Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV) “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (NIV) “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”
The apostle Paul let the churches know that he was praying for them in his letters. We have some of those powerful prayers recorded, and I will often adapt them to my context as I pray for those in my ministry. However, Paul also asked for the churches to pray for him and for his ministry team. The emphasis of his requests, as you see from the passages above, is on the message of Christ. Whereas the Lord uses different messengers and various methods for delivering the message, the message of Christ itself remains unchanged. This is the good news of eternal life through Christ alone to which Paul and multitudes of believers through the ages have dedicated their lives. An open door for the message was foremost on Paul’s heart, and it should be on ours as well.
Too often our times of prayer focus on our own needs or the needs of those whom we care about the most. While we should lift up our needs before the Lord and ask him to provide and heal, we cannot allow these concerns to distract us from the centrality of the gospel message. It is in the gospel that “the righteousness of God is revealed —a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17, NIV) The ultimate as well as the immediate needs of the world are answered in the message of Christ. To live a life of faith is the core of how we were created. As we surrender to the Creator of our souls, we find fulfillment and purpose which flows from the purposes of God and we also receive the promise of eternity with God in paradise. Should we be content with putting band-aids on life-threatening injuries? Neither should we be content with praying for physical needs alone while a person’s spiritual life hangs in the balance. We should never forget the words of Jesus, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:17-18, NIV) We must never forget that those who do not believe that Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life are already condemned to perish into a Christ-less eternity.
This is why we must become savy pray-ers. We must be wise and have our spiritual senses sharpened, so that when opportunities come up, we can agree with God for the doors to be opened for the message of Jesus. Be careful that the world doesn’t mold you into spiritual dullness. We should be quick to recognize and pray for opportunities. They may not come in the package that we are expecting. In fact, many of the doors that the Lord wants to open do not look enticing to the natural mind. However, we must live by the Spirit and learn to listen to His voice. This is not only so that we don’t gratify the desires of the sinful nature; it is also so that we are on the top of our Kingdom game, so to speak.
Lord, let your kingdom come and your will be done. Open the doors for the gospel message in 2011. Amen.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Mess and the Glory
Luke 2:4-7 (NIV) “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”
Why is it that the Lord was born in a mess? We tend to focus on the stable as being the most unlikely of places for a child, let alone a king, to be born, but we forget that the whole world that he was born into was a mess. The King of kings and Lord of lords, the holy and pure God Almighty, was born into the mess of sin which in every way was and is much worse than any pile of manure. Why is it that the Lord was so unconcerned about the mess? The Bible records one tiny mention of the manger but tells us about a multitude of angels, and shepherds and wise men and prophets who gave glory to God for the birth of Jesus! We may spend so much time focusing on our messes, our sins, our hang-ups that we don’t realize that the Lord is not put out by a mess! He knows full well what life is like on earth. He knows our hearts far better than we do ourselves, and He still chooses to be with us. “’The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23)
What can we do that will be good enough to clean up for a visit from the King of the universe? There is nothing. Unfortunately, our eyes, our focus is on the mess instead of the glory so very often. What are we to do? Rather than focusing on the mess of our own lives and the lives of others, let us focus on the glory of the Lord. Let’s lift our eyes and our hearts off of the weight of sin and the effects of sin and be transformed as our vision is filled with His glory. This doesn’t mean that we ignore sin or the effects of sin. It doesn’t mean that we don’t correct bad behavior. It simply means that we should recognize the movement of God in the earth rather than be so quick to hang out in the manure. Instead of criticizing other believers who don’t measure up to our standards, let us recognize the good work that God is doing in them. Let us see the glory of God, however faint, pushing, working, exerting its influence and effect in their lives. It’s so easy to get put off by the mess. Instead we need to be like Jesus and jump into the messes of life in order to spread the glory of God around. Instead of being repulsed by the attitudes and actions of those who don’t know Christ, let us understand that the Lord himself sends us out just like he was sent – into the mess. We have good news! I encourage you to read out loud these words from Isaiah and to seek out the messes in which God has called you to shine His glory.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
Isaiah 60:1-3
Why is it that the Lord was born in a mess? We tend to focus on the stable as being the most unlikely of places for a child, let alone a king, to be born, but we forget that the whole world that he was born into was a mess. The King of kings and Lord of lords, the holy and pure God Almighty, was born into the mess of sin which in every way was and is much worse than any pile of manure. Why is it that the Lord was so unconcerned about the mess? The Bible records one tiny mention of the manger but tells us about a multitude of angels, and shepherds and wise men and prophets who gave glory to God for the birth of Jesus! We may spend so much time focusing on our messes, our sins, our hang-ups that we don’t realize that the Lord is not put out by a mess! He knows full well what life is like on earth. He knows our hearts far better than we do ourselves, and He still chooses to be with us. “’The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23)
