Thanks

Philippians 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

I am not sure why, but for some reason even to a greater degree than at Thanksgiving, at Christmas I get really reflective about everything I have to be thankful for.

There are so many people that have been such an incredible blessing to me at Bethel in so many ways. It has been such a privilege as your pastor to share our lives together. We have celebrated our victories together, we have walked together during our trials. We have rejoiced together and we have mourned together.

I am sitting here as I write this and I am going back over and over in my mind the many things that different members of Bethel have done over the past year to show me that they love me, and to bless me. I feel like I could never repay the many acts of kindness that have been extended on my behalf. I am earnestly asking God to repay your kindness with His blessings. 

I just want to stop and pause, and say to you that I do not take for granted the wonderful privilege that it is to serve as your pastor. I am a blessed man. Thank you for the privilege.

From the Hester family to you and yours.......have a very blessed and merry Christmas!!

Help me finish

Acts 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."



The attitude that Paul expresses in this verse of scripture as he addresses the Elders of the church at Ephesus is the attitude that in large measure made this man the spiritual giant that he was. Paul's attitude was one of self sacrifice. He did not calculate every move through the lens of what it was going to cost him personally. He did not withhold anything from God even to the point that he was willing to put his life in danger for the cause of Christ.

Wow! What an example the Apostle Paul sets for us as followers of Christ. What an important truth he teaches us in these words in Acts 20:24. Paul is essentially saying, "I am going to do what God has called me to do and I don't care what it takes, I don't care what it costs me, I am giving no thought to self." Paul understood that this type of attitude was necessary to finish the race well. Notice that he says he adopts this thinking "so that I may finish my course." Paul understood that he would not finish the race if he started thinking about the personal cost involved.

If Paul some where along the way, stopped and thought to himself, "I sure have given up a lot to follow Christ. I sure have made many sacrifices. Look at all that I have done for God and look where it has gotten me. The more I have done for God the more heart ache and trouble I seem to experience. Maybe it's not worth it. Maybe I have done enough for God and sacrificed enough for Him and maybe it's time for me to just relax and enjoy life a little bit. Think I'll go back to Jerusalem and just cool it for a while so these people will stop trying to kill me for preaching Christ."

The minute you start to think about yourself the outcome is predictable. You will be tempted to quit on God, or at least curtail what you are doing for Him.

The Word

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.......14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John's gospel tells the Christmas story in a different way. Whereas some of the other gospel writers tell us about the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus, John cuts to the chase regarding the theological implications of the event.

At the center of our understanding of the gospel is the correct identity of Jesus. He is not simply a good moral teacher who led an exemplary life worthy of being imitated. He is that, but to stop there as many have done is to ignore the most important aspect of who Jesus was. John makes it clear that Jesus was God. He was God who put on flesh and "dwelt among us."

I can ponder that theological truth for an eternity of eternities and never exhaust all the implications. The greatest implication of all is that because He was God, He could save me from my sin.

Thank you Lord Jesus for leaving the glory of heaven, to enter this cesspool of a world, to save sinners like me. My soul and spirit magnifies you today.

Continual worship

Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

The Lord through the prophet Hosea under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit pointed out something lacking in the worship of the people of God. He pointed out that there was outward expression of worship with no inward effect. They were going through the prescribed rituals, like offering animal sacrifices and burnt offerings. The reality of the situation is that their hearts were far from God. God is not pleased with superficial, surface worship.

When Mary says "My soul exalts the Lord" in what has classically become known as "The Magnificat" recorded in Luke 1, she expresses a thought that wells up from deep within her inner being. The word "exalts" is the word in Greek "megaloonay". The first part of that word is borrowed from the Greek language and applied in many contexts in English. "Mega" means "huge". We put "mega" in front of just about any noun if we want to express the idea that it is great, large, or expanding. The idea expressed is that Mary is overwhelmed and overcome by the glory, the wonder, the majesty, and the awesomeness of the Lord.

It does not stop with a one time experience. "Megaloonay" translated in our English bibles "exalts" or in some versions "magnifies" is a present tense continuous action verb. That simply means that it is a continual action. Mary does not express a thought that is a one time event. She expresses an ongoing thought of worship.

That reminds me that my whole life is to be one big worship service. Worship is not something that I am to do at 9am, 10:30am, and 6:30pm on Sunday......it is a lifestyle.......God grant us worshiping hearts.

Unity

Philippians 2:1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

We all love to hear the song during the Christmas season, "It's the most wonderful time of the year". Can I make a declaration? If you work on a church staff that presents its budget in December, that just simply is untrue for you. Introduce the notion of how to spend money in the church and you get a wide variety of opinions. I have now officially been through it as a pastor 11 times. When it comes to creating a church budget, there are always extremes to be dealt with. Some people are risky, and some are very conservative. Some are for "passing a faith budget" that is far beyond the congregation's ability to reach.....Some are for passing a budget that is less than the previous year's tithes and offerings so the church can "squirrel away money for a "rainy day".

When you are on a church staff you see the potential for division. People with different opinions about how to spend money can get polarized, and the enemy can get a foothold, divide and conquer. It is a stark reminder that if we in the church are going to remain unified, it is not our opinions that are going to do it. The last word of our focus passage for the day is the key to unity. It is the word purpose. Our opinions are not going to unify us....it will be a sharp focus on the purpose. The purpose is to make disciples.

Different people will have different opinions in the church on how to spend the money, but if the ultimate focus is to reach people for Christ, God's people are not going to press their opinions to the point that it divides the body, and thus compromises the church's ability to reach people for Christ. There will be a "big picture" understanding, so that those that do not get their way will not do damage to the body over the fact that their suggestion or budgeting philosophy was not ultimately adopted by the church.

I saw some disagreements and some differences of opinion during the budget process at Bethel this year. I am happy to report that even though the discussions got spirited at times, no one got nasty. Everyone expressed their opinion in a respectful way. When it comes to those that did not get their way, nobody took their marbles and went home.

We are moving forward together....as soldiers of the cross. That's the way it should be.

Spiritual breathing

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.


One of the things that we do quite naturally if we are healthy is breathe. We don't have to think about it we just do it.

I want to introduce you to a concept that Campus Crusade for Christ founder the late Dr. Bill Bright called "spiritual breathing". It is a concept that if practiced will transform your spiritual life. Spiritual breathing first acknowledges that people sin even after they are saved. Many Christians are in denial about that idea, but the bible says in 1 John that if we say we have no sin we are liars and the truth is not in us. The idea is to recognize it when we sin, and to confess it right away.

When we sin, we know that we have grieved the Holy Spirit. We often just go on about our business without doing anything about it. We try not to think about it and often just try to suppress it in our thinking until the Holy Spirit reminds us about that sin some time later. Dr Bright suggested that what all Christians ought to do when they sin is confess and ask forgiveness right away. Do not let long periods of time go by with unconfessed sin in your life. When you sin, don't wait until the invitation after the Sunday sermon to get right with God. Confess your sin to the Lord immediately. Sin breaks fellowship with God. You can sense it when you disobey the Lord that your fellowship with Him is broken. Confessing sin restores fellowship with the Lord. Confess your sin, then ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, appropriating His fullness in your life again. Continue walking in the Holy Spirit now that your fellowship with God has been restored. IF you practice this it will become as natural as breathing....thus the term "spiritual breathing".

Let's review the process of "spiritual breathing". When you sin, confess it to the Lord right away. Do not wait. Claim 1 John 1:9 which says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Ask the Lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit understanding that it is God's command to be filled with the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 5:18). Understand that the bible teaches us that we get what we ask for when we ask according to the will of God (see 1 John 5:14-15 above). So now having restored fellowship with God, walk in the fullness of the Spirit.

Practice this art of "spiritual breathing" and you will have less time in your life with unconfessed sin in your life. As you keep short accounts with God, your fellowship with Him will deepen.

Listening while busy

1 Kings 19:12......and after the fire a still small voice. 

I have some more thoughts to add to Tuesday's blog post regarding the small still voice. I mentioned a key to hearing the small still voice is to get alone with God and block out the competing noises. That is true and I do not wish to hedge that thought. Jesus got off by Himself and spent time with the Father and we need to do the same.

