Sabbath Sanctuary God Was In Christ: An Advent Reading Of Luke 6

Day 6 Luke Chapter 6

“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God” (v. 12 NASB).

There are so many wonderful things in Luke’s sixth chapter on which to write: the beatitudes, healing a leper on the sabbath, and foundations built on the rock. This theme of prayer, however, arrests me once again. Two chapters in succession make the effort to note Jesus’ prayer life. Scripture once again exhorts us with Jesus, the Son of God, as our teacher on the importance of prayer. 

Prayer should not be some rote, liturgical recitation; though there is nothing wrong with liturgical prayer, I have found some of the richest prose in prayers of liturgy. Prayer, though, is meant to be so much more. E.M. Bounds’ words on true prayer are enlightening:

“Prayer as a mere habit, a performance, or a routine, is a dead and rotten thing. True praying engages and sets on fire every high element of the Christian’s being. Prayer is born out of vital oneness with Christ in the fullness of the Holy Ghost. It springs from the deep, overflowing fountains of tender compassion and concern for humanity’s eternal good. True prayer is a consuming zeal for the glory of God; it involves a thorough conviction of the difficult and delicate work of the ministry and the imperative need of God’s help. Praying grounded on these solemn and profound convictions is the only true praying. And only ministry backed by such praying sows the seeds of eternal life in human hearts and builds others up for heaven. Ministry today may be popular, pleasant, attractive, intellectual, intriguing, and successful with little or no prayer. But the ministry which accomplishes God’s purposes must be born of prayer from beginning to end.”[1]

Bounds’ words on prayer are indeed eloquent and true, but as many have learned, prayer does not always feel like this. Many times, it is rote and awkward, but we should seek it nonetheless. Prayer is vital in our communication with God, even when it seems just too hard to find the words to speak before the Creator of the universe. 

Jesus spent the whole night in prayer. The Scripture says that at daybreak, He chose His twelve disciples. The decision was not made lightly; it was made in all-night prayer. Though He spent that night cloaked in prayer, one of the disciples He chose became a traitor. This illustrates that even betrayers may be allowed in your life to sharpen you, to drive you to your knees—or to a cross.

While on earth, He prayed all night; now He prays eternally in heaven on your behalf:

“In the days of His humanity, He offered up both prayers and pleas with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His devout behavior” {Heb. 5:7 NASB}.

“Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” {Heb. 7:25 NASB}.

In the Tabernacle and the Temple, the Altar of Incense is a type for prayer and intercession. When the high priest entered the Holy of Holies, he placed incense on the altar on behalf of the nation. Jesus, our beloved Savior, our blessed High Priest, offers prayers for us to the Father. 

This Advent season may not be a joyful occasion for many. The holidays can be a dark, lonely time for more people than we care to acknowledge. Let this time of rush and busyness and losing our breath in the day-to-day hustle of preparing for the holidays not give precedence to slowing down, taking a breath, and praying so that we, instead, prepare for Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Penelope J. Stokes, ed., E.M. Bounds: Power Through Prayer (Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1989), 40-41.

 

Sabbath Sanctuary God Was In Christ: An Advent Reading Of Luke 5

 Day 5 Luke Chapter 5

“But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:15-16 NASB).

Jesus was busy. He came to serve and help the hurting. People were sick, hurting, and hopeless. The crowds thronged Him. He was going about the Kingdom’s work, doing only what He saw the Father doing.

“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed’” {Jn. 5:19 NASB}.

 The news spread quickly about His ministry, and people came from the surrounding towns and villages to receive their healing. The people were constantly surrounding Him and putting demands on Him. Though there was much work to be done, Scripture notes that Jesus often slipped away from the madness, the crowds, and the busyness to pray. The Incarnate Son of God needed to take a break from all the good He was doing to pray and seek the Father for strength and encouragment.

Let’s remember to stop and pray during this Advent season. We may be doing great things for the Kingdom—leading the choir, practicing for the Christmas play, feeding the hungry, caring for the poor—we must learn to pause in the midst of the busyness of the season to stop and pray. That is the only way we will experience the peace Christ promises. Scripture takes the time to note Jesus’ habit of praying. If He needed to pray in the quiet before the Lord, then so do we. 

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Sabbath Sanctuary: Sabbath Thoughts

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves” {Ps. 127: 1-2 NASB}.

