God is witness

1Th 2:5  For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
1Th 2:6  Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

Flattering words.
Cloke of covetousness.

Flattery is pretty lying. Flattery is putting fancy clothes on a skeleton. Flattery serves NO purpose other than to create an atmosphere of untruths. The liar knows they are lying, the one being lied to may be deceived or allowing the lies because in all their horrid untruth they bring some strange comfort. We've all used flattery even if unintentional, and we've all been victims of a flatterer. The truth distorted becomes a lie and a lie is evil no matter how gorgeous that lie is, no matter how soothing that lie is, no matter how amazing that lie is. We call evil good and good evil.

Isa 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Flattery is evil and not using flattery is a good thing. If we use flattery then we are using lies.  People will say the end justifies the means, but that is us calling evil good, we've made an art of doing so. We can do it all we want, we can lie and call our lies truths but that will NEVER make them truths, never. Pretty lies are pretty evils and the most gorgeous of unrepented, unforgiven evils will still deserve death.

A cloke of covetousness.

A garment of intense desire to have what another haves to the point of letting it consume your life. Letting the desire for an object to be your god in place of GOD. Letting that THING be your all in all. The apostles did NOT use a covering of idolatry in their work. They did NOT let ANYTHING other than the desire to do God's will, overcome them. They kept God FIRST in all they did and GOD was their witness.

God is OUR witness too.

God witnesses our lives in all its aspects, nothing is hid from Him.

If we seek glory from others, He knows.

God knows us and we can pretend He doesn't even exist and live accordingly if that's what we desire, but the truth is the truth. God knows our hearts, God tries our hearts.

All we can do is pray for the righteousness of Christ to cover all our unrighteousness.

Maybe we can't say that we aren't prone to using flattery, or being caught up in covetousness, but we have to be able to say that we are sinners and in need of a Savior, a Redeemer,  someone to forgive us and create a cleanness in us that we cannot create ourselves.

We need to listen to the Gospel and we need to share the Gospel all as our LORD directs us knowing God is our witness.

God's love tries our hearts all through LOVE.

We hear about tough love as if it's something new but it's as old as time. Love allows trials and tribulations all geared to created a person that is more dependent upon God than anything else. Love allows these upsets and horrors with the ultimate desire for faith to be realize in its fullness.

As our worlds come down around our heads and we lose everything we are tempted to hold dear, we have to holdfast to the one thing that means everything, God. We can't pretend to even begin to comprehend all the whys and the wherefores, we have to believe our God is in control even if it means our death.

By the grace of God may we NOT use flattery, or consent to being flattered. By the grace of God may we NOT use a cloak of covetousness in our lives. 

May we live through HIS strength and not our own, trusting in HIM for all things!

All by HIS grace and mercy, through HIS LOVE!

Allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel

1Th 2:3  For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
1Th 2:4  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

When we speak of God do we concern ourselves with whether or not we are saying things that are pleasing to our listeners?  Is it our intention to be pleasing to them? Is our objective to be men pleasers?  Seriously, is this our desire, to be pleasing to others? How many of us strive to please others?  Not the pleasing that comes from loving someone, but the pleasing that makes us feel good about ourselves, is this the sort of pleasing we are into? Doing good to look good to others, so they think we are good, is this the sort of life we lead?  When we get all caught up in trying to please OURSELVES through the accolades of others we've lost sight of the ONLY one we are to truly please.  We KNOW that we cannot do anything falsely to please God. While our fellow man might not be able to see through our selfish desire to gain their good graces, God sees through any and all subterfuge we dare to attempt towards Him. 

We must LIVE not to PLEASE our fellowman, but to PLEASE GOD, to do what is pleasing in His sight with the CLEAN heart that ONLY HE can give to us.

The apostles here is talking about witnessing to other of the gospel of Peace, of salvation found in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. When they speak they used NOT deceit! When they speak they use NO unclean, sinful lying words. When they speak they used NOT guile, no untruth crossed their lips.

God ENTRUSTED them with the gospel, with HIS TRUTH and that is the ONLY TRUTH They speak.  They didn't care if the men listening liked what they were saying. They didn't try to sugar-coat their message in order to make those listening happy.  They didn't go to the gentiles and start making up stories filled with pagan deities in order to garner their attention. They did NOT do a single thing to compromise the TRUTH of God! Those listeners might have wanted to hear how they could find eternal life through their own favored gods; they may have wanted to hear that they just had to work hard and be good to be saved.  Many people want to hear pleasing things, we call it natural and it is to our flesh nature. To hear that none of their former gods could save them eternally; to hear that they can't possibly work to save themselves wouldn't be pleasing but the apostles didn't care because the truth given to them by God demanded that they adhere to the truth and only then could they please God. Lies DO NOT please God. When we speak to please men rather than God we can succeed, but not eternally.

Does this mean God wants us to be bullies? Does this mean God wants us to force feed people His word? Does this mean we have to be nasty in any way in order to get our Savior's truth across? No. Can you imagine Jesus acting that way? Seriously, can you?  Don't say, 'Well, I'm not Jesus.', because even though that is true, we are to follow HIS EXAMPLE! Speak the truth! Speak it plainly! If people do NOT want to hear the truth then you keep on going, you keep on preaching to others. If NONE want to hear it, you just keep on living your life as our Savior would want you to live it- IN LOVE- NEVER in constant anger, constant malice, constant upset, constant bickering, constant animosity.  Our ACTIONS truly can speak louder than ANY words we might feel we have to speak. 

1Th 2:3  For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
1Th 2:4  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

We are allowed of God - to be put in TRUST with the gospel.

Amazing, so incredibly amazing! We are entrusted with something so wondrous! Please God help us to spread YOUR word as YOU would have us, not as we would have it. PLEASE LORD, please let us speak YOUR GOSPEL, YOUR TRUTH that YOU have trusted us with!

HELP US to PLEASE YOU, not people! 

YOU FATHER GOD, YOU try our HEARTS, try them o' LORD, try them, purify them with YOUR LOVE.

More tomorrow all by the GRACE of GOD!

IN HIS LOVE!

The law written in their hearts

Rom 2:1  Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

How easy it is for us to judge others and then turn around and do the same things we just judged. How often do you hear of judges and ministers soliciting prostitutes and then turning around and condemning them from their benches and pulpits? The people against gambling, turning around and saying oh this harmless pastime isn't gambling- and they pay for their bingo cards, they turn over their dollar bills for paper cards with numbers on them hoping to win a big cash pay out.  People accuse others of lying, cheating, stealing and so much more while turning around and doing it themselves all the time. 

We truly are inexcusable when we dare to judge others. We truly do condemn OURSELVES because when we judge others and pretend we are somehow better because maybe our wrongs aren't quite so visible but sins hidden in the heart, sins hidden so that others can't see them but GOD sees them all.

Rom 2:2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

God's judgment is always true, we cannot hide from God.

Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

People do think this! They really , really do. How many people honestly believe they are going to face the judgment of God? If they really thought this would they live the way they do?

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

How many people despise the riches of God's goodness, of God's forbearance, of God's longsuffering? People despise these not understanding that God's goodnesses found in these things can LEAD them to REPENTANCE!

We want to be led to repentance, don't we? We want to feel the weight of our sin, the wrongness of our iniquities. It's only when we truly comprehend the evil in our wrongdoing that can seek God's forgiveness, that we can repent- admit to our wrongs, our sins and desire to turn away from them. God's FORBEARANCE, God's LONGSUFFERING, God's GOODNESS all this will LEAD us to REPENT.  We need to comprehend the depths of God's love for us through His forbearance and longsuffering, through His goodness. When we truly realize the love of God only then can we find that place of repentance. Please LORD help us to seek your goodness, please.

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

If we fail to repent, if we fail to comprehend the judgment that is true, that we all face, then we are LOST. Every man will have to account for their actions. You might think that actions don't matter because we don't save ourselves through our actions, but our actions are a result of our lives. Like it or not, there will be an accounting and we can't ignore that. We can't label a single sin as being harmless, or too small to confess.  The tiniest of known, un-confessed sin, is enough to separate of us from our Savior. We must seek forgiveness, we must repent.

Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

Seek for glory- NOT self exaltation, NOT money, NOT self glory, NOT self honor, NOT immortality. We HAVE to PATIENTLY seek eternal life, and none of those other things!  Some might argue that seeking immortality is seeking eternal life, but if we are seeking self immortality- the means of living forever through our own ways, we will NEVER find it. We have to seek eternal life through our SAVIOR and ONLY through our SAVIOR.

Rom 2:8  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Rom 2:9  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11  For there is no respect of persons with God.

Rom 2:12  For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
Rom 2:13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

WHEN the Gentiles which have NOT the LAW do by NATURE the things CONTAINED in the LAW- these having NOT the law, ARE a LAW UNTO THEMSELVES, which show the WORK of the LAW WRITTEN in their HEARTS, their CONSCIENCE also bearing witness, and their THOUGHTS the mean while accusing or else excusing one another!

