student  whose name was Ivanhoe. He loved to greet you first thing in the morning with a hearty, "This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Now, although I am an early morning person, I am also a cup of coffee before we talk early morning guy. I don't think Ivanhoe had read Proverbs 27:14, "If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse." Ivanhoe meant well.* But, being joyful isn't just about putting on a smiley face and spouting spiritual catch phrases. We are joyful because we are in Christ. 

We are also to pray continually. One of the most amazing truths about God's love for us is that he wants to talk with us. Prayer is part of that conversation. Keep the channel open all day long. 

Paul shoots out another little blast to give thanks in all circumstances. Give thanks for what? for the circumstance? No. We give thanks that God works out all things for out good (Romans 8:28).

Finding our joy in Christ, seeking to live continually in prayer, and being thankful that God is working is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 

Father, help us to be joyful, prayerful and thankful. Praise be to you in us today!

*Ivanhoe eased up after I "greeted" him early one morning while he was attending to his personal business.

CONTROL YOURSELF IN HOLINESS AND HONOR: I Thessalonians 4:3-4

We live in a world that has a very specific purpose. That purpose is to lead us away from God. So, I find it odd that so much of the world's beliefs about self-control are held by Christians. The world tells us that we can not control our desires and that love is something you fall into.  The world tells us that we are animals and we can't control those deep animalistic desires. That's not what the Bible teaches.

"It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable." I Thessalonians 4:3-4 

God's will should be the goal of all we do. If God wills it, then shouldn't it pretty much be a done deal? Yes, he is faithful to complete the work he began in you. His will is that we be sanctified. That we purify ourselves from this world. The world pushes sexual immorality. We avoid it. 

The world tells us that we must give into urges  but God tells us learn to control your body. You learn to control your body by seeking to be holy and honorable. Holiness has to do with being set apart. Sometimes we just need to be apart from what ever it is that seeks to control you. That is why is Proverbs it says to run. Don't think about it, run. 

The other side of sanctification is the do part. Do honorable deeds. Treat people honorably. That is why service  is so important. Thinking about others requires you to die to yourself. Service is about others, not yourself. Service is about being God's hands and feet, reaching out to others in Jesus' Name and letting God love through you. 

It is God's will that you learn to control your own body. Decide what to do with yourself. Choose to serve. 

Father, help us to avoid sexual immorality, teach us to control our own bodies in holiness and honor. Praise be to you in us today!