"I do not have a right to pray because I do not have a truly prayerful heart. Much less do I have any right to receive what I ask for. Everything which Thou seest in my heart, O Lord, is of such a nature that it must close Thy heart to me and all my supplications. But hear me, not for my sake, nor for the sake of my prayer, and not even because of my distress, for it is a result of my own sinfulness. But hear me for Jesus' sake."
-- O. Hallesby from "Manna in the Morning"
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
What's My Motivation?
4Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
5"Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
6'When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?
Zechariah 7:4-6
When I happened upon this Scripture I had to ask myself, "What's my motivation for ministry, singing, prayer...? Am I involved in ministry for the personal satisfaction, or to honor my Creator? Am I really singing to the Lord, or do I like the sound of the music? Am I praying to seek His face, or just His hand?
By His grace, may I be among the blessed pure in heart, and not self-seeking.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
5"Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
6'When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?
Zechariah 7:4-6
When I happened upon this Scripture I had to ask myself, "What's my motivation for ministry, singing, prayer...? Am I involved in ministry for the personal satisfaction, or to honor my Creator? Am I really singing to the Lord, or do I like the sound of the music? Am I praying to seek His face, or just His hand?
By His grace, may I be among the blessed pure in heart, and not self-seeking.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Power Corrupts (and absolute power corrupts absolutely)!
I just finished watching a documentary about Jonestown -- the commune established by false prophet Jim Jones who along with over 900 of his followers committed mass suicide in November of 1978.
The whole mess was yet another failed attempt at socialism/communism, which is really nothing more than man thinking that he can be God and decide how to direct and govern his fellow man without answering to the true God.
It is sad that to this day there are those who think that man has the capacity to govern himself apart from God and His word. We simply were not designed for that. There has been no lasting peace on the earth since the fall in the Garden of Eden. We naturally want to believe that we are good and able to handle it, but God's word clearly speaks to the opposite of what we want to believe...we are naturally evil and self gratifying!
The bottom line is this: Don't be decieved by empty rhetoric that says we are going to accomplish world peace. Someday the antichrist will appear and deceive many with the promise of peace -- but his "peace" will be short lived. The only one who can rightly handle that kind of power and not become corrupt is Jesus. There will be no real, lasting peace on the earth until the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom! As Christians, let us look forward to that day, and not put our trust in man.
1And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
2Many nations will come and say,
"Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths "
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
4Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
5Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Micah 4:1-5
The whole mess was yet another failed attempt at socialism/communism, which is really nothing more than man thinking that he can be God and decide how to direct and govern his fellow man without answering to the true God.
It is sad that to this day there are those who think that man has the capacity to govern himself apart from God and His word. We simply were not designed for that. There has been no lasting peace on the earth since the fall in the Garden of Eden. We naturally want to believe that we are good and able to handle it, but God's word clearly speaks to the opposite of what we want to believe...we are naturally evil and self gratifying!
The bottom line is this: Don't be decieved by empty rhetoric that says we are going to accomplish world peace. Someday the antichrist will appear and deceive many with the promise of peace -- but his "peace" will be short lived. The only one who can rightly handle that kind of power and not become corrupt is Jesus. There will be no real, lasting peace on the earth until the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom! As Christians, let us look forward to that day, and not put our trust in man.
1And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
2Many nations will come and say,
"Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths "
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
4Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
5Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Micah 4:1-5
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