“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).

IF WE DON’T DO AWAY WITH THE THINGS THAT KEEP OUR LOVE FROM ABOUNDING, WE CUT OURSELVES OFF FROM GOD’S GOODNESS. We need to work on purifying our hearts, so that they become ever-expanding receptacles for the gifts of God.

Consider the concept of “laziness” in regard to spiritual growth. Numerous texts in the Proverbs speak of the general undesirability of being a sluggard (Proverbs 6:6-11). But sluggishness is more than a minor character flaw. It can kill us spiritually. The writer of Hebrews said, “We desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:11,12).

The church in Ephesus was praised for having been stalwart in their defense of the faith and tireless in their work for the Lord (Revelation 2:1-3). “Nevertheless,” Christ said, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place; unless you repent” (Revelation 2:4,5). Having previously loved and served the Lord so fervently, a certain coldness had begun to restrict their relationship with Him. Unless they took decisive steps to correct this problem, it would destroy their fellowship with Christ. He would disavow them and disown them.

God has made it possible, through Jesus Christ, for us to have a truly rich relationship with Him. But the richness of this relationship can’t be enjoyed if our hearts are held back by indifference or inactivity. Loving God is a vigorous transaction indeed, and love’s rewards come to those who are reaching forward. May we leave behind anything that dilutes our love for God — and anything that limits our capacity to receive God’s love for us.

“Wake up, believers, from your lowly condition! Throw away your laziness, sluggishness, coldness, or whatever is interfering with your pure love for Christ” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:21-24).

IT TAKES REVERENCE, AS WELL AS TRUST, TO YIELD TO THE GREATER GOOD OF GOD’S WILL. Not only does His wisdom KNOW what is best, but His love DESIRES what is best. We can take it as a given that God will always do what is best in any set of circumstances. Unfortunately, the “circumstances” often involve decisions and requests on our part such that doing what is best requires God to chasten our demanding spirit, rather than give us blessings that He would otherwise be delighted to give.

There are two extremes in prayer. At one extreme, there is the person who sees God as an ill-tempered tyrant who begrudges every request. This person needs to be encouraged to think of God as a Father who is benevolently inclined toward His creatures (Matthew 7:11). But at the other extreme is the person who sees God as an indulgent deity who exists simply to grant our every wish. This person needs to be reminded to show reverence to God.

Traditionally, the prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 is referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer,” and it is certainly a prayer that reflects the Lord’s deepest desire with respect to His Father: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done.” There is, however, no prayer more characteristic of the Lord’s own heart than His anguished cry in Gethsemane: “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39,42). As God’s Son, He “learned obedience” (Hebrews 5:8).

Unlike the Lord, we not only fail to yield submissively to God’s will, but we often are so presumptuous as to ask for things that are in conflict with that will. We do not know how to pray as we ought. We need help even in knowing what to ask for. Here, then, is an opportunity for us to learn humility. We can defer to the Lord and pray for help in our praying. We can pray for Him to do whatever, in His wisdom, He sees best.

Not what we wish, but what we need,
Oh! let your grace supply,
The good unasked, in mercy grant;
The ill, though asked, deny.
(James Merrik)

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3).

FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE, OUR EXPECTATIONS OF HIM MUST OFTEN SEEM QUITE CARELESS. We have no adequate idea of His grace or His eternal purposes, and so we make claims upon Him so casually that we come close to being flippant and disrespectful. God’s goodness is indeed a treasury of wonderful riches. But it was not set up to fund the removal of every little inconvenience from our lives in this world. We need to be careful what we ask for and why. God’s grace is not to be taken lightly.

Imagine that a loving, wise parent has made excruciating sacrifices for a son or a daughter to go to college. The parent is then disheartened to receive frivolous “Send more money!” messages when the student’s lifestyle indicates that there’s little appreciation for what had to take place for those funds to be made available. In a much more profound way, God must find it disturbing to receive casual “Help me with this problem!” messages from us, when it is obvious that we’re out of touch with the reality of what had to be sacrificed to make our prayers possible.

The more serious aspect of the problem is that we see the Cross as little more than our ticket to a trouble-free life. Not only do we underestimate the COST of God’s grace, we also fail to appreciate its PURPOSE. The Son of God did not go to the Cross merely to purchase our convenience, or even our happiness. No, what happened on that dark day was “that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is not too much to say that we should see even the blessing of FORGIVENESS in this light. We should not seek to be forgiven merely because it benefits us personally. We should seek it because our reconciliation is a part of God’s eternal purpose in Christ, the outworking of which purpose redounds to “the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:12-14). The kingdom of heaven is not about us. It is about God. We seek to be saved for God’s sake, not our own.

“God does not pass out packages of spiritual victory sent special delivery to the person who requests them. Your sin cost him the death of his Son; he is not about to hand out spiritual bandages. He uses your struggles to give you a thorough housecleaning, reorganize your priorities, and make you dependent on his grace. There are no cheap, easy miracles. You must want spiritual freedom, not merely for your own sake, but for God’s sake as well” (Erwin W. Lutzer).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6).

IF WE DEAL WITH GOD AT ALL, WE MUST DEAL WITH HIM IN GOOD FAITH. Our approach to Him must be sincere and straightforward. To the best of our ability, we must really and truly want from God what our approach to Him seems to say that we want.

Most people are aware that the strongest language in the Scriptures is directed against hypocrisy. We recall, for example, Jesus’ expose of the Pharisees: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27,28). Yet while we wince every time we read these words, we don’t normally see ourselves as being guilty of the sin they condemn. We’re not everything we should be, but we know we’re not guilty of such blatant deceit, at least not intentionally.

But hypocrisy itself wears many masks, and it can creep into our character quite subtly. If we say that we “seek” God and we engage in certain outward actions that appear to be those of a seeker, the implication of all this is that we desire GOD — for His own sake, as He truly is, and on whatever terms He stipulates. Unfortunately, we often have something less in mind. All we really want from God, much of the time, is just a little help adjusting our OUTWARD LIVES to the prevailing social standards of goodness. What He desires, however, is to adjust our INWARD LIVES to HIS eternal standards of truth, which is a very different thing. If we really have no intention of going where we know God is headed, what does that say about our “seeking” of Him?

God is not to be mocked. He cannot be manipulated. There is no possibility of deceiving Him about our intentions when we come before Him. As “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16), He requires that our actions truthfully reflect our desire and that our true desire be nothing less than conformity — body, soul, and spirit — to the realities of His truth.

“Sincerity is the prime requisite in every approach to the God who requires ‘truth in the inward parts’ and who hates all hypocrisy, falsehood, and deceit” (Geoffrey B. Wilson).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com