God is dangerous apart from Jesus

Piper: The reason Jesus’s name is used is because we have no rights to go to God, except through Jesus. If you try to go to God apart from Jesus, you may be incinerated. God is very dangerous apart from Jesus. He is angry apart from Jesus. He has put Jesus Christ forward to remove His anger and to clothe us with righteousness, so that we can walk right into the flame of His holiness and not be consumed. Jesus is the only hope that any prayer will be heard, so we come in Jesus’s name.

Teach your children what it means to pray in Jesus’s name. THIS IS NOT A THROWAWAY PHRASE! Everything hangs on this phrase. It means: In the name of the One, in whose worth , in whose righteousness, in whose sacrifice we come. And no other way. That’s true, not only for our salvation, but for our supplication. You all know we’re saved through Jesus, and you SHOULD know we pray through Jesus. And they really are the same mediator role. ‘There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” Don’t come any other way.

I am troubled when people feel like, ‘for the escape from mindless tradition’, we just leave off ‘in Jesus’s name’ from our prayers, and say nothing, except Amen. You don’t have to say it, BUT YOU HAD BETTER THINK IT! And if you’re thinking it, it wouldn’t hurt to say it, so that I know you’re thinking it. And not going any other way. It is not a throw away phrase. It’s not tradition. It’s right out of that verse and its massively important that we come in Christ alone to ask the Father for favor. We won’t get it any other way.

VIDEO by desiringGod

How does a branch abide in the vine? The branch and vine metaphor of John 15:45

Jon Bloom, in an article from the Desiring God archive  (By John Piper. ©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org) explains the ‘abiding’ in Christ metaphor:

Does Jesus’ metaphor here strike you as a bit odd?

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:45)

Vine branches don’t have to try to abide in vine. They just do. only way they become detached is if someone or something detaches them.

Not so with us. We are strange “branches” that are prone to wander. Staying put in the vine is something we must obey. “Abiding” for us is a discipline.

So why are we prone to leave the “vine” we love? Because we are easily deceived into believing that we are vines, not branches. Remember Satan’s original deception, “You will be like God”?  That’s what we want to be: vines! We don’t want to be branches. We want to bear our own fruit!

This is the ancient sin of pride and it governs fallen human nature. And we Christians remain susceptible to this very powerful and subtle temptation, which is why Jesus spoke this metaphor to his disciples. We struggle to believe that apart from him we can do nothing.

So how can we honestly evaluate the level to which we are abiding in Jesus? One simple way is to examine how we pray in secret. The Bible is clear: Word-saturated prayer is the primary means of abiding in Jesus. That’s why prayer is the chief of the spiritual disciplines and the one we are commanded to be constantly doing:

“[Pray] at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18); “Continue steadfastly in prayer” (Col. 4:2).

God appointed prayer as the chief of the disciplines precisely because it is designed to undermine our self-sufficient pride. Prayer requires profound humility and faith to exercise. It appears foolish and weak to the worldly-wise and strong. It’s the posture of a dependent child or a beggar. And since its productivity can’t be quantified, it can look like a waste of time.

In other words, prayer forces us to trust God.

This is why we selected “Prayerful Dependence” as one of our stated core values at Desiring God:

We seek our deepest delight in Jesus Christ and acknowledge that we can do nothing apart from him (John 15:5). Our desire is to abide in him constantly, “[praying] at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18). Therefore, we will be intentional to build prayer into the visible life of the organization at all levels and to cultivate a shared life together of living by faith in God’s future grace for us.

One of our ongoing resolutions at Desiring God is to cultivate more prayerful dependence on Jesus in our spreading efforts. Would you join us? Create your own resolution to cultivate greater prayerful dependence on God. Through more intentional prayer, let’s fight our desire to live like vines together and seek instead to be branches that are joyfully and firmly grafted in Jesus.

One way we want to encourage you in your personal resolution is to encourage you to listen to John Piper’s message, “Battling the Unbelief of Pride.” John draws from Paul, James, Peter, and Jeremiah to explain the nature of pride and how to fight its many manifestations. He includes a helpful section on the role of prayer in the battle. A memorable quote from his closing prayer is, “It is utter folly to be anything but a baby in your arms.”

The counter-intuitive truth is that unless we abide in Jesus through Word-saturated prayer, we will not be able to doanything. Being “devoted to prayer” (Rom. 12:12) isn’t just a romantic idea, it’s mission critical. May the Lord help us believeand live this truth more fully in 2007.

You can read the article in its entirety here- http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/newsletters/you-are-a-branch-not-a-vine

Spurgeon – JESUS INTERCEDING FOR TRANSGRESSORS on the cross

DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 18, 1877, BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

“And made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12.

Our blessed Lord made intercession for transgressors in so many words while He was being crucified, for He was heard to say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” It is generally thought that He uttered this prayer at the moment when the nails were piercing His hands and feet and the Roman soldiers were roughly performing their duty as executioners. At the very commencement of His passion He begins to bless His enemies with His prayers. As soon as the Rock of our salvation was smitten, there flowed forth from Him a blessed stream of intercession. Our Lord fixed His eyes upon that point in the character of His persecutors which was most favorable to them, namely, that they knew not what they did.

