The Sword of Prayer - Ephesians 6:18

“ . . . praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints . . . .”- Ephesians 6:18

    I pray every day and every night. It doesn’t make me a “saint.” In fact, it is because I’m no saint that prayer is vital for my spiritual life. Prayer is one-on-one communication with God, quite possibly the best definition I can give you.
    Why pray? What’s the point? For one thing, God has promised to forgive us our sins. Will any of us actually stand here and deny we sin? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:8-9. Approaching the concept of sin, even from the most secular position, implies there is probably going to be a price to pay for our transgressions. Should we profit by ignoring the demands of the one true holy God?
    A second reason I pray is because Scripture tells us that it is good for the community I live in, the place where I live, work, eat, sleep and raise my family! “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:1-4.
We live in a fallen world; does it not make sense to pray for its salvation . . . and mine?              Certainly, I am called upon to seek God’s grace and blessings and He has said by seeking Him and turning from sin, He will forgive us and heal us. “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14.
    The key to successful prayer is God’s will. We can’t just pray for anything and expect God to come through for us like a genii. It just doesn’t work that way. We must always and everywhere pray for God’s will to be done. Only then can we hope for an answer. If we fail to consider God’s will, He won’t even hear us. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” - 1 John 5:14.
    But, we cry that despite our best efforts He doesn’t hear us. The hard truth is ever before us. This truth will not be denied. “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” - John 9:31. Need more? “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” - Isaiah 59:2. God doesn’t listen? He has spoken. Are we listening? “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” - Proverbs 28:9.
    God has given us a command that will benefit us if we heed it. It tells us what we must do and it tells us why we must do it. If we ignore it, we do so at our own peril. If we ignore it, we should not be surprised by the silence which greets us. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
    Even a casual observer can tell us that God’s command to pray and His demands for it are indicative of the primary weapon in our spiritual arsenal. Prayer. And we cannot have it or use it on our own worldly terms. It must be on God’s terms or it will not be prayer at all. Ungodly prayer emits no more than the sound of a crackling fire and all that is left afterward is ashes.

Empathy: A Godly Trait - Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. - Romans 12:15

    We flip through the channels at night, seeking something worthwhile, entertaining at least, to watch on the tube. As we cascade through the seemingly endless tripe, we pass numerous calls for mercy via charities devoted to the poor, the unfortunates maimed by war or disease, the destitute. And we continue to move past them at an ever-increasing speed. How often are we moved by the plight of so many people in truly dire straits?
    I’m not suggesting that we jerk open our bankbooks and begin to write a plethora of checks to every conceivable charity or cause we encounter. Judicious discernment is called for as in any situation that calls upon us to contribute our time or resources to a humanitarian concern. But as Christians, we are called upon to follow the examples set by Christ Jesus regarding the plight of our fellow human beings. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” - Matthew 9:36. Jesus exemplified empathy. In His incarnate form, He knew all too well those issues and circumstances which plague the human body and soul. He identified with the hopeless in that He understood and cared about their troubles. The pain and suffering of the human condition affected Jesus greatly. “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept.” - John 11:33-35.
    In each of the aforementioned examples of Christ’s empathy, we see that His pity is aroused upon “seeing” the particular plight. Does seeing the human plight arouse such feelings of empathy in us? God knows our human condition. He knows there is no exultant bone in our bodies. There is no great esteem associated with the flesh. God knows how pitiful we are by our very nature. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” - Psalm 103:14. Still, He showers us with His common grace, even to those who refuse to His Lordship.
    We are called by God to do right by our fellow human beings. We are called to identify with them even in their hopelessness. We are called to remember those times and places when we too were hopeless. “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” - Exodus 23:9.
    While we may never have suffered from a serious disease or suffered the loss of our home or job or suffered the physical loss of life or limb in the noble service to our nation, we must be able to identify with those situations as members of humanity and respond where there is a need. Simple words of consolation will not do when there is a need that we are capable of providing for. “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” - James 2:15-17.
    In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he thanks them, in its final section, for their concern for his welfare. And despite his position that he had learned to be content in “every and any circumstance,” he added, “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” - Philippians 4:14. This is the Biblical essence of empathy - that we share in each other’s troubles to the degree that we can.
    I’m not suggesting that every plea become a God-given command. I only suggest that if we can put ourselves in another person’s place, we may well see the legitimate need in that person.
    We must take off our blinders, perhaps and see that we can always find a way to show genuine empathy for our brothers and sisters in much the same way we would hope that they could show us empathy and compassion. This is the seed of the Golden Rule - “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 7:12. Empathy for our fellow human beings is truly a Godly trait.

