Singleness Of Heart And Action

Jeremiah 32:38,40b

They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action....I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.

O my Father, please give me focus--singleness of heart and action. Inspire me to fear You, to be aware of Your attention on me as I interact with others. Teach me to listen to others to hear the desires and needs of their hearts, not just the surface of their words. Grant me Your compassion for others!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

God's Ways Or My Own?

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

O  my Father, please continue to teach me to trust in You rather than my own understanding; let me not go off in my own strength, but rely on You and Your ways. Teach me of Yourself and lead me in the straight paths of Your righteousness.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

To Stand Before The Son Of Man

Luke 21:36

 

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.

O My Father, I pray that You would strengthen me and enable me to escape all that is to happen in this world, hide me under the shadow of Your wings, carry me as the Shepherd carries the lamb; that I may survive to the very coming of our King, and behold Him with my own eyes, and be able to stand before Him!
Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Christians And Money

Luke 16:8-13

 

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.  I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

This whole passage is about money: How we manage our finances shows our views of God and His provisions. We can learn from the world about financial management because they can be wiser in money matters than Christians, who can be naive, thinking that it's "holier" to disdain handling "filthy lucre." But money is a tool, it has no intrinsic moral value either good or bad. If we make Money a god, a goal in itself, that is evil, so loving money is at odds with loving God. Learning good financial practices is just as righteous a concept as any "holy" activity. Money is a tool that we need to learn more about how to use, in order to promote God's Kingdom, as His hands and feet.

Note: See also my post of June 24, 2015.

Paul's Final Charge

II Timothy 4:1-2, 6-8

 

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, - Keeping my focus on the spiritual, eternal Truths; and expecting Jesus' appearing, when He will judge, and set up His Kingdom.

I give you this charge: - This is what I need to do.

Preach the word; - God's Word, not theories of men.

be prepared in season and out of season; - When I've planned it, and when it's spontaneous.

correct, rebuke and encourage -- Whatever the hearer needs.

with great patience - Don't rush it, there's time.

and careful instruction. - Watch your words.

For I am already being  poured out like a drink offering, - Paul was suffering and in pain.

and the time has come for my departure. - He fully expected to die soon.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. - 'Nuff said.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, -   The reward.

Which the Lord, the righteous Judge, - Jesus.

will award me on that day -- The Day of His Appearing.

And not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing. - Everyone who is focused on the spiritual, and are eagerly expecting Him to come soon.

The Body

I Corinthians 12:14-20

 

The body is a unit - It is one, unified into a single entity.

though it is made up of many parts; - body parts, gross when separated from the body, and won't work unless connected to the body.

and though all its parts are many, they form one body. - Each body is made up of various kinds of cells that become different kinds of organs, etc.

So it is with Christ. - God's Annointed is One, yet made up of many kinds of parts.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit - The same One immersed all of us, each one of us.

into one body --  Now we are all a part of one another.

whether Jews or Greeks - No matter our birth pedigree.

slave or free -- No matter our political or economic standing.

and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. - To slake our spiritual thirst; to be filled with, controlled by.

Now the body is not made up of one part but many. - A lot of different kinds of parts comprising one whole.

If the foot should say, - Have this attitude.

"Because I'm not a hand," - Envy of another's ability.

"I do not belong to the body," - I'm not important or needed.

It would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. - Attitude does not change reality.

And if the ear should say, -  Again, attitude.

"Because I'm not an eye," - Envy of another's perception.

"I do not belong to the body," - Not connected or appreciated.

it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. - Again, perception is not necessarily reality.

If the whole body were an eye, -  All perceive by seeing.

where would the sense of hearing be? - No one would be able to hear.

If the whole body were an ear, - Blind, but hearing.

where would the sense of smell be? - No one would catch the whiff of decay, nor the fragrance of a rose.

But in fact God has arranged - It's His plan and doing, not ours.

the parts in the body, - He designed and engineered it.

every one of them, - Each part has an important part to play.

just as He wanted them to be. - His choice, not ours.

If they were all one part, where would the body be? - If we were all the same, it wouldn't work.

As it is, - Reality.

there are many parts - We are all different. 

but one body. - It takes all of our different personalities, abilities, gifts, etc. to get everything done and make it work.




 

Who Do We Pray To?

John 16:26-28

 

In that day - The day is now, when Jesus began to speak plainly about the Father to the disciples, without using figurative speech.

you will ask - He says we will ask, we will converse with God and ask for what we need, without fear.

in My Name. - When we ask in Jesus' Name, we are admitting that Jesus is the Authority, not myself, and the term refers to His Kingdom.

I'm not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. - Jesus will not triangulate between us and the Father. When we involve a third person to communicate with a second person for us, the first person, it is not a psychologically healthy way to relate, because it shows a fear of the second person. Our communication needs to be directly with the second person for a healthy encounter. Jesus refuses to enable us to give in to our fear.

No, the Father Himself loves you - God Himself loves us, and His love is perfect. Perfect love casts out fear, so we need have no fear when we pray directly to God and ask Him for whatever it is we need.

because you have loved me -  The Father Himself loves us because we love Jesus.

and have believed that I came from God. - We trust that He really is who He says He is (came from God) and has finished, accomplished the work He came to do in paying off the debt we owe for our sins, and purchasing the World.

I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father - Because He finished His work and fulfilled the purpose for His coming, He is now returning to the Father to complete the rest of His plans for us.