God’s Glory

31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything (all) for God’s glory. 32 Give no offense to the Jews or the Greeks or the church of God, 33 just as I (Apostle Paul) also try to please all people (everyone) in all things (everything), not seeking my own profit (what is best for me), but the profit of many (best for others), that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (HCSB).

Jesus Christ summed up our aim in life:  love God and love people (Matthew 22:34-40).  The Apostle Paul reinstates Jesus Christ’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 and also summarizes two principles that are to guide everyone’s behavior or ethic: (1) do everything for God’s glory (see also Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11); and (2) try to please all people by not seeking our own benefit first (1 John 2:10). In other words, the Apostle Paul teaches that our behavior should be guided by what glorifies God and what is good for others rather than our own personal benefit or privilege (cp. Romans 14:13-15, 19-21; Romans 15:1-2). The Apostle Paul's gauge for all his movements was not what is best for him, but what will bring God’s glory and what is best for others.

Everything we do in life must have an aim of God’s glory. God owns everything and He desires our complete allegiance, faith, and obedience in Him as our God. Even more, God wants everything we do, even our eating and drinking, to bring Him glory. Moreover, God wants us to love others and not harm nor hurt them in anyway. God's love must fill our hearts and motives so that we do all for God’s glory and what is best for others.

Jesus has given all Christians freedom; however, He did not give this freedom to hurt another person and seek our own satisfaction. Instead, Jesus taught we are to do good to others by being considerate and sensitive of everyone’s feelings and needs even if it means giving up our rights for the sake of others. The attitude that pleases God is not a "me first'' and "look out for number one'' attitude but an attitude and goal to love God and love others. We all must put aside self-pleasing actions for the sake of genuinely loving God and loving others. So, in making a decision or facing any situation ask, “Will this action bring glory to God?” and “Will this decision hurt or harm another person?” 
 

The Hands and Feet of Jesus Christ!

Jesus lived and taught a life of compassion and love for others. More than anything, Jesus lived a life of placing the will of God and needs of others ahead of His own particularly as He faced the Cross (e.g., Luke 22:42). Even more, Jesus taught in Matthew 25:31-46 about how His followers (or Christians) are the ones that act like Him. The real evidence of our belief in Jesus Christ is the way we treat all people with love, especially the “least of these” in our society. Jesus instructed His followers to feed and care for the hungry, homeless, widows, orphans and the sick. These acts of mercy are simple acts of kindness that ALL people can do daily.  We can no longer wait on the church and the government to fix our problems.  Instead, Jesus demands we care for those in deep needs (see also Isaiah 58:7).

God wants everyone to attend church regularly, pray and read His Holy Scriptures. More than anything, Jesus wants Christians to do more than just correct worship and doctrine but DO compassion for the poor, helpless, hungry, needy, and the oppressed. Our faith must reach out to love one another with sincerity. Love for others, regardless of race and political group, glorifies God and reveals we are REAL Christians and the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.  So, let us all place the needs of others ahead of our own like Jesus!

31 “But when the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at His left. 34 “Then the King (Jesus Christ) will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I (Jesus Christ) was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? 39 When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’ 41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed Me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give Me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite Me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give Me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit Me.’ 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help You? 45 “And He will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help Me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT).

 

7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. Isaiah 58:7 (NLT).

True Prayer

14 This is the confidence (boldness) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will (that pleases Him), He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask (request)--we know that we have what we asked of Him.

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV).

When we pray to God, our primary goal should be asking according to God’s will. The only way to please God is seeking, asking, and living according His will. If our prayers line up according to God’s will, God will listen! In essence, all of the conditions related to prayer are summed up in this phrase—”according to His will.” With this understanding, “according to His will” means according to what pleases God as found in the Holy Scriptures (John 15:7). This means that God’s answer may be “no” or different than planned (Luke 22:42; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9). If you do not know God’s will, ask God (James 1:5)!

True prayer is not demanding, persuading, forcing, nor manipulating God (Matthew 6:5-6); but rather submitting our will and way into complete agreement with God (1 John 5:14). Even more, true prayer means (1) praying in Jesus’ Name, that is, in accord with Jesus' character and nature (John 14:13-14; John 15:16; John 16:23-24), (2) abiding in Jesus and His words abiding or remaining in us (John 15:7), (3) having faith (Matthew 21:22; James 1:6), (4) being righteous in life and fervent in prayer (1 John 3:21-22; James 5:16), and (5) praying persistently until God’s will is accomplished. That is true prayer! So, believers in Jesus Christ can stand firmly and confidently in faith that God hears us believing whatever we pray for is already ours (1 John 5:15). 