He could not plead their innocence and, therefore, He pleaded their ignorance. Ignorance could not excuse their deed, but it did lighten their guilt and, therefore, our Lord was quick to mention it as in some measure an extenuating circumstance. The Roman soldiers, of course, knew nothing of His higher mission—they were the mere tools of those who were in power—and though they “mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar,” they did so because they misunderstood His claims and regarded Him as a foolish rival of Caesar, only worthy to be ridiculed. No doubt the Savior included these rough Gentiles in His supplications. And perhaps their centurion who “glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous Man,” was converted in answer to our Lord’s prayer.

As for the Jews, though they had some measure of light, yet they, also, acted in the dark. Peter, who would not have flattered any man, yet said, “And now, brethren, I know that through ignorance you did it, as did, also, your rulers.” It is doubtless true that, had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory, though it is equally clear that they ought to have known Him, for His credentials were clear as noonday! Our Redeemer, in that dying prayer of His, shows how quick He is to see anything which is, in any degree, favorable to the poor clients whose cause He has undertaken. He spied out in a moment the only fact upon which compassion could find a foothold and He secretly breathed out His loving heart in the cry, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Our great Advocate will be sure to plead wisely and efficiently on our behalf! He will urge every argument which can be discovered, for His eyes, quickened by love, will suffer nothing to pass which may be in our favor. The Prophet, however, does not, I suppose, intend to confine our thoughts to the one incident which is recorded by the Evangelists, for the intercession of Christ was an essential part of His entire lifework. The mountain’s side often heard Him, beneath the chilly night, pouring out His heart in supplications. He might as fitly be called the Man of Prayers as, “the Man of Sorrows.”

Read the sermon in  its entirety here- http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols22-24/chs1385.pdf

Do My Prayers Make a Difference?

via Desiring God  for more resources on Prayer click here

Pastor John Piper sets personal prayer into the context of God’s unfolding redemptive plan and the final victory of God.

He was responding to one man who had lost confidence in the power of prayer and was asking, Do my personal prayers make any difference?

Pastor John responded to the question with a short theology of prayer by explaining the significance of the golden censers (bowls) which hold the prayers of the saints (seeRevelation 5:8, 8:3–4). In part, Pastor John explained the meaning of the passages like this —

Those bowls have two functions. They are censers. They are like incense, and in the presence of God, that incense is really pleasing to him. God loves the aroma of the prayers of his people. Which means that if you are on your face crying out for a lost loved one, or for some difficulty in your church, that very act is pleasing to God. It is not wasted. Quite apart from the answer to that prayer, the prayer itself is precious to God. That is the first meaning.

Second, there’s going to come a day when those bowls are full. In other words, the billions upon billions of prayers that have been prayed — “Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come”— the last one is going to be prayed and God is going to look at that angel and say, “Pour it out on the earth.” And he is going to take the bowl of prayers, like fire, and throw it on the earth and the final purposes of God are going to be achieved.

And I think we need to preach to ourselves that our prayers are part of the causality of the final victory of God. He wouldn’t have asked us to pray that his kingdom come if he didn’t mean for our prayers to be an instrument in the coming of the kingdom.

So it is simply astonishing that when you think of the billions of times the Lord’s Prayer has been uttered, all of those times when it has been uttered in faith, God has put it in the bowl and it’s filling up and filling up. And the day is going to come when that bowl will be poured out as the consummation of the age. So no prayer is wasted.

You can listen to the entire episode here. We followed this episode with another prayer question: “God Hears My Prayers, So Why Should I Pray for Things Twice?” (episode 38).

E.M.Bounds – 11 books you can read online for free

This list will be added to my Prayer page, which can be accessed at the top of the blog under the ‘Prayer’ tab. (next to the search box).

“Edward McKendree Bounds did not merely pray well that he might write well about prayer. He prayed because the needs of the world were upon him. He prayed, for long years, upon subjects which the easy-going Christian rarely gives a thought, and for objects which men of less thought and faith are always ready to call impossible. From his solitary prayer-vigils, year by year, there arose teaching equaled by few men in modern Christian history. He wrote transcendently about prayer, because he was himself, transcendent in its practice.

“As breathing is a physical reality to us so prayer was a reality for Bounds. He took the command, ‘Pray without ceasing’ almost as literally as animate nature takes the law of the reflex nervous system, which controls our breathing.” -Claude Chilton, Jr., in the Foreword to Necessity of Prayer .

Edward McKendree Bounds was trained and apprenticed as an attorney, but instead of pursuing a legal career, he entered the ministry in his early twenties. In 1859 he was ordained as pastor of the the Monticello Methodist Church in Missouri.

Bounds was a chaplain in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was captured by the Union Army in Franklin, Tennessee and later released. After his release, he strove to build up the spiritual state of Franklin by starting weekly prayer sessions.