The Harbinger Of Humility - Numbers 32:23

   
 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. - Numbers 32:23

    How often have our consciences rebuked us for wrong-doings we no longer to speak of? There are, in all of us, the dark places we have been; places we have deliberately entered,  to our own disgrace. These places we have fled from, carrying dishonor on our shoulders like the unbearable load it is. We have for the time being avoided the spotlight on our indiscretions. And if we have not confessed these spiritual sores yet, we can be certain that one day we will. “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” - Ecclesiastes 9:3.
     While we avoid confessing these disfigurements, we live with them the rest of our days and if we allow it, like the stigmata they will bleed continuously and profusely. No, we may not speak of them anymore but that doesn’t mean they have been forgotten. Truth be told, they are all too damnable to ever truly forget, even once we have been forgiven. The spiritual forgiveness offered and given by the grace of God should be a source of comfort to us; the lingering memory of the transgressions should be a reminder of how far we can fall from that very grace. This darkened  memory is the harbinger of humility - “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” - 2 Corinthians 12:6-7.
    Once we have been saved by the precious blood of Jesus, we no longer remain tethered to that past indiscretion but by the memory that haunts us. It has become, by God’s loving hand, a memorial stone to our past life; to our life before eternal salvation in Christ.  The blessing comes with the warning; that we are forgiven by God and God alone, without our works, without us wielding a tool upon this holy rock of our forgiveness and salvation.  “If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.” - Exodus 20:25-26.
    The shameful memory of our transgression need not be the road we walk in the light of Christ’s atonement. Be assured, if we have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus, we have indeed been forgiven, regardless of the thorny memories of our past. “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:10-12.
    Is there some memory of sin that continues to plague us after the fact? Have we brought that sin to God and asked to be forgiven? If we are sincerely sorry for our wrongdoings, we will be forgiven by of gracious and loving God. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9.
    There is no sin that belief and faith in Jesus Christ cannot cleanse. It is why He came to earth as the incarnation of God: to forgive us our trespasses! From forgiving the persecutor of Christians in Saul of Tarsus to forgiving the eleventh-hour plea from a thief upon a cross, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ provides us with a gift that can be gotten in no other way. By His own words He has promised to forgive us. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” - John 6:40.
    If we have sought forgiveness for our sins, rest easy in the works of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been forgiven. Our sins have been washed as white as snow. Let us find comfort at the foot of the cross where such forgiveness is assured.

Levi’s Calling - Mark 2:14

 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.- Mark 2:14

    A tax collector in Christ’s day was, to say the least, a man of means. Even at the level of local collection, tax collectors were in the unique position of amassing enough to both pay the required taxes and skim enough, in addition to their salaries, to make themselves a very lucrative living. The Jewish people were aware of this and so their intense hatred for “tax collectors,” who they saw as thieves and traitors to Israel.   
    And rather than paint a less than accurate picture of Levi, let us all agree that as a tax collector, he must have been competent and calculating. Clearly, he was astute at accounting so he was not an ignorant man of his times. Levi certainly would have been considered brighter than a common fisherman or even a carpenter. Considering his business calling, besides his first language of Aramaic, he would have been proficient both in Latin (the language of the Roman occupying forces) as well as Greek. He was a man well versed in the art of collecting wealth, so much so that according to Luke, he threw a banquet in Jesus’ honor. “And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.” - Luke 5:29.
    Taking the reputation of tax collectors in Judea into consideration, the Pharisees were quick to raise objections to Christ’s association with them. “And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” - Matthew 9:12. Beyond this short account in the Synoptic Gospels, little else is revealed on Levi the tax collector, AKA the Apostle Matthew. We know that he owned a home elaborate enough to entertain large groups of people. As a well to do publican we can safely assume he dressed in the finest clothing available in his time. This is how Levi appeared to those in his area of influence: a man respected by his ilk and hated by those he collected from.
    Another question is raised by Levi also going by the name, “Matthew.” There actually need be no confusion on the matter: Levi was his Aramaic name while Matthew was the Greek translation. Similarly, Peter means "stone" in Greek, while Cephas means "stone" in Aramaic.
    So with Matthew’s brief back-story, we have to ask, with all that he had in his official position, why on earth would he have ever simply picked up, abandon his tax business, and follow Jesus based upon the mere verbal command to “follow Me?” Very certainly, we can dismiss the notion that the mere words were enough to move this man off his wealth and status. Matthew would have met the words “follow me” with the same cynicism as the words, “I can’t pay what I owe you.” No, the motivation for Matthew had to have been much deeper than mere conversation.
    Later on in the Gospels, when a rich young ruler approached Jesus, Our Lord beckoned him with very much the same language.  “Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”- Matthew 19:21-22. One might ask, “Why did Levi follow Christ while the rich young ruler didn’t?” The answer to that question can be seen on a weekly basis in nearly any true Christian church: two men visit the same church, sit in the same pew, and listen to the same sermon, given by the same minister on the same Sunday. One walks out with his heart changed for Christ while the other leaves the church preoccupied with getting home in time to see the game.
    The young ruler’s heart proved to be the path where the seed was sown while Levi’s heart was the good soil where the seed took root. One was unable to receive the Good News while the other heard it and his heart was changed by it. The word of God is available to all of us. But how many of us will allow that seed to take root and grow in our hearts like Levi? When Christ gives us His command to follow Him, will we turn and walk away like the rich young ruler or will we respond like Levi, leaving our worldly lives behind us to eat of the bread of life? Our calling is to simply obey.