 Zeitgeist
Pride is the spirit of the age these days. That is probably something that could be said about every age. It is at the core of much of what sin is. When the Apostle John was describing sin, one of the three phrases he used was “the pride of life.” (1 John 2:16) This is only made worse in our current culture because pride is actually celebrated. Many have asserted that the danger of capitalism is that greed becomes a virtue. However, in a world where personal autonomy, self expression, and radical individualistic authenticity are the standard for a relativistic morality, pride is good. So much of our lives is captured by the prison of our own pride. Pride is dangerous and brings many snares and traps. Pride causes us to have a distorted and even perverted view of the reality around us. However, this distortion is not perceived by us because it is what we want to be true. The more prideful we become individually and societally, the more blinded we become to just how warped our understanding truly is. Me, Myself, & I At the heart of pride is the exaltation of self. Narcissist is a word that comes from a character in Greek mythology. The story goes that Narcissus was an attractive young man who, upon beholding his magnificent visage in a pool of water, fell in love with himself. His desire to love himself led him to despair that he could not love himself enough to the point that he committed suicide. You might think that this is crazy. Don’t people who hurt or kill themselves suffer from too low a self esteem instead of too high? Actually, both self love and self loathing usually come from the same prideful root. That is that even if a person hates himself it is probably because he thinks he deserves to be better or have a better life than he has. Here, the problem is still pride, albeit indirectly. This is also at the root of our sin against God. We love ourselves more than God who deserves for us to love Him entirely. I am not saying that we should not love ourselves. Both Jesus and the law said “that we are to love others as we love ourselves.” (Matthew 22:39) However, we are still called to love God supremely, with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Whoa….Careful All of this danger is why the Scripture repeatedly warns us about the dangers of arrogance and pride. The wisdom of God tells us that pride leads us straight into failure and ruin (Proverbs 16:18). These warnings are in the pages of the sacred text to compel us away from the tragic path of selfish pride. The worst part is that this makes us enemies of God. God says that the proud and the arrogant are His opponents (James 4:6). Being enemies of God is the worst situation to be in and it is exactly what Jesus came to correct. Jesus came while we were still the enemies of God to make us children of God and bring reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). But if we continue in unrepentant pride we will not desire or acquire this salvation that comes to us only through humble faith in Jesus Christ!
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 Photo from https://arts.eu/insights/article/job-ghosting-the-sudden-silence/ Apparitions
We are coming up on the holiday when most folks are thinking about ghosts and goblins. As Christians, we know that spirits are real. Each of us is a spirit as well as a body and soul. However, humans do not hang around to haunt their enemies or to finish some old business. The Bible is clear that at the point of death people go to the place of the dead. This place is called Sheol in the Old Testament. In the New Testament it seems clear that unbelievers go to a place called hades (bad place) awaiting the day of final judgement (Luke 16:22). While believers, on the other hand, go to be with the Lord. There they wait to be clothed with a glorified body in the resurrection secured by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:1-10). However, there are spirits that are active in the world. One type of spirit would be the ministering spirits who are actively attending God’s people with blessing from His generous hand (Hebrews 1:14). These angelic beings are spiritual beings that have kept their created state of obedience to their Creator and are in submission to their glorious role. Their counterparts are those fallen celestial beings which are in rebellion against God. As with all rebels against God, they are fighting a losing battle. But these beings are also spiritual. They are liars, for they follow after the one who is the father of lies (John 8:44). They are seeking to deceive and destroy the image bearers of God. One of their favorite tactics is to cause people to believe in mystical, spiritual, or extraterrestrial realities to erode faith in genuine reality and the one true God. But ghosts and spirits are not really what this post is all about. The point I want to talk about today is that we can do great harm to one another, especially in the church through neglecting the promises we have made and the community to which we belong. Terminology The term “ghosting” is a relatively new colloquial term usually used in dating relationships to refer to when one person abruptly stops all contact and communication without any evident reason or explanation. Now I haven’t been in the dating game for two decades, but I think that this term can also be applied to other relationships of which we all are apart. All of us have relationships imposed on us through the circumstances of our lives. What I mean by this is that most of our regular relationships are with family members and coworkers. However, the relationships that are most likely to be “ghosted” are not these relationships, but those relationships that we have entered upon as a clear choice and probably ones that we believe we can just as easily remove ourselves from if desired. Bonds Ephesians 4:1-6 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. This text of Scripture is addressed to a local church and deals with the practical way that they are meant to be devoted to one another and responsible for one another in the local church. Do you think that it would have been ok for a member of the Ephesian church to just stop—not only attending, but communicating and engaging with the brothers and sisters in their fellowship? The word ekklesia refers to the “called out” ones. It is the word that is translated church. It is a congregational word. The word denotes those belonging to a group. An individual Christian is not the church. The church is the covenant body of the local church. It is not just insensitive or disrespectful for someone to “ghost” the local church, it is sinful. The hebrews writers counsel those in danger of being drawn away from their steadfast commitment to Christ and His church to not forsake the assembling of the church (Hebrews 10:24-25). This term “ghosting” should be the world’s word and it should not be found among the saints.  Material
Our modern age is a very material age. What I mean is that our scientific successes have caused us to understand all things in terms of naturalistic and material processes. With this we have come to believe that everything has a kind of natural and material explanation. This is not necessarily something that we say, but it has become for many people, even professing believers, an underlying assumption. This is a worldview issue. Worldview is that set of presuppositions or assumptions that we use to synchronize the information that we gather about the world so that we can understand and appropriately act and react to the world. The problem is that we do not live in a simple, material universe. This means that many, if not most, modern and postmodern people are trying to analyze reality through a materialist filter that does not allow them to even consider the existence of realms or dimensions beyond the physical universe. They are what the Bible refers to as spiritually blind. Present Darkness This is especially dangerous for them because we are surrounded by dark and powerful enemies that desire our harm. The demonic ranks hate those made in God’s image and want to destroy that image. That means that people walking around with this kind of epistemological blindness are exceptionally vulnerable to satanic schemes and devilish devices. This is most evident in that they cannot even understand that the danger is real. The Scripture is clear that our present battles are not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers and force beyond this material realm (Ephesians 6:12). However, blindness is not only dangerous because of enemies who mean to harm us. The person suffering blindness is also susceptible to danger from their own inability to perceive reality. The materialist is more likely to stumble and fail because they cannot detect the spiritual holes and rocks all around them. Worst of all, since they do not even know that they are blind they take no precautions against these injuries. Unseen Light However, all these dangers do not even begin to compare to the greatest tragedy for those captured by such blindness. This great tragedy is that they miss all the beauty that they could be beholding. Spiritual blindness is not only a problem because one cannot see the enemies but because the blessing and truth are also shrouded from view. These people are walking around blissfully unaware of the cosmic battles but they also cannot rejoice in the celestial victories. Jesus said that even the angels are rejoicing with the swivel of every repentant sinner.(Luke 15:10) Without spiritual sight these family members, friends and neighbors are left to exist without beholding the glory of God in face of Jesus Christ.(2 Corinthians 4:1-6) Paul says here clearly that a veil lays over the eyes of the unbeliever. They are genuinely missing out on the beauty of Jesus and the transcendent wonder of the glory of God. Open Eyes This is why it is so important for us who are believers to not adopt the numbness of the world around us. We know that there is a spiritual reality that is far more vast and real than anything that one can taste or touch or smell or see. The enemy of our souls would like nothing more than for us as Christians to adopt a materialistic and naturalistic worldview. In this case we are fooled into believing that he is no danger and Christ is only a sentimental Savior. But we must be vigilant to the reality all around us. So let us fix our spiritual gaze on Jesus and consult regularly His revelation to us in the Scriptures that we would be truly spiritual people (Hebrews 12:2).  Focus
Our current culture is infatuated with youth. This is not a new phenomenon. But we must not forget that each generation has an important role to play, which includes both seeking to make progress while not losing the valuable wisdom of those in our past. My concern is that we as a society have become so impressed with our own technological advancements and invested in our own theories about the future that we are in great danger of missing the important lessons from those who have gone before us. We are so concerned about what history will say about us that we are not listening to what history has to say to us. Family Most of us have grown up in rural areas where certain families have marked the local history. In the area I grew up in those were the Brown's, Bradford's, Privitt's, and Hackett's. In Searcy county it's probably the Horton's, Ragland's, Treat's and several others. The point is that how our grandparents and older generations impacted the local area and their families is important. This provides for us a basic root structure from which the societal orchard grows and thrives. However, with understanding our history we become disconnected and socially estranged. Patriarchs On Sunday nights we have been studying the life of the patriarchs. We are not doing this just to provide a topic for our bible study. Instead we are seeking to grasp the history which God put at the root of the Biblical narrative. Without understanding the important