Gifts

 

All Things...

 Do you believe this-- 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

The good, the bad… all things.

The Bible is filled with truths of men and women who suffered terribly being ultimately used by God for good, for His purposes. 

We don't have to comprehend, in fact to tell ourselves we must comprehend or else not believe - would be damning ourselves to the nothingness of eternal death. To want to comprehend all of God is to commit the very first sin ever committed- that of pride, that of self-adulation.  Do you remember that Satan told Eve she could be like God- be gods themselves? He said, GOD knew that SHE could be a GOD- A LIE, from the father of lies, Satan himself.  

Gen 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 

When we want to know all of God's way, all of God's reasoning, all of God's knowledge, all the whys and wherefores- we are saying we want to be a god rather than a creature of God- this is truth! 

We must accept the our GOD will work everything together for good in ways beyond our comprehension. Us creatures must bow down to our Creator in all ways, at all times. By the grace of God may we do this!

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Excerpt- EJ Waggoner-

"A Prosperous Journey." 

Paul prayed earnestly that he might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to visit Rome. Read the twenty-seventh chapter of Acts, and you will learn just what kind of journey he had. Most people would say that it was not a prosperous journey. Yet we do not hear any complaint from Paul; and who can say that he did not have a prosperous trip? "All things work together for good to them that love God,"  Therefore it must have been prosperous. It is well for us to consider these things.

We are apt to look at matters from a wrong side. When we learn to look at them as God looks at them, we shall find that things that we regard as disastrous are prosperous. How much mourning we might save if we always remembered that God knows much better than we do how our prayers should be answered!

Rejoice

 

People of Prayer.

 Paul a man of prayer, an example to us all. Yesterday we talked of persevering in prayer, the need for us to never stop praying. Will we ever lose our need of God's intercession on our behalf? No. Will we ever lose our need of communicating with God? Will we ever lose our need of God? NEVER. We will never lose our need of God. We were created, we are creatures and we need our Creator. We will NEVER be in a position, nor were we ever created with the idea that we should live completely independent of God. Companionship, never means being alone. Don't get me wrong, right now we are often separated from those we long to be companions with but let me ask you this- when you are separated from them does your heart, your love still belong to the missing one? Yes. The separation does not tear apart your connection. God created us, gave us a planet to inhabit, all the while intending to forever remain a part of our lives- always!  Too often it is portrayed that we were created and left to fend for ourselves, a lie! God hasn't left us, we left Him, and still He remains.  Through prayer we remain forever in touch with our God, forever! The importance of being a man (woman) of prayer cannot be overstated, not ever. 

God help us to forever persevere in prayer. Ready always to communicate with our God.

A Man of Prayer. 

This is what Paul was. He made mention of the Romans in all his prayers. To the Corinthians he wrote, "I thank my God always on your behalf." 1 Cor. 1:4.

To the Colossians, "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you." Col. 1:3. 

Still more emphatically he wrote to the Philippians, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy." Phil. 1:3, 4. 

Again to the Thessalonians, "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith," etc., 1 Thess. 1:2, 3. 

And further, "Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith." 1 Thess. 3:10.

To his beloved son in the faith he wrote, "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day."  2 Tim. 1:3.

Persevering In Prayer.

 Praying without Ceasing.

The apostle exhorted the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing." 1 Thess. 5:17. 

He did not exhort others to do that which he did not do himself, for he told the Romans that without ceasing he made mention of them always in his prayers. It is not to be supposed that the apostle had the brethren at Rome on his mind every waking hour of the day, for in that case he could not have thought of anything else. No man can be consciously in prayer every moment, but all can continue "instant in prayer," or, as Young translates it,  "in the prayer persevering." Rom. 12:12.

This is in harmony with what the Saviour said, that "men ought always to pray, and not to faint," or grow weary.  Luke 18:1. In the parable that follows, the unjust judge complains of the "continual coming" of the poor widow.  That is an illustration of praying without ceasing. It is not that we are to be every moment in conscious prayer,  for then important duties would be neglected, but it is that we should not grow weary of praying.

Humble Yourself.

 1Pe_5:5  …Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 

Job 22:29  When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. 

Isa 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 

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We lift ourselves up constantly. We take assessment of ourselves in a split second and place ourselves upon pedestals provided by Satan, to declare we are offended by one another. 

We get offended by one another all the time. Whether in a word, a deed, a word unsaid, or a deed undone- it doesn't matter- the occasions to take offense are plentiful. On any given day we are set up with opportunities to be offended in a steady stream of interactions with each other.  It does not matter if the one offending us intended for us to take offense, we assume they intended to hurt us with their words- those words we choose to believe were spoken to offer offense. If the person who spoke the offending words didn't intend the reaction of offense, why did they say what they said? Wouldn't it have been better to say nothing offense at all? Ah, but if they didn't intend offense, how could they know their words would be taken as offense? We reason within ourselves that they had to know they were offending us, what other logical reason is there to say what was said? Do they even care that their words are cutting words, words meant to provoke offense? How easy it is to point out the failures of others, and in pointing them out we instantly intend offense, because we know when others point out our failure- we take offense. So the intent is there…constantly there to reveal your shortcomings over and over, and over again. Could it be true the revealer of your constant shortcomings truly doesn't intent harm?  Stop right there. Ask this question… does it matter if harm is intended or not when we are offended? We get offended and once offended, once that cutting offense is made even if the one didn't mean it, shouldn't we be unoffended, just as if they did mean it, yes, I said unoffended.  The ones who abuse us through slighting taunts are to be forgiven, it's that simple. We truly are placing ourselves in a position to be offended when we allow our pride to rise up in us. Without pride, can your pride be offended? We cling to our pridefulness in so many ways, puffing ourselves up day after day, night after night setting ourselves up perfectly to be poked and prodded painfully with each intended or unintended slight. 

Pride- selfish, selfish pride.

The next time you notice yourself being offended, ask yourself how inflated is your pride? Because it will be inflated, you will be puffed up as soon as the offensive hurt feeling begins to course through you. You cannot be offended without pride. Remind yourself of that over and over and over.

Pro 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. 

Pro 16:19  Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. 

Dan 4:37  Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. 

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Ro. 1:7 "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Gal. 5:6 "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing , nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love."

1Th. 1:3 "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father."

Habbakkuk 2:4 "Behold his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith."

*Excerpt

"Called Saints." 

The reader will notice that the words "to be" in Romans 1:7 are indicated as supplied, so that instead of "called to be saints," we may read literally, "called saints." God calls all men to be saints, but all those who accept him he calls saints. That is their title. When God calls people saints, they are saints.

These words were addressed to the church in Rome, and not to the Church of Rome. The Church of Rome has always been apostate and pagan. It has abused the word "saint" until in its calendar it is almost a term of reproach. No greater sin has ever been committed by Rome than the distinction it has made between "saints" and ordinary Christians, making practically two standards of goodness. It has led people to think that laboring men and housewives were not and could not be saints, and has thus discounted true, everyday piety, and has put a premium on pious laziness and self-righteous deeds.

But God has not two standards of piety, and all the faithful people in Rome, poor and unknown as many of them were, he called saints. It is the same to-day with God, although men may reckon differently.

The first seven verses of the first chapter of Romans are the salutation. No uninspired letter ever embraced so much in its greeting as this one. The apostle was so overflowing with the love of God that he could not write a letter without covering almost the whole gospel in the salutation. The next eight verses may well be summarized in the words "debtor to all," for they show the completeness of the apostle's devotedness to others. Let us read them carefully, and not be content with one reading:

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.  9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10 making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let [hindered] hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

A Great Contrast. 

In the days of the apostle Paul the faith of the church in Rome was spoken of throughout all the world.

Faith means obedience; for faith is counted for righteousness, and God never counts a thing so unless it is so. Faith "worketh by love." Gal. 5:6. And this work is a "work of faith." 1 Thess. 1:3. Faith also means humility, as is shown by the words of the prophet, "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." Hab. 2:4.

The upright man is the just man; the man whose soul is lifted up is not upright or just; but the just man is such because of his faith; therefore only the man whose soul is not lifted up has faith. The Roman brethren, therefore, in the days of Paul, were humble.

But it is far different now. An instance is given by the Catholic Times of June 15, 1894. The pope had said, "We gave authority to the bishops of the Syrian rite to meet in synod at Mossul," and had commended the "very faithful submission" of those bishops and had ratified the election of the patriarch by "Our Apostolic authority."  An Anglican paper had expressed surprise, saying, "Is this a free union of equal churches, or is it submission to one supreme and monarchical head?" To which the Catholic Times replies: "It is not a free union of equal churches, but it is submission to one supreme and monarchical head. . . . To our Anglican pleader we say, You are not really surprised. You know well what Rome claims and always will claim, obedience. That claim is now, if it ever was, before the world."

But that claim was not before the world in the days of Paul. In those days it was the church in Rome; now it is the Church of Rome. The church in Rome was famous for its humility, and its obedience to God. The Church of Rome is famous for its haughty assumption of the power of God, and for its demand for obedience to itself.

Let Me Be Among Your Beloved.

 Heal my backsliding, Lord, please. Love me freely!  Please, let me be among your beloved now and always! 

I know this for a fact- You so loved this world You gave Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. If we believe in Him we won't perish, we will have life, everlasting life. This is YOUR promise to us.  John 3:16 a very well-known verse of scripture.  

I  believe in Him, help me to believe! 

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Rom_1:7  To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Excerpt- E.J. Waggoner)

"Beloved of God." 

That was a most comforting assurance that was given "to all that are in Rome." How many people have wished that they could hear an angel direct from glory say to them what Gabriel said to Daniel,  "Thou art greatly beloved"! 

The apostle Paul wrote by direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and so the message of love came as directly from heaven to the Romans as it did to Daniel. The Lord did not single out a few favorites by name, but declared that all in Rome were beloved of God.

Well, there is no respect of persons with God, and that message of love to the Romans is ours as well. 

They were "beloved of God" simply because "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. 

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me,  saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." Jer.  31:3. 

And this everlasting love to men is not shaken, although they forget it; for to those who have turned away,  and fallen by their iniquity, he says, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely." Hosea 14:43.

 "If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful; He can not deny Himself."

(Ro. 1:7,Dan. 9:23, Ro. 2:11, John 3:16, Jer. 31:3, Hosea 14:4, 2 Tim. 2:13)