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March 2 - August 14, 2017
To see God as ultimately sovereign, we must agree that He meant for sin to happen. He planned for it—it could not have caught Him by surprise and spoiled His original program. Thus evil and all its consequences were included in God’s eternal decree before the foundation of the world. Yet we cannot consider God as the author or originator of sin.
(2 Peter 3:9). That sin exists on earth and causes such horrible consequences is not evidence of God’s desire to see sin abound but of His patience in allowing more opportunity for people to turn to Him for salvation. Thus we can determine that God’s purposes in permitting evil are always good.3
rebellion. To be dedicated to God’s will necessitates being opposed to Satan’s.
Unfortunately, our own will is often the problem in seeking His will.
Because we live in a culture that prides itself on ease and comfort,
As a result, we tend to perceive prayer as important only for making a difference in our circumstances rather than for the difference ...
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prayers as we wish right away, we lose the passion necessary to perse...
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the real benefit of prayer is not the changes God may make in your circumstances but the changes He will make in you and in your perception of them.
The greatest hindrance to prayer is not lack of technique, lack of biblical knowledge, or even lack of enthusiasm for the Lord’s work, but lack of faith. We simply do not pray with the expectation that our prayers will make a difference in our lives, in the church, or in the world.
To accept and pray for God’s will in sincerity and faith, you must abandon your own will for the sake of God’s.
Until you lay your life on God’s altar as a living sacrifice—until your will is dead—God’s will won’t be manifest in your life.
Every child faces a life of dependence from the moment he is conceived. At the very start of his new life, he must look to his mother for nourishment in the womb. Once he is born, he is dependent on his parents for food, clothing, and shelter.
Unlike other earthly creatures, he can’t even come to his mother; she has to come to him.
Just like infants, we are ultimately dependent on God
Although this second section of the prayer deals with man’s need, it doesn’t set God aside—He is also exalted here. The
to pray first for our physical needs, not our spiritual needs.
Lord is referring to physical necessities, not luxuries;
needs. Just as loving human fathers want to provide for the needs of their children, so God is concerned that we receive enough food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to rest.
For many of us, sadly, the prayer we offer to God before we eat is usually quick and indifferent—we’re
Thus ungratefully do sinners deal with God; they not only forget his mercies, but abuse them.
Without a proper view of God, there cannot exist a proper view of man.
As you focus on spiritual matters, God will take care of your physical needs.
It is “this day” that we ask God to supply our needs. We are to rely on the Lord one day at a time.
Prayer focuses on God as the One who supplies. It acknowledges that He is the source of all our physical needs, and it teaches us to live one day at a time
The most essential, blessed, and yet most costly thing God ever did was to provide man the forgiveness of sin.
keeps us from hell and gives us joy in this life.
most blessed because it introduces us into an eternal fe...
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Hamartia is the most common and carries the root idea of missing the mark. Sin misses the mark of God’s standard of righteousness.
“trespass,” is the sin of slipping or falling and results more from carelessness than from
Parabasis refers to stepping across the line, going beyond the limits prescribed by God. It is often translated “transgression.” This sin is more conscious and intentional.
Anomia means “lawlessness” and is an even more intentional and flagrant sin. It describes direct and open rebellion against God and His will.
Sin is a moral or spiritual debt to God that must be paid.
Immeasurably more important than our need for daily bread is our need for continual forgiveness
As long as we have unconfessed sins in our lives, we will lose fullness of joy and intimacy in our communion with God.
Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” John
If you don’t confess your sins, you will become hardened.
Christians—judicially forgiven and eternally secure—who are hardened, impenitent, and insensitive to sin. Consequently, they are also without joy because they don’t have a loving, intimate fellowship with God. They have blocked out joy and fellowship with the barricade of their unconfessed sin.
We are to love even our enemies because we have the nature of our Heavenly Father residing in us.
fails to forgive someone else, he sets himself up as a higher judge than God and even calls into question the reality of his faith.
“be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32).
The severity of any offense toward us cannot match what Christ endured.
According to 2 Corinthians 2:10–11, when we have an unforgiving heart, we give Satan an advantage over us.
An unforgiving Christian is a proud, selfish person who has forgotten that his sins have been washed away. Learn to confess, and before you confess, learn to forgive.
Every struggle and trial we experience is allowed by God to test us, to exercise our spiritual muscles, and to help us mature
But if you don’t commit the situation to God and stand in His strength, Satan will turn it into a temptation. He will entice your lusts
Our priority must be with the advancement of God’s kingdom.
If you want to pray for one another, don’t pray for the physical necessities only—make it your priority to pray for the important spiritual issues of life because they are of the greatest concern to God. His ultimate purpose is to conform you to the image of Jesus Christ.
You and I have an immeasurable privilege and responsibility to bear the name of Christ in a worthy manner. This was a consistent theme throughout Paul’s epistles.
implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1–3).
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ … standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith
