Prevailing Prayer

I Appointed You That Ye Should Go and Bear Fruit, and That Your Fruit Should Abide: That Whatsoever Ye Shall Ask of the Father in My Name, He May Give It You—John 15.16

Today's Reading is a selection
from my book For His Glory:
31 Daily Meditations

In the first verse of our parable, Christ revealed Himself as the true Vine, and the Father as the Husbandman, and asked for Himself and the Father a place in the heart. Here, in the closing verse, He sums up all His teaching concerning Himself and the Father in the twofold purpose for which He had chosen them. With reference to Himself, the Vine, the purpose was, that they should bear fruit. With reference to the Father, it was, that whatsoever they should ask in His name, should be done of the Father in Heaven. As fruit is the great proof of the true relation to Christ, so prayer is of our relation to the Father. A fruitful abiding in the Son, and prevailing prayer to the Father, are the two great factors in the true Christian life.

That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.—These are the closing words of the parable of the Vine. The whole mystery of the Vine and its branches leads up to the other mystery—that whatsoever we ask in His name the Father gives! See here the reason of the lack of prayer, and of the lack of power in prayer. It is because we so little live the true branch life, because we so little lose ourselves in the Vine, abiding in Him entirely, that we feel so little constrained to much prayer, so little confident that we shall be heard, and so do not know how to use His name as the key to God’s storehouse. The Vine planted on earth has reached up into Heaven; it is only the soul wholly and intensely abiding in it, can reach into Heaven with power to prevail much. Our faith in the teaching and the truth of the parable, in the truth and the life of the Vine, must prove itself by power in prayer. The life of abiding and obedience, of love and joy, of cleansing and fruit-bearing, will surely lead to the power of prevailing prayer.

Whatsoever ye shall ask—The promise was given to disciples who were ready to give themselves, in the likeness of the true Vine, for their fellow men. This promise was all their provision for their work; they took it literally, they believed it, they used it, and they found it true. Let us give ourselves, as branches of the true Vine, and in His likeness, to the work of saving men, of bringing forth fruit to the glory of God, and we shall find a new urgency and power to pray and to claim the “whatsoever ye ask.”

A Stubborn Pup Be Not

April and Toby

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. (1 Samuel 15:23a)

Most of the neighborhood within a mile radius knows the names of our dogs by heart. The reason they do so is not because they roam the neighborhood getting into mischief. They are known because they can’t roam freely from to house to house. Our dogs are either fenced in or under our constant eye when loose. Thus is the reason why they are so well known. They are the most stubborn creatures on planet earth. When called to go in, every one of them requires at least two to twenty calls followed by a threat or two before they will respond. Toby is the most stubborn of the pack and always insists on being the first out the door and the last to come in.

You can find stubbornness rooted within a lot of people. It can be detrimental to any Christian that digs their heels in when God is calling them out of sin.

We are a lot like Toby when it comes to departing sin. We often wish to linger and enjoy the pleasure of sin. I can imagine that a few of our names are well known among the angels because God has had to call us so often to return the flock. Follow @pastorbarr

Find more heartwarming insights to April and Toby in Pastor Jim's book, For His Glory: A Kaleidoscope of Wisdom. For His Glory: A Kaleidoscope of Wisdom is a collection of meaningful and powerful reflections from real life experiences coupled with practical biblical wisdom. Going beyond the normal inspirational book, For His Glory unveils a kaleidoscope of commonsense precepts that challenges the reader to discover the wonders of living for God's glory. Eye-opening, life changing and easy to understand, For His Glory will enrich your life. Find out more and see what others are saying by CLICKING HERE!

Is the Fossil Ida the 'Missing Link'?

A lot of hype has followed the recent news release about a fossil discovered in 1983 by a private collector and recently sold to the Oslo museum in 2007. Three observations I suggest the reader consider following the media frenzy and the claims concerning this fossil.

Call me a skeptic but when so much media coverage is given an announcement like this I always follow a simple rule – “follow the money.” Is money being made here? You be the judge. The day following news release a book on this fossil was released. Two weeks later a special on the History Channel will be aired. And! Don’t forget that Oslo museum must have paid dearly for Ida and the museum stands to gain from the hype and by spin-off’s like the unveiling of Ida "at New York's American Museum of Natural History, which will feature a replica cast in a new exhibit about mammals." (Associated Press)

Again, call me a skeptic but I always want to know if the whole story is being reported. In this case the majority of the media ignored the fact that many from the science community, even noted evolutionists, question and doubt the conclusion hyped by Jorn Hurum of Oslo museum. “I actually don't think it's terribly close to the common ancestral line of monkeys, apes and people," said K. Christopher Beard of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The third and most important observation for the reader to consider is, “What does the Bible say?” The Bible says that mankind, unlike any of God’s other creations, was made in the likeness of God (Genesis 2:7). We are unique. The “link” is always going to be missing. For a more biblical view point on this subject and all of creation check out this site.