Help in Uncertain Times By Dr. Paul Chappell

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Help for Uncertain Times
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
by Dr. Paul Chappell

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:26-28

In the days before GPS, cell phones, and electronic guidance systems, knowing how to read a map was an important skill to have if you were taking a trip. It was important to know the best path that would take you where you needed to go. But even the best maps sometimes lacked necessary information or had not been updated with changes. In those cases, the best thing to do was to stop and ask someone for directions.

All of us face a world around us without a map. We do not know what is coming next. God intends it that way so that we will be forced to live by faith in Him. Yet He does not abandon us to try to blindly stumble through life. Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” (John 14:16).

In our darkest and most uncertain days, when we don't have any idea what we should do and don't even know what or how to pray, the Holy Spirit will shape and guide our requests to the Father. There is guidance, not from a random stranger who may or may not know what he is talking about, but from the all-knowing Guide who fully understands the path ahead. It is the height of folly for a Christian not to seek that guidance and help.

Today's Growth Principle:
The wisdom and guidance of God is available to all His children who will seek it from Him.

THE All Suffency Of Christ F.B Meyer

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F.B Meyer

THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, He which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty."-- Revelation 1:8 (see note)

IT IS hardly needful to explain that these are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. They represent all the intervening letters which they enclose as in a golden clasp. This majestic announcement refers to the Eternal God. His Nature underlies the whole created Universe, all races of being, the entire work of redemption, the destiny of His children, and the ultimate victory of righteousness and peace. "Of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to Whom be glory for ever and ever." Let us, for a moment, join with the ceaseless chant of Heaven, saying: "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which is and which was and which is to come." We must never rush into His presence without due preparation and reverence of heart.

Jesus Christ is the Complement of our Need. From the alphabet of His Being we may obtain all the letters and words which will make good our own deficiencies. It is a question whether some of us would ever have learnt the fullness of Jesus, if we had not been brought face to face with the infinite needs of our own nature and condition. You may engage your guide in an Alpine village, but you only realise all the qualities that lie hidden within him when you have crossed the glaciers, bridged the yawning chasms, and escaped the descending avalanche through his knowledge and care. So as we walk with Jesus we find in Him the complement of our need.

Loneliness is an opportunity for Jesus to make Himself known as the Living One (Rev 1:17). When, like the beloved Apostle on the Lord's Day in his lonely isle, you seem to hear songs and prayers on which you can only join in spirit, turn to the Lord Himself, and reckon on Him to bear you company. That loneliness constitutes a claim on Him! Call upon His Name out of the lowest dungeon. He will not hide His ear at thy breathing or thy cry. He will draw near in the day when thou callest upon Him, and will say, Fear not! He will plead the causes of thy soul; He will redeem thy life. The site of Polycarp's death is still visible above the Smyrna coast-line and harbour; but Jesus stood there with him, enabling him to be faithful unto death, and encircling his brow with the Crown of Life. Be thou faithful unto death; the First and the Last is with thee! "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me!"

PRAYER

Be Thou, O Lord, the Alpha and the Omega of every year, month, day, hour, and act of my life. Let all things be begun, continued and ended in Thee. AMEN.

Spiritual Discernment J.H Jowett

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J.H Jowett

SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

“My sheep hear My voice!” —Jn 10:19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

THIS is spiritual discernment. We may test our growth in grace by our expertness in detecting the voice of our Lord. It is the skill of the saint to catch “the still small voice” (1Ki 19:12KJV) amid all the selfish clamours of the day, and amid the far more subtle callings of the heart. It needs a good ear to catch the voice of the Lord in our sorrows. I think it requires a better ear to discern the voice amid our joys! The twilight helps me to be serious; the noonday glare tends to make me heedless.

“And they follow Me!” Discernment is succeeded by obedience. That is the one condition of becoming a saint—to follow the immediate call of the Lord. And it is the one condition of becoming an expert listener. Every time I hear the voice, and follow, I sharpen my sense of hearing, and the next time the voice will sound more clear.

“And I give unto them eternal life.” Yes, life is found in the ways of a listening obedience. Every faculty and function will be vitalized when I follow the Lord of life and glory. “In Christ shall all be made alive.”

My Saviour, graciously give me the listening ear! Give me the obedient heart.

Spiritual Discernment J.H Jowett

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J.H Jowett

SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

“My sheep hear My voice!” —Jn 10:19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

THIS is spiritual discernment. We may test our growth in grace by our expertness in detecting the voice of our Lord. It is the skill of the saint to catch “the still small voice” (1Ki 19:12KJV) amid all the selfish clamours of the day, and amid the far more subtle callings of the heart. It needs a good ear to catch the voice of the Lord in our sorrows. I think it requires a better ear to discern the voice amid our joys! The twilight helps me to be serious; the noonday glare tends to make me heedless.

“And they follow Me!” Discernment is succeeded by obedience. That is the one condition of becoming a saint—to follow the immediate call of the Lord. And it is the one condition of becoming an expert listener. Every time I hear the voice, and follow, I sharpen my sense of hearing, and the next time the voice will sound more clear.

“And I give unto them eternal life.” Yes, life is found in the ways of a listening obedience. Every faculty and function will be vitalized when I follow the Lord of life and glory. “In Christ shall all be made alive.”

My Saviour, graciously give me the listening ear! Give me the obedient heart.

Ask Big Blessing When You Face Big Tests Mal 3:10 By A.B Simpson

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A.B SIMPSON

Ask Big Blessings to Face Big Tests

I once heard an old man say something that I have never forgotten. "When God tests you it is a good time for you to test Him by putting His promises to the proof. Claim from Him just as much as your trials have made necessary." There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is simply to try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had. We should greet it with delight as an opportunity of obtaining a larger measure of divine grace. Thus even the adversary becomes an auxiliary, and the things that seem to be against us turn out to be for the furtherance of our way. Surely, we are to be more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37). Blessed Rose of Sharon Breathe upon our heart, Fill us with Thy fragrance, Keep us as Thou art. Then Thy life will make us Holy and complete; In Thy grace triumphant, In Thy sweetness, sweet. Prove me now herewith -Malachi 3:10

The Gem Of The OT Ps 23 Henry Ward Beecher

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Henry Ward Beecher

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 KJV

“It has charmed more griefs to rest than all the philosophy of the world.

It has remanded to their dungeon more felon thoughts, more black doubts, more thieving sorrows than there are sands on the sea shore.

It has comforted the noble host of the poor.

It has sung courage to the army of the disappointed.

It has poured balm and consolation into the heart of the sick, of captives in dungeons, of widows in their pinching griefs, of orphans in their loneliness.

Dying soldiers have died easier as it was read to them; ghastly hospitals have been illuminated;

It has visited the prisoner, and broken his chains.

It has made the dying Christian slave freer than his master.

It will go singing to your children and my children, and to their children, through all the generations of time; nor will it fold its wings till the last pilgrim is safe, and time ended; and then it shall fly back to the bosom of God, whence it issued, and sound on, mingled with all those sounds of celestial joy which make heaven musical for ever.”

So proclaimed Henry Ward Beecher about Psalm 23.

Below is a break down of this OT Gem
I don't know who wrote it.  I Think Maybe Robert J. Morgan

Psalm 23: Line by Line
Meaning
The LORD is my shepherd = RELATIONSHIP
I shall not be in want = SUPPLY
He makes me lie down in green pastures =
REST
He leads me beside quiet waters =
REFRESHMENT
He restores my soul = HEALING
He guides me in paths of righteousness =
GUIDANCE
For his name's sake = PURPOSE
Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death = TESTING
I will fear no evil = PROTECTION
For you are with me = FAITHFULNESS
Your rod and your staff they comfort me =
DISCIPLINE
You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies = HOPE
You anoint my head with oil = CONSECRATION
My cup overflows = ABUNDANCE
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the
days of my life = BLESSING
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD =
SECURITY
Forever = ETERNITY

The 23rd Psalm Henry Ward Beecher

Ten Strategies of the enemy...he’s working against every area of our lives.  Don’t let him win!

1. Against your  PASSION! He seeks to dim your desire for prayer and to downplay the potency of your most strategic weapon. 

2. Against your FOCUS… He disguises himself and manipulates your perspective so you focus on the wrong culprit.

3. Against your IDENTITY… He magnifies your insecurities leading you to doubt what God says about you.

4. Against your FAMILY… He wants to disintegrate your family and divide your home. 

5. Against your CONFIDENCE...He constantly remind you of your past mistakes and bad choices to convince you that you are under God’s judgment rather than under his forgiveness.

6. Against your CALLING… He amplifies fear, worry and anxiety until they are the loudest voices in your head.

7. Against your PURITY… He tries to convince you that you can tolerate certain sins knowing they will wedge distance between you and God. 

8. Against your REST AND CONTENTMENT… He wants to overload your schedule, never feeling that you have permission to say no.

9. Against your HEART… He keeps old wounds fresh in your mind knowing that unforgiveness and bitterness will continue to roll the damage forward.

10. Against your RELATIONSHIPS… He creates disruption and disunity within your circle of friends and within the body of Christ.

(Excerpt from Fervent book by Priscilla Shirer).  🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