The LAW can be written on our hearts, it SHOULD be written on our hearts.

2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

Job 22:22  Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

Psa 37:31  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Psa 40:8  I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

Pro 3:1  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments

Isa 51:7  Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

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Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;
Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

The secrets of men will be judged- this is undeniable.

And those who think they are right with God through their actions but do not have God's law in their hearts will not be judged righteous. So many neglect the law written in their hearts, so many do not let their conscience bear witness, way too many think things that amount to accusing others unjustly, or excusing wrong doing.

Please LORD, please LET YOUR LAW BE WRITTEN ON OUR HEARTS!

THROUGH YOUR GRACE judge us through YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, not ours. BLESS US LORD! BLESS US PLEASE! SAVE US!

Turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

1Th 1:9  For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
1Th 1:10  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

You turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

Idols.

I don't know personally anyone who has set up a shrine to a stone deity representing a false god, who worships at that altar.  I KNOW they exist throughout the world, but I just don't know anyone that actually worships a 'sun god' for example.  I know they exist and exist in great numbers but my personal interaction with them is non-existent.

What is turning to God from idols?

What were the disciples dealing with?

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

Act 17:22  Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
Act 17:23  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Act 17:24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25  Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Act 17:26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Act 17:28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Act 17:29  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
Act 17:30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act 17:31  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Act 17:32  And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
Act 17:33  So Paul departed from among them.
Act 17:34  Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

'...the Romans referred to the rocky hill as "Mars Hill", after Mars, the Roman God of War.

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The Romans are known for the great number of deities they honored, a capacity that earned the mockery of early Christian polemicists. The presence of Greeks on the Italian peninsula from the beginning of the historical period influenced Roman culture, introducing some religious practices that became as fundamental as the cult of Apollo. The Romans looked for common ground between their major gods and those of the Greeks, adapting Greek myths and iconography for Latin literature and Roman art. Etruscan religion was also a major influence, particularly on the practice of augury, since Rome had once been ruled by Etruscan kings.

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Turning from idols- from worshiping false gods of which there were many.  Their religion of worshiping idols was a very serious one, not laughable as it is to us today in our so called enlightened world.  The mere concept of people worshipping Mars, Jupiter, Apollo, Zeus, Poseidon, etc. seems almost ludicrous. We know people did it and were very serious about it, that it was very real to them, but to us it seems strange and archaic. If I told someone I was worshipping the god Jupiter, they'd give me strange looks and might ask me exactly what that entails. I'd explain that I erected a little shrine to him and that I pray to him and give him gifts and ask for his guidance.  Most likely they'd shrug their shoulders and say - 'To each his own.' Meaning everyone has the right to believe what they want to, and they don't have to agree with them.  My worshipping Jupiter wouldn't affect them, it'd be harmless as far as they were concerned as long as it didn't involve hurting anyone in anyway.  But the TRUTH of the matter is all worship of false gods is harmful- eternally harmful.

We live in such a time as virtually 'anything' goes. Do as you please as long as it stays within the letter of the law- and maybe even sometimes we'll overturn or change a law to accommodate new beliefs if there is a majority consent.  We call this intelligence. We call this right and good. We call this modernism. We aren't encumbered by such nonsense as our ancestors who were filled with superstitions and crazy customs. In a book written by C.S. Lewis- Mere Christianity- He states something like the following- I'm paraphrasing here. 'Of course the world doesn't hunt witches any more- they don't believe they are real any longer. If they truly believed they were real and had real powers to harm people they'd still be hunting them.'   The truth is they stopped believing in them, they didn't suddenly agree to let witches- real, harmful witches who use curses and spells- to live. Are their witches today? Yes. Do they curse and put spells on people? Yes. Are they effective in what they do? No.  People just don't believe, and why would you possibly be against something you don't believe has any real affect on society? People don't believe religion has any power - real power at all- no matter what the religion is. They believe they are mostly harmless fables silly people continue to believe in though all real tangible evidence says they're fools for doing so.

Even the harmful religions- the jihadists of radical Islamic belief- who believe in killing those who do not adhere to their faith, they are considered silly as well- very dangerous but silly because they are caught up in fables. 

Idol worshipping today exists, it's alive and well, only the biggest, most popular idol people worship right now is …

…themselves.

Have they set up altars to themselves? How many live solely by their own desires? Perhaps working and living under a boss only in order to ultimately serve themselves and fill their lives with their own desires.   Throughout the day what is most often on their minds? Their own plans, right? Their own plans that will serve to make them if not happy, then content. Life revolves around themselves and all that live around them are there to assist in their desires if possible.

To those caught up in their self worship, others who choose not to be caught up in self worship seem to be the strange ones, the fable believers.  But most often the self worshippers will still find a kindred spirit in the fable believers because they see that in spite of the fable believers declarations of other worship they still in actions and a lot of words act like self worshippers.

1Th 1:9  For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
1Th 1:10  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

This REAL faith, this REAL belief, this REAL turning from idols to SERVE the living in and true GOD; this waiting for HIS SON from heaven, whom HE raised from the DEAD, even JESUS, which DELIVERED us from the wrath to come- is a LIVING FAITH.

We are worshipping the eternal life of our God who always was, always is, and always will be. We are not worshipping a created one, but the ultimate Creator of ALL. We are not worshipping an unhearing, unseeing,  non-breathing  God we are pretending has life. We are not worshipping a created being that is in a constant state of deterioration living towards dying.  We are not worshipping one who does not know the end from the beginning. We are not worshipping one who makes empty unrealistic promises based upon our flesh desires. We are not worshipping a selfish God, but a selfless God who truly deserves all praise, all glory, all honor from us- not to feed an oversized ego- but because the truth of His selflessness.

We serve a selfless God, this is the TRUE LIVING GOD. The CREATOR, the REDEEMER, the SELFLESS ONE.

All in HIM ALWAYS!

May we serve HIM ALWAYS, turning from all our idols!

By HIS LOVE! By HIS GRACE! By HIS MERCY!

Gospel- not in word only, also in power

1Th 1:5  For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
1Th 1:6  And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost

Not in word only- but also in power- the GOSPEL.
In the Holy Ghost- the GOSPEL.
In much Assurance- the GOSPEL.

Followers of the LORD.

Receiving the word in MUCH affliction- WITH JOY of the HOLY GHOST.

Not in word only- not just hearing words without meaning. We all know what it's like to listen to words that have no meaning to us- we call that generally being bored by the speaker and letting things go in one ear and out the other.  We call it listening but it having no real impact upon us. We call it every day life as we deal with things that have no real substance. How many conversations have you had in the last week that are memorable to you? How many conversations had an impact on you and your life? When you read the word of God last - did it leave an imprint upon you or were they simply words to be read, understood perhaps, yet lacking real staying … POWER.   We need the gospel in POWER, not just in word.  The HOLY GHOST gives the power to the gospel.  The SPIRIT and the TRUTH.

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Eph 5:9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

2Th 2:13  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

1Jn 5:6  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

The SPIRIT and the TRUTH- hearing the gospel in POWER not just in word.

Luk 4:14  And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

Luk 4:32  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

Luk 24:45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48  And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Act 4:33  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

Act 10:38  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Act 26:15  And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Act 26:17  Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

God's word! God's HOLY WORD! God's TRUTH. GOD'S POWER! May we also preach not just in word but in power- the power of the Holy Spirit.  Help us Lord to understand it is YOUR POWER alone that SAVES. That YOUR TRUTH HAS POWER.

All in YOUR LOVE!

Laboring fervently- in prayers

Col 4:12  Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Labouring fervently for you in prayers-  that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Laboring FERVENTLY in PRAYERS!

Do we really think of praying as something laborious?

Have you prayed laboriously lately?

Have you labored fervently in your prayers? 

Seriously- laboring , when we think of laboring we generally do not think of praying. We think of working, we think of something hard not something easy. Yet when we pray do we consider it something laborious, something agonizing?

G75 labor fervently-

- to contend with adversaries, fight
-to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers
- to endeavour with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something

- to struggle literally (to compete for a prize) figuratively (to contend with an adversary) or generally (to endeavor to accomplish something): - fight labor fervently strive.

Read those words, do they make it sound as if laboring fervently in prayer is something done lightly?

Yet we pray so much, so often and never as if it were hard work.

We are told to pray continuously, to pray always, to pray and watch- maybe we need to rethink things just a little tiny bit.  Maybe prayer isn't simply speaking to God as a friend. Maybe it isn't simple at all. I'm not saying that we have to make praying hard, but I'm saying we need to give it more REAL thought. When we talk of praying for someone maybe we need to ask ourselves if we are praying fervently- laboriously for them or are our prayers lukewarm tokens, mere good hopes and thoughts. 

Good hopes and good thoughts for someone aren't bad things at all, and if that's what a person is inclined towards doing it's not wrong. We aren't all led by the Spirit in the same way. Remember some are called to be teachers, others preachers, other evangelists, we all are called to pray.  But perhaps some are called to be more fervent prayer warriors - so to speak, I don't know, I don't have all the answers of course but we are told to study and in studying we are learning- all by the GRACE of God.

When I read this verse-

Col 4:12  Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

- it just really hit me  - that laboring fervently in prayers- because I'm not sure if I pray that way and maybe I really, really need to. It's not that I don't pray - I do all the time, but to call it 'laboring fervently' well I'm not sure I do that all that often. I know I have but I think I need to do it more.

We are to be praying for others, praying that they may STAND PERFECT and COMPLETE in ALL the WILL of GOD!

All in Christ's righteousness! All in Christ's LOVE! We have to pray this way for each other because we will have to stand perfect and complete all in the will of God- it's the only way we should stand- fully in HIM, always in HIM.

All too often we get busy praying for the various things people desire but isn't the greatest prayer for another truly praying for them to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God?  Seriously. If this life is a temporary life- temporary to eternity- then praying for someone to STAND PERFECT and COMPLETE in ALL the WILL of God- is more important than anything else. What good is it to pray for a person to 'get well' if you are only truly praying for them to get well without concerning yourself with their eternal life? Do you really only want them to get well for this life? No, I'm not saying we shouldn't pray for people to get well but let us also pray for them to be Christ's and all that means.  Let us pray for God's will to be done and we KNOW it's God's will for us to be His in Christ. Above all- HIS WILL is most important and that we live according to HIS will not our own.

Please Lord, please help us to be YOURS fully. Teach us to pray laboring fervently in prayer for others to YOURS, for us to be YOURS fully, always!

Guide us with the HOLY SPIRIT, help us to stand perfect and complete in ALL Your Will!

All in YOU!

All by YOUR LOVE!

Walk in wisdom

Col 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

People say they want to know what God wants of those who love Him and when they are told the excuses begin as to why they just can't do it.

We are to WALK in WISDOM.

What wisdom?  God's wisdom.

1Co 1:24 ... Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

We are NOT to walk in man's wisdom.

1Co 1:17  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
1Co 1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1Co 1:20  Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1Co 1:22  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1Co 1:23  But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24  But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

We are OF HIM. We are IN Christ Jesus- WHO of God IS MADE unto us WISDOM and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and SANCTIFICATION, and REDEMPTION.

Col 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

We are to WALK in CHRIST which is WISDOM towards those who are NOT walking in Christ and this is how we are to redeem our time.  We must LIVE in Christ- visibly.

Col 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6  Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

We must TALK ALWAYS with grace- SEASONED with SALT- that we might KNOW HOW we ought to answer every man.

What does it mean to always talk with grace SEASONED with salt?

What is the purpose of salt as a season? To give something the proper flavor, right? If you have too little salt your meal can be tasteless, or if you add too much it can be awful. You have to add just the right amount of salt to a meal to make things taste good.  Now don’t start that whole salt is bad for you stuff, that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about proper diet without all our modern day abuse of salt in food which has led to so many problems.

When we discuss  talking always with grace- seasoned with salt we mean that we are to talk of our Savior's loving grace appropriately.  What do I mean by appropriately? I mean speaking as the SPIRIT leads us to speak and NOT speaking as we would. Some people believe to spread the gospel, to preach Christ and His amazing salvation that they have to be forceful, they have to speak it even if someone doesn't want to listen. Knowing when to speak is as important as knowing when not to speak. Having our speech seasoned with salt as we talk of Christ will allow us to KNOW how we are to answer every single person we talk with. We aren't to assume that we are to talk to everyone in the exact same way. Every one is an individual and some people can only handle the milk and not the meat, and only the Holy Spirit can show us how we are to talk.

We need to pray-

Col 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6  Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

We need to pray that we can walk in wisdom, speaking with grace always, seasoned with salt so that we might KNOW how to answer every man.

No, not all are called to be teachers, preachers, evangelists, but we are all called to LIVE Christ, to live for Him, in Him, by Him and in doing so our lives touch others and when they touch others they will be able to see Christ in US all through the HOLY SPIRIT!

Please Lord, please give us the words we need to speak, don't let us use our own unseasoned words.

All by YOUR grace! YOUR LOVE!