Wonderful Jesus!

Tag: Paul

• The Goodness of God

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on April 16, 2021

  

  Romans 2: 4 – “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” NKJV

  

  If you have been in church any length of time, I am sure that you have heard, “God is good all the time,” and then someone will reply, “And all the time, God is good”! Well, it’s more than just a saying, it’s the absolute truth! I like to add to that, “God is good on purpose, and He is good to me!”

  Let’s look today at verses 3 and 4 of chapter 2, in the Message Bible to get continuity of thought:

  You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

  Romans 2:3-4 MSG

  I like the sound of that! Last time, I shared about the pointing of fingers, or the judgmental attitudes that we can sometimes adopt in life. In the Message Bible, written by Pastor Eugene Peterson, who is currently with the Lord, we see a down to earth paraphrase of what Paul was trying to get the Roman church to understand. God is not letting us off the hook because He is a good God! Sin is serious business with Him. He doesn’t ignore our sin because He loves us, but His heart of kindness towards us is that we would be drawn to Him and repent.

  When I was growing up, we were constantly reminded that our sin would separate us from God. We were told that we didn’t want to get involved in sin because if we died in it, we would go to hell. We were basically told that God was waiting to get us if we sinned. While it is most definitely true that God hates sin, and sin does separate us from Him, that is only part of the equation. The other part is that He is a loving God, a good God! And when we respond correctly to Him and to sin, we get to experience the loving side of Him.

  Israel Houghton wrote these lyrics in one of his songs: “You’re not mad at me, Your’e not mad at me, You’re madly in love with me!” How wonderful to hear that about God! He truly loves us! But because religion tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, we tend to think that we can continuously sin and be alright with God! Isaiah’s words are still true today:

  But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
  And your sins have hidden His face from you,
  So that He will not hear.

  Isaiah 59:2

  This is too important, to make light of it, or to have a casual attitude about it. Sin will keep you from all that you can have through Christ Jesus. Make no mistake, His grace is not a license to sin! But we will get into that a little more further in the letter to the Romans.

  The Jews were God’s special people, and as such, they had come to believe that would always be the case. Look at what Moses wrote:

  “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.

  Deuteronomy 7:6

  Even today, the nation of Israel believes that they are God’s chosen people, and rightly so. But here, in this verse and chapter, Paul is letting it be known that God isn’t letting anyone off the hook, Jew or Gentile, just because He is good, or because He loves us! Jew and Gentile alike, must come to a place of repentance before the living God!

  In Paul’s question, he asked if they despised the goodness, forbearance and patience of God. Let’s look at these three words:

  The word “good”, in the Greek has two words it is translated from, “agathos” and “chrestos”. Agathos is the goodness of someone that may result in punishment; while “chrestos” is the goodness of Someone who is always kind. I’m sure you can figure out that “chrestos” is the one that refers to God. He is always kind and He is always good! Many try and take advantage of that kindness, and that is the idea that Paul is conveying when he asks if they despise the goodness of God.

  Our word “forbearance” in the Greek is the word for truce. In the Vine’s, “anoche” means a holding back or delay of punishment. Some people feel that because they didn’t die when they ate of the forbidden fruit, that death wasn’t knocking at their door! One commentator said it like this:

  Paul, in effect, is saying to the Jews: ‘You think that you are safe because God’s judgment has not yet descended upon you. But what God is giving you is not complete freedom to sin; He is giving you the opportunity to repent and to amend your ways.’

  The Letter to the Romans, William Barclay, Logos

  And then we have the word patience. “Makrothumia” means to have patience with people. John Chrysostom explained this word as “the characteristic of someone who has the power to avenge and deliberately does not use it”. In other words, the fact that punishment does not always immediately follow the sin is because of His patience, not His inability to deal with it, or His approval of it.

  I love the way Rick Renner breaks down a verse using the Greek meanings. I’m no Rick Renner, but I want to try and consolidate these meanings for us:

  Do you hold in contempt the abundance of God’s nature which is always kind towards you, or His ability to send down His wrath; yet He delays it, because He is exercising much restraint in not quickly judging your sin; and yet you think He is okay with you? Don’t you know that it is His nature of kindness that causes Him to withhold His wrath from you in hopes that you might repent of your sins and come to Him?

  Romans 2:4-My paraphrase

  Let me put it in everyday terms for us. God’s goodness, that is intended to draw us to repentance, is like a wife who has been caught in adultery by her husband. Although he knows that she has cheated on him, he offers her his complete forgiveness. She then has a choice to make. She can arrogantly throw it in his face and leave the marriage. She can say she’s sorry but continue in her relationship as if he will just forgive her again. Or she can see the goodness and love he has extended towards her, repent of what she has done, and live up to his trust in her.

  Basically, that is how good God’s goodness is to us, only better. Some people see His goodness, as an excuse to continue in their sin; while others recognize the importance of His goodness extended towards them and respond to it with a changed heart. His goodness was never meant to give us the freedom to sin, but to demonstrate how good He is so that we may experience a radical change of life.

  This study is really causing me to be grateful for my salvation. It is also causing me to reflect on my life before Him, making sure I have the right attitude towards God. I don’t think a day goes by when I don’t rejoice in how good He is to me! Yet, as I am studying and blogging, I can’t help but be aware of the simple truth, “but for grace”! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in God, Repentance, Sin, Study of Romans, Wrong Thinking | 6 Comments | Tagged arrogance, God, goodness of God, Jews, patience, Paul, Sin, Study of Romans, wrath of God

• Without Excuse!

  Posted at 6:59 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on April 14, 2021

  

  Romans 2: 1- “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” NKJV

  

  This chapter begins with Paul setting a tone. He’s not telling his readers how wonderful they are anymore. As a matter of fact, just the opposite. He’s probably inciting their anger towards him because he is pointing out a truth they either don’t recognize or don’t want to recognize!

  All of us know good people and people who we don’t consider to be so good. They are in our families, at our jobs, in our churches, our next door neighbors. Mr. Smith down the block has been married to the same woman for 20 years, keeps up with his lawn, and offers to cut the lawns of the older people on the block. We judge him as being good. The lady in the office with the tight clothes, stiletto heels, and too much make up who is too loud, we judge as sinful. The tither and Sunday School teacher, good! The person who is always on the prayer list for one thing or another, not so good! We’ve all done it at some point in our life, and Paul is saying, who are we to judge when we are guilty of wrong doing ourselves?

  Paul addressed all of those terrible sins associated with the worldly Gentiles, and now he is addressing the Jewish population who were trained in religious protocol. We looked at the Gentiles, Paul implies, but now let’s look at you! Paul states that those who believe themselves to be morally upright are without excuse before God, for as they have judged the Gentiles, they are also guilty for practicing the same things. Paul was letting them know that having morality didn’t give them a leg up on the Gentiles or with God. Those little foxes spoil the vine every time!

  Paul reminds the Jews that God judges according to truth! Not our truth, His truth!

  For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.

  He shall judge the world with righteousness,

  And the peoples with His truth.

  Psalm 96:13 NKJV

  Everything that God calls unrighteous is unrighteous; and all that He declares to be holy, is holy! As the Righteous One, He can never be wrong!

  For some reason, commentators of the book of Romans agree that when Paul was writing this portion of the letter he was probably thinking of some of his secular contemporaries in Rome. Each of them mention a philosopher named Seneca, so I thought I would see why. Seneca was the younger brother of Gallio. Remember Gallio in the book of Acts? In Acts 18, the Jews take Paul to the judgment seat where Gallio is presiding. They accuse Paul of persuading men to worship God contrary to the law. Before Paul can say anything, Gallio basically tells them that he doesn’t care and tells them to leave. At the time of this letter, Seneca, a Spanish born philosopher, had risen to a place of prominence in Rome. He tutored Nero, the Roman emperor when he was a young man. Prior to this, he had been expelled from Rome, but Nero’s mom had him brought back to Rome and made him a tutor. Although he was responsible for doing some good things, he also stood by, without question, as Nero murdered his own mother.

  With this scenario in mind, we can well see why Paul would say that they were without excuse. Judging others as being wicked, while ignoring the wickedness of those who have honored us or placed us in a position of power is wrong! It’s equally wicked! Didn’t we hear a politician say that he could shoot someone in Central Park and his supporters wouldn’t care? Unfortunately, he’s proving that could be so true!

  I mentioned before, how I received an email from a very well known Christian leader. In that email there was an urgent message to pray for the presidential election of 2016. Within the email was a statement referring to the Democrats as evil Democrats. I was shocked! Since then, there have been many many more who have made similar comments, even to the point of saying that those who didn’t vote for a particular candidate was in danger of the wrath of God, or that they were going to hell. It seems to me that Paul was speaking prophetically of the times in which we live. Voting is not theocratic, it is part of a democracy. One vote for every citizen. We have the right to vote as we please. All Republicans are not Christians, nor are they all godly, or evil. All Democrats are not evil, nor do they all agree with abortion or gay rights. And they are certainly not all evil! Paul warns us about being so judgmental, when many of the things we are judging, we are guilty of doing ourselves. So after bringing this point out, Paul asks the question:

  And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

  Romans 2:3 NKJV

  When I mention the judgment of God, what exactly am I referring to? In the Vine’s dictionary, the Greek word for judgment is “krima” and it conveys the thought of “the sentence pronounced, a verdict, a condemnation, specifically God’s judgment upon man”. Peter wrote in another letter these words about the judgment of God:

  For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

  1 Peter 4:16 NKJV

  Christians have become pretty self-righteous and a little arrogant. (Aren’t those sins?) I was working in a restaurant while going to school. Every Sunday night, a group of students from a Christian college would come to the place to eat and hang out. They were pretty obnoxious, to say the least, acting as if they had come into this worldly environment to dominate and exercise their Christian rights. Things were getting out of hand. My manager felt that if I worked that shift, being a Christian, I could probably make them happier. I was a little embarrassed for my fellow Christians, as they were being rude and were developing a bad reputation before unsaved people. I ended up having to really have a talk with them. I explained to them that I was embarrassed that they called themselves Christians with their type of behavior. I mentioned that they were hurting my evangelistic efforts amongst my co-workers. And then I said something about starting the night over and acting like they were really Christians. Well, their leader apologized and had the group apologize. We never had another problem!

  I see this same spirit operating in the church today! And it is sad! I understand that the world runs over us at every opportunity. I understand they have no respect for us or our Jesus! I understand policies are often not made in our favor and often place us in uncomfortable positions. But when we act like they act, (especially in the Name of Jesus), I believe we place ourselves in the position of judge and jury. It is as if we have decided that God is too weak to take care of this situation and therefore we need to do it! Or maybe we think He forgot how to deal with sinners, or He’s just too merciful and no mercy will be extended any longer! Or maybe we really think that we have become God because we have a lot of followers, a mega church, several mega churches, hundreds of books and money we no longer need to check on. Whatever we are thinking, it’s stinking thinking!

  Do we really think that God needs us to burn down abortion clinics because He can’t seem to stop people from getting an abortion? Do we really think that we are better than others because we go to church and say that we are saved? Does God really need us to storm the capital and then pray in the room to show how Christian-like we are? I refuse to say Christ-like! And in the words of Paul, do we really think that we are going to escape the judgement of God when it starts in the house of God? I’m just agreeing with Paul! This is inexcusable and we need to do a reality check, or spiritual check, or Jesus check, or something! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in righteousness, Study of Romans, Wrong Thinking | 2 Comments | Tagged church issues, critical spirit, early church, judgment of God, judgmental, Paul, Peter, politics, righteousness, Rome, Study of Romans, the church and politics, Wrong Thinking

• Salvation For All!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on April 9, 2021

  

  Romans 1: 16-17- For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

  

  In August of 1513, a monk lectured on the Book of Psalms to seminary students, but his inner life was nothing but turmoil. In his studies he came across Psalm 31:1: In Thy righteousness deliver me. The passage confused Luther; how could God’s righteousness do anything but condemn him to hell as a righteous punishment for his sins? Luther kept thinking about Romans 1:17, which says, the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” The monk went on to say: “Night and day I pondered until… I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by faith. Therefore I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise… This passage of Paul became to me a gateway into heaven.” Martin Luther was born again, and the Reformation began in his heart.

  BLB David Guzik Study Guide to Romans

  History tells the story of the power of change that came over the Church world as a result of Martin Luther’s encounter with the letter to the Romans. Luther had already found no rest for his soul, no light in his darkness, no relief from the overwhelming sense of being lost. Burdened with the guilt of sin and shame, he was known to be found in prayer 8 times a day, or praying all night, or inflicting punishment upon himself because of the weight of bondage that troubled him daily. Then one day, these words of Paul resonated in his soul, like they had never done before:

  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith,”

  Romans 1:17

  and the Protestant Reformation literally changed the world.

  This verse, is the key verse of the book of Romans. As we begin looking at the teachings included in this book, my hope is that we too can have the righteousness of God revealed to us like never before.

  Paul mentions that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You would think that this would go without saying since he has been evangelizing all over the Greek provinces, but Paul knew the persecution of the Christians in Rome was real and wanted it to be known that his faith was strong in the gospel message. Paul suffered much because of this message. This is what he said about his trials:

  Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—

  2 Corinthians 11:23-27

  Paul went through some serious sufferings for the gospel of Jesus, and yet he was not ashamed of the gospel. Why? Because it was the power of God to salvation for him. He was literally stopped in his tracks as he lived contrary to the gospel of Jesus, hunting Christians down, putting them in jail, even watching them be stoned. He knew the dangers of proclaiming the gospel message, and yet, he was not ashamed of being called to deliver it. He was not ashamed of having believed.

  The gospel is for everyone who believes. Calvinism came out of the same Protestant Reformation as Lutheranism did. John Calvin, a contemporary of Martin Luther, also believed in justification by faith, but felt that your election was sure and therefore you need not worry about your salvation again. As the teachings of Calvinism spread, the doctrines began to change. Now, it is associated with predestination, meaning that you are predestined by God to be either be saved or not be saved. This is contrary to what Paul wrote in this verse that the gospel is to everyone who believes. Salvation, Paul wrote, was first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. But it was available to all who believe.

  Why did Paul mention that it was first to the Jews, then the Gentiles? Jesus answered this Himself:

  But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

  Matthew 11:24 NKJV

  Why did Jesus make this statement? A Gentile woman approached Jesus for healing for her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus told her that He had come for the Jews, and not the Gentiles, calling the Gentiles “dogs”. She responded by saying even the dogs get to eat the crumbs from under the children’s table. Jesus was so impressed with her statement, that was spoken from a heart of faith, that He healed her daughter.

  While Jesus openly ministered to Gentiles, He brought salvation to the Jews, God’s chosen people. His own special people. But the gospel message was always intended to be a gospel for everyone. He told Nicodemus:

  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

  John 3:16-17 NKJV

  Then in the book of Acts, Luke tells us of a supernatural event in the life of Peter. He is on the rooftop of Simon the Tanner’s home spending some time in prayer. While there he goes into a trance. In the trance God shows him animals that are contrary to his kosher diet and tells him to rise, kill, and to eat. Peter refuses to do so calling them unclean! This is where we would have said, “Satan, I rebuke you! Or, “get thee behind me”)! God responded by telling Peter that what He has cleansed Peter must not call unclean (see Acts 10). Then God sends Peter to share the gospel with Cornelius, a Gentile!

  Well, that’s all I have time for! Thank you for joining me in this study of Romans! It’s such a powerful insight into the theology of the life of the believer. Pray with me that I know by the Spirit, how to navigate this study for those who are really following along with it! And I thank you in advance! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Church History, God, Salvation, Study of Romans | 0 Comments | Tagged Calvinism, Cornelius, God, Jesus, Jews, Martin Luther, Paul, Peter, Salvation, Study of Romans

• The Center of It All!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on April 7, 2021

  

  Romans 1:2-4 “God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about His Son. In His earthly life He was born into King David’s family line, and He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.” NLT

  

  I was in Science class today when I had a thought. As our students were learning about the importance of cells, and tissues, and organs I was thinking about Jesus. A fact that resonated with my spirit is that the nucleus is the control center of the cell and it regulates all the activities of the cell. So I looked it up and discovered that the nucleus also carries the genes where our hereditary information is contained. My thought was this: that sounds like Jesus! I got so excited! And isn’t it something that science can reveal the Father, just as Paul wrote in the beginning of his letter to the Romans?

  Paul introduced himself to the saints in Rome, a congregation he hadn’t fellowshipped with, but one he had heard all about. As Paul traveled and evangelized the Greek provinces he often ran into other believers, and this is how he heard of the church in Rome. When he wrote:

   First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world,

  Romans 1:8 NKJV

  it was because of all the people he had met who originated from that church, or had passed through that church. Those things caused his heart to desire to go to Rome that he might part some spiritual gift to them, that they may be established, and for mutual encouragement (verse 12).

  It is believed that Andronicus and Junias were from the congregation in Rome, and since Paul sends them a greeting, they are in Rome at the time of his writing. Priscilla and Aquila were also from Rome, and had been amongst the Jews who were expelled from Rome before they met Paul (Acts 18:2). At this writing, they had a church in their house (16:5). Other people to whom Paul sent greetings at the end of his letter were believed to be people he had met during his evangelistic efforts who had either moved to Rome or had returned to Rome. It is easy to surmise that this church, made of Jews and later Gentiles, impressed Paul, because of the testimony of these individuals, that he wanted to fellowship with them for himself!

  After he introduces himself, he then speaks of Jesus. However, it is believed that his characterization of Jesus is intentional and with purpose and that’s why he doesn’t use His name until the end of his description. Let’s look closer at what Paul said about Jesus and why.

