A disciplined calmness seemed to permeate the man.”  
                    –Henry McLaughlin  (Journey to Riverbend)

       “Pray without ceasing.”
                    –1 Thessalonians 5:17
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There have been some great books regarding prayer.  E.M. Bounds and Andrew Murray come quickly to mind.  I think of the prayers of George Muller and of John Hyde who was known as “Praying Hyde.”  James, the apostle and half-brother of Jesus, and author of the Book of James was nicknamed “Old Camel Knees” because of the calluses he developed while kneeling in prayer.  Prayer is vital to the Christian, and we are told by Paul to “pray without ceasing.”  In other words, be in constant communication with God.
       I used to, and to some extent still do, get frustrated with prayer.  I wanted to pray like Muller or Bounds.  When I read Murray, I become amazed at his prayer life, but when I tried to follow their pattern and example I would become more frustrated, and prayer is not to frustrate us but to bring us peace, and most importantly to know the Lord in a more complete way.  I came upon a book by Rosalind Rinker that helped me greatly, “Conversational Prayer.”  I won’t go into detail, but the concept is that we should pray to God just the way we talk with a friend.  Of course, there is time for formal prayers, but they can be quite inspiring.
       Today, I am borrowing almost completely from a little booklet handed out in the church where we attend.  It caught my attention and in this troublesome world, we need to be more in prayer.  If never before we should be praying without ceasing.  The author of the following is Del Rogers.

               “The Bible urges us to ‘Pray without ceasing.’  But how do we do that?  Well, we can start by giving God our waking thoughts, our waiting thoughts, our worrying thoughts, and our waning thoughts.
               What if you learned to pray without ceasing?  What alterations would unceasing prayer have on your stress levels?  Your mood swings?  Your temper?  Would you sleep better?  God never sleeps.  Since God doesn’t need to sleep, there’s no sense in both of your staying awake, right?
               Rather, you can use your final thoughts to praise God for another day, tell Him what you need, thank Him for all He’s done, and leave tomorrow in His hands.
               We are an anxiety plagued people, aren’t we?  We worry about how we’re going to pay the bills this month.  We worry about relationships–maybe your marriage is struggling, or your kids are straying.  We worry about work.  We worry about our health.  We worry about fitting in, about being good enough, smart enough, thin enough, pretty enough!
               Imagine never worrying about anything!  Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers in Philippians 4:6.  Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray.
               Please understand that prayer isn’t just another thing to do; rather, prayer is what empowers us to do all the things we have to do.  I believe the best solution is to just start praying.  The more you pray, the better ‘pray-er’ you will become.”

       In other words, pray all the time.  People clamor, and I use that word purposely, that they want fellowship with God.  However, fellowship is not hopping up and down at the front of the church.  Fellowship comes from knowing a person, and in this case–God.  Pray all the time, but in your special times of prayer at home make sure you have your Bible when you pray.  Read a few verses, pray over and about them, and let God speak to you.

Some men have to set aside their own lives to protect the lives of others. It’s just how it’s done if the country is going to survive the wilderness.”

                         –Mel Odom  (The Hold Up)

       “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”

                         –John 14:24(NASB)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:   “We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one.”  –1 John 5:19 (HCSB)

Today is V-J Day (Victory over Japan) marking the end of World War II; V-E Day had taken place a few months earlier.    The war was slaughter, many died or were mangled either in mind or body, because of the fight to end the world of the menace of Fascism.  Sacrifice upon sacrifice was given.  I didn’t want the day to pass without mentioning the sacrifice of those who lived during that terrible time, and it leads into the verses in 1 John, to study today.  I’m using the Holman Bible today rather than the New American Standard.

               3:16 — This is how we have come to know love:  He laid down His life for us.  We should also lay down our lives for our brothers.
               3:17 — If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need–how can God’s love reside in Him?
               3:18 — Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action.

       One thing I trust you have noticed in our study of how to live in this confused and chaotic world is that doctrine always precedes action.  Doctrine first!  Then following doctrine is always practice!  There must be grounded doctrinal theology before there can be practical theology.  If not there can become a problem of practice with no sound doctrine to back it up.
       These verses go beyond “liking.”  Liking is something natural, something elemental; not the result of effort.  Love takes effort and true love if seldom practiced properly because of that.  We commonly hear the misuse of the term “love.”  People say, “I love those shoes,” “I love ice cream,” “I just love that song.”  No, these are love for objects.  When we love we must always think in terms of God.  Therefore, love is highly intelligent; it is never elemental or instinctive; love goes beyond the superficial and visible.  Love overcomes obstacles and excuses.  Far too often people are in love with love.  They are content with elevated feelings and thoughts.  They may become giddy in their emotions.
We are familiar with the writings of Paul in 1 Corinthians the 13th chapter that describe “love,” but we do not take to heart one of the verses, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (verse 11, NASB).  A child’s love is sincere, but immature.  As we grow in Christ we should never lose the sincerity of love, but we should become mature in our love.
       Love is always practical.  Love is always active; there is always an expression of some sort.  We get into the controversy of legalism–Jesus said if you love Me, keep My commandments.  Look at it this way.  Doing the commandments without love–that is legalism.  Doing the commandments because of love is showing that we love Christ.  True love does not look at itself; it is absorbed in the object of its love.
       God saw our predicament and He had compassion upon us.  He did not think of Himself; He did not think of His rights.  He sent His only begotten Son to this sinful world to redeem it and to show God’s love.  If we think of our rights we are not loving; if we think of our responsibility we show our love.

                    “That is the essence of love.  It acts, it gives, it expresses itself; it cannot help itself–it must…  True love is always active, and there we see it to perfection:  God giving Himself for the evil, the perfect for the vile and the condemned.”
                             –D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones