RESTING IN GLORY LAND!

I arrived in Israel yesterday and had a glorious day with two of our grandsons from Arkansas. They have been visiting with some of our Jewish friends here in Ariel and we were a blessing to each other to be able to spend time together. Both of these boys are in college in the states and they both told me that what they have learned while here in the land is way more important than anything they might learn attending college.

Part of our discussion has centered around the way the Lord has chosen to teach us his ways. There is a great struggle going on in the Body about what all has changed with the New Covenant in place for the believer rather than the Old Covenant. Amazingly I have met many believers who for some unknown reason feel that the Old Covenant is still relevant in a believers life. The major difference between the two is that the first was primarily centered around the flesh or outward man and the new is about the heart of man.

"So from now on we regard no one from a fleshly or worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All of this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has now given us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5: 16-18

My heart goes out to my Jewish friends who are only able to observe God from the outward. Paul tells us in Romans that we are able to have a zeal for God and yet do it without the right knowledge. (Romans 10:1-2) I have met many wonderful Jewish folks who are working with all that is within them to obtain righteousness by establishing it on their own. It is truly sad to see this and know they will never make it on their own. Praise God for His free gift of righteousness to all of those who believe by faith. Praise God for our father Abraham who discovered that by simply believing God it was accounted unto him as righteousness.

Ruby and I . . . . .

Use the Right Tool

Dr. Frederick K.C. Price

Have you ever watched a talented mechanic or craftsman work?  He always has the right tool.  You or I might strain to reach underneath an engine or struggle with pliers to put together some little piece of furniture.  But for a master mechanic or trained craftsman, it seems that no problem is too great.  The mechanic whips out a long instrument that has a ratchet on the end, slithers it up through the crowded engine compartment, and has a blot out in seconds.  A craftsman can affix the perfect-sized screwdriver head to an electric drill and assemble a complex-looking bookcase in minutes.  If you talk to these people, they will always tell you that it is critical to use the right tool.  A screw won't come off easily with pliers-if at all, and you can't drive in a nail with a screwdriver.

This principle is critical when it comes to prayer.  Many Christians aren't aware that there are several different types of prayer discussed in the Bible, and if you use the rules or tools from one prayer when you should be using the tools from another prayer for your needs or your request, it won't work.  You would be applying the wrong spiritual tool to your needs or your request.  Consider what Paul wrote to the Ephesians.  He concludes a long section in which he urges the Christians at Ephesus to "put on the whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:11), then to "stand" (v. 14), saying this should be done by "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (v. 18).  Notice that Paul tells us to pray with "all prayer."  This refers to all kinds of prayer, or to put it in a different way, Paul is saying there are different kinds of prayer.

A failure to understand that there are different kinds of prayer and that they don't all do the same thing has led some ministers to claim we cannot pray correctly at all, or to conclude each prayer with "if it be Thy will."  They frequently use Romans 8:26 as a proof text to show that we do not know what we need, so, in essence, we can't possibly pray correctly: