Praying with King David

I've been reading over David's prayer in Psalm 86, saying "Amen" and praying it for myself over and over again. I thank the Holy Spirit for inspiring this prayer for our instruction and hope (Romans 15:4). 

What I love about this Psalm is how it is a reminder of the God to whom David called to, and who I call out to everyday for help. The Lord who alone is God (v10), who is my God (v2), and the Lord who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (v15). 

We need to be often reminded of the character of the God to whom we pray and rely on. And such is the God in whom I confidently trust by His grace and through His Son!

Psalm 86 (ESV)

A Prayer of David.

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seek my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

What is Grace? The Bible's Perspective on Painful Grace

When we talk about grace, what do we mean?

It often depends on the context of our conversation. If we are talking about music, grace means one thing, but when talking about how people interact in relationships, grace means something else.

What do we mean when we talk about God's grace?

Often, we guess at this, because our understanding of grace has been shaped, for the most part, by the culture we are brought up in.

At the church I participate in, we often talk about the grace of God in salvation. We speak of Ephesians chapter two, and how we are brought from spiritual death to spiritual life, and made heirs of the Kingdom of Christ by the Sovereign work of God's grace, given to us through the death and life of His dear Son.

But now, I want to take a look at a passage of Scripture that teaches me to think of grace in a way most of us are not familiar enough with. Which is that the worst pains in our lives, according to the Bible, are actually the grace of the our Lord Jesus Christ being worked out in our lives. Christians who experience hardship, are experiencing it for completely different reasons than unbelievers most of the time. What happens to you or to me is never an accident, but is part of the Sovereign grace of God.

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations [Paul had seen visions and received revelation in heaven from the Lord], for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself!

Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (NASB)

That is not an unfamiliar passage to me. I've heard that last line quoted all my life, "for when I am weak, then am I strong." However the concept is what is radically contrary to our natural way of thinking, even if we've been familiar with it for a long time. The concept that grace gives us pain so that we may not glory in ourselves, but in the power of Christ.

For this reason, let us exalt in our lowly positions that we find ourselves in. Whether it is pain, persecution, distress, difficulties, insults, weakness, heartache or whatever situation you find yourself in by the Sovereign Providence of God.

What I say to you, I say to myself here: Be well content with it my friend. The power of Christ will dwell in you for the glory of God and for your joy in Him.

Paul Tripp's Podcast Audio Free

I think anyone who listens to Paul David Tripp will find it extremely helpful. Go ahead and take a listen on the link below!

Paul Tripp Ministries Inc. audio

"Your life is always shaped by desire"

This post by Paul Tripp about Psalm 73:25 on his blog spoke directly to me, right where I'm at. It is worth a few minutes of your time to read:

"...And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you." (v.25b)

You and I are creatures of desire. There is nothing you ever choose, do, or say that is not the product of desire. Desire not only directs your choices, it shapes your dreams. Desire forms your moments of greatest joy and darkest grief. Desire makes you envious of one person while being glad you're not another. Desire keeps you awake at night or puts you soundly to sleep. Desire makes you willing to get up in the morning or causes you to be frustrated at the end of the day. Desire makes you expectant and hopeful in one moment, and demanding and complaining in the next. Desire sometimes makes you susceptible to temptation and at other times is the thing that defends you against it. Desire can lift you up to God or it can make you a willing friend of the devil. Desire can make you a celebrant or drive you to the pit of depression. Desire can make you the best of friends or cause you to drive people away. Desire can cause you to lovingly edit your words or make you willing let it rip with little regard for the damage your words will do. Desire will make you willing to give or cause you to hoard everything you have. Desire will cause you to submit to the King or to set yourself up as king. Desire can cause you to fight for freedom or can be the very thing that causes you to be addicted. Desire can give you power or rob you of the power that could be yours. Desire is your biggest problem and one of God's sweetest graces. But there is one thing for sure; your life is always shaped by desire.

The great spiritual war that is being fought for control of our hearts is a war of desire. (See James 4:1-4 and I Peter 2:11). Remember this biblical principle; whatever rules your heart will control your words and behavior. You and I are human beings. We do not live by instinct. We have been designed by God with the capacity to desire. This means that everything you do or say is done or spoken out of the want for something...

Continue reading here...

Jesus, Doctor of Sinners

(This is another repost from August 23, 2008, originally published under the title: Jesus Came to Save Sinners [go to the link to see previous comments])

As I read through Luke, a chapter a day, I pray to the Holy Spirit that He would teach me to understand it rightly. I have been noticing that there is a common theme throughout the gospel of Luke, there is a certain emphasis, it seems. Luke makes it clear that Jesus came to seek and to save sinners. The parable of the Lost Sheep, the parable of the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Rich Young Ruler, all these stories and much more emphasize that people are sinners who are lost and need the right Shepherd to come and find them. Consider Zacchaeus from Luke 19:1-10 ESV:

"He [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through." [I remember another famous story about a sinner saved in Jericho, her name was Rahab the prostitute.] "And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich." [Of course, being a tax collector in those days was as low as scum, but Zac was a chief tax collector and was rich.] "And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way." [It is interesting how lowly sinful people were drawn to Jesus in the gospels.] "And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." [Zacchaeus only wanted to see Jesus pass by, but Jesus wants to see Zacchaeus face to face. The Lord said he must stay at Zac's house. Wonder why?] "So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." [Zacchaeus received Jesus with joy. It makes me wonder that there are people who say they are Christians, but do not react with joy when receiving Jesus. Desperate sinners always find joy in the one and only Savior of sinners. On the other hand, the others could not equate themselves as low as this vile sinner, and so they had no lasting joy in the Lord.] "And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." [Zacchaeus was not ashamed to stand before the Lord and call Him "Lord." He acknowledged Jesus as his Lord, Master, King, God, Judge. 'Lord' means Jesus rules over my life. I belong to Him and submit myself to His rule and judgment. He must be our Lord if he is to be our Savior. This shows that Zacchaeus repented. Jesus had taught in Luke 13 that unless we repent, we will perish (Luke 13:2-3). Zacchaeus showed his repentant heart by what he did. Money was no longer his treasure - Jesus was.] "And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham." [Salvation came to Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus did not come to salvation - it was Jesus who came to his house. Jesus called him a son of Abraham, which meant he belonged to Jesus, was an heir of the promise, a believer (see Galatians 3:29).] "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." [Jesus, the Son of Man (God became a man - John 1:14), came to seek and to save the lost. Abraham's children are lost sinners, and here we see a wonderful example of the Savior seeking those He came to Save. Jesus said in John 10:28, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." Romans 5:8 says, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."]

As I read through Luke, it strikes me how much this theme is carried through. That Jesus saves sinners. What a hopeful message to wretches (such as myself)! It is the lost children of Abraham, who are lost sinners, whom Jesus came to save. We must repent when we receive Jesus with joy. Repentance is a positive two-fold action granted to us by the Holy Spirit. When we repent, we turn from treasuring sin to treasuring Christ (like Zacchaeus when he heartily gave away his riches, because he had a better inheritance in the Savior). Faith always sees more value in Christ than in the fleeting and damning pleasures of sin. As I walk with my Lord and Savior, my prayer is continually, "Lord, turn me from my sin, cause me to do what you command." I know that anything wrong I do is from my own evil heart, but anything good is a gift granted by my Lord, who came to save sinners - even the worst of them (1 Timothy 1:15). It always amazes me... Jesus came to seek and save the lost... and He never fails!

All I can say is, what grace! What a Savior! Can you relate?

Things I Was and Continue To Be Thankful For

(This is a repost, originally published November 27, 2008, under the title Things I'm Thankful For: just sharing from my heart.)

First, I am thankful to YHWH (Jehovah, the LORD) because He is goodand His steadfast love, His lovingkindness and mercy endures forever:"Give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever." (Psalm 136:1). And also Psalm 138:2, "I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted your word above all your name."

I am also thankful that He chose me, loving me forever, even though I am the least worthy of the smallest dirt-crumb of loving kindness from the King of all ages. He loved me by giving His Son to die for me and rise so that I am accepted in His presence, not just for a little while, but forever and ever and ever! (I already feel humbled to the floor just by this thought).

I am thankful for the Bible in English, because that is my language, and people were literally hunted down, arrested, imprisoned, tortured, murdered, strangled and burned for translating the Bible into this language.

I am thankful for everything because I have eternal life, and so everything, whether good or bad is working out for good in eternity according to God's purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Therefore, I am thankful for grass, and for the sky, for stars, and for family.

For frogs and for salamanders, for water, for the internet, for self-control, for the Holy Spirit in me doing His work by God's grace.

For friends, and for enemies.

For disease, hurts, broken relationships, emotional pain, mental confusion, the misunderstandings and slander of people who do not love the truth.

For wearisome toil, for traffic, for Satan's opposition, for my own temporary humiliation, for God's grace that works through faith which works by love.

For God's promises, and for the birth from above.

For being separated from the world.

I'm thankful for my mother and father, for my niece and nephew, for my brothers and sister.

Even more, I'm thankful I have true brethren in Philly, Pittsburgh, and all around the world who are my eternal family in Christ (we'll be together forever). I'm also thankful for sugar, and insulin too :)

Honestly, I don't feel very thankful right now, but I truly am, and I am thankful that God will flood my heart again and again with thanksgiving at the right time... Oh, Lord, make me a thankful man!

How about you?

God bless to all who are resting in the righteousness of our King Jesus!

But He Gives More Grace

(This is a repost, originally published June 18, 2008, under the title He Gives Grace to the Humble.)

I have been thinking a lot about grace as a result of writing these blog posts. So when I read what James chapter four says, it touched my heart deeply and made me see more clearly the wonder of the grace of the Lord Jesus.

James 4:1 says, "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your pleasures are at war within you?" (ESV). It goes on to say that these desires cause us to murder (hatred is murder in the heart), covet, fight and quarrel. "You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your pleasures." (4:2,3). So there are two problems that our sinful nature leads us to fall into; 1) not asking God for things, and 2) asking with selfish and sinful motives. This causes all kinds of evil to bubble up within us.

James has a name for the people he described, "You adulteresses!" This is not referring to physical adultery, but to spiritual adultery, because it says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Friendship with the world is enmity with God. That is strong language! The enemies of God are his enemies because they hate Him. "For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads." (Psalm 83:2). They do not want to love Him or obey Him. They would rather have God serve them by giving what they ask for in prayer, so they can use it to satisfy their own evil desires. "Your enemies take your name in vain." (Psalm 139:20).

Verse 5 says, "Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us'?" This is why spiritual adultery is so horrible, because God is jealous over the spirit of His people. God wants our spirit to be set on Him. He is the only One who can truly satisfy us. Our worship and love must be for Him only, or else we are idolators. And after I read these verses, my heart broke. I knew that I'm guilty of these things. I know I still sin, even after He has given me His Holy Spirit to be with me. As A. W. Pink said, "I am vile." I feel this deep within me. But I have hope, and it is no small hope, but hope that is confident, joyful and full of expectation. Here's why:

"But he gives more grace." What?! That's crazy! "More grace"? To those who hate Him? To those who turn from Him to spiritual adultery? Yes, "Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Spiritual adultery is a pride issue. Every person on earth is guilty, and God is opposed to them because of their pride and resistance to His will. God opposes the proud. He does not allow them to get what they want, but gives them what they deserve, ultimately, hell. But there is hope for the humble, because He gives them grace. Those who are humble are the same who are guilty of cheating on God. They are humble because they know they are guilty and are at His mercy. Yet, He has grace for them. Not for the unrepentant, but for those who are humble. Humble because of their guilt. Humble because of their shame and because they now see what they have done to God. To them, "He gives more grace." Unbelievable!

I don't have time to go on about the rest of the verses in James four, but will end with this thought: How does God give grace to the humble and why? The answer to that question is one verse in Romans five: "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10). God opposes the proud, but gives grace to those who humble themselves in repentance, drawing near to Him and fleeing from sinful pursuits, because His Son died to reconcile them. Much more shall we who are reconciled, be saved by the life of the Son of God, who gave Himself for our sins and overcame our death by rising from the dead, so that we might live to God through Him.

If you are humbly trusting in Christ, will you join me in giving thanks to our God for His awesome grace? Praise His wonderful name!

Practical Christianity 2

Another very encouraging sermon from my pastor on Romans 12 about how Christians are to relate to one another. The body of Christ is made up of believers with different gifts and different levels of faith, yet they are all members of one another and are called to serve one another in love as Christ first loved us.

(Click here to go get the mp3, or listen to the player below.)

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We have to die with Christ in order to be raised with Him

It is painful to die, especially the kind of death that Jesus Christ our Lord died when they beat Him, mocked Him and hung Him on a tree. However on the third day, Jesus resurrected and appeared to His disciples who were astonished with great fear and great joy.

Death is painful and hard and brings many tears, while resurrection is joyful and happy and brings tears of relief.

Let us remember, that as followers of the eternal Son of God, we are going to suffer and die with Him in order that we may share in His great resurrection joy.

Our death is to self, to sin and to this evil world, yet our life will be forever to God. Oh, even the most hurting Christian can praise Him for that! Hallelujah! Amen.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34).

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:24-26).

For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:10-11).

...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11).

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; (2 Timothy 2:11).

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18).

What Matters Most? Why Misfortune Happens to the Righteous

In Psalm 73, Asaph struggled with the thought that wicked people were more blessed than those who spent their lives seeking to do what is right. He saw that good people suffered, while those who disregarded God's ways seemed blessed and fulfilled all their lives.

Asaph was about ready to give up, thinking his struggle to be pure was all in vain. He said, "When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end."

Asaph saw that though misfortune happens often to the righteous in this life, while good and plenty often fills the unrighteous, that the end of the unrighteous would be disaster. That is, they would be punished forever in hell. 

All this turmoil greatly troubled Asaph in his mind, but it led him to write these words:

"When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

(Psalm 73:21-26 NAS).

What a challenge Psalm 73 is for us today, who want things to go well for us, and we wine and complain when it goes bad. But if we have been washed pure by the blood of the Son of God, made righteous by faith in Him, given new life through His resurrection and have His Spirit dwelling within our hearts, then we need to learn to speak to God like Asaph did. But it is sufferings and trials that lead us to say, as he did:

"Oh God, there is nothing in heaven or on this earth that I desire more than to be near You."

Oh my Lord, help me know this desire deep within and express it in all I do and say. Amen.

Grace Gems: May He add to me the crowning mercy of a thankful heart!

I am still sadly deficient in practice!

(Letters of John Newton)

Who that had seen me as a slave in Africa, could have expected what has since taken place! How unworthy am I of all that I have received--and most unworthy of the honor of preaching the Gospel, which I too long despised and blasphemed! The language of Psalm 40:5 suits my soul well, "Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You! Were I to speak and tell of them--they would be too many to declare!" There is no end to the inventory of my mercies! May He who has given so much to me, and done so much for me--add the crowning mercy of a thankful heart! Though I can talk of thankfulness, I feel much insensibility and hardness of heart; but, I know that, while sin dwells in me, it will have such effects.

Alas! though I know in theory what a Christian should be--I am still sadly deficient in practice! I am a poor creature, and see much to be ashamed of every day, and in every circumstance. Yet, though sin will distress--it cannot condemn, those who believe in Jesus! "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" Romans 8:1


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Practical Christianity - How God's love relates to ours for one another

Practical Christianity 1 by Pastor Mark Loeffert (to get the Mp3 Link)

Practical Christianity can only work when Christians deal properly with their relation to God, to the love of Christ and to ourselves. Then we will be filled with God’s love for our fellow believers in a right way.

We are called to love true brothers and sisters in Christ, as the Lord Jesus loved us, by suffering for them. True obedience to God must be motivated out of His love for us, then demonstrated by our love for other Christians, and in all our relationships to other people.

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