The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
September 11, 2005
In
This Issue:
Praying
Enough?
by
Steve Klein
Loving
the Law and Loving the Lord
by
Phillip Mullins
Praying Enough?
I saw an interview with a New Orleans policeman on television. He said that he has prayed more in the days since Hurricane Katrina struck than he had prayed in all the days before the hurricane put together. Ultimately, most people don't pray because they ought to, they pray when they need to.
Most of us can easily relate to the first two verses of the Psalm 102: "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come to You. Hide not Your face from me in the day when I am in trouble; bow down Your ear to me; in the day I call, answer me quickly." When there is trouble and we are in need, we cry out to the Lord and want Him to answer immediately. The marvelous thing about our God is that He is gracious and merciful to those who offer such prayers: "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer" (Psalms 102:17).
Since we pray more when we're in need, the key to having a more consistent prayer life may well be in developing a greater awareness of our neediness. King David is an example of a man who prayed without ceasing (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:17). In Psalms 55:17 David declares, "Evening and morning, and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice." What motivated this consistency in David's prayer life? The answer appears to be that David was very aware of his constant need for God. In Psalm 86 1-3 he prays," Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy&ldots;Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily" (Psalms 86:1-3).
God's will is that His children should be, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." (Ephesians 6:18). Are we praying enough? Are we praying always? We will be when we can, in the words of old hymn, say with conviction:
I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like thine can peace afford.
I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.
--Steve Klein
Why should there be so much concern over handling the Bible in the right way? Why must we be careful to teach and practice only what the word of God says, no more and no less? Why should a church make sure all that it does is authorized by the Scriptures? Why should there be so much fuss about how we handle the Scriptures?
People who put great emphasis on careful Bible interpretation and application are often called "legalists". What a misunderstanding! The truth is they are really "loyalists".
Love and Law
From the very beginning when God began to
reveal His will to man, He made it a point to show man how He wanted
him to manifest his devotion. At Sinai, the Lord said He was willing
to show, "...mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep
My commandments" (Exodus 20:6). Before His new covenant was
installed, Jesus said to His disciples, "If you love Me, keep my
commandments" (John 14:15). Finally, the apostle John wrote,
"For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments..." (I John 5:30).
Do you see the pattern? To love God means to faithfully obey His word. There is an inseparable connection between your attitude toward God and your attitude toward the Bible. If you respect and love God, you must respect and love His word. The psalmist stands as a vivid example of a man who was close to His God. What was his outlook on the Scriptures? He said that God's law was His delight (Psalm 119:77) and he loved the Lord's commandments more than fine gold (Psalm 119:127). Why did He look at the Scriptures this way? Because the Lord was his delight and he loved Him more than the greatest treasures of the earth.
Some try to severe this link between loving God and respecting the Bible. There are some religious people who believe in God but reject the Bible as being divinely inspired. There are still others who say they believe in inspiration but they refuse to base all of their service to God upon the authority of the Scriptures. Yet, you cannot respect God and show disrespect for His Word.
God Among Us
"No one has seen God at any
time...", states John 1:18. Man has always had to live at a
distance from God. There was one time in history though when man got
very close to God. John 1:18 continues, "...The only begotten
Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
When God the Son took human flesh and lived among men, mankind got a
close up view of the character, power, and wisdom of God. It is
significant to note what the Son is called in the first chapter of
John. He is referred to as the "Word" (John 1:1, 14). Just
as a person's words reflect one's inner character, Jesus reflected
the true image of God (Hebrews 1:3). It was an opportunity for man to
commune with God as he had never before.
Christ's sojourn on earth has long since passed, so how may we see God and draw close to Him today? Jesus said in John 14:23, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." When Christ left the earth, He left His word behind and sent the Holy Spirit to guarantee its complete and accurate proclamation by mouth and pen. Therefore our link to God today, our best view of Him, our avenue of fellowship with Him depends on our faithful use of His word.
Getting Down to Basics
Let us never neglect to realize the
reason careful Bible study and strict application is important. It is
vital to show how to establish Bible authority for all that we do but
it is just as vital to show why that must be so among God's true followers.
The point is not that we should worship and serve the Bible as our god. The point is that we worship and serve God by obeying what the Bible says. Which is exactly how God has asked us to love and honor Him.
My earthly father has always been one of my biggest heroes and in adulthood he has become one of my best friends. The last thing I would want to experience is his scorn and disapproval. I admire and love him too much to want to disappoint him. Shouldn't those of us who claim to be Christians develop that attitude with our Heavenly Father? Our chief concern should be to want to please Him and the last thing we would want is His disfavor. How can we ensure God's favor? "Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15 -American Standard Version).
--Phillip Mullins