Friday, May 28, 2021

"Continue looking at the "source" and then Supplication" (Matt. 6:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/26/2020 12:26 PM

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  “Continue looking at the "Source" and then Supplication”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:11

 

            Message of the verse:  11 ’Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

            First of all I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this Spiritual Diary, as we truly have much to be thankful for, including the gift of salvation that was provided to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

            Next I want to finish our thoughts on the “Source” as we did not finish that one in our Spiritual Diary from yesterday.

 

            We have already mentioned that the source is God and God provided for man even before He created man.  Remembering God’s final creation it was man as God created everything else before man was created as if He was making everything perfect for His creation of man.  Let us look at Genesis 1:29 “Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;” (NASB95).  One can see from this verse that God had everything planed out ahead of time for when He would create man.  Since that time of creation God has continued to provide an abundance of food for mankind, in an almost unlimited variety.  I could list some of those varieties but I don’t want to get anyone hungry and run off and not finish reading this SD.

 

            MacArthur writes “Yet Paul tells us that ‘the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will fall away from the faith…and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.  For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer’ (1 Tim. 4:1, 3-5).  The Word of God sanctifies it by way of creation, and we sanctify it when we receive it with grateful prayer.  This is probably perfect timing as we study this on Thanksgiving Day.  I really had nothing to do with the timing.

 

            Every physical thing that we have comes from God’s provision through the earth, and therefore the sins of indifference and ingratitude are not to daily recognize His gifts in thankful prayers.  I am sure we will all do this today, but remember to do it each and every day of the year.

 

Supplication:  We see from the word “give” as this is where the supplication is expressed.  That is the heart of the petition, and it is because it recognizes need.  MacArthur adds “Even though God may already have provided it, we ask Him for it in recognition of His past and present provision as well as in trust for His future provision.”  This topic was spoken about in the last sermon that Dr. Gary Anderson as he preached at our church last Sunday morning as\nd he stated that we are to give thanks for what God has already given to us, and not what we think that He may give us.

 

            There is only one thing that could make Jesus’ instruction and our petitions valid and that is the promise of God.  It would be wrong for us to expect God to give us what He has not promised, and that is the reason that we all should be students of God’s Word to see exactly what God has promised.  Knowing His promises we can pray confidently because God has promised abundantly.  “3 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”  “10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. 11 But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity” (Psalm 37:3-4; 10-11). 

 

            MacArthur concludes “God does not bind Himself to meet the physical needs of everyone, but only of those who trust in Him.  In Psalm 37 David is speaking to believers who ‘trust in the Lord’ (v-3), ‘delight…in the Lord (v-4), ‘commit [their] way to the Lord’ (v-5), ‘rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him’ (v-7), ‘cease from anger,’ and ‘do not fret’ (v-8).  He says, ‘I have been young and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread’ (v-25).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is always a great thing to do to give thanks to the Lord, for He is the One who gives me all that I need.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust in the Lord to continue to supply the things that I need, and not necessarily the thing that I want for they may not be good for me.

 

11/26/2020 12:52 PM

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