  Paul first mentions that Jesus is fully man. He speaks of Jesus’ heritage which would definitely be important to the Jews, and would be a strong testament of His messiahship. He was from the seed of David, and as such, was in the lineage of royalty. Also, as He walked on this earth, He did so in the capacity of a human being, which would later bear witness to man being able to live free from the bondage of sin — a topic he later discusses.

  Then he speaks of Jesus being the Son of God. A truth that surely they already knew as believers, but a truth he wanted them to know that he also preached and agreed with. Instead of focusing on how Jesus was born, although that is a powerful truth, he focused on how He was raised from the dead. This was proof to Paul that Jesus was who He said that He was, more than anything else. Remember that he met the resurrected Jesus and his life was forever changed! As a matter of fact, encountering that Jesus, changed all of the disciples, and it truly is the crux of the gospel message!

  We’ve just celebrated Resurrection Sunday because the resurrection of the Lord is the most important part of the gospel. I like what John Lake said about the resurrection:

  “The reason for the resurrection is that the kingdom of Christ is not to be in heaven entirely. It is to be in this world. And the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is to rule in this world. Consequently, while we live in this world we will need a body like our Lord’s—capable of existence here, and capable of existence over there.”

  ― John G. Lake, Spiritual Hunger, The God-men and Other Sermons

  Have you ever really given that any thought? Currently, in our new created state, we are capable of living in this earthly realm, as we are seated in heavenly places in Christ! And when we pray or give Him praise, we are able to transcend this earthly realm and move in the heavenlies. This relationship is truly supernatural!

  Paul mentions that it is through Jesus that we receive grace and our calling. As an apostle, he acknowledges that the role he has in the kingdom of God is because of the grace extended to him by Jesus. He didn’t do anything to earn it, and neither can we, but it was extended to him. And all of this that he has mentioned in his introduction, the seed of David, the Son of God, the resurrection from the dead, and grace is in Jesus our Lord!

  Now, back to my thought this morning. Just as the nucleus is the center of the cell, Jesus is the nucleus, or center of the gospel. As such, He is the control center not only for the church, but every believer. Paul wrote that He was made to be the head over the church, His body! As we walk in this new life, Jesus regulates our activities as our hearts and minds are transformed by His word. His Spirit on the inside of us, is available to assist us when we yield to Him. In the book of Roman, Paul goes into details about how this is possible. And lastly, in Jesus, is our DNA. All that we are, all that we can ever hope to be, is because of Him living on the inside of us. Jesus, the Christ! (See my blog or listen to my podcast on the DNA of God).

  I’m not really a scientific individual and may not have really touched the essence of this truth, but I saw it just as clearly as I see the page in front of me. This verse:

  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

  Romans 1:20 NKJV

  spoke to me like never before. This has been radiating in my heart all day long, and I just had to share it. What a powerful testament of the plan of God. As the nucleus is the center of life and function for the cell, so is Jesus to the gospel, our salvation! Then, of course, I kept hearing the song, “Jesus, You’re the Center of My Joy”. It’s been that kind of day!

  I googled what happens to the cell if the nucleus is removed from it? I found this truth on several sites:

  If the nucleus is removed from the cell then the cell will not be able to function properly, it will not be able to grow. … Gradually, the cell may die.

  https://www.jagranjosh.com

  Look at that spiritual truth!!! Remove Jesus, remove life! Dead churches have removed Him as supreme, preeminent, Lord of all! And then they looked up and realized that they had died a slow death! And if we were to remove Him from our lives, we would be the walking dead. This is why the sinner is not considered alive until they are born again and given life. They are without their spiritual nucleus, Jesus! He is truly the Center of it all! As we move into the letter that Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, Paul wants us to truly understand this truth. No Jesus, no life! Know Jesus, know life! Yes, I’ve used it before, but it bears repeating! I’m so excited about this study! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Christianity, Jesus, Study of Romans | 0 Comments | Tagged cells, Christianity, early church, gospel message, Grace, Jesus, new life, nucleus, Paul, resurrection, Romans, Rome, spiritual life

• It’s Not a New Message!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on April 5, 2021

  

  Romans 1: 16-17- “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” NKJV

  

  Paul wrote the book of Romans as a letter to the church in Rome. It is said that the epistle was written to the believers in Rome before Paul had ever visited with them. He is not associated with the planting of the church in Rome, but sent this letter as an encouragement to those who were already fellowshipping together.

  I was reading the book of Romans this weekend, and had the thought that I would like to go through the book with you as a look at the life we are called to live in Christ Jesus!

  If you have a hard copy of a good Bible, that has a chapter introduction, it is easy to see the history of the book of Romans and how it fits in the narrative of the gospel message. For example, our text is considered to be the key scripture of the book of Romans. The theme of the book is the righteousness of God; and the presentation of Jesus Christ is as the second Adam. The book of Romans is considered to be the most important, concise, and detailed information in the word about Christian doctrine.

  Some of the most well-known theologians of Church history had an encounter with God through the book of Romans. I came across this testimony of St. Augustine’s conversion:

  Some time in the year 386, Augustine and his friend Alypius were spending time in Milan. While outdoors, Augustine heard the voice of a child singing a song, the words of which were, “Pick it up and read it. Pick it up and read it.” He thought at first that the song was related to some kind of children’s game, but could not remember ever having heard such a song before.

  Then, realizing that this song might be a command from God to open and read the Scriptures, he located a Bible, picked it up, opened it and read the first passage he saw. It was from the Letter of Paul to the Romans. Augustine read:

  Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. –Romans 13: 13-14

  Reading this scripture, Augustine felt as if his heart were flooded with light. He turned totally from his life of sin. He was Baptized by Ambrose during the Easter Vigil April 24, 387. His friend Alypius and his son Adeodatus were Baptized at the same time.

  https://www.midwestaugustinians.org/conversion-of-st-augustine

  In the church of today, it is presumed that this generation isn’t interested in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have heard it said by many church leaders and pastors that we are losing this generation and have to rethink how we share the gospel. There is truth in that statement!