What can we do that will be good enough to clean up for a visit from the King of the universe? There is nothing. Unfortunately, our eyes, our focus is on the mess instead of the glory so very often. What are we to do? Rather than focusing on the mess of our own lives and the lives of others, let us focus on the glory of the Lord. Let’s lift our eyes and our hearts off of the weight of sin and the effects of sin and be transformed as our vision is filled with His glory. This doesn’t mean that we ignore sin or the effects of sin. It doesn’t mean that we don’t correct bad behavior. It simply means that we should recognize the movement of God in the earth rather than be so quick to hang out in the manure. Instead of criticizing other believers who don’t measure up to our standards, let us recognize the good work that God is doing in them. Let us see the glory of God, however faint, pushing, working, exerting its influence and effect in their lives. It’s so easy to get put off by the mess. Instead we need to be like Jesus and jump into the messes of life in order to spread the glory of God around. Instead of being repulsed by the attitudes and actions of those who don’t know Christ, let us understand that the Lord himself sends us out just like he was sent – into the mess. We have good news! I encourage you to read out loud these words from Isaiah and to seek out the messes in which God has called you to shine His glory.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
Isaiah 60:1-3
Friday, December 10, 2010
Ask Me
John 14:12-14 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
James 4:2-3 (NIV) “You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
When fundraisers ask people for money, a lot of time and energy and creativity goes into making the “ask”. How much time and energy and thought do we put into asking of God? On one side of the coin, there are those who don’t believe we should ask God for anything. After all, he provides for the birds and animals, and he knows what we need. Therefore, the thinking goes, he will give us what he wants to give. On the other side, there are those who ask God with motives that are either completely self-centered or strongly self-centered. God becomes a rich grandfather who gives us “stuff” because he loves us, and we just need to keep asking until he gives in. Both of these ways of thinking are clearly wrong based on Jesus’ teaching. Jesus tells us plainly to ask him, and he leaves the content of our asking open-ended. His only qualification for asking is that the Father would be glorified. This is the door that we need to walk through when we consider what to ask him, and it requires some careful thought and interaction with him.
So often we think we understand what would bring glory to God; however, as events play out we realize that we did not or that God’s plans took a few more twists and turns than we expected. Therefore, instead of assuming that we know what would bring him glory, we must pursue his heart and mind on the matter. We must ask the Lord to show us what would bring him glory and then listen to the Spirit and search the Word for his response. Many people don’t realize that it is hard work to listen to the Spirit. It takes self-discipline to calm our hearts and minds before him and allow him to speak to us. It takes diligence to pursue the Lord in the midst of life’s daily interruptions. Yet, we must pursue his mind on what would bring him glory because he has commanded us to ask. We don’t have because we don’t ask. If we don’t know what to ask, then how can we ask God? It takes character to search out the scriptures and to understand what the Lord is speaking to us through them. This character piece is called diligence. The Bereans were models of diligence because they searched the scriptures for truth. Could it be that we are not making the right ask of God because we fail to be diligent in our personal interaction with him through prayer and the Bible?
I am captured today by Jesus’ words, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do.” When I think of the kind of blank check that this promise represents, my pulse goes up and my mind starts to dream. However, there is another step we must take. We must count the cost of our requests to God. When we ask the Lord for something, often it will require us to make changes in our lives that we don’t anticipate and don’t want. Consider the scenario where we ask God for more money to provide for our family. The Lord may answer by having us cut our expenses or by providing more income-producing work for us. Rather than having money fall out of the sky, the Lord typically answers by providing opportunities for us to “reap what we sow.” With whatever we ask of God we must realize that his goal is to bring glory to himself. He is glorified as our lives and character reflect his character and nature. So when we ask of the Lord, let us be prepared to diligently seek out his heart and mind and let us be prepared for the changes, the adjustments that we need to make in order for God to receive all the glory.
James 4:2-3 (NIV) “You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
When fundraisers ask people for money, a lot of time and energy and creativity goes into making the “ask”. How much time and energy and thought do we put into asking of God? On one side of the coin, there are those who don’t believe we should ask God for anything. After all, he provides for the birds and animals, and he knows what we need. Therefore, the thinking goes, he will give us what he wants to give. On the other side, there are those who ask God with motives that are either completely self-centered or strongly self-centered. God becomes a rich grandfather who gives us “stuff” because he loves us, and we just need to keep asking until he gives in. Both of these ways of thinking are clearly wrong based on Jesus’ teaching. Jesus tells us plainly to ask him, and he leaves the content of our asking open-ended. His only qualification for asking is that the Father would be glorified. This is the door that we need to walk through when we consider what to ask him, and it requires some careful thought and interaction with him.
