Has that question ever popped into your head? D.A. Carson takes a few minutes to answer that conundrum and gives some wise insights into prayer.
Continue reading about Why Should I Pray If God Know’s Everything?
One of the most heartbreaking episodes in my Christian experience is the occasional encounter with the person who has become disillusioned with the faith or defeated in their spiritual life and concluded “Jesus is not enough.” Having passed through a particularly difficult event or hardship or test of obedience, they are left joyless, defeated and hopeless. They “tried Jesus,” but He just couldn’t fix their relationship or absorb their grief or “help” them to “be good enough.”
A few men get together each Tuesday morning to enjoy friendship, a great cup of coffee and discussion of a good book. We are just finishing up John Piper’s The Pleasures of God and it has been rich. I think the author digs down to the source of this kind of disquiet in a wounded soul and demonstrates how Jesus can be, as one friend described Him, super-adequate:
Here we see the key to the triumph of obedience over disobedience. The key is confidence that what Christ offers is better than the “fleeting pleasures of sin.” Moses looked to the reward of God’s promises, he weighed that against the rewards of unrighteousness, and he rested satisfied in God… The writer of Hebrews calls this liberating contentment “faith”… The definition of faith behind this usage is given in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.” In other words, faith is the satisfied assurance that God will work things out in the future far better than I could work them out by relying on myself or by departing from the path of obedience – even if obedience means suffering now. Being satisfied with all that God is for me in Christ – past, present, and future – is the power to resist the alluring temptations of disobedience.
Simple faith in Jesus is the “liberating contentment” that will enable you and I to live a life that pleases God. Trusting in Christ brings that “satisfied assurance” that God has my best interests at heart, even when I am under intense pressure or suffering beyond my capacity to endure. Finding our complete pleasure and satisfaction in Jesus is the power behind our ability to resist the baubles and trinkets that will pass away in a moment at His coming. In other words, Jesus is more than enough for any and all situations we face in this life.
If you find yourself wondering if Jesus is enough… if He really can deliver on those promises you embraced at some time in the past, turn from your self-savior project and trust in Jesus. Ask Him to be the Lord of your life, to meet your every need and to reveal Himself to you, as He did in Psalm 16:11. Then you can join David in singing:
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Why a Pastor’s blog? There are a number of reasons, I suppose.
I was on the Web and came across a quote which addresses that question and may give us some insight into why, as Christians, we do whatever it is we do :
Our calling is to enjoy God as well as glorify Him. Real fulfillment relates to the purpose for which we were made, to be in reference to God, to be in personal relationship with Him, to be fulfilled by Him, and thus to have an affirmation of life. Christianity should never give any onlooker the right to conclude that Christianity believes in the negation of life. Christianity is able to make a real affirmation because we affirm that it is possible to be in personal relationship to the personal God who is there and who is the final environment of all He created. All else but God is dependent, but being in the image of God, man can be in personal relationship to that which is ultimate and has always been. We can be fulfilled in the highest level of our personality and in all the parts and portions of life… There is nothing Platonic in Christianity… The whole man is to be fulfilled; there is to be an affirmation of life that is filled with joy.
Francis A. Schaeffer
Death in the City (Downers Grove, InterVarsity Press: 1969) 26
The apostle Paul put it this way:
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
What better way to kick off our pastoral blog on NCCFToday than with an encouragement to daily Bible reading?
Paul assured Timothy and us that the Word of God is:
able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:15b-17 (ESV)
In other Words, the Bible provides everything the Christian needs to know in order to enjoy God and live a life that pleases Him and fulfills His will for us. So, let’s make sure we spend time in the Word daily.
I recently bought a copy of the English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible, which also gives you access to the study resources online. The ESV stands in the tradition of the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version — you can read more about it here.
But, what I really wanted to share with you is the online Daily Bible Reading Plan. This is a great strategy for anyone, but I highly recommend it to those of you who spend hours each day in front of a monitor or on the go, with a laptop or phone.
It’s the text of the ESV, arranged in a daily reading, which will take you through the Bible in a year. Each daily portion is drawn from divisions within the Bible: Psalms and Wisdom, Pentateuch and the History of Israel, Chronicles and Prophets and the New Testament. The text is very easy to read, includes some translation notes and also contains a link, which allows you to listen to the text. The narrator’s voice is one of the best I’ve ever heard and I found that I actually enjoyed reading along with him!
Let’s glorify God by living in the love of Jesus – one way we do that is by taking in His Word daily, allowing the words of Jesus to abide or live in us:
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:7&8 (ESV)
In Him,
Bo Salisbury