However, there is one key idea that I think is definitely worth talking about when it comes to this concept of listening to the small still voice of the Holy Spirit. We can not always stop what we are doing and get off to a quiet place to listen to God. We must be able to hear from God in the midst of a busy, noisy life as well. Most of us are only able to have quiet time in the morning and have jobs that do not lend themselves to taking breaks to go pray. So the question begs asking, don't we still need to hear from God in the busy and loud portions of our life? I would say so. If that is true, then we had better develop our ability to hear the small still voice of the Holly Spirit even when there is a lot of noise, a lot of activity, and many competing voices.

If we are going to walk with God, we must hear moment by moment. That is only done when we learn to sense the Holy Spirit's guidance when life is full of activity and there is no opportunity for getting quiet and still before the Lord. That is why the Apostle Paul taught that we are to "pray without ceasing." We can not constantly stay on our knees with our eyes closed and our heads bowed, but we can live our lives in a constant attitude of prayer. When we live our lives in a constant attitude of prayer, we have listening hearts that hear the voice of God even in those portions of life that are noisy and busy.

Lord help us to block out all the noise and hear you, so that you might order our steps even in our busy day to day routines.

Small still voice

1 Kings 19:11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 

If we are going to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us day by day, moment by moment as believers, we must learn to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us. So often we are looking for the voice of the Holy Spirit in the miraculous. It is true the Holy Spirit makes the will of the Father known to us through the miraculous at times. The Holy Spirit does speak through signs and wonders at times. However, most of the time the Holy Spirit does not speak through signs and wonders. Most of the time He speaks through the small still voice.

Elijah was in a spot in his life where he was not able to hear from the Lord, because he was listening the wrong way. If you read the story that precedes our focal passage for today you will find that God had just spoken to Elijah through the miraculous as Elijah took on the prophets of Baal and called down fire from heaven. In our focal passage for today, God gave Elijah an object lesson to let Elijah know that the normal way God speaks to us is not the miraculous. Those are rare comparatively speaking. The norm is the small still voice.

In order to hear the small still voice, we have to get quiet. When someone is whispering you can not hear them if there is a lot of back ground noise. You can only hear a small still voice when you are in an environment where there are no competing noises. If we are going to hear from the Father through the Holy Spirit, we have to shut out the competing noises, and get still and quiet before HIM. Do you have time each day, when you get quiet and still before HIM listening to HIS small still voice? It is a key to hearing from God.

Filled with the Spirit

Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Yesterday I preached a message on Peter's denial of Christ. In the message I pointed out that after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit Peter was a different man. We read in the book of Acts that Peter became a bold witness for the Lord Jesus. When Peter denied Christ, he was operating in the flesh. In Acts Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter went from coward to courageous.

The main idea of the sermon yesterday is that we will be witnesses if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the same way Peter became a witness once he was filled with the Holy Spirit. I wish I had time yesterday to explain how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I did not. So I thought I would talk about it here.

Theologically we must understand that we all receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. It is not another event in the life of the believer, but rather it is simultaneous with salvation. So when Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to understand, the Holy Spirit does not leak out of us. To be filled with the Spirit means to allow yourself to be guided by the Spirit. It is possible even after getting saved to live carnal. That is, to live fleshly. It is possible to deny the Holy Spirit control of our lives. Some would argue that point with me. I would submit to you the notion that those who disagree with me have not carefully studied 1 Corinthians 3. Paul clearly addresses the Corinthians as believers. These were not lost people. They were just behaving carnally. They were not allowing the Holy Spirit who dwelt in them to have control of them. The result was behavior and attitudes that did not glorify God. We need to remember that the Holy Spirit wants to guide us into behavior and attitudes that glorify the Lord. That is the ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit.

Once we receive the Holy Spirit we then must be yielded to Him in order to appropriate His power in our lives. Acts 1:8 says: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you....." I want to emphasize that word "power". With the Holy Spirit comes supernatural "power". Through the Spirit you can do things that are only attributable to the power of God......for example, witnessing for Christ when left to your own devices you would be silent. Add the "power" of the Holy Spirit and otherwise timid people become bold witnesses for Jesus.

I use the word yielded because the Holy Spirit wants to be our "guide". He is the one who communicates to us the will of the Father moment by moment in our lives. We must be yielded in the sense that we are listening to Him. If we are in a state of prayer constantly, asking the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us moment by moment in our lives, He speaks to us in the small still voice...... When we hear the small still voice of the Holy Spirit and follow His prompting, that is when the power surge kicks in!! That which we would not have the ability to do own our own, the Holy Spirit empowers us to do.

It starts with a listening heart...... The Holy Spirit wants to guide you.....are you listening?

Stay tuned for more on being filled with the Holy Spirit on this blog in the coming days.

Power

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses......Acts 1:8

We began a study last night in Prayer Meeting on the book of Acts. Acts 1:8 is the thesis statement of the book. The book of Acts accounts how the early members of the church were filled with the Holy Spirit. Once they were filled with the Spirit they went about declaring the gospel. They were beaten for sharing the gospel, they were jailed for sharing the gospel, they were threatened for sharing the gospel, yet nothing would stop them. Quite a different bunch from the ones who were hiding out for fear of being discovered. What is the difference? It is the power of the Holy Spirit.

Inseparable in Acts 1:8 are the concepts of the filling of the Holy Spirit, receiving power, and being witnesses. It is the Holy Spirit's power that transformed those in the early church from cowards to courageous.

If we are not being witnesses we must conclude that we are not operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit made witnesses out of wimps in the early church and He will still do that today. As you examine your life ask yourself this question: "Am I really a witness? When is the last time I shared the gospel?" If you are not being a witness, it is probably because you are not appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

More to come in future posts about how to appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Thinking the right way

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. 

A person's thoughts in large measure determine their life. This is a biblical concept.

The New Age movement has picked up on this concept and twisted it a bit. Much has been written from that philosophical point of view on concepts like visualization, and speaking the reality you wish to create. They teach people to visualize what you want, meditate upon it, and eventually it will become a reality. They teach people to speak what you want and eventually it will manifest itself. As such, a person is able to create his or her own destiny.

The problem with the New Age concept is is that there is something that they ignore. Their philosophy is nothing more than humanism with a new wrapper. Humanism is the philosophy that elevates the efforts of man and makes man the center of the universe, not God. The New Age philosophy of manifesting your destiny by your thoughts and words ignores the sovereignty of God. God is in control, and if HE does not want it to happen it will not, no matter how much you think it or how much you speak it.

1 John 5:14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

The key to it happening.....it must be HIS will. If we think we can "create" a destiny with our own thoughts and words, we place ourselves in the position of God. God is the only creator, and nothing gets created apart from HIM.

Now that I have hedged against the danger of sliding down the slope into new age philosophy, let me say that within the boundaries of the will of God, our thinking will in large measure determine what we are. For example, if we are negative thinkers, we will attract negative thinkers to us. Positive people are not attracted to negative thinkers, they are repelled by them. If we are surrounded by negative thinkers, we will not be in an affirming environment, and thus we will probably not achieve at our highest level. So to some degree in that scenario, our thinking has determined what we become. On the other hand if we think positively, we will attract positive thinkers, and we will be surrounded by an affirming environment, not a bunch of whiners and complainers. We will be encouraged by our relationships to achieve at our highest level. With those kinds of relationships a person is most likely to reach their full potential. In this scenario a person's positive thinking has raised the bar for what he is able to accomplish. 

Now to further illustrate what this text means and what it does not mean let me offer this as an example. I can think about wanting to be a tail back for the Washington Redskins all I want ........folks it ain't happening no matter how much I think it. It is beyond the scope of my ability. I am too slow and too fragile. One hit from an NFL linebacker and I would be out for the season. It is questionable whether I would ever walk again. However, if I learn to think the right way, I can become a more effective pastor. That is within my grasp. That is within the boundaries of God's will for my life. If I learn to think the right way I can become a better husband and father. That is within my grasp, and it represents the will of God for my life.

Apply a little positive thinking in your life. It will not make you something you are not called or designed to be, but it will make you the best you that you can be.