aspects of God's covenant and promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we will not fully grasp the amazing story of redemption painted so beautifully in God's deliverance of His people from Egypt and bringing them to the promised land. But it is even more necessary for us to understand this Old Testament history, because if the redemptive account of the exodus can be likened to a painting then the redemption story told in the New Testament is an HD film. In Jesus, we see God in all His goodness and grace on display (Hebrews 1:1-3). Jesus has won our freedom and granted us entrance into an eternal garden which we could not understand without the history which shows us who God is and how He relates to people. God's Family This is the history that points to our future and binds us together in our time. We are not just an assortment of believers meeting together on Sunday mornings but a family that will be together even in eternity. We are truly a people for His own possession (Titus 2:13). So often our understanding of the church and our place in it is shallow because we are not remembering that we are a part of a much larger history.  Disputable Matters
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are called to share in a common faith and be like minded. To this end God has revealed Himself in a firm and final standard of truth called the Bible. But even though we are to be like minded and accept the same ultimate authority there are issues on which well meaning and thoughtful Christians will disagree. These are not issues that define the gospel or heresy. These are called disputable matters that various Christians will view differently (Romans 14). These things should not divide us from one another, but rather, should serve to show that we genuinely love one another even when we disagree (1 Corinthians 6:12-20). I believe that one’s view of vaccines and vaccine mandates falls into this category. Many Christians view the vaccines and other health related restrictions over the last couple of years as demonstrations of our love for neighbor and submission to authority (Romans 13:1-7). What follows is an example of an argument for resistance to mandates that I hope is not inconsistent with our call to obey the governing authorities. Conscience The Christian faith is at the most fundamental level the confession that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9)! Since this is the case, committed Christians are first and foremost subjects of Christ’s kingdom and obliged to follow His commands. His commands include repentance from sin, love for God and neighbor, as well as a practical pursuit of biblical faithfulness, holiness, and righteousness. Therefore, Christians are called and counseled by scripture to seek to obey governing authorities because they serve under the providential permission of the one true sovereign God (Romans 13:1-7). Jesus is heralded as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). This means that all governments, presidents, legislative bodies, and courts are under His authority. However, when the governing authorities command Christians to do what is not allowed by the law of Christ (i.e. participate in sins like abortion or theft) or restrict Christians from doing the righteous things positively instructed by the law of Christ (i.e. not preaching the gospel or gathering as the church) then genuine believers are under obligation to obey God not any human authority (Acts 4:18-20). Different Christians can come to varying opinions about the positive or negative nature of the vaccines. Many Christian are concerned about the long term effects of a rapidly produced vaccine that of necessity cannot have any long term study or data. Even more Christians are opposed to the use of a vaccine that has been developed or tested using abortion derived fetal cell lines. An even larger segment of the Christian population may be concerned about the overreach of authority. Within God’s good design for human flourishing, He has established realms or jurisdictions of authority. These begin with the self, and work out through the family, church, and civil authorities. Government mandates regarding an individual's health choices are examples of the governing authorities going outside their divinely allowed jurisdiction into the jurisdiction of the family and the individual. Conviction Christians are ultimately called to live before the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. This means that believers must seek to maintain a good conscience. The Bible is clear that anything not done in faith is sin (Romans 14:23). This means that anything that a Christian cannot do with faith and a clear conscience is sin and must be rejected regardless of imposing threats or consequences. This should constitute a conscientious objection and therefore a religious exemption, because the faithful Christian cannot act contrary to their sincene convictions derived from the word of God.  Liberty
The exercise of our liberty has become for most of us the default setting for our lives. However, this is not the common experience for most of history or even for many people alive today. The reality is that most humans have lived their entire existence without the privilege of what we might call libertarian freedom. I am assuming that most, if not everyone, reading this blog is an American who has primarily been privileged to enjoy the general freedom inherent in our constitutional rights. But again, this is not the common experience of most people. Many people have lived, and even today are living, in some type of bound state. The idea of Libertarian freedom is generally defined as freedom to act according to your own will so long as you are not harming anyone else. The assumption would also include that you are not being compelled, coerced, or manipulated in those choices. So as Christians we must ask the question, are we truly free? The Invisible Cage The reality is that we are all born into a state of bondage. We