Bounds was an associate editor of the official Methodist newspaper, The Christian Advocate, and is best known for his numerous books on the subject of prayer.

How to grow in grace-

In The Necessity of Prayer, (click for free PDF book format)E. M. Bounds quotes this advice, giving credit only to “an eminent old divine”:

Click to read.

Would you be freed from the bondage to corruption? Would you grow in grace in general and grow in grace in particular? If you would, your way is plain.

Ask of God more faith. Beg of him morning, and noon and night, while you walk by the way, while you sit in the house, when you lie down and when you rise up; beg of him simply to impress divine things more deeply on your heart, to give you more and more of the substance of things hoped for and of the evidence of things not seen.

From Chapter 2, “Prayer and Faith (Continued)”

Here is a list of E.M Bounds online books

click to read more books

1. Power Through Prayer (e-text)
2. Prayer and Praying Men (e-text) (online book)
3. Purpose in Prayer (e-text)
4. The Essentials of Prayer (e-text) (online book)
5. The Necessity of Prayer (e-text) (online book)
6. The Possibilities of Prayer (e-text)
7. The Reality of Prayer (e-text)
8. The Weapon of Prayer (e-text)
9. Preacher and Prayer (Google Books) (online book)
10. Satan: His Personality, Power and Overthrow (online book)
11. Heaven: A Place – A City – A Home (online book)

READ more ONLINE BOOKS here

How to have quiet time with God

article and photo www.riversouthbay.org

Ever wondered what exactly it means or how exactly you would go about spending time with God?

I came across this article from the River Church of the South Bay that gives one of the best blueprints for spending time with God. What better time than with the START of a NEW YEAR to commit to prayer and study of God’s word. HERE is a great aid that helps just about anyone accomplish this task. Even Jesus had quiet time in prayer with God- “Very early in the morning, while it was till dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”  Mark 1:35 and how much more do we - “Man cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks”  Matthew 4:4

Topics addressed (with biblical references) are-

Why we need quiet time with God-

1. We need nourishment from God’s word to grow.
2. We need to hear from God daily.
3. We need to draw close to God.
4. We need the Word which is our best defense against sin.
5. We need to be corrected when we sin.
6. We need encouragement and comfort.

What is involved in quiet time?

1. Bible reading
2. Prayer time
3. Journaling and bible note-taking

Then there are some great tips for a meaningful quiet time and then the steps to actually facilitate this quiet time.

Other articles (that can be extemely helpsul to new believers too) on the same website include:

• How to pray – ACTS formula (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication)
• How to study the bible (how to observe by asking yourself a series of questions)

How To Have A Quiet Time With God

Every relationship takes time to develop.  You have to spend time with someone to take that relationship deeper.  It’s no different with our relationship with the Lord.  Spend time with Him.  There is just no other way.  That’s why we encourage every believer to develop the habit of a daily time with God.  As simply as I know how to put it, a quiet time is time alone with the Lord.  If we do not spend time cultivating that one-on-one relationship with Him, we will eventually feel spiritually disconnected from Him, out of touch, restless, dissatisfied and unfulfilled.  After a while we will begin drifting away and are no longer influenced by His presence in our lives.  The fact is we all desire a closeness with God but often aren’t experiencing it simply because we aren’t spending time with Him.  After a while we say to ourselves, “I’m the same old person I’ve always been”, “I’m not changing”, “My relationship with the Lord is stale and stagnant”.  That’s why each day we need to set aside time to spend with the Lord in Bible reading and prayer in order to deepen our knowledge and love for Him that will result in real life change.

When I find myself worrying, it’s an indication that I am not spending time with the Lord.  When I find my mind wandering or my heart hardening to the things of God, it’s again, an indication that I am not spending time with the Lord.  The primary goal as growing Christians is to become “conformed to His likeness” (Rom. 8:39).  Another word for conformed is “transformation” which means “life change from the inside out”.  We can change a behavior or an attitude on the outside, but to change on the inside takes inner transformation.   Whatever is going on in your heart will be mirrored by your actions.  No one can fake it for long.  To change the inside takes a deeper relationship with the Lord.  What we also desire for is congruence.  We don’t want to live one way in public and another way in private.  It takes time with the Lord to bring these two into more alignment and consistency.  Romans 12:1-2 reveals that the only way to be transformed is to read, study and reflect on the word of God.  The two primary elements that are used to accomplish this are Bible reading and prayer.  I have written the following guide to help motivate you and give you the tools you need to begin implementing a quiet time into your daily schedule.