Freedom

You, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

We all love to point to our Christian liberty! Rightly so. After all, the bible tells us that as new covenant Christians, we are not under law but under grace. However, the question begs asking, "How are we going to use our Christian liberty?" Our passage of scripture today reminds us that we are not to use our liberty as Christians as an opportunity to gratify the desires of the flesh. Using the grace of our Lord that way tramples it. With that kind of attitude you become a disgrace to grace.

May we go deeper? If a person uses their liberty as an occasion for the flesh, are they really free? What is real freedom? Might I suggest to you that real freedom is not the freedom to do what we want to do, but the freedom to do what is right? It is only through the power of Christ that we are able to be over comers and live lives that are pleasing to Him. Those who are really free, are the ones that have experienced the transforming power of Jesus to make us new creations who thirst after righteousness. I see a huge gap between the state of the person I just described and the person who is making excuses for sin. Do you see it?

Do not use your freedom in Christ as a justification for vice. Let your freedom in Christ empower you to be free from vice. If the son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.

Thanksliving

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

It is awesome that we live in a country that still sets aside a day to thank God for His blessings. It is sad that many in our country, probably the majority will go through the entire day without really acknowledging God. They will eat lots, get together with family that they really don't like (grumbling about them all the way there and grumbling about them all the way home), watch football, watch movies and never once stop to give thanks to the Lord for His blessings. Nevertheless, it is awesome that we set aside a day in our country for the purpose of remembering the Lord's provision.

Time for confession. I was sitting here a few minutes ago feeling sorry for myself. My wife is a Registered Nurse and has to work today. Chances are she won't get off until 8:30 or 9:00 tonight.I happen to love her and I miss her. It's Thanksgiving day and I would like to be with her today. In the middle of my pity party, the thought occurred to me, it's Thanksgiving and I should spend some time with the Lord this morning telling Him how much I appreciate Him and what I am thankful for instead of sitting here feeling sad about what I don't have. .....As I started to tell God all the things that I could think of that I was thankful for, it suddenly dawned on me that I had stopped feeling sorry for myself. I noticed that I had been released from my little pity party. Right at the exact time that I had that thought, the phone rang and it was Kay. She said, "I had a free moment and wanted to call and say happy Thanksgiving, and I love you. Save me some food I am going to eat no matter how late I get home tonight." She only had time to talk for about two minutes, but I felt like that was God's little gift to me. I just said, "Thank you Lord. Forgive me for feeling sorry for myself earlier."

Feeling sorry for ourselves for what we don't have is the opposite of a thankful spirit. I am reminded of something this morning. It is impossible to thank God and think about what you don't have that you would like to have at the same time. If we will just learn to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in our lives, Thanksgiving can be more than just a holiday.....it can be a lifestyle.....thanksliving!

From the Hester family to you and yours: Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Final thoughts on the model prayer

Matthew 6:13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'

Jesus asks for the Father's help to avoid temptation. It reveals a deep desire Jesus had to be pleasing to the Father. There was a thirst after righteousness. There was a longing for holiness. For a lot of Christians, there is no such longing. They want to see how close to the pig pen they get without falling in. Jesus wanted to be as far away from the pig pen as He could get and He prayed to the Father to order His steps away from filth. We would do well to pray along these lines daily. Praying this way will create in us a longing to live holy lives.

As the prayer begins to close, once again Jesus mentions the Kingdom. This time He says, "Yours is the Kingdom." Jesus begins by referencing the authority of the Father, and He ends the prayer by once again acknowledging the authority of the Father. The Kingdom is the Father's and we ought to make mention of it in our prayer lives. It is a reminder of who is in charge. Nobody walks into the King and demands anything. Even Queen Esther was apprehensive about approaching the King on behalf of her people the Jews. When you approach a King, you approach humbly.  Jesus teaches us to pray humbly. Beware of approaching God with a sense of entitlement as if the Lord owes you something. For the record, He does not.

Jesus finishes off the prayer with more praise, mentioning the power of the father, and the glory of the Father. I am struck by how much of the prayer is devoted to recognition of the attributes of God and how little is devoted to asking things from God. I am not saying that we ought not to ask anything from God. Nothing could be further from biblical teaching on prayer. We are told in the scripture Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." So we ought to ask for whatever we want. The point I am simply trying to make is that we do not spend enough time in prayer praising God and just worshiping Him. Jesus teaches us in the model prayer to spend a larger proportion of our prayer life praising the Lord. I challenge you to spend more time in prayer praising God. I bet it will make your prayer life deeper and richer.

The model prayer continued

Matthew 6:12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Now in the prayer Jesus moves into confession of sin. Confessing sin should be a regular part of our prayer life. For the believer, understand that confessing sin is not a matter of salvation. That is already settled for a truly born again person. It is a matter of relationship. When we do things that displease the Lord, in order to restore our relationship, we need to confess those things to Him. I personally believe that there is nothing else that will determine how our relationship with God goes more than regularly confessing our sin to Him. Confessing sin shows that we are conscious of the things in our lives that please and displease the Lord. Confessing sin will make us more sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Confessing sin is a key to spiritual growth because it causes us to remove things from our lives that need to go.

Jesus also teaches in this model prayer how important forgiveness is. People are sinful and they do hurtful things. Jesus is teaching us to forgive in light of the fact that we want forgiveness from the Father. When someone does something to hurt you, take that pain to the Lord. Then forgive them....declare to the Father that you are forgiving them.....it will release you and prevent bitterness from settling into your heart.


Jesus is teaching us two more very important elements to our prayer life: 1) Confession of sin 2) Properly dealing with those who have wronged us in our prayer life. Do you have sin in your life that you need to confess to get your relationship with God back to where it needs to be? Do you have hard feelings toward others that have mistreated you that need to be taken to the Father? If so, confess your sin. Pray for the Lord to help your attitude toward the person that wronged you. Pray for God to bless them today. In the process, you will feel a weight lifted from your soul, and you will experience deeper intimacy with the Lord.

Even more on prayer

Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Jesus is teaching us to pray by praying a "model prayer" for us in what we have come to know as "The Lord's Prayer". The prayer was not meant so much to be repeated, as it is to provide guidelines and principles that help us to pray in a way that is pleasing to God. Do you ever think about whether or not your prayer is pleasing to the Lord? Solomon's prayer pleased God....1 Kings 3:10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. We ought to consider whether or not our prayers please the Lord. If we pray the way Jesus taught us to pray our prayers will please God.

Jesus acknowledges the authority of the Father, praises the Father, and recognizes the sovereignty of the Father in verses 9 & 10. (see previous posts for more detail) Then in verse 11 Jesus asks for daily provision. He does not ask for next weeks provision. Jesus asks for what is needed today. When we pray, we recognize our total and utter dependency upon God to provide what is needed today. Jesus is teaching not only something about prayer, but also something about life. None of us are promised tomorrow, so we need to take each day as it comes. Jesus tells us later on in Matthew's gospel, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself." Matthew 6:34 

This goes way against the grain of western world thinking. We live in the land of insurance, IRAs, 401Ks etc. There is so much built into our culture that is designed to hedge against tomorrow's difficulty. It is so easy for us even as Christians to start trusting in those things and have our sense of security in them and not in the Lord...... 

Jesus says the way to live is one day at a time totally dependent on the Father. May our prayer lives reflect a daily dependence upon HIM.

More on prayer

Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

I have been at the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV) annual meeting in Richmond which is why I have not blogged in a while. The SBCV is our Baptist state convention comprised of 564 churches from all over the state of Virginia. Some of you recall that approximately 40 of our people went to the "Families on Mission" mission trip in Big Stone Gap Virginia? That mission trip was sponsored by the SBCV. The SBCV annual meeting was a glorious time of worship, preaching, testimonies of what God is doing all across the state, and a little bit of business thrown in. I am in awe of what God has done in so many of the churches of our state convention, and I wish that every one of you could have been there to hear the many inspiring testimonies of what the Lord is doing through Southern Baptists all over Virginia.