are born as a clean slate. At our physical birth we all are spiritually stillborn. We are dead (Colossians 2:13)! In this common state we are also all under bondage to sin (John 8:34). Our own sinful nature and our actual sinful actions have constructed an invisible prison. The nature of this deception is that we think that we are free. Everytime we sin we simultaneously experience the exercise of our own desire while the binding constraints become tighter and more firmly fixed. This causes us to spiral downward into a cycle of sinning to express our freedom while actually only becoming more imprisoned by the depth and depravity of our own wicked hearts. This is the common state of all mankind without the salvation found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As long as we believe that freedom is doing what we want, we will always be bound by our own desires to serve our base instincts. The Law of Freedom So often we think that rules and restrictions are the opposite of freedom. But could it be that what we have understood to be shackles and chains are actually guard rails and safety harnesses. The law of God is not an arbitrary list of do’s and don’ts but a reflection of His holiness and character. Since we were created in the image of God it only makes sense that the truest and freest way for us to live is a reflection of that same holiness and character. The law that I am referring to is not simply the old covenant commands but the law of Christ that is written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10). This is a law that sets us free from the law of sin and death to live in the righteousness gained for us by Jesus Christ! A New Master So the secret to freedom is not absolute autonomy but actually a better benevolent master than the hard despot of our selfishness and sin. The Apostle Paul says that we need to move from being slaves to sin to being slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:15-23). As God’s image bearers we were not made to be autonomous, self sufficient creatures. But rather we were made to live in a relationship of perfect love, respect, and service with God forever!  Shared
Last week, we looked at how we should be connecting in community both inside and outside the church. This week, we need to go deeper to understand the true foundation able to support God’s design for community. Not only is it important that we find these relationships in our local community, but we must also find this kind of fellowship with like minded people. When I say “like-minded” I do not mean people of the same intellectual quotient or education level. I mean people with concurring worldviews. This does not mean that we will all agree on what to do or think in every circumstance, but it does mean that we are beginning from the same starting point. So much of the division in our country now is not because democrats and republicans are coming to different conclusions, but because we do not agree on the basic elements and facts. If we are going to build strong communities in our towns, and especially in our churches, then we must begin from a shared worldview. This also means a shared hope. We must be a people moving toward a common goal. Seeking to reach the same destination. Last week, I was at the Chuckwagon races in Clinton, Arkansas. When you are observing the way the teams of horses and mules work together to pull the wagon, you can see that the animals must be pulling in the same direction. Gridlock does not serve to advance either agenda. For our communities and churches to succeed it requires us to have a shared target. The Apostle Paul states that his aim is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). Pauls goes on to tell the Philippians about how he is straining forward and pressing on to the prize that we have in Christ Jesus. We must begin at the same place and we must be going to the same place. For us to truly have a shared worldview and a shared goal we must ultimately have a common faith. By common faith I do not mean that we must agree on every single point of theology, but we must at least agree on three important questions. Who is God? What is divine revelation? What is the gospel? Who is God? If we do not have a common concept about the nature and character of God then we cannot have a common faith. First and foremost this means that we must be monotheistic. This means that we must believe that there is one and only one true and living God. All other so-called ‘gods’ are impostors. They may be figments of someone's imagination, or masquerading demonic beings, or idols devised and fashioned by men but they are not truly divine. The one true God is one and only! This also means that for us to have a common faith we must acknowledge that the Father is God and the Son (Jesus Christ) is God and the Holy Spirit is God. They are not separate in essence or being but are distinct in personhood and role. They are not parts of God or temporal manifestations of God but rather coequal, coeternal persons sharing the being of God in such a way that the being of God is not divided and each person is the fullness of God, who is One. The Trinitarian nature of God is essential to who He is, how He has revealed Himself, and how He saves us. The one true God is Yahweh, who is self-existent and sovereign. He describes Himself in terms of being both merciful and righteous, gracious and just, abounding in covenant love, faithfulness and forgiving yet punishing wickedness for generations (Exodus 34:6-8). If we do not have this common understanding of God, then we cannot have a common faith. What is divine revelation? The essence of this question is where and how has God spoken? For us to have a common faith we must agree on a common source of revealed truth to which we are all accountable. The Biblical and historic answer to this question is that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments contain fully and totally what God has revealed for His people and His church. What I mean