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From the Editor's Notebook: Miscellaneous Pages

W Ross Rainey — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:31:42 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Miscellaneous Dates

W Ross Rainey — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:11:53 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Divorce and Remarriage

W Ross Rainey — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:07:37 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: A Biblical Challenge

W Ross Rainey — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:02:37 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Historical Books

W Ross Rainey — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:42:06 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Pentateuch

W Ross Rainey — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:34:45 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: The Annual Meeting

W Ross Rainey — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:32:03 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Journeying Through Jude

W Ross Rainey — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:38:41 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Cults

W Ross Rainey — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:02:27 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Major Prophets

W Ross Rainey — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:53:35 -0500

From the Editor's Notebook: Minor Prophets

W Ross Rainey — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:33:16 -0500

God's Will Concerning You

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

God’s Will Concerning You

W. Ross Rainey

A missionary summed up his desire for the future in one statement: “to be in the center of God’s will.” There is no higher ambition in the Christian life than to daily “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom.12:2) and, having proved the will of God, to love it and to walk in it.

One means for the Christian to learn God’s will is to search the scriptures daily (Acts 17:11); then the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit is performed, bringing Christ before the believer and allowing God to speak to the heart, so that the child of God can enter into the experience of the Psalmist: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105).

The Bible is the revealed will of God, containing exhortations specifically stated to be His will. If we would seek His will, these precepts must become part of our daily walk.

Three closely linked purposes, relative to His will for His saints, are expressed in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Rejoice Evermore:

Christ and joy cannot be separated. Though He was the “Man of sorrows,” “obedient unto death” (Isa. 53:3 Phil. 2:8), the Lord Jesus Christ has given millions of believers a joy which the world can neither give nor remove. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). A joyous Christian is a strong Christian.

A Successful Failure

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

A Charming Christian

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

The Christian as a Son

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

The Christian as a Soldier

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

The Christian as an Athlete

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

The Christian as a Farmer

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

The Christian as a Student

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

The Christian as a Vessel

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

The Christian as a Servant

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

To Have and to Hold

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

By-products of Prayer --Part 1

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

By-products of Prayer
Part 1

W. Ross Rainey

The question is often asked, either inwardly or outwardly “Why pray?” There are many reasons why the Christian ought to pray, (e.g., he is commanded to pray — Luke 18:1; 1 Thess. 5:17; Col. 4:2; the example of Christ — Luke 3:21; 5:16; 9:29; 22:39-46; 23:34; etc.; God has revealed in His Word that He desires and needs the fellowship of His own —1 Pet. 5:7), and among the chief reasons is one generally overlooked by many — the products of prayer.

Just as petroleum yields many byproducts, so also does prayer. These spiritual rewards, to which no earthly evaluation can be attached, are the blessed experience of all who persevere and prevail in prayer. That few today really engage in this arduous yet richly rewarding task is sadly evident. Who among us would not value an audience with a well-known king, prime minister, or president? At any time we may seek the face of Him who is the “King Of Kings, and Lord Of Lords,” One who is infinitely more interested in our individual welfare than any earthly ruler or sovereign. Yet, how little we avail ourselves of this wonderful privilege! We are glad and grateful for camps and conferences, rallies and retreats, teen-times and tea-talks, but these can never serve as a substitute for personal, private prayer in the life of the believer.

In his instructive and valuable little book, Method in Prayer, W. Graham Scroggie has aptly said:

“One of the greatest mistakes that a Christian can make, is to imagine that increased social or spiritual activity can be any compensation for the lack of secret communion with God. A prayerful life is always a powerful life; and a prayerless life is always a powerless life. If we cannot pray aright, we really can do nothing aright; but how slow we are to believe that.

By-Products of Prayer --Part 2

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

FFF 9:9 (Sept 1963)

By-Products of Prayer
Part 2

W. Ross Rainey

Every Need Suplied

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matt. 7:7-8).

It has been said that “The greatest saints are the asking saints.” So often we fail to ask the Lord for our wants and needs. The latter He has promised to supply (Phil. 4:19); the former He delights to give when in accord with His will and what He knows is best for us. “Ask,” “seek” and “knock” are present tense commands, emphasizing a necessary persistence in our praying and apropriately illustrated by the Lord’s parable of the importunate friend (see Luke 11:5-8). The words of Matthew 7:7 have often been used as an acrostic:

Ask
Seek
Knock

The practical minded James chided his readers, saying, “… ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (Jas. 4:2-3).

What a blessed by-product of prayer! Every need supplied. But we must ask.

Abounding Joy

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

Again, the Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to “ask,” the present tense once more stressing perseverance in prayer, the sense being: “keep on asking, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

Negatives for the New Year

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

Jabez

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

A Business Woman Believed

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

Epaphras

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

Christ’s Most Public Miracle

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500

Christ Walking on the Water

W Ross Rainey — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:36:18 -0500