Last week I was writing about prayer and will continue. In verse 10 we see Jesus acknowledge the sovereignty of the Father. That is what He is doing when He says, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We ought to always pray reminded that the Kingdom of God is coming. One day Jesus is coming again! So no matter how bad it gets down here....no matter how hard serving the Lord becomes.....we need to remember that it is only temporary and that the Lord Jesus is coming again. Remembering that Jesus is coming again will affect the way we pray.

We also need to remember that God is in charge, He is in control. Nothing happens that God does not allow. So when we pray, we need to be mindful that we are praying to the one that has the whole world in His hands.

In Jesus' prayer, we can observe 4 steps in verses 9 & 10 so far:
1) He teaches us to acknowledge the authority of the Father
2) He teaches us to praise the Father
3) He teaches us to look forward to God's coming Kingdom
4) He teaches us to recognize that the Father is sovereign

Jesus does all that in His prayer before asking anything from God. I challenge you when you pray, to spend time in your prayer life in these 4 areas above. Linger in His presence as you do and you will experience intimacy with God on a new level.

Prayer continued

Matthew 6:9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

Jesus is teaching us to pray. He starts with an acknowledgment of the authority of God the Father.

Then He says "Hallowed be Your Name". Hallowed is an interesting word. In the Greek it is the word "hagiazo". On seven other occasions in the New Testament, the word "hagiazo" is translated "sanctify" in English versions of the bible (John 17:17, John 17:19, Ephesians 5:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 9:13, Hebrews 13:12, & 1 Peter 3:15). I point this out because it gives us some insight as to the meaning of the word "Hallowed", not exactly a common word in English. "Hagiazo" means to "set apart". It is closely related to the word "hagios" which is the Greek word for holy. So when Jesus says, "Hallowed be Your name", He is saying holy, sacred, set apart be Your name Father God. Jesus is saying, may your name be honored above all other names. It is praise of the highest order.

When we pray, Jesus is teaching us that our prayers should not consist solely of the things that we want God to do for us. We are told in scripture to ask for things from God, and we will talk more about that later. But it is notable that before Jesus asks anything from God the Father, He first spends time praising Him in prayer. Do you do that? Do you ever have time in your prayer life where you are not asking anything from God but just simply are praising Him? You should.

Sometimes we treat God like He is our "Genie in a bottle" or our "Heavenly bell-hop". We come to Him with the list of things we want Him to do to make things better in the universe, without ever spending any time adoring and praising Him.

May I tell you from personal experience, that if you spend time praising God in your prayer life, when it does come time to ask for something from God..... it will change what you ask for, and it will change how you ask for it. 

Prayer

Matthew 6:9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven....

If you are an active member of Bethel Baptist you will be receiving a letter in the mail from me within a day or two. I am calling the church to a season of fasting and prayer. So in my devotional time, I am doing some personal study on prayer, and I will be sharing some of that with you on this blog.

What we have come to refer to as "The Lord's Prayer" in Matthew chapter 6 is Jesus' instruction on prayer. He tells us to pray in this way. So Jesus did not mean for "The Lord's Prayer" to be an incantation that we repeat. He was teaching principles about prayer as He prayed.

Notice how He starts the prayer: "Our Father who is in heaven..." This is a recognition of the authority of the Father. He is Father, and He is in His exalted position in Heaven.

God the Father is the Creator, the All Mighty, the All Knowing, the All Powerful God of the universe, the Great I Am. Powerful prayer starts with a proper understanding of who God is. And even though we will never fully comprehend our awesome God.....we should continually pursue getting to know who He is. As you do, you discover that God is an inexhaustible well as you reach deeper levels of understanding in regards to who He is. The more you understand who He is, the more in awe you become of Him.......and it will affect your prayer life.

In "The Lord's Prayer" Jesus is teaching us to start our prayers by acknowledging the authority of God the Father. When we pray this way, it helps to put us in the proper mind set, so that we pray the right way.

Trust and obey

"But Naaman went away angry and said, 'I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy'" (2 Kings 5:11-12). 

Naaman was an army general with a terrible disease known as leprosy. It was a degenerative condition of the body tissues that literally caused the flesh to deteriorate to the point where limbs would eventually fall off in the advanced stages. It was a horrible and dreaded disease. Lepers were separated so as not to infect the rest of the population. It was suggested to Naaman by a young servant girl of the king's house that the prophet Elisha could heal him. Elisha sent a message to him: "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed" (2 Kings 5:10). When the instructions came as to what Naaman was to do, it seemed ridiculous to him. 

God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Therefore some of the things that God tells us to do may not always make sense on the surface. We have to be careful about trying to "figure God out." God instructed Joshua to march around the city of Jericho seven times. Jesus told a man to put mud on his eyes to have his sight restored. Jesus told Peter to catch a fish to get a coin to pay his taxes. None of them questioned God, they just did what He said.

We must learn to listen to God and do what He says, whether it makes sense to us or not.

Thanks

Last night I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love during "Pastor Appreciation" night. There were so many kind and encouraging things that were said to my wife and I that it was hard to take it all in.

One thing that sort of comes with the territory when it comes to being a pastor is scrutiny. Every sermon, every decision, your wardrobe, your demeanor, everything in the church you are to some degree held responsible for whether the decision was yours or not......everything is scrutinized all the time by someone. Any pastor will tell you, a lot of the time the only people you hear from are the ones that have some negative feed back regarding you or the church. So as a pastor you have to develop some thick skin and let a lot of stuff roll off of you. You also have to learn from the scrutiny and change the things about yourself that need changing that you can change (because some of it you can't change, it's just who you are) and try to improve constantly.  So the scrutiny can be a good thing......but honestly over time it wears you out......unless it is balanced with some encouragement and some positive feed back along the way.

Hopefully none of us serve the Lord for the praise of men. Ultimately we serve God because we love Him and we desire to please Him. But encouragement sure is nice. And last night I received a whole lot of it. Thanks Bethel for a tremendous outpouring of love last night. I count it a privilege to serve as your pastor.

Use your talents

Matthew 25:15 "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.

Jesus tells a parable about three servants that were given money to mange by their owner. A "talent" was an amount of money equal to about 20 years of wages for the average person of that day. The money is a metaphor for the modern day English meaning of the word talent (gifts and abilities). So the idea is that everyone gets a lot. We do not need to overlook that thought. Most people have more ability than they give themselves credit for, and tend to "let themselves off the hook" so to speak. They do nothing for God, and justify it by reasoning that they have no ability.   

Even though everyone got a lot, everyone in this story was not treated the same. One got five talents, another two, and another one.  Jesus does not pretend in this story that all of us are alike. In fact Jesus acknowledges that we are different. Not everyone has the same potential. Some have more potential than others.

This is both relieving and challenging at the same time. It is relieving because it reminds us that God is not going to hold us responsible for doing things that He did not gift us and call us to do. Our tendency sometimes is to compare ourselves to others and to feel guilty that we have not accomplished what they have accomplished. That is just the devil's way of making us feel worthless.

It is challenging at the same time, however. Because it is a reminder that God is going to hold us responsible for using what He has given us. It begs the question from each one of us, "Am I using what the Lord has given me to its full potential?" We should all ponder that question.....

Die daily

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:24-26).

There is an irony observable in nature that Jesus sees and relates to the spiritual realm. When wheat dies and falls to the ground, out of the death of that wheat comes many seeds. Through the death of that wheat kernel comes the potential for so much life.

This is analogous to what happens in the spiritual realm. If we die to self, and let Jesus live through us we create life. If we die to ourselves and allow Christ to live through us, we will be witnesses for Him. Those seeds of the gospel that we scatter will produce born again children of God. But it all starts with us making the decision to be dead to self and alive to Christ. 

There is another irony in this passage of scripture. Jesus says that people's efforts to hold on to their own lives are futile because ultimately such people lose their lives in the end. In a sense Jesus is giving us a picture of the person that is truly saved.....the truly saved person has lost his life.....God is not fooled by people who participate in religious activity yet hold on to their own lives in every other sense.....that is not a born again person, that is a religious person. Jesus said you must be born again to see the Kingdom of Heaven. So according to Christ, losing your life is not just a matter of being a good Christian.......it is the evidence of whether or not you are a Christian at all.

Provision

"Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about'" (Gen 22:2). 

God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that he would have a son. Years went by, but eventually Isaac was born, who was the promised son.

God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son to demonstrate his obedience to God. Abraham waited so long for a son, and now he is being told to sacrifice him. This doesn't make sense but Abraham starts to follow through on what he is told to do. God sends an angel to tell Abraham not to harm the boy. God provides a ram caught in a thicket for the sacrifice. God provided what was needed in a miraculous way!

Just reminds me I need to always do what God tells me to do whether it makes sense to me or not. It is only when I obey in this way, I get to see God make His most miraculous provisions, just like Abraham did.

Barriers to receiving wisdom

1 Kings 4:29 Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.

I have another one of those Monday morning hangovers. No, I did not go out drinking last night. I gave that up a long time ago. I am talking about a different kind of hang over where I can't get Sunday's sermon out of my system yet. It is difficult when you pour yourself for several days into a text, a teaching outline emerges from your work, key thoughts and life application of the text also. Then you deliver the sermon and give the invitation. Then it is over. Church is over and it is time to go to Golden Corral. Time to start thinking about next Sunday's message. Typically though I get a sermon hangover and it sticks with me into Monday. I try to write a blog entry about another subject and nothing flows out of my spirit, except what I preached about yesterday. It takes me until Tuesday to get over it. Why do I share all this? Because some may ask, "He just preached about this stuff yesterday, why is he writing about it today?" Now you know.

Solomon was a wise man, and there were some reasons why he was wise.

1) He was a man who wanted to please God. Solomon asked God to give him wisdom to know good from evil. He wanted to always do the right thing and please God.

2) He was humble. He recognized his need for God. Reminds me of the words of Christ: John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." Solomon recognized he could do nothing apart from God.


3) He was not self centered. When given the chance to ask anything from God, Solomon did not ask for something that would be a direct benefit to himself. He did not ask for riches, or political favor, or good health......he asked for wisdom to be able to lead the people well. His concern was for others, not for himself.

Now these are three reasons why Solomon was a man to whom God desired to impart HIS wisdom. I am sure there are more than just three reasons why God gave Solomon wisdom, but if we could just get these three down our lives.........maybe God will want to impart HIS wisdom to us as well.

Wisdom vs Knowledge

Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

It's been said, "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit but wisdom is knowing not to put tomato in your fruit salad." Wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing, but they are connected. Knowledge is information. Wisdom is knowing what to do with the information you have. You can know something, but if you don't know how to apply what you know in the practical world, then your knowledge does not help you too much. If we are going to be fruitful Christians we need both. Solomon tells us that the Lord is the source of both.


I am doing some study on Solomon since I am going to be preaching on his life in our morning services for at least the next two weeks. He is synonymous with wisdom because when God gave him the chance to ask for anything, he asked for wisdom. The bible tells us Solomon received wisdom from the Lord. 1 Kings 4:34 Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Solomon does not take credit himself for his wisdom, but recognizes God as his source. In the New Testament, James affirms what Solomon tells us when he says, "If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask God." 

So if you need some wisdom, take some good advice from Solomon and James.....ask God.

Slow to anger

Proverbs 19:11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.

Please forgive me for stating the obvious, but you are going to be wronged in this life by other people. It is not a matter of if, but when, how, and by whom? The real test of spirituality is not "What are you going to do about it? You are not going to actually going to let them get away with it are you?" The real test of spirituality is this one "Are you a big enough person to let it go?"

There is a time for anger. I am not telling you to be a door mat all your life. The bible says be angry and do not sin. Jesus got mad and turned over tables. Nobody got in His way either. There is a time for righteous indignation.

I was watching a football game a couple of Sunday afternoons ago. A defensive lineman pushed an offensive lineman after the play was over. The refs did not see it. The offensive lineman retaliated. The ref saw that one and threw a flag. The offensive lineman caused his team to get a 15 yard penalty.

We all have a tendency to want to "push back" when wronged. But we need to ask ourselves, "is this worth me getting angry?" If the answer is yes then we need to make sure we express it in the right place, and in the right way.

Let's be reminded that our scripture for the day says it is is to our glory to overlook it when we have been wronged. We should be much quicker to be angry when injustice happens to others, very slow to anger when it happens to us, and quick to overlook it when it happens to us.

Lord help us to show the same grace to others you have shown to us.

A picture of intimacy

Revelation 2:17 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'

Some do not believe in a personal God. Some believe that God has treated the universe much like you would treat a wind up watch....just wind it up and leave it alone. Some adhere to the idea that God has "wound up the universe" and He is letting it wind down without intervening.

But in contrast to that idea, the verse I have shared with you today illustrates the personal nature of our relationship with Christ and His direct involvement with those who know Him perhaps as well as anything else in all the scripture. We are told that when we get face to face with Jesus, He is going to give each of us who know Him a white stone. That white stone is going to have a name on it. Names in the bible had significance. Names meant something. The name on the stone will reflect something about the recipient. Only the recipient and the giver of the stone will understand the significance of the name.

It brings me comfort to know that as I am walking through this journey called life, Jesus is walking it with me. One day I will be able to see Him face to face and He will give me a "nick name" on a white stone that reflects some intimate part of my journey with Him.

That thought helps give me encouragement to press on.

Silence can be golden

Proverbs 17:27-28 He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered wise.

In the 1966 case Miranda vs Arizona the Supreme Court of the United States held that an elicited incriminating statement by a suspect will not constitute admissible evidence unless the suspect was informed of the right to decline to make self-incriminatory statements and the right to legal counsel (hence the so-called "Miranda rights"), and makes a knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver of those rights. In other words, if you get arrested, you have the right to remain silent. Even though everyone has the right to remain silent, not everyone has the ability. They therefore often end up making incriminating statements that are used against them in a court of law.

The bible teaches that silence is often the best policy. My Granny Hester used to say, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all."

Have you found Proverbs 17:27-28 to be true in your experience? Have you noticed that "know it all" types seem to have much to say and that those who really do know a lot sometimes are the quietest ones in the bunch? Have you also noticed that people who know what they are talking about can remain calm while they share their viewpoints? In contrast have you noticed those who are not as confident about the subject matter try to intimidate others with their tempers and easily get hot under the collar? If only people who are quick to speak and quick to weigh in under any circumstances knew how they were perceived by others........they might choose silence more often. 

I am not sure where this originated, but one of my personal favorite sayings is this one: "It is better to keep silent and let people think you are an idiot, than to speak and remove all doubt." 

Words to live by

I came across these words attributed to Mother Teresa. She had them written on one of the walls in the home for children she ran in Calcutta, India:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

These words ministered to my heart this morning.....thanks for allowing me to share them with you. Hope you have a blessed day.

Wisdom

Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all you heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.


Over time our lives become the sum total of our daily choices. Foolish choices over time can lead to a life that is at best - simply wasted and meaningless, or is at worst - a huge mess. To keep from wasting our lives, or to keep from making our lives a total mess, we need the wisdom of God.

Proverbs helps us to recognize two very important first steps in receiving the wisdom of God......

1) Trust in the Lord. You have to believe that HIS wisdom is what you need or you will trust in everything but Him. Trusting God in this verse is presented as the opposite of trusting yourself. Your understanding of things may not be accurate. You need to seek God's understanding of things.

 2) Acknowledge Him in all your ways. Give Him access to all your life. Some people compartmentalize their lives and have certain parts of their lives where it seems as if they are saying to God, "Hands off this area, I can do this on my own." Is there any area of your life in which you have shut out God? You have to open up every area of your life to God if you want His wisdom.....

Lord, teach us to know Your wisdom.

Demolition and construction

Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant."

Several years ago I  remember driving by a a spot where some old abandoned office buildings used to be. They had been removed. The area looked strange without those old buildings. It was several months before I happened to be in that area again. By now erected in place of those run down buildings were some beautiful condominiums. Those old office buildings had been neglected and were falling apart. They were really an eye sore to the neighborhood. The new condos totally transformed the area. It was a mini ghost town before. Now there were people out on the sidewalks walking dogs, jogging, sitting in chairs drinking tea and coffee......signs of life existed where there had previously only been an empty shell of a building.

