L
Lost in Sin!
Guest
My study is indirectly taken from 2 Timothy 2:13:
"If we are faithless He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself". (NIV)
I say indirectly because, while this verse is one of the, (if not the) greatest verse in all of Scripture, there are so many times, when we feel that this verse is only half complete. That God is faithful cannot be argued. That God is faithful when we are faithless also cannot be argued. But these qualities of God don't require any action or response from us as Believers-they simply ARE!
How do we see God's faithfulness in our own lives? Asking God? Yes, & God DOES hear our prayers! Sing to God? Certainly singing to & about God's faithfulness is an encouragement! Look at Exodus 15:1! Judges 5:5 says-"Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the Lord, I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel". 2 Samuel 22:50 says-"Therefore, I will praise You O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to your Name". 1 Chronicles 16:9 says-"Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of His wonderful acts". (NIV) Not to mention all the times in the Psalms, probably more times than anywhwere in Scripture, about singing to & about God.
But what REALLY gets the Lord's attention? A cry. A cry out of desperation, of anguish, of hopelessness. A heartfelt need that is born of a desire greater than any other form of expression. A need that can only be screamed, because what is behind that need cannot expressed any other way!
At my church, we have a program that allows us to read the Bible in a year. We are currently in the O.T. book of Judges. We see the phrase of how the Israelites, time & time again, cried out to the Lord in their distress, each time they "screwed-up"! And what happened? God answered them! A cry is when, (in many cases!), a person hast lost all hope regarding a certain situation. I myself, have recently had a situation like this myself.
In what looked like it might potentially turn into a full-time permanant job, was ended very abruptly! I was in a major state of shock! My need is money to pay off medical bills. If I hadn't recently renewed my relationship with the Lord, I don't know what I would have done, nor would I care to think about it! Just a few minutes after getting the call about how the company that I had been working at didn't want me any more, I just stood there in disbelief! I thought everything was going very well there, & there was no indication that anything was wrong!
This was all Satan needed to say to me, "Well, God screwed you again"! But I got on my knees, & with a cry of anguish, I started praying-"I'm NOT giving up on you, Lord! I'm NOT! I'm NOT! I'm Not giving up on You, Lord Jesus!" over & over!
Remember where we started this study? "For God is faithful....."?
Well, God WAS faithful, & heard my cry-a cry of desperation-not for a job, or money, but that I wasn't going to give up on Him! I had just come back to Him, & I DIDN'T want to go back to that way I HAD been living! God proved faithful to me, & has kept me from totally freaking out, now that I don't have a job!
A cry of need, of desperation, of hoplessness-this is what really gets God's attention! Acknowledging that God is FIRST & FOREMOST in our lives, before ANYTHING ELSE! Admitting our total need of Him, before ANYTHING ELSE, must take priority when we are hurting!
As God's children, washed clean in the Blood of Jesus-we KNOW that a cry of complete need, is the one thing that God not only desires, but more importantly-will HEAR!
Let us pray.
"Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, & Holy Spirit-we give You & You alone all the praise & glory that You ARE faithful, & You DO hear us in our need! Lord Jesus, there are so many of Your children who are in desperate need! We cry out to You, & You alone, Lord Jesus! There is no one else but You! We need You so badly! Help all those who are in desperate need, to see that You & YOU ALONE ARE truely all we need! It's all all about You & You alone, Lord Jesus! Its all about You! In Your Name & Your Name alone do we pray! Amen!"
Bill
"If we are faithless He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself". (NIV)
I say indirectly because, while this verse is one of the, (if not the) greatest verse in all of Scripture, there are so many times, when we feel that this verse is only half complete. That God is faithful cannot be argued. That God is faithful when we are faithless also cannot be argued. But these qualities of God don't require any action or response from us as Believers-they simply ARE!
How do we see God's faithfulness in our own lives? Asking God? Yes, & God DOES hear our prayers! Sing to God? Certainly singing to & about God's faithfulness is an encouragement! Look at Exodus 15:1! Judges 5:5 says-"Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the Lord, I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel". 2 Samuel 22:50 says-"Therefore, I will praise You O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to your Name". 1 Chronicles 16:9 says-"Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of His wonderful acts". (NIV) Not to mention all the times in the Psalms, probably more times than anywhwere in Scripture, about singing to & about God.
But what REALLY gets the Lord's attention? A cry. A cry out of desperation, of anguish, of hopelessness. A heartfelt need that is born of a desire greater than any other form of expression. A need that can only be screamed, because what is behind that need cannot expressed any other way!
At my church, we have a program that allows us to read the Bible in a year. We are currently in the O.T. book of Judges. We see the phrase of how the Israelites, time & time again, cried out to the Lord in their distress, each time they "screwed-up"! And what happened? God answered them! A cry is when, (in many cases!), a person hast lost all hope regarding a certain situation. I myself, have recently had a situation like this myself.
In what looked like it might potentially turn into a full-time permanant job, was ended very abruptly! I was in a major state of shock! My need is money to pay off medical bills. If I hadn't recently renewed my relationship with the Lord, I don't know what I would have done, nor would I care to think about it! Just a few minutes after getting the call about how the company that I had been working at didn't want me any more, I just stood there in disbelief! I thought everything was going very well there, & there was no indication that anything was wrong!
This was all Satan needed to say to me, "Well, God screwed you again"! But I got on my knees, & with a cry of anguish, I started praying-"I'm NOT giving up on you, Lord! I'm NOT! I'm NOT! I'm Not giving up on You, Lord Jesus!" over & over!
Remember where we started this study? "For God is faithful....."?
Well, God WAS faithful, & heard my cry-a cry of desperation-not for a job, or money, but that I wasn't going to give up on Him! I had just come back to Him, & I DIDN'T want to go back to that way I HAD been living! God proved faithful to me, & has kept me from totally freaking out, now that I don't have a job!
A cry of need, of desperation, of hoplessness-this is what really gets God's attention! Acknowledging that God is FIRST & FOREMOST in our lives, before ANYTHING ELSE! Admitting our total need of Him, before ANYTHING ELSE, must take priority when we are hurting!
As God's children, washed clean in the Blood of Jesus-we KNOW that a cry of complete need, is the one thing that God not only desires, but more importantly-will HEAR!
Let us pray.
"Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, & Holy Spirit-we give You & You alone all the praise & glory that You ARE faithful, & You DO hear us in our need! Lord Jesus, there are so many of Your children who are in desperate need! We cry out to You, & You alone, Lord Jesus! There is no one else but You! We need You so badly! Help all those who are in desperate need, to see that You & YOU ALONE ARE truely all we need! It's all all about You & You alone, Lord Jesus! Its all about You! In Your Name & Your Name alone do we pray! Amen!"
Bill