  However, what Paul wrote is a greater truth: the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t have power, it is power of God to salvation! And the criteria remains the same: you must believe! The same power that was in the gospel when Jesus saved Augustine is still present in the gospel today! The same gospel that saved me, is available today, to save this generation.

  What we may be missing, is that they are not looking for religion any more than we were looking for religion when we came to Jesus! The stale churches, with its lists of dos and don’ts that turned us off, is a turn off to them. The church that finds faults with them and every thing they do is just as unappealing to them, as it was with us. The problem could be that the church we ran from, is the church we have become!

  Now! Having said that, I want to also point out, the gospel doesn’t change for any of us! And it won’t change for them. What needs to change is how we view them and how we get the message out to them. As we have experienced this year long, world-wide pandemic, we have had to make some changes in how we deliver the gospel message. In the beginning, things seemed bleak for the church, but after a year, things are actually looking better in many of our churches. Still Jesus’ words remain in affect: “the gates of hell will not prevail against the church”.

  When Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he knew some things about the people he was addressing this letter for. He knew that the make up of the congregation consisted of both Jews and Gentiles. With this being the case, he understood that there were things that needed to be addressed in regards to their position in Christ Jesus. He also understood that they came from different backgrounds, with different understandings of the law, and he wanted to address those things to encourage them in their walk as believers. But mostly, he understood that they needed a solid understanding of the righteousness of God.

  Paul begins his letter by introducing himself to the Romans. He tells them that he is first and foremost a servant of Jesus Christ. Then he tells them that he is an apostle. Today, we introduce ourselves first with our titles, and then with all that we have accomplished. While this may be church protocol, maybe we can learn from Paul! In both roles, he lets them know that he has been separated to the gospel of God. (God is addressed repeatedly in the book of Romans). Paul explains this gospel message in this manner:

  God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about His Son. In His earthly life He was born into King David’s family line, and He was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 

  Romans 1:2-4, NLT

  Romans is written in a question and answer format. In order to not to belabor the point, I will seek to point these questions out and discuss the answers. As we move forward in reading and studying this amazing book of Christian theology, I trust that we will grow bolder in our faith, stronger in our convictions, and unashamedly sure of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I’m looking forward to getting into the book of Romans and hope you will join me in my study. Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Believers, God, gospel of Jesus, Study of Romans | 3 Comments | Tagged God, gospel of Jesus, Jesus, Paul, righteousness, Romans, Rome, Son of God, Son of man

• DNA of God

  Posted at 2:20 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on April 2, 2021

  

  2 Peter 1:3-4- “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” NKJV

  

  Creator of the Universe

  My husband and I took a cruise to Hawaii for our 25th anniversary. It was fabulous! Every morning I would find him sitting on the balcony, reading his Bible or praying. He found it to be so relaxing. Not being an early riser, I would join him and enjoy the serenity of the morning. For some reason, although I believe God is truly omnipresent, He felt closer to me on the waters of the Pacific.

  Paul understood the majesty of creation because he wrote:

  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse

  Romans 1:20 NKJV

  As I conclude my discussion on these verses in 2 Peter, I want to look at the remainder of the verse: “partakers of the divine nature”. Peter clearly states that we, believers in Christ, can partake of the divine nature and power of God. Religion persuades us to believe that we are mere mortals, subject to whatever whims God may have because we can never know what He will do. Yet, Peter wrote just the opposite in these verses: we can know God, we can partake of His power, His glory, and His nature, and it is what He wants us to do!

  Let us go back to the beginning.

  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

  Genesis 1:26 NKJV

  God didn’t make Adam a god, although He made Adam in His image. Adam was a genius. He named all the animals of the garden. He was perfect and without sin. He talked openly and freely with God. He had dominion over everything in the garden. His life was a life of peace, joy, fulfillment, godliness, and holiness. He was like God! Until he allowed sin in. As we choose to become Christians, we are spiritually restored to the state that Adam was in, with the intent for us to be more like God and less like man. Not because man is so horrible, but because God is that good to us!

  How can we partake of the divine nature of God? Let’s understand what partaker means. According to the Vine’s, one of my favorite resources, it means “a partner, or sharer”. So we don’t get ownership of His nature, He invites us to share in His nature. Therefore, the first thing we most do is, we must be born again! I know! I keep repeating it, but it is ever so true! We must be born again! Once we are born again, we are able to escape the corruption that is in the world. Peter wrote that when we are born again we are called out of darkness into His marvelous light! Paul penned that we are delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. This is the first step in partaking of His divine nature. If we are going to share in His nature, it starts with salvation!

  Going back to other parts of the verse, as we get to know Him and embrace His exceedingly great and precious promises, we can share in His nature. We can forgive, because He is a forgiver by nature, and empowers us to forgive. We can love, because He is love, and His divine power enables us to love the unlovely. How many times have you found yourself loving when others didn’t understand it? It His nature you were partaking! Who did you forgive, that you didn’t think it was possible for you to forgive? It was the Divine Nature of the Almighty (DNA) inside of you!

  I was in a situation where I overheard a conversation. There was a misunderstanding that caused several people to be at odds with one another. The person I overheard was expressing the hurt that they felt over the situation, but more importantly, the desire to get things out in the open so they could move on. I heard that person’s wisdom in handling the situation. I heard that person speak of making things right so they could move forward unhindered. Forgiveness was extended, and that person even took responsibility for the mix up. When the conversation was over, I told that person, I had just witnessed Jesus! It was the greatest testimony that individual could have shared with me about the genuineness of the faith she had in Him (the Divine Nature of the Almighty God in operation)!

  Sunday I went to visit at my former church. When I got there, one of the members was really excited to see me. She had prayed the night before, telling God that she wished she could see me at church so that I could pray for her. God manifests His healing nature at different times when I pray, especially in the area of pain. Sure enough, I was there. She was so excited! I prayed for her briefly and went my way. Later that night, there was no change. (I generally check up on people I pray for). When she told me that, I just said, “Check yourself in the morning”. Sure enough, the next morning was a different story. Did I heal her? No! But God allowed us to share in His nature as healing was manifested in her body, because He’s the Healer! The Great Physician! (Again, the Divine Nature of the Almighty God working as we laid hold to the exceedingly great and precious promise in regards to healing).