It reminds me of what God does in us spiritually speaking. When the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, we learn what that word does. It plucks up, breaks down, destroys, and overthrows. There are some things in us that need to be plucked up, broken down, destroyed, and overthrown. There are attitudes that need to change, there are habits that need to be discarded, there are thought patterns that need to be abandoned.....and it is the word of the Lord that does that.

I often get people who tell me after a message, "Pastor that message really stepped on my toes this morning." What is really going on here? Did I sit in my office while I was preparing and say, "I am going to really nail them to the wall this week!" No, that's not what is going on. What's going on is that the word of the Lord has just been presented and applied, and the word of the Lord (not the preacher) is tearing down something that needs to be torn down in their lives.

The good news is that it does not stop there. Jeremiah said the word of the Lord also builds and plants if you look at the last part of verse 10. The word of the Lord is not just to tear you down and make you feel awful. In place of what God tears down in you through the word, HE wants to build something new into your life. But He can not do it until the demolition project is over. The folks that built those condos could not build them until the old office buildings were out of the way.

Embrace the process.....it is a process.....do not resist it, do not resent it and God will tear down in you the things that need to be torn down and rebuild you into something beautiful and full of life.

The Potter and the Clay

Jeremiah 18:2 Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will announce My words to you. 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.


I just got back in from a mission trip to Argentina. God did amazing things while we were there. He used our team to reach many people with the gospel. Dozens were saved. I stopped counting. I figure that God's score keeping is what really matters anyway. I would have thought it was worth it if nobody got saved. We are simply called to be faithful. He is the Lord of the harvest and the results are in His hands. But it was a blessing to be able to see visible fruit for our efforts.


However, what stands out to me about this trip is is the dramatic work that God was doing in the hearts of the people who went. There were 12 of us on the trip, 11 people from Bethel (including me) and one pastor friend of mine. Out of the group one sensed a call to preach while on the trip. One couple sensed a call to the mission field. One witnessed for the first time. One gave testimony that he had grown cold in his relationship with God and that the fire is now rekindled in his heart. One lady overcame great anxiety to even go on the trip. Pretty incredible stuff happened in the lives of the participants.

They went to be a blessing, and they were blessed. They were clay on the potter's wheel. The potter is the Lord, and we are the clay. Last week God did some reshaping and remolding of the vessels on the trip.

It reminded me that God is continually shaping us into what He wants us to be. How about you? Are you letting your life be shaped by the potter's hands? What is it that God wants to do to make you a vessel that is more useful in His hands?

I challenge you to ponder these thoughts in your quiet time.....

Rejoicing, patience, and prayer

Romans 12:12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

Romans 12:12 is in the middle of a shotgun style set of instructions for believers from the Apostle Paul. It is easy to miss the details when you get a whole lot of instruction in a short space. As I was doing some reading in Romans 12 this morning this verse tucked away in the middle of a passage loaded with commands jumped out at me. That's the way it always seems to be for me. I can just be reading along in a passage of scripture that I have read hundreds of times before, and a verse or portion of a verse will jump out at me with fresh new meaning.

I often preach three point outlines. Someone asked me once, "Why do all your sermons have three points?" I had no good explanation. The next Sunday I preached four just to break up the monotony. The following Sunday I went back to three. It just seems to work with the allotted time. I have trouble handling more than three thoughts at a time. Three seems to be my limit. I can go to the grocery store without a list if I need three things. Add a fourth and I need a list or I'll forget something. So maybe it has more to do with the limitations of the preacher than anything else.

So maybe Romans 12:12 jumps out at me today because it contains three thoughts: 1) rejoicing 2) patience 3) prayer. I have never seen the connection between the three ideas as clearly as I do today in this verse. These are not three isolated items. Paul is connecting them here, weaving them together. How can you be patient in the middle of a trial? If you are rejoicing in the hope that you have in Christ it will make it easier. If you are continuing to pray consistently it will help you with both 1 and 2.

I have been fortunate to be exposed to some believers along the way who had really consistent prayer lives. One key ingredient to all of their prayer lives was extended times of private praise and adoration of the Lord. I have come to understand that the element of praise and adoration flows naturally for the person who has a consistent prayer life. Praise and adoration of the Lord leads to rejoicing. You can not praise God for who He is and what He has done without rejoicing! It will will get you happy! Once a person gets up off their knees and reengages the material world, they can not just cut off that rejoicing that they were doing while they were praying. The attitude of rejoicing and gratitude before the Lord lingers. It then affects how they handle the difficulties that come along. 

Pray consistently. It will help your attitude, which will help you cope with the trials life brings in a way that brings glory to God. 

Facing the truth

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.

Someone shared this verse with me today. It relates to what I preached yesterday. It is Monday and I am still marinating in it. To nutshell yesterday's message, David fell into sin, but confessed that sin in Psalm 51. As a result he grew in the Lord. If we are going to grow in the Lord, we too need to confess our sin. We will all fail God at some point. When we do we should not run from Him but run to Him in confession and repentance. In this context, failures can actually become a spring board to spiritual growth. God can take our failures and bring good out of them that way.

But the key ingredient to it all is truth. This does not happen if we are not truthful. If we are not willing to admit where we have failed God then we are not being truthful. We are deceived. The Lord is not near us as long as we are living deceived. 

It is so easy for us to live self deceived. We as humans are so good at justifying our wrong behavior and our wrong attitudes. When we do that we are refusing to face the truth of the matter, and the result.....God is far from us. The only way to bring Him near is to face the truth about ourselves, confess and repent.

In order for us to do this, we must have help from the Spirit of Truth. HE is the one that must reveal it to us. This should be our prayer: "Lord help me to see through the power of your Holy Spirit anything in my life that does not bring glory to you. If there is an attitude I have that needs to go, or a habit that needs to go show it to me. Help me not to make excuses for it or justify it, but just simply to confess it. Lord help me to not only see it and confess it, but I need you to help me forsake it."

That is the stuff that spiritual growth is made of......

The gospel is not broken

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

On Thursday of this week I board a plane and take a mission trip to Argentina. It will be my 5th trip to Argentina working with Eduardo Bouldain who runs a church planting ministry there. It will be my 11th international mission trip overall. All of the trips I have taken so far have been to places with third world conditions. One of the things that is so refreshing about taking mission trips to the third world, is you see what Christianity is like without the heavy influences of materialism. It is budget time at our church. Different departments are presenting their budget requests for 2012. The Finance Committee will compile all the requests, make projections about expected income for 2012, and then present a budget to the church to be voted on in December.

If I can make an observation after 11 years of walking through this process as a pastor.....in the American church we don't think we can get anything accomplished for God without money. When you go to Argentina you see that they get so much done with so little. In the American church we seem to think that expensive gimmicks are necessary to build the church. Some times I think we are in the "Six Flags Over Jesus" mentality in the church in America. (Six Flags over Georgia is an amusement park just in case you don't get the reference). It seems that we think that you have to entertain people and spend lots of money amusing folks before you can get them to Christ in America. There it seems that they just rely on the gospel to build the church.  It seems like a purer form of Christianity to me.

I believe we are deceived in the American church. We don't need gimmicks to get people to Jesus. The gospel still works. It is still the power of God unto salvation. When the bible says it is "the power of God" it literally means that there is supernatural power associated with the simple gospel.

Every time I have been to Argentina, we have spent most of our time sharing the gospel. It is the way that they build the church. Every time I go, I see people who were led to Christ on  previous trips serving in the churches. They prove that the gospel isn't broken. It still works. We could learn a lot from our brothers and sisters in the churches in Argentina.

From victory to depression

I preached about Elijah from 1 Kings 18 & 19 last night, so he is still fresh on my mind today. It is hard for me to put so much work in preparing a sermon, and then totally let it go once it is finished. They tend to linger with me a few days until I get really heavily involved in preparing the next one. So I have an Elijah hangover today in that regard.

In 1 Kings 18 & 19 Elijah takes on the 450  prophets of Baal. He throws down a challenge to them.

1 Kings 18:23-24 "Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox, and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. "Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people answered and said, "That is a good idea."