So often we think we understand what would bring glory to God; however, as events play out we realize that we did not or that God’s plans took a few more twists and turns than we expected. Therefore, instead of assuming that we know what would bring him glory, we must pursue his heart and mind on the matter. We must ask the Lord to show us what would bring him glory and then listen to the Spirit and search the Word for his response. Many people don’t realize that it is hard work to listen to the Spirit. It takes self-discipline to calm our hearts and minds before him and allow him to speak to us. It takes diligence to pursue the Lord in the midst of life’s daily interruptions. Yet, we must pursue his mind on what would bring him glory because he has commanded us to ask. We don’t have because we don’t ask. If we don’t know what to ask, then how can we ask God? It takes character to search out the scriptures and to understand what the Lord is speaking to us through them. This character piece is called diligence. The Bereans were models of diligence because they searched the scriptures for truth. Could it be that we are not making the right ask of God because we fail to be diligent in our personal interaction with him through prayer and the Bible?
I am captured today by Jesus’ words, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do.” When I think of the kind of blank check that this promise represents, my pulse goes up and my mind starts to dream. However, there is another step we must take. We must count the cost of our requests to God. When we ask the Lord for something, often it will require us to make changes in our lives that we don’t anticipate and don’t want. Consider the scenario where we ask God for more money to provide for our family. The Lord may answer by having us cut our expenses or by providing more income-producing work for us. Rather than having money fall out of the sky, the Lord typically answers by providing opportunities for us to “reap what we sow.” With whatever we ask of God we must realize that his goal is to bring glory to himself. He is glorified as our lives and character reflect his character and nature. So when we ask of the Lord, let us be prepared to diligently seek out his heart and mind and let us be prepared for the changes, the adjustments that we need to make in order for God to receive all the glory.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Step Out
Acts 8:26-30 (NIV) “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’ 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.”
The Lord gives his people instructions not just from the Bible but for the day. How can it be otherwise? How is it possible to have a relationship with someone when there is no communication? He speaks, and we respond. He searches us out, and we turn toward him. He calls, and we answer. Here is Philip, disciple of Jesus, responding to two different ways God speaks on the same day. God directed, and Philip responded. This is the way we need to be also. It says, “The Spirit told Philip.” How did Philip know that the Spirit was talking? Although we don’t have details, we can take a guess and say that he learned the language of the Spirit. Philip, through his interaction and relationship with the Lord, learned to tell when the Spirit was speaking to him.
If the Spirit of God lives in us, and the Bible is clear that the Spirit lives in all who belong to Christ, then we can understand and grow in our understanding of God speaking to us. However, we must take the next step and that is to do what God tells us! That takes faith, and faith is risky. What if Philip didn’t hear the Spirit exactly right? What if he made a mistake? That’s a risk we all must be willing to take. Think about what would have happened if Philip wasn’t willing to step out in faith! God provided a ready-made opportunity, yet Philip needed to act like a Christ-follower in order to be involved in what God was doing. He needed to step out in faith. This is what we need to do as well. We might not have the best clarity on what the Spirit is saying to us, but we must learn to respond with what we have been given. Philip didn’t know what was going on until he stepped up to the chariot. Likewise, we often don’t have a clue what the Lord is up to until we step out.
Today if you hear his voice, step out. Take a risk for the kingdom. Learn to not have everything under control before you begin to follow. Stop being in charge and let the Lord direct your steps. The results will be God doing his thing, and I for one want to see God doing his thing as much as possible.
The Lord gives his people instructions not just from the Bible but for the day. How can it be otherwise? How is it possible to have a relationship with someone when there is no communication? He speaks, and we respond. He searches us out, and we turn toward him. He calls, and we answer. Here is Philip, disciple of Jesus, responding to two different ways God speaks on the same day. God directed, and Philip responded. This is the way we need to be also. It says, “The Spirit told Philip.” How did Philip know that the Spirit was talking? Although we don’t have details, we can take a guess and say that he learned the language of the Spirit. Philip, through his interaction and relationship with the Lord, learned to tell when the Spirit was speaking to him.
If the Spirit of God lives in us, and the Bible is clear that the Spirit lives in all who belong to Christ, then we can understand and grow in our understanding of God speaking to us. However, we must take the next step and that is to do what God tells us! That takes faith, and faith is risky. What if Philip didn’t hear the Spirit exactly right? What if he made a mistake? That’s a risk we all must be willing to take. Think about what would have happened if Philip wasn’t willing to step out in faith! God provided a ready-made opportunity, yet Philip needed to act like a Christ-follower in order to be involved in what God was doing. He needed to step out in faith. This is what we need to do as well. We might not have the best clarity on what the Spirit is saying to us, but we must learn to respond with what we have been given. Philip didn’t know what was going on until he stepped up to the chariot. Likewise, we often don’t have a clue what the Lord is up to until we step out.
Today if you hear his voice, step out. Take a risk for the kingdom. Learn to not have everything under control before you begin to follow. Stop being in charge and let the Lord direct your steps. The results will be God doing his thing, and I for one want to see God doing his thing as much as possible.
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