____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ January 8, 2006 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Some Thoughts on Prayer (2) (Leonard Tyler) 2) Opening Ourselves Up to God (Steve Klein) 3) A Question Regarding Divorce (Clarence R. Johnson) 4) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- Some Thoughts on Prayer (2) by Leonard Tyler Prayer is the avenue through which one approaches the Almighty. It should be accepted with thanksgiving and reverence. Christians should live in the atmosphere of prayer. If we are to appreciate and properly appropriate the blessing of prayer, we must understand God's teaching on it. Who can pray acceptably and on what conditions can acceptable prayer be offered to God Almighty? Since we are taught to pray, it is the more important that we learn how to pray. Do you use the opportunity to pray? As often as you should? In harmony with God's will? Do you regard prayer as one of the great privileges afforded to God's people? Do you feel as James gives it, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16b)? Who Is To Pray? The Old Testament affirms that sin will separate between God and man. Isaiah 59:1-2 warns, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear; But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (see Psa. 34:15; 66:18; Prov. 15:29; 28:9). This was also understood during the days Christ lived upon the earth. The blind man of John 9:31 stated it thusly: "Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth." This statement was not challenged by even the enemies of Jesus. They accepted the truthfulness of the conclusion -- even though it was reached by the man whom they were trying to entangle. It must have been true. Jesus prayed, "...not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). He taught His apostles to pray, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). Peter quotes Psalms 34: 15-16): "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." John gives us confidence in prayer "because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (1 John 3:22). In these texts, whom has God promised to hear? I conclude, God hears the person who believes and obeys His will. The erring child of God is told to repent and pray (Acts 8:22). The best way I know to answer, "Does God hear (to answer) the sinner's prayer?" is to simply say, "Let the sinner turn from his unrighteousness and do God's will, become a child of His, and He will hear." There is no question about God's hearing the righteous man's prayer. There has always been and will always be a challenging question, "Will God hear the sinner's prayer?" Why not erase the question by becoming a child of God? Prayer must be offered by faith. James said, "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord" (Jas. 1:6-7). "Without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11:6). Could one with faith, such as this text includes, refuse to do God's will and yet expect God to hear him? Surely not. If one did not believe strongly enough to forsake sin and do God's will, would he have sufficient faith to even expectantly and sincerely pray? Could he pray in faith while he refused to live by faith (2 Cor. 5:7)? Prayer must be in reverence and awe (Heb. 12:28), in resignation to God (Luke 22:42), in penitence (Acts 8:22), in humility (Luke 18:9-14), in the spirit of forgiveness (Matt. 6:12-24), and in accordance with God's will. "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us" (1 Jn. 5:14). This was certainly so in the Old Testament. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psa. 66:18). "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination" (Prov. 28:9). The conclusion is apparent. A child of God is granted the privilege of prayer. He can pray, "Our Father which art in heaven." But to be a child of God one must be born again (Jn. 3:3-5; 1 Pet. 1:22-23). Even an erring child of God is instructed to repent and pray (Acts 8:22). It seems clear that faith and obedience precedes acceptable prayer. After one becomes a child of God, he must approach the Mighty Throne of God with reverence and awe. But when this is done according to God's will, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Paul said, "Pray without ceasing." "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting" (1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:8). Prayer is a privilege and a vital part of a Christian's life. -- Via Truth Magazine XXIV: 7, pp. 122-123, February 14, 1980 ____________________________________________________ -2- Opening Ourselves Up to God by Steve Klein Have you ever felt that your relationship with God lacks depth -- that you really don't know Him well or that you are not close to Him? Individuals who share together in close personal relationships must be willing to open themselves up to one another. They must be willing to allow the other person to see what is in their heart, what concerns them, and how they behave in everyday life. They also must allow themselves to be influenced and changed by the other person. David concludes the 139th Psalm by inviting God into his life. He says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). There are four things in this text that David invites God to do with him. Each of these things is a key to having a close relationship with God. 1. "Search me and know my heart." God doesn't need an invitation to be able to see what's in our hearts. Hebrews 4:13 states that "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." But if we want to be close to Him, we must be willing for Him to see everything that is in us. There can be nothing that we want to keep to ourselves -- nothing that we don't want Him to see. To invite God to know our hearts is to invite Him to know who we really are, for "as in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man" (Proverbs 27:19). 2. "Try me, and know my anxieties." The things that we are anxious about reveal what we really care about. If we worry about finances, we care about money. If we worry about our appearance, we care what others think about us on the outside. If we worry about peoples' souls, we care about eternity. You see the point. To let God know our anxieties is to let Him know what we really care about. 3. "See if there is any wicked way in me." To allow another to examine you for faults requires trust. Trust is a fundamental building block in any close relationship. To allow another to see your faults also requires humility. There can be no pretense of perfection or superiority with someone who knows about all of your mess-ups and failures. David had this kind, humble, trusting relationship with the Lord. In Psalm 69:5 he says, "O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You." 4. "Lead me in the way everlasting." The people who are closest to you will influence you. You will listen to their advice, ask for their direction, and seek their counsel. If we are close to God, we will hear and heed His word. And as we do, we'll draw even closer to Him with each step. The Psalmist said, "It is good for me to draw near to God" (Psalm 73:28). It is good for you too. Won't you open yourself to Him? -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, December 4, 2005 ____________________________________________________ -3- A Question Regarding Divorce by Clarence R. Johnson A few weeks back, I received this question from one of our readers: "Can you give us an article on Matt. 19:9. Does it give another reason for divorce as long as you do not marry again?" The short answer is, "No." Note that in the context, verse 6, Jesus said, "what God has joined together, let not man separate." That was God's will from the beginning of creation, verses 4-5. If there is to be any exception to that rule, the exception must be made by the One who made the rule. In verse 9, the One who made the rule gives one -- only one -- exception. A person who has been faithful to his marriage vows has the option to divorce (put away) a spouse who has been unfaithful (sexually immoral). Unless that unfaithfulness exists, the general rule applies, "What God has joined together, let not man separate." Paul, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 7, supplies additional information that has bearing on the question at hand. Verses 1-5 allow for a temporary separation for spiritual purposes, but this does not authorize divorce or marriage to another. Then Paul writes in 1 Cor. 7:10-11, "Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife." It is clear that Paul is not giving another grounds for divorce here. He plainly says that neither the man nor the woman is to depart from his (her) spouse. If that admonition is violated, Paul gives the remaining options open to the one who has unscripturally departed from his (her) spouse: be reconciled to that spouse, or remain single. Remaining single does not negate the sin of divorce, but it prevents further sin. Some believe that Paul's statement in 1 Cor. 7:14-15 gives a second ground for remarriage in addition to that given by Jesus in Matt. 19:9 (and Matt. 5:32). When an unbelieving spouse departs from a believer, the believer is not "under bondage" to that unbeliever -- but the Greek word for "bondage" is NOT the word otherwise used to describe marriage. It is a word usually associated with slavery. The believer is not required to slavishly follow the unbeliever and try at all costs to maintain the relationship. He or she may let the unbelieving spouse depart -- but the apostle does not give permission for the believer to marry someone else. -- Via The Susquehanna Sentinel, December 25, 2005 ____________________________________________________ -4- News & News Ralph Peal (Eloise Craver's brother, who had been her last surviving sibling) passed away the morning of January 12. Though originally from Atlanta, Texas, he had also lived in Houston, where he had worked for the United Gas Corporation. Later, he then moved to Shreveport, where he spent many years until his departure at 81. Surviving are his wife and four children (by his first wife who had preceded him in passing by about 18 or 19 years). Let those of us who are Christians be praying for all the family and friends. We extend our condolences to them. ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________