“The point the Psalmist is making is that we should not carry our cares and anxieties to bed with us. Beds were made for sleeping, not for worrying.”[1]

“Of all the thoughts of God that are

Borne inward unto souls afar

Along the Psalmist’s music deep

Now tell me if that any is,

For the gift of grace, surpassing this—
He giveth His beloved sleep.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Those whose spirits are stirred by the breath of the Holy Spirit of God go forwards even in sleep.” Brother Lawrence

 “God is my portion and my joy,

His counsels are my light;

He gives me sweet advice by day

And gentle hints by night.” Issac Watts

“O Lord, we have a busy world around us. Eye, ear, and thought will be needed for all our work to be done in the world. Now ere we again enter into it, we would commit eye, ear, and thought to Thee. Do Thou bless them and keep their work Thine, that as through Thy natural laws our hearts beat and our blood flows without any thought of ours for them so our spiritual life may hold on its course at those times when our minds cannot consciously turn to Thee to commit each particular thought o Thy service, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Dr. Arnold 

“All experience goes to show that the quality of our night’s rest depends in large measure on the frame of mind in which we go to bed and compose ourselves to sleep. I shall conclude by saying this—and it is something of which I have continually to keep reminding myself: Every man who calls himself a Christian should go to sleep thinking about the love of God as it has visited us in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” [2]
Rest well this Sabbath.





[1] John Baillie, Christian Devotion (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1962), 100.[2] Ibid., 107.
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Advent: Seeking Christ Day 6

Day 6 Luke Chapter 6

“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God” (v. 12 NASB).

There are so many wonderful things in Luke’s sixth chapter on which to write. The beatitudes, healing a leper on the sabbath, builders, and foundations built on the rock. This theme of prayer, however, arrests me once again. Two chapters in succession make the effort to note the prayer life of Jesus. Scripture once again exhorts us with Jesus, the Son of God, as our teacher in the importance of prayer. Prayer should not be some rote, liturgical, recitation, though there is nothing wrong with liturgical prayer, I have found some of the richest prose in prayers of liturgy. Prayer, though, is meant to be so much more. E.M. Bounds’ words on true prayer are enlightening:

“Prayer as a mere habit, a performance, or a routine, is a dead and rotten thing. True praying engages and sets on fire every high element of the Christian’s being. Prayer is born out of vital oneness with Christ in the fullness of the Holy Ghost. It springs from the deep, overflowing fountains of tender compassion and concern for humanity’s eternal good. True prayer is a consuming zeal for the glory of God; it involves a thorough conviction of the difficult and delicate work of the ministry and the imperative need of God’s help. Praying grounded on these solemn and profound convictions is the only true praying. And only ministry backed by such praying sows the seeds of eternal life in human hearts and builds others up for heaven. Ministry today may be popular, pleasant, attractive, intellectual, intriguing, and successful with little or no prayer. But the ministry which accomplishes God’s purposes must be born of prayer from beginning to end.”[1]

Jesus spent the whole night in prayer. The Scripture says that at daybreak He chose His twelve disciples. The decision was not made lightly, it was made in all-night prayer. Though He spent that night cloaked in prayer, one that He chose became a traitor. This illustrates that even betrayers may be allowed in your life to sharpen you; to drive you to your knees. 

This Advent season may not be a joyful occasion for many. The holidays can be a dark, lonely time for more people than we care to acknowledge. Let this time of rush and busyness and losing our breath in the day-to-day hustle of preparing for the holiday, not give precedence to slowing down, taking a breath, and praying so that we instead, prepare for Him.

Graciously consider subscribing to the blog?

---

[1] Penelope J. Stokes, ed., E.M. Bounds: Power Through Prayer (Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1989), 40-41.

Advent: Seeking Christ Day 5

Day 5 Luke Chapter 5

“But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:15-16 NASB).

Jesus was busy. He came to help the hurting and the sick and the crowds thronged Him. He was going about the kingdom’s work. The news spread quickly concerning His ministry and people came from the surrounding towns and villages to receive their healing. He was constantly surrounded by crowds of people and the sick. Though there was much work to be done, the Scripture purposes to note that Jesus often slipped away from the madness and the crowds and the busyness to pray. The incarnate Son of God needed to take a break from all the good He was doing to pray and seek the Father.

Let’s remember during this Advent season to stop and pray. We may be doing great things for the kingdom—leading the choir, practicing the Christmas play, feeding the hungry, caring for the poor—we must learn to pause in the midst of the busyness of the season to stop and pray. Scripture takes the time to note this habit of Jesus to pray, if He needed to pray in stillness before the Lord, then so do we.

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Sabbath Sanctuary: Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love {1 Cor. 16:13}

Isaac Watts (1724)

Am I a soldier of the cross, a foll'wer of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause or blush to speak His Name?

Must I be carried to the skies on flow'ry beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace to help me on to God?

Sure I must fight, if I would reign; increase my courage, Lord; I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy Word.

Thy saints in all this glorious war shall conquer, though they die; they see the triumph from afar by faith's discerning eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise, and all Thine armies shine in robes of vict'ry through the skies, the glory shall be Thine.

Am I a soldier of the Cross? I. Watts. [Holy Fortitude.] Appended to his Sermons, published in 1721-24, in 3 vols., vol. iii., and intended to accompany a sermon on 1 Cor. xvi. 13. It is in 6 stanzas of 4 lines and entitled “Holy Fortitude.”

Sabbath Sanctuary: Resting In His Grace

Fall has officially arrived here in Colorado. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, but I do not readily welcome the winter which follows—which appeared today in 22-degree weather and snowfall. I have written about the tension between me and winter for the last couple of years and it seems to reflect where I am spiritually as well. If I am honest, I feel as though I have been stuck in winter for several years, regardless of what season the calendar reads and no matter how hot the sun blazes. I am in winter. I am tired and weary and long for a change of season in my walk with my Savior.

This season has been particularly hard. Many times, it is all I can do to awake from my slumber to face the challenges of the day. The Lord has been so good to me this week as He gently reminded me of His grace.

We know grace to be that attribute that is part of the manifold of God’s love. God deals with us not on our merit or worthiness, or on what we deserve—our lives consistently displaying our fallenness. He deals with us on the basis of His goodness and generosity. God’s grace supplies us with undeserved favor—grace is a precious, beautiful gift. We cannot earn it and we do not deserve it.

Grace, however, goes beyond undeserved favor. The New Testament book of Luke describes Jesus as having “the grace of God upon Him” {Luke 2:40} and as “growing in grace with God and man” {Luke 2:52}. Many more references to grace are found in the Book of Acts. The good Doctor Luke makes a strong association between grace and power. Grace is often linked with the power of God to create spiritual life and to sustain Christians. Grace, in the New Testament, “God’s unmerited favor,” has a new aspect added to mean power in the Spirit.[1] In many of Paul’s writings; {Rom. 1:5; 12:6; 15:15; I Cor. 3:10; Gal. 2:9; Eph. 2:2,7} it means the power and equipment for ministry.[2] Grace is the power to do what you cannot do for yourself.

I have worked so hard at trying to make things change and happen in my own strength—which explains my weariness. Working in our own strength will drain us and deplete us of any life. We must rest in Him and allow Him to do the work for us. This does mean that we become complacent waiting for Him to do something, we must abide in His presence through the Word and prayer and allow Him to fill us with His grace; remembering always to cultivate a heart of worship. Through His grace this week I have been able to face the challenges and the hard times knowing that He is my strength and is working everything according to His purpose.

Rest in His grace this sabbath weekend. He is waiting to fill you with grace to empower you to run the race. Oh, and when you rest in Him, He will refresh you to overflowing and bring you to a place of rest from the storm. 

When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings {Psalm 84:6}.

Read all about Grace in the 11th edition of SHINE Magazine and you can order one here 

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[1] Walter A. Elwell ed., Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible, s.v. “grace,” (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), 314.

[2] W.E. Vine, ed., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old And New Testament Words, s.v. “grace,” (Nashville: Thomas Nelson), 500.

Sabbath Sanctuary: God Grant You Peace

The week has been long and filled with many trials. It has had its chaotic moments and its enjoyable moments. In the midst of the trials, I am so grateful to the Lord, for He proved Himself faithful yet again. He is a good God. He is a faithful God. He is a loving God. There are many things screaming at me—warning that I am going to fail or be taken by the waves of the storm.

The enemy of our soul makes these plans against you and I so that we will lose heart and faint in the way. He seeks to cause us to take our eyes of the Lord so that we will sink. Many trials and circumstances come to trample on our peace—he comes to steal our peace. But we need not succumb to his devices.  

Tucked away in the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers, is found a priestly blessing given to the priest from the Lord to speak over the people of Israel. It is included in the duties of the Levites in chapters 1-8.

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them” {Num. 6:22-27 NASB}.

I love this blessing. In the midst of all the chaos and fighting to enter the promised land, the Lord bestows a blessing on the people. He commands Aaron to speak these words over the people to put His glorious, holy Name on them. How magnificent is He. When their enemies come against them, they shall fear God and know that they are messing with the Lord’s people:

“So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him” {Isaiah 59:19 NKJV}.

When the enemy of our soul comes against us, the Lord is the standard over our lives to fight him off and give us the victory. The Lord is the only safe place to run. What astonishes me is that only the priest could recite this blessing over the people and they had to say exactly what the Lord commanded. It was not the words of men but of God. To fight the enemy, we must not rely on the words of men, but be equipped with the sword of the Spirit—the precious and powerful Word of God. The Word was the weapon Jesus used to battle Satan in the wilderness, and He has equipped us for battle with that same Word.

The priestly blessing includes three promises that we can rest in on this Sabbath; meditate on this promise: The Lord will bless and keep us; He will provide us with everything we need. He will go before us in battling the evil one and keep us from harm. The most kind and loving God will make His face shine on us and be gracious to us. Imagine the Great I AM’s very face will shine for our benefit and joy because of His everlasting love. The Lord will lift His countenance upon us and give us peace; God remembers His people—and He always will. In the last part of the blessing He promises peace—shalom. This doesn’t only mean that there will one day be an end to our warfare; it is also His promise that day by day we are being renewed and refreshed:

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” {2 Cor. 4:16 NASB}.

He will take us from brokenness to wholeness. No matter where we have been, He is leading us where we need to go, and He will give us shalom so that we can rest. Rest in His blessing this Sabbath. God will provide everything you need; and bring you into His rest.

Sabbath Sanctuary: He Holds Our Breath

God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed Him and come out unharmed?  He removes mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in His anger. He shakes the earth from its place so that its pillars tremble {Job 9: 4-6 HCB}.

He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and 

treads on the waves of the sea. He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky. He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number {Job 9: 4-10 HCB}.

The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind {Job 12:10}.

Don’t you know that ever since antiquity, from the time man was placed on earth, the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? {Job 20: 4-5}

Take it from a man {Job} who was enduring terrible grief and suffering, that though the wicked seem to be wreaking havoc, and the universe appears to be a spinning ball of chaos⸺a place where mercy and justice are fleeting⸺The Almighty is in control. 

Rest in God this Sabbath weekend. Sit in His presence; admire His creation and offer Him worship for the mighty works of His hand. He has done great things for you.

Sabbath Sanctuary: I Want Bloody Spider's Webs!

The movie Amazing Grace is perhaps my favorite movie; I watch it several times a month. I love William Wilberforce and John Newton. I love Wilberforce for fighting to end the slave trade, and Newton gifted to the church some of the greatest songs of worship from a broken and humble life. If you have not seen Amazing Grace; you must. Albert Finney’s performance as Newton is outstanding, and you must watch the bagpipe ceremony at the end—playing of course, Amazing Grace!

One of my favorite scenes is of Wilberforce walking through the beautiful, picturesque, English countryside, which happens to be his yard, admiring God’s creation. The scene opens with Wilberforce examining an intricate spider’s web; he is interrupted by his butler and engages in a conversation about God:

WB: It’s God. I have 10,000 engagements of state today but I would prefer to spend the day out here getting a wet arse, studying dandelions and marveling at… bloody spider’s webs.

B: You found God, sir?

WB: I think He found me. Do you have any idea how inconvenient that is? How idiotic it will sound? I have a political career glittering ahead of me, and in my heart I want spider’s webs.

Wilberforce was struggling with a desire to leave public office and wholeheartedly serve God. William Pitt and John Newton convince him that he can better serve God by remaining in public office; thankfully he did, because he spent the next twenty plus years fighting to abolish the slave-trade—amongst other noble reforms.

“God Almighty has set before me two Great Objects: the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners.” William Wilberforce

Wilberforce tapped in to what many of us seek…resting in the presence of God. I long for a day when I can wave-off my responsibilities, and lay out in the pasture reading God’s Word and praying—with no distractions. I don’t suppose Wilberforce intended to suggest to brush off one’s responsibilities, nor do I, but we need to get back to a place where we want nothing more in life than to seek God; to be so in awe of Him, that we pant after Him like the deer:

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God (Ps. 42:1 NASB).

This Sabbath weekend, let’s return to being in awe of God; rest in His presence; and seek for Him more than anything else in this world.

In His Grace, 

My scribbling....

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