by fully is that all of the contents of the original manuscripts of the 66 books are God’s word and we have in the textual evidence all of that content preserved. What I mean by totally is that God’s revelation in the Scriptures is perfect, complete and finished. Moses tells us that the secrets belong to the Lord, but the things that have been revealed belong to us and to our children forever (Deuteronomy 29:29). The Apostle Paul also warns us not to go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6). And Peter calls the Scriptures a fully confirmed word (2 Peter 1:16-21). This definition means that we do not need nor accept dreams, visions, or any other claims to divine revelation as valid or binding outside of the Bible rightly interpreted and obeyed. What is the gospel? Finally, at a minimum if we are going to define a common orthodox Christian faith we must make our central gospel message clear. The Gospel begins with the reality that all mankind is dead in sin, lost in iniquity and rebelling in transgression of God and His commands. But God, by His own grace, sends His son the Lord Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our transgressions and cleanse us of our iniquity with His perfect sacrificial blood. And through His death and resurrection He makes those who were dead in sin alive through faith alone in Jesus’ work finished on the cross and magnified in His resurrection on the third day! So that everyone who comes by God’s grace alone through repentant faith alone to the Lord Jesus Christ alone receives eternal life for the glory of God alone!  People
Humans are different from anything else in all of God’s creation. Our secular friends would have us believe that we are just more highly evolved primates, and as such a subset of the animal species that are so prolific on our planet. However, the eyewitness testimony to the beginning of all things is clear that our creation was special and unique. The Almighty God chose to interact with His process and material in a much more personal, tangible, and intimate way than how He made all the other creatures. One way that we express this difference is through our relationship qualities and capacities. While many animals do have close bonds with other animals we have the ability to connect at a deeper level because we have a soul. The soul is more than mere consciousness it is the reality that we are beings made for everlasting existence. This is true of every person. All people will exist forever whether in a state of eternal torment and destruction or in a state of eternal joy and life. But for the believer the capacity for community is even greater because we are also spiritually alive. This means that we can connect with one another on a spiritual level. Oftentimes unbelievers want to have spiritual experiences without God, but in these cases the ‘spirit’ must interact with the body and soul of the individual. This is often accomplished through meditation rituals focused on emptying the mind and being open to the ‘spiritual’ forces or through the use of substances (drugs) to bring about the connection. But for believers who are now alive through the new birth, we can connect with one another on the spiritual level where we are all alive. My point is that as God’s creatures that are uniquely made in His image we are created for community. It is not good for man to be alone.(Genesis 2:18) This also means that it matters with whom and how we find and establish community. Local The first thing that we need to understand is that we were created to establish relationships with people who are local to us. It is an amazing time in which we live when we can share and communicate with people all over the world instantly. As matter of fact even this post is on the internet where any one from anywhere could read it. This means that we have the ability to create virtual communities. We even use that language often when referring to groups that we may be a part of online. I do not want to discount the helpfulness or meaning that can at times accompany those interactions. However, we need real relationships with people who we know in the flesh. We need relationships with people who are local to us. We need physical contact handshakes, hugs, etc.) and we need people who are not interacting with our persona mediated through a device. This is especially true in the life of the church. We need to be connected in covenantly responsible and accountable relationships with other believers. These relationships cannot be all virtual because we were made to assemble and congregate, not only for worship, but for the practice of our spiritual gifts in edifying and encouraging one another in the faith. While it is true that Christ’s church consists of all believers throughout all time. It is through participation in the life and community of a local church that the larger universal body of Christ functions. Familial We need commitment. Our modern sense of relationship is so transient and temporary. In the current culture in the post-Christian west we are seeing an erosion of truth and with it comes a loss of being rooted with a people and in particular places. We need ties that bind. I do not mean that our blood relationships must be our closest relationships but it is a great place to start. Particularly with the people in our own households. In the qualifications that Paul gives for overseers in the church he references the discipline and discipleship that takes place in the home. It is essential that we are cultivating a culture of gospel saturation in our homes. This in turn produces the kind of connection and commitment needed between the family members. Family does not have to mean blood. It can be those related through marriage , or committed life long friendship. The point is that we need relationships that we can count on in the hard times and celebrate in the good times. Not only do we need these people in our lives but we need to be these people in other people’s lives. The most important familial relationships are with those in the family of God. These are blood relatives in that we have all been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and we share the common testimony of His amazing grace. Spiritual I shared earlier about how we ought to be connected in Christ on an even deeper level. We do this through our participation in the study and proclamation of God’s word, participating in witnessing the baptism of other believers, eating and drinking together the Lord’s supper and praying together for needs and in celebratory gratitude at God’s grace, mercy, and love. This is the kind of familial life that God intends for His people in His household. Next week we will dive deeper into this shared community.  Changes
