June 8th 2014
This VOW is a repeat of one written in September of 2011, it seemed a good follow-up to last week’s VOW!
When Was The Last Time You Knelt Down To Pray?
Luke 18:10-14 (NIV)
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Last Sunday while on a weekend vacation, I watched a TV evangelist as we were getting ready to go have breakfast. Something he said stuck with me, and has bothered me since. He was teaching about praying and the attitude of prayer, or maybe the attitude we should have when praying. The instruction he gave was to kneel by your bed tonight and pray to the Lord, giving thanks for what happened today. Then he said, some here are now saying, I do not have to kneel when I pray! Then he said, you do not have to kneel, BUT why don’t you just to show God reverence, and to humble yourself before God.
The next statement he made really caught my attention. He then asked, why can you not kneel, other than a physical impairment, when you pray to a Holy, Holy, Holy God? Now a question for you, When was the last time you knelt to pray? What is stopping you from kneeling when you pray? Could it be a pride issue? Are you too proud to kneel down to pray? Are you ashamed to kneel down in public, even in the church of your choice to pray? Are you like the Pharisee in the selected verses proud of how good you are, and therefore, you do not need kneel down to pray to the creator God?
Can you humble yourself before the Lord? What if you were in the presence of the Lord, could you then kneel down before Him, and talk to Him? Do you really want the blessing of the Lord? When you pray, do you believe you are actually talking to the Lord? Do you really expect the Lord to help with the situations you are praying about? Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10) Notice here that James writes to us about the Lord lifting up those who are humbling themselves before the Lord. James does not write that the Lord will lift everyone up, only those who approach in humility!
The Psalmist writes about the Lord helping those who need His help, and he also mentions that “the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down!” Notice that the Lord is helping people with severe problems, and He makes special note of those who are bowed down. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. (Psalm 146:7-8) Notice also how this list ends, “the LORD loves the righteous.”
Do we get blessing from God, because of the good things we do in this life, or because of His great mercy on us? Paul in his letter to the Galatian church was asking them this question related to receiving blessings from God. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Galatians 3:2-3) Are you trying to work your way into heaven by good things you do in this lifetime? Being born again changes you so that doing good things in this world are more natural for you to do. The good things you do, does not save your soul, your salvation is a gift from Jesus, and this is what pushes you toward doing good. The good you do glorifies God, and thus, gains you a reward later in heaven. Your salvation is an award; your good works gain you a reward!
Some people believe that everyone is going to heaven, as they believe God is so loving that He would not send anyone to hell. To such people, it should be stated to read the Bible more carefully, as Jesus talked about salvation a lot, but He talked more about the suffering of souls being sent to hell. One such discussion follows which talks about heaven and hell in the same breath. “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50)
Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior are the righteous, and everyone else is still considered as the wicked in the above parable told by Jesus. Have you ever knelt down and asked Jesus to come into your life to save your immortal soul from heading down that wide path that leads to hell? If not, do not put it off, as we do not know when He is coming back, or when we will die to this life. Either of these events will cause our immortal soul to go to one of two places. Which way are you heading?
This commentary closes with Peter quoting Paul and telling us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Are you working on becoming more Christ-like every day? Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:15-18)
Try to kneel down and pray to Jesus sometime today. Can you be humble enough to do it?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
When Was The Last Time You Knelt Down To Pray?
Luke 18:10-14 (NIV)
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Last Sunday while on a weekend vacation, I watched a TV evangelist as we were getting ready to go have breakfast. Something he said stuck with me, and has bothered me since. He was teaching about praying and the attitude of prayer, or maybe the attitude we should have when praying. The instruction he gave was to kneel by your bed tonight and pray to the Lord, giving thanks for what happened today. Then he said, some here are now saying, I do not have to kneel when I pray! Then he said, you do not have to kneel, BUT why don’t you just to show God reverence, and to humble yourself before God.
The next statement he made really caught my attention. He then asked, why can you not kneel, other than a physical impairment, when you pray to a Holy, Holy, Holy God? Now a question for you, When was the last time you knelt to pray? What is stopping you from kneeling when you pray? Could it be a pride issue? Are you too proud to kneel down to pray? Are you ashamed to kneel down in public, even in the church of your choice to pray? Are you like the Pharisee in the selected verses proud of how good you are, and therefore, you do not need kneel down to pray to the creator God?
Can you humble yourself before the Lord? What if you were in the presence of the Lord, could you then kneel down before Him, and talk to Him? Do you really want the blessing of the Lord? When you pray, do you believe you are actually talking to the Lord? Do you really expect the Lord to help with the situations you are praying about? Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10) Notice here that James writes to us about the Lord lifting up those who are humbling themselves before the Lord. James does not write that the Lord will lift everyone up, only those who approach in humility!
The Psalmist writes about the Lord helping those who need His help, and he also mentions that “the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down!” Notice that the Lord is helping people with severe problems, and He makes special note of those who are bowed down. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. (Psalm 146:7-8) Notice also how this list ends, “the LORD loves the righteous.”
Do we get blessing from God, because of the good things we do in this life, or because of His great mercy on us? Paul in his letter to the Galatian church was asking them this question related to receiving blessings from God. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Galatians 3:2-3) Are you trying to work your way into heaven by good things you do in this lifetime? Being born again changes you so that doing good things in this world are more natural for you to do. The good things you do, does not save your soul, your salvation is a gift from Jesus, and this is what pushes you toward doing good. The good you do glorifies God, and thus, gains you a reward later in heaven. Your salvation is an award; your good works gain you a reward!
Some people believe that everyone is going to heaven, as they believe God is so loving that He would not send anyone to hell. To such people, it should be stated to read the Bible more carefully, as Jesus talked about salvation a lot, but He talked more about the suffering of souls being sent to hell. One such discussion follows which talks about heaven and hell in the same breath. “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50)
Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior are the righteous, and everyone else is still considered as the wicked in the above parable told by Jesus. Have you ever knelt down and asked Jesus to come into your life to save your immortal soul from heading down that wide path that leads to hell? If not, do not put it off, as we do not know when He is coming back, or when we will die to this life. Either of these events will cause our immortal soul to go to one of two places. Which way are you heading?
This commentary closes with Peter quoting Paul and telling us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Are you working on becoming more Christ-like every day? Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:15-18)
Try to kneel down and pray to Jesus sometime today. Can you be humble enough to do it?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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