  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

  Mark 16:17-18 NKJV

  The part of His divine nature we struggle most with is His supernatural power. We fail to realize that anything we do with Him is supernatural. Forgiveness, love, giving, kindness, serving. Therefore, we tend to separate that part of His divine nature from the other part of His divine nature: releasing power!

  As we live this life in Christ, and He lives His life in us, I can assure you that He doesn’t want to be stifled. His greatest joy is seeing the kingdom become a reality in our lives. He left us with many precious promises that we might realize the greatness of the love and grace He has for us, the power He has made available to us, that we can partake of Him! It’s really time for us to dare to believe that every promise in His word belongs to us! As we step out in faith and begin to take Him at His word, we will begin to see things happen. When it doesn’t work, trouble shoot and try again; but don’t ever give up! He purposefully shared His divine nature with us that we may know Him more completely!

  It’s the Passover/Easter season! A time to rejoice in all that Calvary, and more precisely, the resurrection affords us! I end with Paul’s prayer for every believer:

  “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come! Amen and Amen! Wonderful Jesus!

  Ephesians 1:17-21 NKJV

  Posted in 2 Peter 1:3-4, Divine Nature, God, Jesus, Knowing God | 0 Comments | Tagged Creation, Deliverance, divine nature of God, Easter, Forgiveness, Healing, new life, Passover, Paul, power of God, Salvation

• Knowledge is Power!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 25, 2021

  

  

  2 Peter 1:3- “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. NKJV

  We can all mark significant times in our lives. I know I can! My high school years were a turning point in my life. I was hungry to know God. As just a casual reader of the Bible I saw many inconsistencies in the lives of those around me, and what the Bible said. As a matter of fact, I asked a pastor about these inconsistencies and he told me that the Bible wasn’t to be understood. I was so sad that day to hear a minister of the gospel say such a thing! But I walked into my Sunday School class of 6 and 7 years old students and declared to them: I believe the God of the Bible can be known, in spite of what others may say!

  I know now that I spoke by the Spirit of God! On the inside of me was a desire to know God, and He quickened my spirit and confirmed that truth to my heart. My desire, even today, is to know my God!

  Peter wrote about us having a knowledge of God.

  For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3 – AMP

  Knowing God, in a personal way, through Jesus, causes Him to bestow on us everything that we need for life and godliness. His power is released is in our life, in a concerted effort to assist us in knowing Him, life, and godliness.

  In Ephesians, Paul wrote:

  [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. Ephesians 1:17 – AMP

  Paul reiterates that the knowledge we have about God, the deep and personal insight into who God is, is as a result of knowing His Son Jesus. Hear what Jesus said to His disciples about this matter:

  Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ John 14:8-9 – AMP

  To truly know God, you must know Jesus! To know Jesus is to know the Father!

  God revealed Himself in the Old Testament, but only to a few. David knew God in a personal way, for God’s Spirit never left him. But it wasn’t until Jesus came that we were given an opportunity to truly know God. He made God alive to common people. He uprooted spiritual hypocrisy and pretentiousness. He demonstrated God’s love for us, and allowed us to see His nature in a way that had never been demonstrated before. Then He reconciled us to God through His blood, satisfying, once and for all, God’s requirement for sin.

  Paul prayed that we would grow in the knowledge of God. It’s not just enough to know that God loves us and will save us, but it’s important to know as much about Him as we can learn:

  Colossians 1:10 – that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…NKJV

  Paul knew that his ability to accomplish so much for God, was done because of his knowledge of God. These epistles that he wrote, helps us to understand God and the life we can have in Him. That knowledge gives us the power to live a life fully pleasing to Him. It enables us to walk worthy of our Lord. We must know our God!

  Peter echoed these words of growing in the knowledge of God, when he wrote:

  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 – NKJV

  Why? Because knowledge is power! When our adversary lies to us about our God, the more we know about God, the more we can refute his lies! When people knock on your door to share a different gospel with you, you can silence their heresy with your knowledge of God. When the circumstances of life try to overwhelm you, your knowledge of God will keep you grounded and sane.

  Some Christians are content to be ignorant. Paul said that he wrote his epistles so that we wouldn’t be ignorant concerning things pertaining to God. (We know these and many other writings are called the word of God; written so that we wouldn’t be ignorant!). Hosea wrote that we perish (go to hell?) because of a lack of knowledge. Don’t allow laziness to keep you from pursuing more knowledge of God. The enemy knows that the more you know about God, the easier it is to recognize and stop him! This alone is a great reason to know God.

  But a greater, more important reason to know God, is because He is God. Haven’t you heard it said: It’s not what you know, but who you know? Well, that’s even more true in relationship to God. When we know Him, we know all that we need to know, because knowledge of Him, is power! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in God, Jesus, Knowing God, power | 3 Comments | Tagged God, increasing in God, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Knowing God, knowledge, Paul, Peter, the word, word of God

• New Life! His Life!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 23, 2021

  2 Peter 1:3-4 -As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. NKJV

  

  prayer-for-salvation

  There are times when reading and studying the word, I feel like, this isn’t that complicated, why do people have such a hard time with it. And then there are other times when I feel like, Lord, I need help understanding this. Partaking of God’s divinity is a really tough truth to wrap our brains around. At least it is for some!

  Peter wrote in his epistle that God’s divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. It’s scriptural, so it’s truth. But not a new truth for it was first mentioned by John, when he wrote:

  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: John 1:12 – NKJV

  The take aways from these powerful verses are these:

  1. That when we are born again we are the sons of God
  2. His divine power brings this relationship into existence
  3. It’s as supernatural as the birth of Jesus to Mary

  Interesting to note that Nicodemus asked Jesus a similar question that Mary asked of Gabriel:

  How can these things be?

  Jesus had just finished explaining to Nicodemus the supernatural experience of the new birth. He told Nicodemus that when a person is born again, he is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus wanted to know if a man was supposed to climb back into the womb and be born again. Jesus patiently explained that He was speaking of a new birth, a birth brought about by the Spirit of God.

  As we enter into the season of the Passover, the Easter season, it is important to remember the significance of our born again experience. For many, they never experience the supernatural because their approach to God is so casual; but something supernatural takes place, just as it did when God’s Spirit planted the Seed in Mary’s womb.

  2 Corinthians 5:17-Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God…NKJV

  If you are in Christ:

  • You are a new creation
  • Old things are passed away
  • All things are made new
  • All things are of God

  There was, and is, nothing natural about our becoming sons of God. This amazing new birth into the family of God is a result of the gospel. The same gospel that Paul writes this about:

  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 1:16 -NKJV

  His divine power, the power of God, is activated when the gospel is shared and received. That power is sufficient to give us salvation, or new life. This was hard for Mary to understand, and it is even harder for us to wrap our brains around. The gospel message is God’s power released upon our lives to bring about the new birth! That’s beautiful! A birth that makes us a new creature in Christ called sons of God!

  Another point that Peter makes is that this power that gives us new life, also gives us all things that pertains to life and godliness. Here’s an even bigger mystery. The power of the old man is destroyed, giving way to the new man and all things that pertain to life and godliness.

  Things that pertain to life. When we are new creatures in Christ Jesus, we have eternal life, just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus. This new life is eternal. Paul explained it like this:

  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 – NKJV

  The life that we now live, we live by faith in the Son of God. His life overtakes our life, giving us the power to live this new life. A life that is pleasing to the Father. A life that’s in Him. A life of sacrifice, peace, love, joy…His life!

  Things that pertain to godliness. A life lived in godliness. One that allows His divine nature to be seen in our being. A godliness that chooses His way, His thoughts, His word, His actions, His attitude over our own. A godliness that turns it back on a life of sin, which is no life, to live a life of righteousness.

  All of this was obtained, by the divine power of God, when we became born again believers. Many still glory in their old nature, their sin nature. But if you are in Christ, your DNA has changed! You are a new creature! The old is gone, and the new has taken front and center. Begin enjoying the truth that you have really been changed. Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in 2 Peter 1:3-4, Divine Nature, Jesus, power | 0 Comments | Tagged crucified with Christ, Divine Nature, divine power, Galatians 2:20, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John, life and godliness, miraculous, Paul, Peter, righteousness, Salvation, supernatural

• Once, May Not Be Enough!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 10, 2021

  Isaiah 62:1 -For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. NKJV

  

  once_-may-not-be-enough_.mp3

  Today, instead of blogging about another type of prayer, I want to discuss prayer itself. As most of us know, prayer is simply talking to God. In our desire to understand prayer, and how to pray effectively, we have studied prayer and found many different types of prayer. In our quest to understand prayer, we have found that there are certain “times” of prayer. We have even found that there are patterns to prayer. With all of this in mind, we have even had teachings on how often to pray.

  Some highly respected teachers of the word, at least respected by me, have done a phenomenal job at dissecting these areas of prayer, to the point one might ask, “What else can be said?” I don’t pretend to be amongst that group, but as I was praying tonight, I felt this scripture rise in my spirit, and I heard the words, “once may not be enough”. Hence, my topic for this blog!

  The journeys of life are quite interesting. Years ago, as I was praying to the Lord about a situation that was not changing, I asked Him how long was I supposed to pray about this thing? Amazingly, He responded immediately with our key text. Although I have known this scripture for decades, it never really dawned on me as a prayer scripture. (That just goes to show that we can know something without understanding it). But if the Holy Spirit showed it to me in regards to praying, then I’m not going to argue with Him.

  For Zion’s sake I won’t hold my peace! Are there some situations in your life or the lives of others that you can’t hold your peace about? You just can’t be silent? You have to talk to God about it? And for some reason, it seems like you have hurt your knees, drained your tear ducts, and used every scripture imaginable on the subject with no change? Do you feel faithless, because you just keep praying about it? Have others tried to make you feel like you just need to give it up? Well, if so, this blog is for you!!

  Isaiah wrote that for Zion’s sake he wouldn’t hold his peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake he wouldn’t rest. That meant that he intended to cry out to God for as long as he felt he needed to because he was greatly concerned about the Church and his beloved city, Jerusalem! As a matter of fact, he even told us how long he intended to keep this prayer vigil going-until he got results! Some people believe and teach that when you pray in faith, you only have to pray one time. I can tell you for a truth that in many cases, this is absolutely true. Sometimes, you just know, that you know, when you finish praying, the thing is done!

  But there are some other times, the Spirit of God whispered to my heart, when once is not enough! Let’s look at Jesus, because we can all agree that He knew how to get a prayer through!

  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” – Luke 22:41-42 – NKJV

  This prayer was on the night that He was betrayed. He went to the garden to pray, as was His custom. Jesus had spent the day encouraging His disciples, praying for them, and even giving them last minute instructions. And now He is going to spend time in prayer. He even told His disciples how deeply grieved in His soul He was, and asked them to pray with Him. While He was crying out to the Father, they were sleeping!

  For this blog, I’m not concerned so much with the topic of His prayer, but there are a couple things to note. First, according to Matthew, He prayed hours about this situation. During the course of His hours of praying, He actually stopped praying and went to check on His disciples. They were falling asleep. Not once, nor twice, but three times. After He checked on them, He went back and prayed twice more for a total of three times. And another thing, He prayed the same thing! For those who feel that praying about something over and over is a lack of faith, I give you Jesus!

  Now, let’s look at Paul!