One author says, “In practice we often find ourselves to be “thirsty” Christians: either because we are failing to drink or because God is stretching our capacity for Himself and we need to drink more deeply”.  If you find yourself restless, dissatisfied, and unfulfilled, it’s because you are not regularly drinking in God’s word or you are not going deep enough in the well.  So I encourage you to use this guide and begin to spend regular time with God and drink deeply.           Todd Wendorff

“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life”  John 4:14  NASB-U

“My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.  He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken” Psalm  62:1-2  NASU

“as the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God”  Psalm 42:1  NIV

“The one who looks steadily at God’s perfect law . . . and makes that law his HABIT  -  not listening and then forgetting, but actively putting it into practice will be happy in all that he does”  James 1:25  Ph

“Bus his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night”  Psalm 1:2  NIV

Why Have A Quiet Time With God?

The Apostle Paul lists some very specific reasons for why we need to have a quiet time in II Timothy 3:16-17.  He says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work”.  you will find all four of these reasons in what follows.

1.  We need nourishment from God’s word to grow.

Just as we need food for our body, we all need God’s word for our soul.  It feeds us spiritually.  No one eats just one meal a week.  Take in God’s word on a daily basis.

“Man cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks”  Matthew 4:4  GN

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good”  1 Peter 2:1-3  NIV

2.  We need to hear from God daily.

Relationships grow through good communication.  God wants to speak to us daily from His word.  He wants to reveal to us His direction and give us His insight for our lives.  God often wants to correct us in our ways.  We will need to come with an obedient heart and be willing to repent and learn what God wants us to change in our lives.

“Very early in the morning, while it was till dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”  Mark 1:35  NIV

“In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation”  Psalm 5:3  NIV

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God,; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground”  Psalm 143:10  NIV

3. We need to draw close to God.

There’s a great worship song that goes, “Jesus draw me close, closer Lord to you, Let the world around me fade away… For I desire to worship and obey.”  Drawing close to God shuts the world out around us.  It allows us to focus on Him and sense His presence in our lives.  We live often by brail in our relationship with God when Jesus wants us to see Him clearly.  We say we love God but our hearts are far from Him because we aren’t drawing close.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you”  James 4:8  NIV

“Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples!”  Isaiah 34:1  NIV

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”  Isaiah 29:14  NIV

4.  We need the Word which is our best defense against sin.

If you were in a battle, you couldn’t defend yourself without a weapon.  God’s word is a sword that defends you from the enemy’s attacks.  When we have the word of God in our hearts, it acts as a shield and a sword against temptations to sin.

“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm… in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one … and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Ephesians 6:13-17  NASB-U

“How can a young man keep his way pure?  By keeping it according to Your word.  With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.  Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You”  Psalm  119:9-11  NASB-U

5.  We need to be corrected when we sin.

Even though it is not easy to hear correction, we know it is always to benefit.  How can we change and grow without it?  God wants to bring correction in our lives when we win.  Are we willing to hear it and confess it before Him?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”  Psalm 139:23-24  NIV

“Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong”  Job 6:24  NIV

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said “I will confess my transgression to the LORD” — and you forgave the guilt of my sin”  Psalm 32:5  NIV

6.  We need encouragement and comfort.

No one can make it through the hard times without some encouragement and comfort.  We need to know that God cares for us in the midst of trials.  We go to His word to hear from Him and learn how He cares for us.

“My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, “When will you comfort me?””  Psalm 119:82  NIV

“You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed”  Psalm 10:17-18  NIV

What Is Involved In A Quiet Time?

There are three elements of an effective quiet time:  bible reading, prayer and journaling.

BIBLE READING

Spend at least 10-15 minutes each day reading your Bible.  Choose a Bible that you find easy and enjoyable to read (see “A word about Bible Versions”)  Come up with a system of reading that works for you.  Below are some different ideas:

1. Choose a book of the Bible and read one chapter every day.
2. Start at the beginning of the Bible and read one chapter in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament every day; you could optionally include one Psalm and one Proverb.
3. Pick favorite passages or select from the “Suggested Quiet Time Passages” and read one a day.
4. Purchase a Bible that is designed for daily quiet times (i.e. The One-Year Bible, Women’s Devotional Bible, the NIV Application Study Bible, and many more).
5. You might want to include a biblically based devotional during this time — such as “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers, “Morning and Evening” by Charles Spurgeon, “Grace for the Moment” by Mac Lucado, “Moments with the Savior” by Ken Gire, “Boundless Love” by Woman of Faith Ministries, and many more.
6. Choose a topic of the Bible and read various passages that relate to that topic.  You might choose Christlikeness, love, joy, patience, compassion, obedience, prayer, God’s word, or any other topic.  You can find the verses in a Naves Topical Bible.  Also look up a word like growth (spiritual) in a Bible Dictionary and read all the verses they list.
7. Go to one of the websites listed and use the online resources to find subjects and topics to study.

Whatever you choose, make sure to always be reading God’s word.  There is no substitute for the Bible.  You can’t read the newspaper and come away blessed by God.  While you are reading, be open to how the Lord would speak to you.  Be careful not to turn your daily quiet time into only Bible study.  Remember, this is an appointment with the Savior.  He wants to meet with you and relate with you.  This is a personal time of relationship building with Jesus.  Let the word speak to you as you read and reflect.