As the story goes, the prophets of Baal call on the name of their god. They get no answer. Then Elijah calls on the name of the Lord.

1 Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

Elijah is used by the Lord to show forth HIS great power. Elijah calls down fire from heaven and has the prophets of Baal put to death. What a great spiritual victory! You would expect that Elijah might be really super encouraged by the fact that the Lord used him in such a great way and that he might be able to live off the spiritual momentum of that event for a long time. Yet just as soon as Jezebel finds out what has happened she threatens Elijah. Elijah, the brave man of God, runs and hides. He becomes so depressed that he asks the Lord to kill him.

What does this little story teach us? Well lots of things. Among them that if a guy like Elijah who was used so powerfully by God can get depressed to the point that he no longer wants to live, then it can happen to any of us. Notice what Elijah does in 1 Kings 19:5. He goes to sleep. Then an angel of the Lord was sent to minister to Elijah. How does the angel minister to him? The angel gives Elijah something to eat and drink then lets Elijah sleep some more.

Not always, but sometimes depression is brought about by too much activity. That could possibly be what is going on with Elijah in this story. I suggest this as a possibility because the treatment for the depression as administered by the angel does not involve counseling or any type of pep talk....the remedy is food and sleep.


I do not mean to over simplify a debilitating condition like depression. For a man in my position to do so would be irresponsible and reckless. So please do not think I am suggesting in all cases that the only thing depressed people need to do is eat a meal and take a nap and all will be better. I am not suggesting that at all, but sometimes when we get temporarily depressed it is because of over activity.

Are you getting enough rest or are you burning the candle at both ends? It will catch up with you eventually.

Jesus needed down time....so do you.

Watching closely

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."


I support Israel. The verses above govern the way I think about foreign policy as it pertains to Israel. I take the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12 to still be in effect today. Israel makes up the descendants of Abraham. I believe that those who bless Israel will be blessed by God and that those who curse Israel will be cursed by God. So when I say I support Israel please understand my position is not as motivated by my political views as it is my understanding and interpretation of scripture. Over the years the United States has been a strong supporter of Israel. I believe that is one of the reasons the United States has been so materially blessed in recent decades.


With the Palestinians requesting statehood before the United Nations the Israeli / Palestinian conflict has been moved to the forefront of international debate. I am watching carefully and praying intently that our government will be a friend to Israel during these days. I am praying for the Lord to turn President Obama's heart toward Israel. I am persuaded that if we are not a friend to Israel, the United States could be placed under a Genesis 12 curse. Watch with me and pray intently that the United States will bless Israel, and in turn receive a Genesis 12 blessing.

Signs of the times

Matthew 24:12 "And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.

Last night in bible study we were discussing the end times. The bible gives a description of what things will look like right before the return of Christ in Matthew 24. There are several "signs of the times" that are listed in that chapter, but one just jumped out at me in light of recent events.

The "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy was just officially repealed with the United States armed forces. So now it is no longer necessary for gays and lesbians to conceal their identity. It is now totally acceptable thing for them to be gay and serve in the military. One of the local news channels sought out a lesbian sailor for an interview who was glad that she could openly declare her homosexuality and remain in the navy. This sailor made a telling comment: "Hopefully this will open the door to being able to get more benefits for gay and lesbian couples." Obviously they view the propagation of their lifestyle and philosophies as an agenda to be promoted, and this is just one building block along the way to their ultimate goal. Their ultimate goal is that the homosexual lifestyle would be viewed with total equality to traditional marriage. They will not stop until they get that. 

Proponents of  the homosexual lifestyle think they are on the side of what is morally right. They believe they are on a campaign to right a wrong in our society. We live in an age in which people call right wrong, and wrong right. It is a sign of the apostate age in which we live. It is one of the signs of the times that Jesus will return soon.

My 10 year old son asked me an odd question yesterday, "Dad, is cussing a sin?" I was rather shocked. I said, "Yes it is son, the bible says let no unwholesome talk proceed from your mouth." He said, "I knew I was right about that." I replied back, "Why do you ask?" He said, "Because one of my friends at school said he did not think it was a sin. I told him that the bible says it was wrong. He said it wasn't wrong in his opinion. But he doesn't get to decide what's right and what's wrong, God does. Right dad?" I told him, "Right son."


We don't get to make the rules. God does. And He has said homosexuality is wrong (see Romans 1:27). When we see that people in large numbers are ignoring what God has said about right and wrong, do you know what that means? I think Luke said it well:

Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Look up! Jesus is coming soon!

A common theme

I am preaching messages Sunday mornings and Sunday nights that are a little different from anything I have done so far in my 11 years in the pulpit. I am preaching a series called "Life Lessons from Characters of the Bible". It is a departure from my normal approach to pulpit ministry. My favorite way to study scripture and to preach scripture is to go verse by verse through books of the bible. But I will say that it has been a blessing to do these character studies and I do see the value in other approaches to studying the bible other than strictly verse by verse.

So far I have preached about Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, and Jonah. There is one common theme that seems to keep emerging.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are,that no man should boast before God.
 
God often chooses people to work through that are unlikely candidates. God is in the business of bringing glory to Himself, not humans. God gets the glory when something great is accomplished through someone that is not great himself, because everyone recognizes that it was not the man that accomplished it, it was the Lord working through the man. As we study characters of the bible, this idea keeps coming up over and over again. I have never done a study of any kind that has highlighted this concept in my thinking quite the way these character studies have.

It is more apparent to me now than ever that the normal course of things for the Lord is to use people who are very ordinary and very flawed when He wants to accomplish something. The characters that I have taught on so far: an arrogant man, a murderer, an adulterer, a wimp, and a disobedient man. So if you are ordinary and flawed, then you are just the type of person that God would choose to accomplish His will!!

Ministry multiplier

I have always known that ministry multiplies. What do I mean by that? When one person does ministry for another person, it encourages them in some way to minister to someone else. So in that sense ministry seems at times to multiply itself. Said another way, one random act of kindness breeds other random acts of kindness. There is a residual effect at work.

A series of events occurred yesterday afternoon that illustrate the point. If you are reading this blog I am going to assume you know my wife had shoulder surgery three weeks ago yesterday. But I understand I have some readers from outside our church, so I guess I should not assume that. She is getting better gradually, but it has been a slow process for her. Dave Barrett (a member at Bethel for readers who don't attend our church) had almost the exact same surgery done. Dave said he did not get a good nights sleep until four weeks after the surgery. He said the pain meds didn't touch the pain. So he just suffered through. I tried to tell my wife going in that it was going to be a tough recovery. Let me state plainly before God, the holy angels, and the readers of this blog that I tried to tell her. But she thought she was going to have surgery and be ready for push ups and chin ups within 48 hours, and be back to work within three or four days. So far, to her surprise, her recovery experience has mirrored that of Dave Barrett.

With Kay slowly recovering, I have taken primary responsibility for making sure there are meals for our family to eat each night. This is challenging because my repertoire is somewhat limited when it comes to cooking. Fortunate for me, my kids think McDonalds' is a five star restaurant. But last night we had a very special treat. Two precious ladies from the church made dinner and brought it by! Honey ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, dinner rolls, and brownies for desert. Can I get a witness, a hallelujah, and an amen please?

This is how that ministry was multiplied. Yesterday I had a couple of hospital visits to make and several other "loose ends" that had to be tied down before I could call it a day. I also needed to get home, pick up my son Ross and get back to the church in time for 5:00pm Upward football practice. (I am head coach of the Ravens!!). I thought to myself, "I need to get home in time to try to get something going for dinner." Then the thought occurred to me, "Wait, two of our friends from the church are bringing dinner tonight!! I do not have to worry about that. That gives me more time this afternoon." Right about that time the Holy Spirit brought to my mind one of our members who is going through a really tough time right now. She has been teaching Sunday School at Bethel longer than I have been alive. (I probably just gave it away for some of you right there). The Lord just spoke softly into my spirit and told me to go see her and encourage her....after all, you have some extra time now.

Those two ladies that brought the meal to our home last night had no idea, that in an indirect way they were helping minister to a faithful member of our congregation by their act of kindness to our family.