  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. – 2 Corinthians 12:8 – NKJV

  Paul writes that he had been under attack by the messenger of Satan himself. He was so sick and tired of this messenger who kept coming at him, again and again that Paul called him a thorn in his flesh. I guess after some time Paul got tired of this foolishness and he prayed asking the Lord to allow it to depart from him. As a matter of fact, Paul said that he prayed this same prayer on three different occasions. He didn’t get the answer he sought, but it wasn’t because he prayed more than once. It wasn’t because Jesus liked watching him get attacked over and over again. Jesus simply responded to him that His grace was sufficient for Paul, for His strength was made perfect in weakness. A truth that we all need to understand. Sometimes we will be delivered from the attacks of the enemy, and sometimes He will walk with us in the fire!

  Final point about praying more than once about something:

  Then the Lord said, “If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, don’t you think that God will surely give justice to His people who plead with Him day and night? Yes! He will answer them quickly! But the question is: When I, the Messiah, return, how many will I find who have faith and are praying*?” -Luke 18:6-8 – TLB

  The very first thing Jesus says in this chapter is that men ought always to pray and not faint. Then He shares this situation with us about the woman who wearied the unjust judge in her continuous coming. The point I want to look at is what Jesus said in the end: But the question is: When I, the Messiah, return, how many will I find who have faith and are praying*?” This woman, going to judge over and over again, was symbolic of us going to the Father in prayer over and over again. Jesus didn’t call this a lack of faith, He actually called it faith! She was so convinced that if she kept asking, that she would receive! This reminds me of one of my husband’s favorite sayings: “The squeaky wheel gets the oil!”

  Okay! I absolutely have to add this point, so forgive the length of this blog:

  Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. Daniel 10:12 – NKJV

  For three full weeks, Daniel fasted and prayed about the same situation. Then one day, an angel appeared to him and told him that he was heard on the first day! God hears you the first time. It doesn’t take Him 21 days to hear, but sometimes, it takes “earthly” time because the devil is fighting on every hand. And your continuous praying will bring angelic help, if needed, to get the job done!

  It’s not a lack of faith that keeps you going back to the Father for a concern on your heart, it’s your desire to see your prayer answered that keeps you going back. You are saying, “I need some oil!” Or, “I need some justice!” Or, “I need some help!” Don’t give up on your confidence in God’s willingness and His ability to answer your prayer! Pray until you get what you want, because once may not be enough! Wonderful Jesus!

  prayer-for-salvation-2.mp3

  Posted in Faith, Jesus, Prayer | 0 Comments | Tagged angels, attacks, Daniel, Deliverance, encouragement, Faith, God, hard times, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Paul, Prayer, Satan, Spiritual warfare, supernatural, the enemy

• Lord, I Thank You!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 1, 2021

  Ephesians 6:18 – praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—NKJV

  

  lord_-i-thank-you_.mp3

  This week I am turning my focus to prayer. I’ve blogged before on the subject of praying always, but I don’t recall addressing the many types of ways we can pray. I look at the picture of the young girl and her posture, and I think, I know that posture. Do we have to have a certain type of posture? No! But sometimes a posture say more than our words ever could!

  Paul encourages us in this verse to pray with all prayer. That word “all” causes me to infer that there is more than one way to pray. Of course, I know it to be true, but for the sake of beginnings, I want to make that point. There are all kinds of prayers, and therefore there are all kinds of way to pray.

  One of my favorite ways to pray, is the prayer of thanksgiving! This time of conversing with the Lord can be short and to the point: Thank you Lord for not allowing that car to hit me! Or it can be longer, where we give Him thanks for any number of reasons!

  Something I see in the Old Testament, is that people were chosen to give thanks to God:

  And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 31:2 – NKJV

  Can you imagine living life without the privilege of thanking God for who He is in your life, and for all He has done? Can you imagine being in a time and place when someone else was designated to be in His presence thanking Him, and you weren’t that someone?

  And with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because His mercy endures forever; 1 Chronicles 16:41 -NKJV

  Or maybe it wasn’t like that all! Maybe, they were chosen to set the atmosphere of worship in the house of the Lord! For that is exactly, what the prayer of thanksgiving leads to. Worship!

  What are some of the things we should find ourselves giving Him thanks for?

  • We should thank Him because He is good! 1 Corinthians 16:34
  • We should thank Him for His great name! Psalm 35:18
  • We should give Him thanks because we are His people Psalm 79:13
  • We should thank Him because it’s the right thing to do! Psalm 92:1
  • We should thank Him for His wonderful works to other people! Psalm 107:8
  • We should thank Him for His word! Psalm 119:62
  • We should thank Him for His mercy that endures forever! Psalm 136:26
  • We should give thanks for His Blood that was shed for us! Mark 14:23
  • We should give thanks for His Body that was given for us! Luke 22:19
  • We should give thanks for what He does for us! Luke 17:16
  • We should give thanks for Him giving us the victory through our Lord! 1 Corinthians 15:57
  • We should thank Him for those who are a part of the Body of Christ! Ephesians 1:16
  • We should thank Him for grace! 2 Corinthians 9:15

  And if that is not enough to take you to the place of worship, thanks should be given for Jesus! And thanks for this beautiful land that we live in, and for life, and for health, and for strength! And for family, and jobs, and friends, and vehicles, and homes…and I think you get the picture!

  This is my favorite type of prayer, as I said, because it leads to worship. It leads to us remembering who God is and all He has done and can do for us! It has a way of refreshing me and causing me to get my mind off of the negative issues in life, or the stress of the day. As a matter of fact, it gets me in the right frame of mind to blog.

  Anyone can be become an expert at talking to God with the prayer of thanksgiving! The leper who was cleansed, immediately knew exactly what words to say and what posture to take after he was healed. You don’t need an example, or further explanation. No need for the Greek or the Hebrew words to break it down! Just know that it’s an excellent way to talk to the Everlasting God and that you will most certainly get His attention!! Then when you finish giving Him thanks, you can just bask in His presence! Wonderful Jesus!

  prayer-for-salvation.mp3

  Posted in God, Prayer, Thanksgiving | 2 Comments | Tagged Christian, David, giving of thanks, God, leper, miraculous, Paul, Prayer, psalm, Thanksgiving, victory, worship

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