God Centered and Spirit Controlled Prayer

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Romans 8:26-27 (NLT)

God sends His Holy Spirit to provide supernatural help and care for His people. The Holy Spirit lives inside a person’s heart with faith in Jesus Christ (John 14 ─ 16). God’s Holy Spirit helps with our weaknesses, imperfections, limitations and problems (see e.g., Galatians 5:16-23).  Even more, the Holy Spirit helps God’s people with prayer.

The Holy Spirit prays a person’s innermost feelings, which cannot be put into words, and God answers. When we do not know how to pray or what to pray for, the Holy Spirit intercedes (intervenes, pleads, and negotiates) for us before God. In essence, God’s Holy Spirit does our praying in, with and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans and meaningless utters of sounds. This “groanings” are believers’ deep feelings that cannot be expressed in words. God sees what is in a believers’ hearts and knows what the Holy Spirit is saying. The Holy Spirit prays for believers "in accordance” and in harmony with God's will and purposes in order to do what is best for them (Romans 8:27).

Often, believers face difficulties so impossible that they do not know how to even approach God with their problems. In fact, every believer of Jesus Christ encounters difficulty in knowing how to pray and for what to pray. They know that they must pray to God, but they may not know what to say. Even when believers do not know what to say to God, the Holy Spirit interprets our innermost thoughts and feelings. As stated earlier, the Holy Spirit “makes intercession” for believers with words, “unspoken sighing,” meaningless sounds or groaning which cannot be uttered. Sometimes, the believer may not be speaking at all. Those incoherent or speechless sounds are heard by God. The Holy Spirit guides believers and articulates those prayer burdens to God. These groanings or meaningless sounds are the Holy Spirit’s, not ours because the Holy Spirit is interceding for believers before God.

The Holy Spirit understands that God, who both omniscient and omnipotent, is causing everything, even painful experiences, to work for good to those who love the Lord (Romans 8:28). God searches believers’ hearts and knows our thoughts (cf. I Chronicles 28:9; Psalm 139:1, 23; Jeremiah 17:10; I Corinthians 4:5; Hebrews 4:12–13). As the omniscient God, He searches those mumbling groaning of our hearts and His Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. The Holy Spirit takes part with us and makes our sighs, groans, loud “cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7), and other expressions of our hearts and spirits in prayer and make those prayers strong and effective. Those groans are taken by the Holy Spirit and made into effectual intercession before the very presence of God.

Amazingly, both Jesus Christ (who lives at the right hand of God the Father), (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:14; Hebrew 7:24-25) and the Holy Spirit (who lives within believers of Jesus Christ) make intercession for believers before God. Thank you God for all Your help!

Pleasing God

11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.… 14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. 16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him. 23 And this is His commandment: We must believe in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with Him, and He with them. And we know He lives in us because the Spirit He gave us lives in us. 1 John 3:11, 14-24 (NLT).

The Christian faith is a religion of the heart (Matthew 5:21-22; 27-20; James 4:1-3). Outward obedience to God alone is not enough without first an inner heart submission and obedience to Him as God (Matthew 6:24; Matthew 10:37). God not only sees our actions, but also the inner motives and intentions behind them.

The primary commandments of Jesus Christ are genuine love for God and love for others (Matthew 5:43-48; Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:31; John 13:34-35; John 15:13). Real love produces selfless and sacrificial living. Putting others' desires first, generosity with our money, possessions, and time and helping those in need are examples of genuine Christian love (James 2:14-17). Also, the apostle John gave Jesus Christ’s life as an example of true love for Christians to follow. According to the apostle John, if we are living like Jesus Christ, we will “love one another” even with our own lives. Loving others like Jesus Christ is primary evidence of real faith in Him as our Lord and Savior (see 1 John 4:7-8). Jesus promises to send His Holy Spirit to help believers live their daily lives like Him (John 14 – 16; Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit comes to all sincere followers of Jesus Christ to motivate obedient discipleship.

One of the great results of loving God and others is an effective prayer life. Love is an important part of a successful prayer life. With genuine love in our hearts, we can come to God in prayer with a clear conscience and confidence that whatever we ask for will be given to us (Matthew 7:7; see also Matthew 21:22; John 9:31; John 15:7). Love fulfills God’s commandment (Matthew 22:40) and pleases Him because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Even more, love lines up or matches our prayers with God’s will and purposes (John 15:7). With real love, our prayers become powerful, effective, and answered (James 5:16; 1 John 5:15).