PRAYER TIME

Begin and end your daily time with prayer.  At the beginning of your time, pray for God to open your mind and heart to what He has to say (Psalm 119:18) and that you will discover new insights from His word.  Pray for protection from distractions and attacks from Satan.  At the conclusion of your time with Him, pray that what you have learned will sink deep into your heart today.

After you have spent some time opening your heart to God’s word, close your time with prayer.  Here are some suggestions of things you might want to pray about (see also “Elements of Prayer”):

1. Things you saw in the passages you read
2. How you are feeling
3. The events of the day
4. Praising God for who He is (This is very important — Psalms offers many examples of prayer about who God is.  See Psalm 145)
5. Thanking Him for things you’ve seen Him do
6. Confessing things that are amiss in your life (Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart”)
7. Needs and desires for yourself and others, including your Bible study group
8. Silent time to just listen to God

Prayer is vital to deepening our intimacy with God.  Don’t overlook this important part of your daily time!

JOURNALING AND BIBLE NOTE-TAKING

Journaling is simply writing your thoughts and reflections about your life and relationship with the Lord in a notebook.  Spend some time writing your thoughts as you spend time with God in His word and prayer.  It can be as simple as writing what’s on your heart.  You can write about what God is teaching you in your Bible reading time.  You can also write about how you are feeling and struggling with.  Develop the habit of writing .  This habit reinforces what God is trying to tell you in your mind and heart.  I believe it is part of a good quiet time because it is a way for you to remember what God is revealing to you during that time.  Look back and see what God is telling you.  Have you forgotten and need to be reminded?  Do you see any patterns or consistent themes?

As you develop and build this time each day, consider writing down notes and thoughts from your time in a journal.  What did you learn?  How are you feeling about what you are learning?  What is God saying to you?  Here are some suggestions of things you can write about:

1. What you have just read in the Bible.  Write down your insights and impressions from the Word.  Write down a verse or verses that were especially meaningful to you as you read.
2. Any thoughts or impressions that God gave you as you were spending time with Him
3. Frustrations, fears, experiences, and events that have happened in your life that are especially significant to you.
4. Prayer requests and desires of your heart.

Great Tips For A Meaningful Quiet Time

1. Set a consistent time each day to spend with Jesus.  Early morning or evening, children’s nap times, and lunch hours are typical times.  If your quiet time is scheduled, you are much more likely to keep it.
2. Get free from distractions (such as, other family members, telephone, TV, email, etc).  Try to eliminate all sounds such as music that might keep you from hearing from God.
3. Recognize that you were created to be in relationship with God and He desires to spend time with you
4. If you miss a quiet time, don’t beat yourself up over it.  Realize that you got distracted or chose not to have that time that day.  Just start again.  The longer you wait to start again, the harder it becomes to make it a regular habit.
5. If you quiet time is dry or difficult, try something new.  You might change the Bible version, change your location, listen to the Bible on tape, or change your routine of reading and praying.  Don’t fall into the trap of a routine that becomes rote.  God wants to spend time with you.  Take a walk or find a new spot to sit.

How Do I Actually Have A Quiet Time?

Using all the elements we have just described above, here is a formula for a great quiet time:

1. Pick a quiet place to meet the Lord that will work for you.
2. Have your Bible, notebook and pen with you.
3. Start with prayer by asking Him to:
   1. Meet with you
   2. Set aside distractions
   3. Reveal to you His word for today
   4. Bring comfort and clarification for your life
4. Read the passage of scripture you have selected for today.
5. Write down some of your observations from your Bible reading by answering the following two questions:
   1. what does the passage say generally (What is it teaching me)?
   2. what does the passage say to me personally (What should I do specifically)?
6. Write in your journal any other insights, thoughts, fears, concerns, praises, or feelings you have from your time with Him.

“Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and the fingertips”

7.  Respond to God in prayer in the following ways:

respond with praise and thanksgiving — “I praise you God for ….”
respond in repentance and confession — “I confess my sin of ….”
respond by asking for guidance –  “Lord, lead me today by ….”
respond with obedience –  “I will obey you in ….”Click here to download the quiet time page.  You can copy this page and make a notebook out of them or transfer these statements and questions to your personal journal or Bible study notebook. Article from www.riversouthbay.org

John Piper – I hate the devil and the way he is killing some of you

John PiperVerified‏@JohnPiper

I wrote this, and I need to read it as much as anybody. On your knees, Piper!https://bitly.com/Uu4PRX

— John Piper (@JohnPiper) November 10, 2012 (via twitter)

John Piper via http://www.theGospelCoalition.org:

But the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

The Duty of Prayer

And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? Do I go to pray with many of you on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., and Wednesday at 5:45 p.m., and Friday at 6:30 a.m., and Saturday at 4:45 p.m., and Sunday at 8:15 a.m. out of duty? Is it a discipline?

You can call it that. It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater. It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers. It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns. It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food. It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water. It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid. It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin. It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey. It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

Means of Grace: Gift of God

I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there are spiritual means of grace.

