WHY SAY AMEN?

Well, here we are it is almost October. The weather makes me think that Fall has finally come. I love the changing seasons, the constant progression from Spring to Summer, to Fall, to Winter. I have to admit though, I wouldn’t miss winter all that much if it disappeared. But Winter is a great contrast for Spring; and when Winter changes to Spring, I love watching everything come alive again.  When it comes to the promises of God, I’m so Glad they do not change. Every promise that God has made - He has kept. There is not one example of something He promised that He had to take back or change. What an amazing God we have! Let’s look together at what this verse says about God’s promises.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV) For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT) For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” ascends to God for his glory.

God has already answered YES to the promises which He made in His Word. So, when we pray for those things which He has promised, we can celebrate our agreement with God by saying Amen.  “Amen is a word taken straight over into Greek from Hebrew without any translation just like it has come into English and most other languages without any translation. In Hebrew it was a very strong affirmation - a formal, solemn, earnest I agree, or I affirm what you just said or This is true. Most simply ‘Amen’ means a very earnest YES in the context of addressing God.” ...AMEN means, Yes Lord, you can do it. It means, Yes, Lord, you are powerful. Yes, Lord, you are merciful. Yes, Lord, all future grace comes from you and has been confirmed in Christ. Amen is an exclamation point of hope after a prayer for help.” (Future Grace - Piper pg. 100,106)

PRAYER: Lord, may I believe your promises and Trust You to fulfill them. Lord God, help me to Celebrate the fact that I can come into Your very presence through prayer, and that with You there is ALWAYS hope.

HOW SHOULD I LIVE?

Another politician got caught in a lie.  Who?  That is not the point I’m trying to make.  The problem is that for the most part, politicians who do something wrong, seldom pay the penalty for what they have done.  It has to be pretty extreme for them to be forced out of office and it is only rarely that they actually go to jail.  On some level that upsets me.  It should.  Injustice and sinful disobedience of the Law should not be something that we put up with.  There have been times I have cried out to the Lord in prayer and say O God they have gotten away with it.  The answer that comes back from scripture is clear - NO they have not.  Let’s look at these verses together.

2 Peter 3:10-13 (NIV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. [11] Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives [12] as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. [13] But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

The Day of the Lord - is the beginning of the end.  It will be the start of God’s judgment of sin and the start of eternity.  Peter tells us that the day of the Lord will come  - sometimes we move so quickly into the rest of the verses that we miss this phrase and how important it is.  Peter is telling us this day WILL COME there is NO doubt.  Then he tells how it come and what it will be like.  But the fact is that DAY will come.  It will come in God’s perfect time.  How should the assurance that this day WILL come impact us?  It should cause us to live HOLY and GODLY lives.  It should cause us to look forward EAGERLY to the return of our Lord Jesus.  WHY?  Because the new heaven and new earth will be OUR home.  They will be the home of the righteous - those who have been made holy through the cross of Jesus.  So as we look forward to THAT DAY when perfect Justice will prevail, THAT DAY when we will see and enjoy God’s Rule over the Universe, THAT DAY when there will be no more sin, or struggles, or suffering let us Honor Jesus Christ NOW TODAY by the way that we Think, Talk, and Act.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m ready for You to come.  I long for that day when I will no longer have to struggle to live the godly and holy life that I want to live.   I want to see Your glory and be in complete and total AWE of You as I fall before You.  Until then May I live with You as my Focus.  May I live out the TRUTH of Your Word in practical real ways.  Help me to be godly and holy as I walk with You in the Yoke.

TO WATCH YOUR MOUTH - WATCH YOUR LIFE!

HALT - stands for Hungry Angry Lonely Tired.  Why is that important.  Because when we experiencing any one of those things we are in a situation where we have to be even more careful of what we think about, what we say, and what we do.  Just think back in your own life when was the last time that you were really unkind with your words?  When was the last time that you were self-focused and self absorbed in your thinking?  Were they times when you were struggling with one of these things HALT?  When I think back to some times when I have done or said things for which I later had to repent and ask forgiveness - many times it was because I had given in to something which was made worse by being either Hungry Angry Lonely or Tired.  That is why this verse is such a good verse to remember. 

Psalm 39:1 (HCS) I said, “I will guard my ways so that I may not sin with my tongue...

The word WAYS is a rich word with a depth of meaning.  It means direction - Train a child in the WAY he should go Prov.  22:6.  It means BEHAVIOR - ...all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. Gen 6:12.  It means to LIFESTYLE - ...or stand in the way of sinners... Ps. 1:1 

Why do I go into all of this?  Because as I read this verse I realized that the writer was making a connection between how we live and the way that we talk.  He was showing that there is a link between the direction we are going in life and the vocabulary that comes out of our mouths.  He is saying that our lifestyle impacts the way that we speak. So to take the verse literally we are to watch or guard our ways - SO THAT - we do NOT sin with our words. I think guarding our WAYS will mean being careful and aware that when we are Hungry Angry Lonely or Tired.  Why? We may be in a weakened state physically, emotionally or spiritually.  So it will be easier to stumble and fall in our thoughts, Words, or Actions.  That is why this is such a powerful verse.  It is not just saying watch your mouth or don’t say bad things.  It telling us to WATCH YOUR LIFE because the way that you live will impact the things that come out of your mouth.  

PRAYER: Lord God please help me to be more and more aware of the way that I live and how that will impact the WAY that I speak.  Please Lord I do want the words that come out of my mouth to be pleasing to You.  So help me to Guard the WAY that I live.  May I be following You closely and walking with You so that my lifestyle and my vocabulary are impacted by You and not the things going on around me.