The Better Part, week #11

 

The week in Better Part FB posts:

The Better Part, day #70:

 

Jas 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.

When you tear apart the phrase, "Pray fervently", you see how some versions (the literal versions) translated this, "He prayed with prayer". What does that mean? Well, if you contrast with Matt 23:14-

 

Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 

 

-you can see there's a difference between a fervent prayer and a LONG prayer. The phrase in Matthew means just what it says- a prayer with length. In James, it means "wishing forward to God".You pray fervently to God with just enough words to make your wish known- but remembering it is also submitting that wish to the idea that "Thy will be done".

 

 

The Better Part, Day# 71:

 

Me, griping about something, to God: "This thing is a pertinent question..."

God: "Not if My promises are trustworthy."

Me: "You're right again!"

 

 

The Better Part, Day #72:

 

 

So today, David Jeremiah asked, "Do you read the Bible like, 'Well, let's see what God wants me to know today, and how to get what I want'?" I thought to myself that no, I don't do that... but then I asked, "How DO I read it?" God reminded me I should read it like a letter, from Himself to me- with an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. As you will see next week, this was the key to understanding what I am to do with a very difficult Wednesday Bible Study post. Try practicing this method- I know I'm going to!

 

 

The Better Part, Day #73:

 

Me, obviously inspired by Satan: I don't feel like all that prayer today, I need a day off...

God: Oh? A day without My refreshing, without my Strength for the day, without My provision...

Me: This has certainly been my week for stupid comments, hasn't it...

 

 

The Better Part. day #74:

 

A quote from Don Wilton, Billy Graham's personal pastor, in an interview with Decision Magazine:

 

"He always made me feel like I was the important person, that I had the answer, that I was the one who understood what the Bible was saying, that I was the one who needed to be consulted. And the Only way I came to understand this was that I was watching someone who reflected the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus humbled himself to the point that He became the servant...Mr Graham would be most unhappy with me for saying that because he did not see himself that way."

 

 

The Better Part, Day #75:

 

2Ki 23:24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

2Ki 23:25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

2Ki 23:26 Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 

 

We all pray for revival, whether it be in our family group or a nation or a world. And we should live our lives and pray our prayers based on the idea that revival can spring up even in a day as evil as that of Josiah, if the Word is sought and obey. But comes a day when the faith of that one man, or that precious few, is not enough. On one side, I had been hearing a lot of people talking that they felt a day of revival was coming- until 2020, and now it shifts to judgment. In between, we have the truth of the matter- pray for that revival, hope in that revival- but recognize that it won't be enough unless the hearts of ALL the people change, and that this evil people who have self-righteously declared themselves 'post-Christian' may have made it too late for themselves.