Our lives are full of changes. Even each day is slightly longer or shorter than the day before. We see the seasons change, the weather change, and even the ebb and flow of morning, noon, and night. But in the midst of all this change we also adopt patterns and routines that make each new moment possess a kind of familiarity. We are mutable beings which means that we are subject to change. Sometimes we can lament the changes that come, maybe the frailty of the body or the loss of connection with friends with whom we were once very close. Some changes we love and celebrate such as the addition of children to a home and family or growth in grace and holiness among the saints in our local church. But both the ups and the downs are a part of the changes that will happen in all our lives. Needed Changes I believe that we need this kind of change while in our finite state. What I mean is that because we are limited to time and space and our own perception we need this kind of variation to help us in our worship and enjoyment of God. This week I have been off from my normal duties but in many ways I have been doing much more physically demanding tasks. This is a good change. Needed variation because of my limitation in seeing the wonder of God is doing in the day in day out activities that I am used to doing. Changes serve as reminders about what is really important and reflections about people and events from our past that are important. I know I complain a lot about how bad social media can be, but it reminds us about things that have happened that could help us to reflect on God's goodness and grace in our lives. Changes can also serve as opportunities for us to move forward in greater growth in holiness and joy in Christ. If all things were fixed and unchangeable then recovery, transformation, and hope would not be possible. Some people fear change because things might get worse but others (hopefully you) take a positive view of change as the path that God may use to make things better. Changeless But God does not change (James 1:17). He is wondrously able to perfectly enjoy all His goodness and glory and the wonder of all His creation all the time. G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” God has an infinite ability to enjoy what we might consider mundane. God loves variety but sees variety often where we do not. So as believers let us be more like our Father and enjoy the amazing variation of the everyday while also taking the opportunity for the changes in our lives to lead us to greater joy in God! Vocabulary
Often we come before the Lord and our hearts are stirred to pray but we lack the words to contain our appeal to God. Sometimes in our habitual practice of regular prayer we can grow somewhat stale feeling like we are just repeating the things that we have said before. We know that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their pride filled repetitious prayers. However the problem with the Pharisees was not the repetition of words but the hearts filled with arrogance and empty of affection and love for God. But what should we do to help strengthen our prayer lives? First, we must rest in the reality that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us and Jesus is interceding for us before the Father. We are not accepted before God because we have become a human thesaurus. But when we have found ourselves at a loss for words a wonderful and practical help is to use God’s word to fill our prayers. Below is an example of something that I pray on a fairly regular basis. I hope it is helpful. A Prayer Oh, Lord you are Holy, Sovereign and Good! Please hear my prayer And consider my petitions And continual pleas Fill me Oh Lord with your Holy Spirit And help me to experience your steadfast love Prepare me to a be useful tool And a cleansed vessel And a ready implement In your providential plan for your Kingdom May my feet be shod with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, (Ephesians 6:15) May I have fastened on the belt of Your objective, genuine Truth. (Ephesians 6:14) May I have Your breastplate of righteousness, (Isaiah 59:17) the imputed righteousness of Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21) May I be crowned with Your helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17) to protect and renew my mind. (Romans 12:2) May I hold firm to the shield of faith which is my protection against all the onslaught of Satan’s arsenal. (Ephesians 6:16) And may I wield rightly the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) in the great battle against the cosmic powers over this present darkness and that dark and wicked dragon seeking to devour the souls of men. (2 Timothy 2:15) For You alone, Oh Lord, deserve Honor, so cause me to walk in humility that Youmay receive honor! You alone, Oh Lord, deserve Praise, so cause me to be ever rejoicing so that You are continually praised! You alone, Oh Lord, deserve Glory, so cause me to use every opportunity whether in word or deed to do everything to the glory of God! (1 Corinthians 10:31) Cause me, Oh Lord, to be a promoter of peace among the brethren, love for all the Saints and a bold proclaimer of the hope and faith that are in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen! |