WORD OF LIFE, PART 9: HIGHWAY 119 - REST STOP AHEAD

Have you ever made a huge mistake which hurt no one but yourself and promised God to never do it again? Or how about this one? Somehow, again in your own efforts, you have managed to get yourself in a pickle and promised God “Lord, if You get me out of this one, I will…..(fill in the blanks).

We have all done this more times than we can remember! God, in His mercy, grace and long-suffering with us, knows we are going to mess up and it is only His love that prevents Him from striking us dead the next time we make another one of these conditional “promises” we make. Some of these self-inflicted wounds have the potential to damage not just our testimony (depending on the level of degree of sin) but our own walk, if we are not careful.

When God disciplines us due to these shortcomings, it is for our own good. Who among us cannot testify to the goodness and mercy of the God of second, third and 3000 chances? Just imagine if the God of the Bible, the one True God Yahweh, was not our loving Creator who is full of grace and mercy?! (Verses 67-68) Where would we be? God does not just discipline us when we fall short in sin. He also brings correction through circumstances, people, new paradigms and most of all- His Word! "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).
Psalm 119:65-72

Teth.
65   You have dealt well with Your servant, O Lord, according to Your word.
66   Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments.
67   Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.
68   You are good and do good; teach me Your statutes.
69   The arrogant have forged a lie against me; with all my heart I will observe Your precepts.
70   Their heart is covered with fat, but I delight in Your law.
71   It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
72   The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

As we travel along Highway 119 (as in Psalm 119), we, therefore, now pull over at the nearest rest stop (Verses 65-72) to simply get out and “stretch” our proverbial spiritual legs, be refreshed by reflection of the surrounding scriptures so present in our midst.  This rest area is designed, constructed by the Master and placed there for us to have a significant pause to stir our thinking.  This thinking should lead us to acknowledge our position as sinners saved by Grace in verses 67 and 68. It is only then we can fully comprehend His unmerited favor. Stretching our spiritual limbs should result in another desired effect. That is, it should birth an overwhelming sense of gratitude of what this Grace really looks like.

It would behoove every Christian, who is in the lifelong pursuit of holiness to use our few quiet moments in this spiritual rest area to meditate on verse 65. From this flows the instruction in the Revealed Word and Decrees of the Master Himself (verse 66). God has dealt well with us, in spite of ourselves and our mistakes, by His provision of our temporal needs. When we could not figure out how this bill was getting paid, or how our sick child was going to be cared for at the doctors, or how we were going to get to work the next day when the car would not start last night. When He provided this or that, just in the nick of time or brought us to this place where we found just the perfectly home within our price range, where community and safety were readily available.....these are some of the things which show that He has "dealt well" with this Servant. The most important part of the entire equation of course is the fact He saved our souls from the fires of hell.

Our reflection in the "rest area" will not be complete and we should NOT get back on the expressway, until we know that there is a verse 69. This verse represents the orange cones of life. These "orange cones" are not just things which slow us down, way down, but can become obstacles in life. Any so-called allegedly spiritual philosophy which tells you that "your best life is now" and you have the power to speak things which are not, into being, because you have the power of the "I am" will cause you severe internal engine trouble in the journey of life. The truth is this: you and I are going to face trials, tribulations and taunts from the enemies of God who have simply transformed themselves into those who HATE the people of God - Christians.

Oh, may we never forget, we are children and followers of the Suffering Savior, Who held up His Suffering for our sake, as a standard. This is the very Standard which was in the plans and Mind of Holy God, before He spoke the world into being in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Do not despise the seasons of suffering, of going through the difficult times and testing because these are not the times that try men's and women's souls. 

These are the times which show our mettle. 
These are the things which show that of which we are made, in our core. 
These are the tests which graduate us from spectator to special in the Eyes of God and man. 
These are the testimonies which show the world we are who we say we are, and more importantly, we are WHOSE we say we are - Yahweh! 
This is the true meaning of perseverance of the saints which can provide the fuel for the next leg of the journey, in Jesus' Name.
This is what should be in our rear-view mirror as we drive on ahead through the construction zones of life, where we sometimes get slowed way down from our normal daily clip. 
This is what we need to grasp from Psalm 119:71 when the inspired Scripture says: "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes".

Let us learn from the Master, the ultimate GPS of our lives, Whose love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, direction, protection, provision and simple GRACE are the most priceless things in the world - ever (verse 72). Let us lean ONLY on Him for the very fuel of each and every moment that we may cruise in peace, joy and contentment, all the days of our lives. Let us resolve to live like this, from this moment on, and experience what is truly the most fruitful and meaningful life, we can possible imagine. It will bless you. It will bless everyone else around you, for an eternity. Amen

(Image 1 Credit Here)
(Image 2 Credit Here)

PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES - THE BOOK OF JAMES, #7

METHODOLOGY: CONCERNING HARDSHIP

The half-brother of the Lord Jesus – James the great winds up his five chapters of Instruction on Prayer with a huge punctuation mark.  The rapid fire teaching on corporate prayer is designed to build up the individual Christian’s prayer life by ordaining the proper role of corporate prayer, in the Body of Christ.  Here is the Power List for the Church of Prayer Concerns, which will survive  until Christ calls the Church home (the Rapture)”

PRAYER POINTS:
- Hardship (Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray....James 5:13a)
- Happy (Verse 13b)
- Healing and Bodily Restoration (Verse 14-15)
- Confession of sin (Verse 16)
- Prayer for the Community…or nation (Verse17)

The good Lord addresses Hardship many different ways in Scripture. He does so for our edification, illumination, our application and then our liberation....in that order. In this significant tutorial from the entire Book of James, we have an Apostle who knows precisely that of which he speaks. The man was persecuted (and then killed) by the religious authorities in Jerusalem and did not have an easy time even living day to day. So he not only spoke truth, he lived truth

A lot of Christians do not need to have someone describe hardship because it is their current state. What can we tell someone who is physically limited and/or in horrible pain and cannot cope with it spiritually and emotionally? What can we tell someone who is economically challenged and even in dire straits with apparently nowhere to turn? We do not need to teach hardship. People live it. They live it here in the West and in the persecuted Church of the third world countries.  We have all gone through hardship in our lives, in many different forms and at many different times. It is the universal condition since the Fall of Mankind (in Genesis 3).

However, what qualifies us to offer assistance to a fellow traveler here is what we learned while emerging victorious through these hardships and how the Lord did it. If we are wise and open to listening to the Spirit of God in these trying times, we will submit to God, lay our lives bare before Him and He will fortify us as we walk through these valleys, but will teach us hope to persevere. This perseverance through prayer and obedience is what James is instructing us towards maturity in Christ and being stronger in prayer, just like he was.

An obedient, repentant Christian, under duress, will keep clean hands or prayers will not be heard. Through it all, God has not left us alone but He has given us His Word to buffet our spirits, and soothe our souls. So as we come to Him in prayer, let us press in on these few of many powerful verses of Scripture, which zone in on Hardship and what God has to say. Our ability to make it through, rests solely on our availability to His Guidance and the reality of His dependability. The sooner we believe these promises and embed them in our minds and souls, the more confident we become of direction of victory in any matter. Therefore, pray through these verses in humility and surrender and then watch God move in a mighty way!

The Premise: 2 Corinthians 8:9 - "you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich" (Jesus knows our fears, cares and pains).

The Prescription: Philippians 4:11-14 "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. read more."

The Promise: "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3) "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Hebrews 12:7) and "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:6-9)

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY TWELVE:

VERSE:

As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him....(1 John 2:27)

PRAYER:

Most gracious, kind merciful Heavenly Father, Who gives all things to all all people, we thank You for the special "chrisma" (gift of anointing) You have given Your anointed and those upon whom You have placed a special calling to reach, teach, preach and outreach to a lost and dying world. These are those who are truly called by Your Name, those who have been reborn and brought into the Kingdom of Your Son.

Because You have given us Your Spirit, we cannot be deceived by the god of this world and even if distracted, we shall soon learn the errors of our ways. There are some things which bible colleges, Sunday School teachers and preachers cannot teach and that is how to listen to You, how to respond to You and how to obey the promptings and directions which Your Holy Spirit, Who is our true friend in the Faith imparts and inputes into us. He infuses more oil and blessing daily from our first calling on our lives and the Truth can only be found in Him.

So most compassionate, gracious and long-suffering God, we lift up on this special day of recognition of Your anointing on the lives of your true followers, those who take this Word across the globe. We lift up Your missionaries who abide and rest more on You for their moment by moment nourishment, guidance, protection and direction than the rest of us. Lord, not only are Your true missionaries, i.e., those whom You have actually sent out to dangerous and seemingly unproductive lands, not only are they solely dependent on You, but sometimes they lose courage in the face of evil persecution as seen with Your servants the Burnhams when Martin was killed by islamic guerrillas in the Philippines in 2002. Lord as the flesh told Gracia, his dear wife to see revenge, Your Grace and Your Love encouraged her to show love, mercy and compassion. Because of that, she "learned to fly again" and won many more souls to Christ, a testimony for us not to give up and even in the pain and suffering in her own family, to see the bigger picture of the Love You have, which put Christ on the Cross.

Father, we also pray for those of us who are missionaries in our own "Jerusalem"- namely outside our own front doors. May we never tire of the hard work that it is to reach on and teach and care for the lost when their hearts are so hard and they literally hate You, while professing to love and know You at Christmas and Easter time. Father, we pray for those of us that we persevere, never give in, never give up and in fact live up to the standards and the call with which You have have called. We do this because Your Call is True, Your Word is True, Your Love is True and Your Promises are Yes and Amen....and we believe it, because of Jesus Christ, our soon coming Lord and Savior, in His Name, amen.