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Do something randomly kind for someone else, and sit back and watch God multiply it.

Legacy

Young people do not typically think about legacy. Since turning 45 in August for some odd reason I seem to be giving the concept a little more thought than I ever have. If the Lord Jesus tarries and there is a generation that comes after I am gone to be with the Lord, what will my legacy to that generation be? I am seeing more and more it is about the impact that I can make on the lives of younger people who will be here bearing fruit for Jesus after I am in glory with God.

Sign ups for new teachers in the childrens department at Bethel have been rather slow over the summer months this year. Entering into the fall we still have less than an adequate number of adult volunteers to staff childrens ministry. In an effort to get some more workers for the harvest, Debi Tharrington who serves as Childrens Director, and I thought it might be a good idea if we have one of our faithful teachers share a word about what it has meant to teach children over the years. So Max Chappel, one of our childrens department teachers, shared a word of testimony during the morning services about what it has meant to him to teach 5th grade boys.

Something about Max's testimony really stood out to me. He shared about the impact that Mr. King (his Sunday School teacher when he was about 10 or 11 years old) had on his life. Max admitted that he was rambunctious and he knew that Mr. King wondered if any of the boys learned anything. Mr. King had no idea what he was doing when he invested in the life of Max Chappel. Little did he know that he was investing in the life of a boy, who would grow to be a man, who would then invest his life in 5th grade boys.

I wonder if one day one of the boys who have come through the 5th grade department at Bethel will be telling of the impact that Max had on his life when he was a wild 5th grader?

 Matthew 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

By investing in the lives of 10 and 11 year old boys, Mr King was laying up treasure in heaven. By investing in the lives of 5th grade boys, Max is laying up treasure in heaven. But anybody that Max is able to invest in.....Mr King had a hand in it....One day these boys Max is teaching are going to grow up, and some of them will invest their lives in others......Max will have a hand in it. This is the investment plan that keeps on giving.

Lord help me not to waste my life. Help me to be like Mr. King. Help me to leave a legacy of lives forever changed for Your glory.

Some final thoughts on humility

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

I am meditating on what humility looks like during my quiet times. I am asking the Lord to help me see where pride is at work in me. Let me tell you, it is a prayer God will answer. The last phrase of Romans 12:16 says, "do not be wise in your own estimation." Rare is the person who truly thinks that way. Most people are very opinionated. I have often said that if you get five baptists in the same room discussing anything you will have at least six opinions, because at least one will have two opinions on the same subject. It is true though, that most people think a whole lot of their opinions. I have found that a lot of people think that they are pretty wise. Why would they be so opinionated if they did not think themselves to be wise?

Now think about it. What is a person that is wise in his own estimation going to do? They are going to be pretty proud of their opinion. What is the next logical step? They will devalue the opinions and perspectives of other people whose opinions differ from theirs. The bible teaches us not to do that.

Now let me restate something that I have previously stated on this blog that I think needs to be restated at this point. We are NOT talking about doctrinal truth here. When it comes to doctrinal truth, it is not a matter of opinion. God has spoken and none of our opinons matter. The man or woman of God stands firm and unwavering on matters of doctrinal truth as put forth in scripture. What we are talking about here are things that are not black and white in the word of God, and are therefore open to opinion. Let me say that even on items that are not black and white in the word of God, there are principles in the scriptures that can be applied that help guide us as believers. The believer who desires to honor Christ will apply biblical principles in situations that the bible does not address directly.

Now with that aside, the bible teaches us that the humble man or woman does not think so highly of his own opinion. What naturally follows is an attitude of the heart that genuinley listens to others, and values their point of view, even if it differs from your own. This kind of mutual respect leads to healthy God honoring relationships. When relationships are like this in the church, it leads to a harmonious, unified body. But let a know it all enter the picture, and he can tear the church to shreds, causing division, general disharmony and leaving a wake of destruction in his path.

God, teach us to be humble so that we will have healthy Christ honoring relationships with others. May you be glorified in it.

We must never forget

There are events that shape every generation. What took place in our country ten years ago today has done more to shape life for us in our generation more than anything that I can think of. It was the date that the "war on terror" really went into full gear. I mean, we had experienced a couple of episodes here and there with terrorism up to September 11, 2001, but certainly nothing of this magnitude.

I remember where I was and what I was doing. I was in a philosophy class in at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr Bruce Little was in the middle of his lecture when someone slipped into the class and whispered something in the professor's ear. Dr Little stopped lecturing and turned on the television in the front of the classroom. We saw smoke ascending from one of the twin towers. As the reporters tried to make sense out of what was happening, we watched in shocking disbelief as the second airplane slammed into the other tower.  When the dust cleared around 3000 lost their lives that day as we entered into a new era in our history, the war on terror.

Ten years later a lot of American blood has been spilled to see to it that the war on terror is fought on foreign soil. We must never forget the people that died that day, and the people who have died in the last ten years to keep us safe and free. In spite of our problems, and they are many, I still believe that America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. The nation founded as "one nation under God" has sent more missionaries than any other nation in history to share the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. So to protect America is to protect our ability to continue to carry a huge gospel witness on this planet.

Thanks to all of you who risk your lives to see that America is a safe and free. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

More on humility

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.


I am meditating on the character trait of humility from Romans 12:16 during my quiet times these last few days. The text says "Do not be haughty in mind." In other words, do not think yourself to be better than other people. The bible says that God is no respecter of persons (see Acts 10:34). That means he does not esteem one over another. A person's income, race, nationality, occupation, education, does not matter to Him. You have a PHD? God is not more impressed with you than someone who is a high school drop out. You have climbed the corporate ladder and have a lot of people that report to you? God is not more impressed with you than he is the lowest level employee in your company.  You have a pretty heavy bank account and can afford most anything you want? God is not any more impressed with you than he is the people who will pay for their food today with food stamps.

In the eyes of God we are all equal. Righteousness, love, faith...these are the things that get God's attention.....not the other things that are such a source of pride among people.


I have often said you can tell a lot about people by how they treat folks in low places. Watch how someone treats a server at a restaurant, or how they treat a clerk in a store. A Christian should not get nasty and treat the server or the clerk like dirt under their feet. Christians ought not to act like politicians in a social setting, only associating with those that are able to improve their social standing through the association. A Christian should not "work the room" only speaking to the most popular people in the room and ignoring the less influential ones. Humble people don't associate only with people that can benefit them in some way. The humble treat everyone equally.

Lord help us not to be "high minded" associating only with people can benefit us in some way through the association. Help us to treat people equally like you do.

Humility, the rarest of traits

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

This passage of scripture is a call to humility. May I make an observation? It seems to be in short supply. How many people do you know that you would consider humble? Romans 12:16 shows us some ways to identify humble people. It is not an exhaustive treatment. By that I mean the verse does not tell us every way to identify humble folks. But it does give some pretty significant ones.

We are told to be "of the same mind" with others in the church. The Greek word translated "same mind" is the word "pronoontes". It literally means to "think alike". In this context it means to live peaceably or in harmony with others in the church. In order to do that, it will necessitate at times adjusting our thinking so that we can live in harmony with others in the church. Our church is filled with different people from different backgrounds. We have young, old, northerners, southerners, PHD's, those with little education, those with money, those who are poor, military, ex-military, civilians, people raised in baptist churches, people raised in other church backgrounds, people who just started going to church last month.....and I could go on and on. We are diverse. Everyone will see things differently based on their background. Background provides a lens through which we see everything and process everything. So if we are going to "be of the same mind" it will mean in the church that we may have to yield our opinions to the opinions of others at times. There are times when we do not need to budge.....but those times should only be when doctrine or truth is going to be compromised.

But most problems at churches do not involve doctrine. They involve people's opinions. We need to give ground on these items and we will if we are humble. Hard headed and opinionated people cause more strife in local churches than anything else I have seen. Don't be one of those people. Be someone who is quick to yield to the opinions of others as long as doctrinal truth is not involved.

Ask yourself, "What kind of church member am I? Am I one of the opinionated ones that thinks he/she is always right or am I pretty easy to get along with?"

Chew on these thoughts....more to follow on the subject of humility.