Related articles

• John Piper – God’s passion for His glory
• John Piper – Putting Sanctification in Its Place – Part 1 of 2 from the Desiring God Conference September 28, 2012
• Free ebook – Preparing for Marriage from Desiring God
• Desiring God National Conference – Act the Miracle Panel on Sanctification (Video)

International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the Persecuted November 11, 2012

1 Corinthians 12:26

If one part (of the body of Christ) suffers, every part suffers with it;

if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Hebrews 13:3  

Remember those who are imprisoned,

as if you are imprisoned with them. Call those to mind who are afflicted,

as if you are the people who wear their bodies.

via The Voice of the Martyrs’ Persecution Blog:

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church 2012

by Stacy L. Harp

It’s hard to believe that it’s that time of year again, but it is.  We’re two months out from observing the 2012 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, which will take place this year on November 11th.

As a way to help you get ready for the event, we have created a special webpage that has details about this years IDOP.

Please visit www.persecution.com/idop in order to get your order in early for our IDOP resource kit.  The cost of our kit is only $9 and it includes everything you need to help put on an event in your church, home or school.

also visit Open Doors website – http://www.onewiththem.com/resources-for-the-international-day-of-prayer/ for free resources, including church bulletin inserts and read some amazing stories of the faith and courage of 25 men and women (and their families) who are in the midst of persecution right now across the world- http://www.onewiththem.com/stories/

One With Them

Published on Jul 31, 2012 by OpenDoorsUSA

For those who share our faith but not our freedom.

Nearly 70% of the world’s population live in areas of severe religious restriction. Many of these people are Christians.

One With Them™ is an Open Doors initiative designed to bring awareness to the reality of Christian persecution to the Western Church. Through One With Them we seek to inspire Christians in the United States to stand as ONE with those who share our faith in Christ, but who don’t share our religious freedom.

Learn more here http://www.onewiththem.com/

from The Barnabas Fund

When we read of the suffering which our brothers and sisters in Christ endure for the sake of His Name, our hearts are moved and we long to bring them before the throne of grace. But sometimes it is difficult to know exactly how to pray, especially if we have never experienced such injustice or persecution ourselves. The Bible tells us that the Church will be persecuted. So if the Lord will continue to allow persecution, what exactly should we ask Him for when we pray about these situations? We hope that the ten points below will be helpful suggestions, under the guidance and prompting of the Holy Spirit.

1. God that He is all-knowing that in Christ He himself experienced shame, pain and agonising death, as well as the glorious resurrection. Thank Him for His promise: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Josh 1:5).
2. Pray that all governments will work for justice and righteousness. While Jesus says that in this world we will have trouble, (John 16.33) He does not say that it will always be present in every place.
3. Pray that leaders of liberal democracies will use their influence to find ways to reduce, if not end, persecution in countries where it occurs. Just as Paul appealed to Caesar to seek justice (Acts 25), so Christians can appeal to secular governments.
4. Pray for the growth of the Church where persecution flourishes, remembering that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
5. Pray for strength and courage for those undergoing persecution, and for peace that only God can bring. Thank Him that His grace is sufficient for their needs (2 Cor 12:9). Pray that their faith will not fail, but that their suffering will draw them closer to Him and increase their faith.
6. Pray that the Holy Spirit will enable persecuted Christians to forgive and love their persecutors (Matt 5:44) and that their Christ-like reactions will have an impact on their persecutors.
7. Pray that the Lord will be at work in the hearts of those who currently persecute our sisters and brothers to bring them to a saving knowledge of Himself, as He did with Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9).
8. Thank the Lord for the privilege of entering into the sufferings of our sisters and brothers, remembering that “if one part [of the body] suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor 12:26).
9. Pray that Christians who are experiencing persecution will not lose the ability to accept or trust genuine approaches from those who have formerly persecuted them, as when the believers in Jerusalem had to learn to accept the reality of Saul’s conversion (Acts 9). Pray that the Lord will give discernment, and relief from unnecessary fears.
10. Pray for yourself and for persecuted Christians to be spiritually ready for whatever tomorrow brings, be that persecution, respite from suffering or Christ’s return (Matt 24.42).

Related articles

• Global Persecution Watch – in English and Romanian A new blog section here which will update the prayer needs of our persecuted brothers and sisters.
• Persecution watch in Nigeria – it is estimated between 300 – 1,000 already martyred in 2011
• North Korea’s Hidden Gulag – Google earth satellite imagery proves the internment camps exist and imprison tens of thousands of Christians
• An estimated 40,000 to 70,000 Christians housed in internment camps in North Korea
• The persecuted church – 200 million Christians living with persecution
• A letter from Iran
• Tales of persecution – Ethiopia
• 70,000 Christians ‘locked in concentration camps’ (wnd.com)

The Story of George Muller

via Istorieevanghelica.ro

200 years ago, street kids in England were treated like vermin. With no parents or relatives to look after them, orphans were forced to survive by begging or stealing. They had no one to look to, they lived and they died in the gutter. But help was on its way from someone the Bristol newspaper would later proclaim ‘had robbed the cruel streets of thousands of victims’. However, his start in life was not as the righteous young man his father intended him to be-

from Wikipedia:

George Müller (German – born as : Johann Georg Ferdinand Müller) (27 September 1805 – 10 March 1898), a Christian evangelist and Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. He was well known for providing an education to the children under his care, to the point where he was accused of raising the poor above their natural station in life. He also established 117 schools which offered Christian education to over 120,000 children, many of them being orphans.

Müller was born in Kroppenstaedt (now Kroppenstedt), a village near Halberstadt in the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1810, the Müller family moved to nearby Heimersleben, where Müller’s father was appointed a collector of taxes. He had an older brother, Friedrich Johann Wilhelm (1803 – 7 Oct 1838) and, after his widowed father remarried, a half-brother, Franz (b 1822).

His early life was not marked by righteousness – on the contrary, he was a thief, a liar and a gambler. By the age of 10, Müller was stealing government money from his father. While his mother was dying, he, at 14 years of age, was playing cards with friends and drinking.

Müller’s father hoped to provide him with a religious education that would allow him to take a lucrative position as a clergyman in the state church. He studied divinity in the University of Halle, and there met a fellow student (Beta) who invited him to a Christian prayer meeting. There he was welcomed, and he began regularly reading the Bible and discussing Christianity with the others who attended the meetings. After seeing a man praying to God on his knees, he was convinced of his need for salvation. As soon as he got home he went to his bed where he knelt and prayed. He asked God to help him in his life and to bless him wherever he went and to forgive him of his sins. He immediately stopped drinking, stealing and lying, and began hoping to become a missionary. He began preaching regularly in nearby churches and continued meeting with the other churches.

Orphanages

The work of Müller and his wife with orphans began in 1836 with the preparation of their own home at 6 Wilson Street, Bristol for the accommodation of thirty girls. Soon after, three more houses in Wilson Street were furnished, growing the total of children cared for to 130. In 1845, as growth continued, Müller decided that a separate building designed to house 300 children was necessary, and in 1849, at Ashley Down, Bristol, that home opened. The architect commissioned to draw up the plans asked if he might do so gratuitously. By 26 May 1870, 1,722 children were being accommodated in five homes, although there was room for 2,050 (No 1 House – 300, No 2 House – 400, Nos 3, 4 and 5 – 450 each). By the following year, there were 280 orphans in No 1 House, 356 in No 2, 450 in Nos 3 and 4, and 309 in No 5 House.

Through all this, Müller never made requests for financial support, nor did he go into debt, even though the five homes cost over £100,000 to build. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God. For example, on one well-documented occasion, they gave thanks for breakfast when all the children were sitting at the table, even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone, and the milkman gave them plenty of fresh milk because his cart broke down in front of the orphanage.

Every morning after breakfast there was a time of Bible reading and prayer, and every child was given a Bible upon leaving the orphanage, together with a tin trunk containing two changes of clothing. The children were dressed well and educated – Müller even employed a schools inspector to maintain high standards. In fact, many claimed that nearby factories and mines were unable to obtain enough workers because of his efforts in securing apprenticeships, professional training, and domestic service positions for the children old enough to leave the orphanage.

photo source and caption - http://www.about-bristol.co.uk

It is ironic that these massive buildings that dominate the ridge at Ashley Down were known for generations as the Muller Homes. Their founder, German immigrant George Muller, was insistent on the title ‘The New Orphan House’ as he did not want his name to be prominent, for he considered himself merely an instrument in the venture.

Evangelism

On 26 March 1875, at the age of 70 and after the death of his first wife in 1870 and his marriage to Susannah Grace Sanger in 1871, Müller and Susannah began a 17 year period of missionary travel. Müller always expected to pay for their fares and accommodation from the unsolicited gifts given for his own use. However, if someone offered to pay his hotel bill en-route, Müller recorded this amount in his accounts.

He travelled over 200,000 miles, an incredible achievement for pre-aviation times. His language abilities allowed him to preach in English, French, and German, and his sermons were translated into the host languages when he was unable to use English, French or German. In 1892, he returned to England, where he died on 10 March 1898 in New Orphan House No 3.

A life of prayer

Müller prayed about everything and expected each prayer to be answered. One example was when one of the orphan house’s boiler stopped working; Müller needed to have it fixed. Now this was a problem, because the boiler was bricked up and the weather was worsening with each day. So he prayed for two things; firstly that the workers he had hired would have a mind to work throughout the night, and secondly that the weather would let up. On the Tuesday before the work was due to commence, a bitter north wind still blew but in the morning, before the workmen arrived, a southerly wind began to blow and it was so mild that no fires were needed to heat the buildings. That evening, the foreman of the contracted company attended the site to see how he might speed things along, and instructed the men to report back first thing in the morning to make an early resumption of work. The team leader stated that they would prefer to work through the night. The job was done in 30 hours.

In 1862, it was discovered that one of the drains was blocked. Being some 11 feet underground, workmen were unable to find the blockage despite several attempts. Müller prayed about the situation and the workman at once found the site of the problem.

Strong gales in Bristol on Saturday 14 January 1865 caused considerable damage in the area and over twenty holes were opened in the roofs. Around 20 windows were also broken and two frames damaged by falling slates. The glazier and slater normally employed had already committed their staff to other work so nothing could be done until the Monday. Had the winds continued, with heavy rain, the damage to the orphanage would have been much greater. After much prayer, the wind stopped in the afternoon and no rain fell until Wednesday, by which time most of the damage had been repaired.

Once, whilst crossing the Atlantic on the SS Sardinian in August 1877, his ship ran into thick fog. He explained to the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by the following afternoon, but Captain Joseph E Dutton (later known as “Holy Joe”) said that he was slowing the ship down for safety and Müller’s appointment would have to be missed. Müller asked to use the chartroom to pray for the lifting of the fog. The captain followed him down, claiming it would be a waste of time. After Müller prayed, the captain started to pray, but Müller stopped him; partly because of the captain’s unbelief, but mainly because he believed the prayer had already been answered. When the two men went back to the bridge, they found the fog had lifted. The captain became a Christian shortly afterwards.

Müller’s faith in God strengthened day by day and he spent hours in daily prayer and Bible reading. – indeed, it was his practice, in later years, to read through the entire Bible four times a year.

Theology

The theology that guided George Müller’s work is not widely known, but was shaped by an experience in his mid twenties when he “came to prize the Bible alone as [his] standard of judgement”.

He records in his Narratives that “That the word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual things; that it can be explained only by the Holy Spirit; and that in our day, as well as in former times, he is the teacher of his people. The office of the Holy Spirit I had not experimentally understood before that time. Indeed, of the office of each of the blessed persons, in what is commonly called the Trinity, I had no experimental apprehension. I had not before seen from the Scriptures that the Father chose us before the foundation of the world; that in him that wonderful plan of our redemption originated, and that he also appointed all the means by which it was to be brought about. Further, that the Son, to save us, had fulfilled the law, to satisfy its demands, and with it also the holiness of God; that he had borne the punishment due to our sins, and had thus satisfied the justice of God. And, further, that the Holy Spirit alone can teach us about our state by nature, show us the need of a Saviour, enable us to believe in Christ, explain to us the Scriptures, help us in preaching, etc. It was my beginning to understand this latter point in particular which had a great effect on me; for the Lord enabled me to put it to the test of experience, by laying aside commentaries, and almost every other book, and simply reading the word of God and studying it. The result of this was, that the first evening that I shut myself into my room, to give myself to prayer and meditation over the Scriptures, I learned more in a few hours than I had done during a period of several months previously. But the particular difference was, that I received real strength for my soul in doing so. I now began to try by the test of the Scriptures the things which I had learned and seen, and found that only those principles which stood the test were really of value.

William Henry Harding said, ‘The world, dull of understanding, has even yet not really grasped the mighty principle upon which he [Müller] acted, but is inclined to think of him merely as a nice old gentleman who loved children, a sort of glorified guardian of the poor, who with the passing of the years may safely be spoken of, in the language of newspaper headlines, as a “prophet of philanthropy.” To describe him thus, however, is to degrade his memory, is to miss the high spiritual aim and the wonderful spiritual lesson of his life. It is because the carnal mind is incapable of apprehending spiritual truth that the world regards the orphan Houses only with the languid interest of mere humanitarianism, and remains oblivious of their extraordinary witness to the faithfulness of God.

• Works by George Müller at Project Gutenberg
• The George Müller Charitable Trust
• Mueller Resources at Christian Biography Resources
• George Mueller’s Strategy for Showing God (lecture by John Piper on 3 Feb. 2004)
• Bristol Suburbs Photo Album – including pictures from the Orphanage at Ashley Downs
• The Church under attack : George Müller & Bethesda Chapel, Bristol
•  Texts on Wikisource:
  • “Müller, George“. The American Cyclopædia. 1879.
  • Thomas Boston Johnstone (1901). “Müller, George“. Dictionary of National Biography (supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  • “Müller, Georg Friedrich“. New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
  • “Müller, George“. The Nuttall Encyclopædia. 1907.
  • “Müller, George“. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
  • “Müller, Georg Friedrich“. Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
• http://www.georgemuller.blogspot.com/ George Muller – A Man Who Simply Trusted God

Related articles

• George Muller – biography (documentar TV) (istorieevanghelica.ro)

Paul Washer – Prayer as Communion (Song of Solomon) – Cântarea Cântărilor (subtitrare in Limba Romana)

Cântarea Cântărilor, un mesaj necesar creştinilor pentru a avea părtăşie şi a experimenta dragostea lui Hristos. Subtitrare in Limba Romana.

English Title: Prayer as Communion (Song of Solomon)

 

PAGINA Predici Paul Washer aici