Continual Prayer

10 But when Daniel learned that the law (decree) had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help.

Daniel 6:10-11 (NLT).

Daniel grew up during King Josiah’s spiritual reforms of Israel’s southern kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 22 and 23). After King Josiah’s death, Judah returned to committing sin and evil before God. Eventually, Judah was invaded by King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army and many of Judah’s wisest men and most beautiful women were taken captive. Daniel was part of those captives along with his friends, Hananiah (called Shadrach), Mishael (called Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego). Daniel and his friends assumed important positions while in Babylon.

Daniel was a wonderful example of faith, wisdom, and courage. Even while in Babylon, Daniel established a reputation for wisdom, integrity, and absolute confidence in God. Daniel worked hard and faithfully served several pagan kings, including Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus (see also Colossians 3:22-25). Moreover, Daniel ate carefully and lived prayerfully. He ate simple yet healthy meals of fruits, vegetables, and water and indulged in persistent prayer to God (Daniel 1:8–17). Daniel’s main lifestyle choices was a decision to continually pray and give thanks to God ─ three times a day since his “early days” (Daniel 6:10). Daniel had a regular and disciplined prayer life that clung to God. Daniel did not hide his daily prayer routine from his enemies. He prayed because he could not look to the king or any other human for the guidance and strength. Only God could provide what he really needed. He even continued to pray to and trust God when that meant being thrown into a den of hungry lions (Daniel 6) and facing deadly threats from King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2). Daniel was persistent in his prayers to God and grateful when God answered his requests. When facing trouble, Daniel did not shrivel in fear. Instead, Daniel confidently believed in the living and all-powerful God to answer his prayers for help.

Even more, Daniel would gather his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and pray to God for His intervention (Daniel 2:17–18, see also Philippians 4:6). Daniel and his friends knew that God is all merciful (Daniel 2:18), answers prayer (Daniel 2:19–23), gives help and guidance (Daniel 6:10-11); provides wisdom (James 1:5); and reveals secrets (Daniel 2:28). These Jewish boys knew prayer is more powerful than panic when facing a challenge or struggle because prayer confirms your hope in God.

After God answered Daniel’s prayers, Daniel praised and thanked God for giving him wisdom and knowledge (e.g., Daniel 2:20-23). Daniel also gave God credit and praise as all wise and powerful. So like Daniel, we must continually seek and desire God’s face each day. All the more, we must pray regularly as prayer is our lifeline to God. God is the Ruler of the world and we all need to be completely faithful to Him.

Come To God!

12 For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a Discerner of the thoughts and intents (desires, attitudes) of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest (Jesus Christ) who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace (with confidence), that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:12-16 (NKJV).

Prayer is our approach to God, and we can come to God “with confidence” because of Jesus. Some people approach God afraid to ask Him to meet their needs. Others pray jokily, giving little thought to what they say. The Holy Bible teaches we are all to come to God with humble reverence and respect because God is the eternal King. But also we are to come to God with confidence and assurance because He is our Provider, Refuge and true Friend. Even more, we can come to God because of His Son, Jesus. When we trust our own efforts to provide our needs without God’s power, we are in danger of defeat. Our own efforts and works are never adequate.  Only with God’s power and strength are our efforts acceptable and victorious. Only through faith and trust in God will we find our rest, heart peace and victory. 

The Word of God is alive, life-changing, powerful, active and true. God's Word enters into the core of our human heart and spiritual life and discovers our innermost thoughts, motives, intent, and desires, both good and evil. Nothing can be hidden from God. The Word of God speaks to our hearts and souls giving life-giving communication and direction. God knows about everyone, everywhere and knows all our innermost thoughts. Even when we are unaware of His presence, God is there. No one or secret can hide from God (Psalm 139).

But, Jesus as our Great High Priest has gone to heaven itself to help us; therefore let us never stop trusting in Jesus. Jesus has ready access to God because He is seated in the very presence of God the Father. As both God and humanity's Representative, Jesus understands our weaknesses because He lived on earth as a human too.  Jesus pleads, makes intercessions and negotiations for humans before God (Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 13:20-21) for our needs. Jesus is always at God's right hand and He is always available to hear us when we pray to God the Father. So, humans can come boldly and confidently to God at any time, especially when we truly need help, because of Jesus, our great Intercessor.

Let us continually come before God. Jesus has opened the way for humans to enter God’s presence to obtain God’s mercy and grace for all our needs. Open your hearts to God and trust Him for your help! Do not harden your hearts by resisting God, but instead remain faithfully committed to God (Father, Son – Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit).