Quiet Time: Your Kingdom Come

Your Kingdom Come
Even so come

¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven. - Matthew 6:10

READ:  (Matt. 6:9-13) 

    (1)   We are to pray for His Kingdom to come. (verse 10)

a.      The Kingdom of God was promised with Abraham’s covenant.

                                                              i.      I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; (Matthew 8:11)

                                                            ii.      In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. (Luke 13:28)

                                                          iii.      In ages past God determined His kingdom would come.

b.      The Kingdom of God is present within the heart of every believer.

                                                              i.      nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." (Luke 17:21)

                                                            ii.      for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)

                                                          iii.      Today, God, the Holy Spirit, makes the kingdom evident to this fallen world through those who die to self and live for Christ.

c.       The Kingdom of God is prospective with the soon coming King.

                                                              i.      Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. (Rev. 21:1)

                                                            ii.      But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Pet. 3:13)

                                                          iii.      One day faith will be sight. Jesus will abolish all evil and establish His righteous kingdom with a new heaven and earth.

d.      Today, we can ask God to let His kingdom come with us wherever we go and be evident in our lives through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit with full knowledge that one day Jesus, will,  in person, come again! “Even so Lord Jesus come” (Rev. 22:20)  

Quiet Time: Why Pray 2

Why Pray 2

     Because prayer is the only way to get things from God. 

  

     You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask    (James 4:2)

In this passage,  James first rebukes, then exhorts us regarding prayer
 

                                   You lust, commit murder, are envious, and quarrelsome: Selfishness starts in the soul (Matt. 5:22) So, that’s where the battle begins.  Ask God first for an unselfish spirit. Selfish prayer is an oxymoron.

                                                             You do not ask: Prayer becomes powerful when we allow God to change our will to His will. We know we are in His will when we walk according to His Word. (1 John 3:21-22) ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; ²² and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

According to Christian Counselor, Dr. Gary Collins, "There is a distinction between jealousy and envy. To envy is to want something which belongs to another person (Exodus 20:17). In contrast, jealousy is the fear that something which we possess will be taken away by another person."

Do you know what I find shameful in myself? 

I've  never envied someone else's walk with God. 

Quiet Time:Why Pray

Why Pray?
No surrender

 

   Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. - Luke 18:1

  

    

    (1)     Jesus said, “Men always ought to pray”.   

                       You are commanded to pray

a.      (Matt. 26:41)  Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

b.      In the Matthew 26:41, Jesus gives us a twofold warning.

                                                               i.      Keep watching: Temptation strikes us where we are most vulnerable so must stay alert and on guard against our particular weaknesses.

                                                             ii.      Keep praying: we are not alone. God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Prayer is good for your heart

 
This and the following blogs on prayer originate from my daily quiet time, our neighborhood small group bible study, and Christian Life Master Outline study guide

Christian Cussing (repost)

Kiss Christian Cussing Goodbye Too!

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

What about Christian cussing, is that OK? You know what that is, don’t you? That’s using infractions like “frig, frigging, fricking, darn, oh my god, geeze”, and other variations on a theme. Are these wrong? Well, I suppose that socially, these words are more acceptable, but could you really see yourself telling the pastor after Sunday morning’s service, “Geeze pastor, that was a great fricking message!” No, I don’t think so. So why would we talk that way around Jesus? He said He’d never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). So, why play with fire. Is this too simple a way of looking at things? I have been accused of being simple.

In my last blog  Kissing Cussing Goodbye I lined out a few obvious (simple) reasons not to use foul language, but perhaps some of us are saying at this point, “It’s not that I don’t think cussing is wrong, it’s simply that I can’t seem to help myself. And, now I’m hearing that even variations are not to be used.” It is true, I do not think “Christian cussing” is a viable alternative to worldly cussing, but I base it on how the bible leads.

The bottom line is this, cussing is overcome like any other bad habit. Pray knowledgeably, act faithfully, and move forward diligently. First, we can tell God how much He means to us and how much we want to please Him (Psalm 11:7). Next, we find scripture that corresponds to the particular challenge and memorize it for the battle ahead (see last blog on cussing). Then, every time we fail to do what we know God enjoys seeing us do, (in this case, using words that edify) we speak His word over the failure, repent, and return to God performing deeds appropriate to repentance (Acts 26:20). Finally, get an accountability partner. There is strength in numbers (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Pretty soon we’ll see that we’re finally leaving the past behind and are pressing on toward the upward call of God (Philippians 3:14).

You know something; most people say that it takes six weeks to break a habit, bad or otherwise. I think it takes two. And, since the simple truth is that there is no right way to do the wrong thing, why not begin anew today. Victory may be less than two weeks away!

Song Series: Because He Lives (Amen) Fresh Start Your Day

Because He Lives (Amen)
Fresh Start Your Day with the Power of Praise

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 
- Romans 6:4

We sing "Because He Lives" by Matt Maher regularly at FBCR. It has a beautiful melody and is easy to follow lyrically; but, what makes the song so powerful is the message of courage for today and hope for tomorrow.

I love hope-filled songs, don't you? Especially now. I'm so sick of being inundated with negative campaign adds that leave me feeling like there's no one worth voting for. As a matter of fact, what makes being a Worship Arts Pastor so incredibly awesome is that I'm  forced to learn and lead hopeful and God centered songs every day. In other words, I'm consistently reminded to "walk in newness (literally 'freshness') of life".

Do you want a fresh start to each new day? Then put on the praise and worship music, open the word, and ask God to revive and refocus your walk.

I believe in the Son
I believe in the Risen One
I believe I overcome
By the power of His blood

Quiet Time: Morning Person

Morning Person

In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. - Psalm 5:3

I am a morning person if ever there was one.

Back in the day when I was still a gigging musician/vocalist, I could always tell when we were nearing the midnight hour. Not because the party kicked up a notch (although it usually did). Not because the band was finally locking in the groove (although it actually was). And, certainly not because more people were inebriated and felt more inclined to dance than at the start of the party (although, they truly were). No, the reason I knew it was close to midnight was the fact that my energy level would dive south after 11PM. The truth is, I was probably the worst musician you could get for a late night show because I simply ran out of gas by 1 AM!

Now, of course, I'm just being funny, but frankly, I can't think of a time when I didn't begin my day before 6AM. 

For me, it's been a good thing. For example, today, I was up and working on music (praise and worship music; Big Daddy Weave's song titled "Overwhelmed") by 4:30AM. Turns out that I'm in good company. Apparently the Psalmists thought the early morning was the right time to worship too.

Whether praying or praising or reading the Word, mornings are a great time to get it going. 

Try going to bed an hour earlier tonight and getting up an hour earlier tomorrow morning. Then, spend some time with the Savior and see if it doesn't make a tremendous difference in your day.