Posted on

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

As a teacher, I am amazed at how Jesus was a master teacher.  Without any training or degree from a university to know how to do so, He employed so many techniques to bring about the greatest retention of essential Kingdom concepts, such as prayer:

Luke 11:1-13 (NIV)
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”
5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7 “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I. Prayer, Jesus had previously taught, was a private thing between the person praying and God.  It was not to be done as a show, but this is not what Jesus was doing.  A master teacher will model his teaching through his life.  His disciples either saw Him praying or just knew that He had been, but Jesus, though without sin and despite being God in the flesh, allowed them to see His example of constant interaction with our Father.  If He needed to pray in this way, how much more do we?

II. Knowing that Jesus prayed prompted the request from a disciple that Jesus teach them to pray.  Next, Jesus laid down the principles of good prayer, a mixture of ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  Notice that Luke’s version is different than Matthew’s as it is not a rote recitation of specific words that tend to become meaningless babble after a while.  But, we and the disciples need to understand the types of concepts that should be included in prayer.

III. Finally, Jesus as the master teacher illustrates the concepts of prayer and the relationship between us and our Father.  There is no need to be timid when approaching God’s throne in prayer.  Because God is a good Father, we can be bold in our asking, seeking and knocking.  So pray!

Posted on

In the Way He Should Go

My grandfather used to say, “You don’t wait until a tree is full grown until you prune it.”  When kids are bad, we blame the world, coaches, teachers, “failing schools” … or even the kids themselves.  But, rarely do we blame bad parenting.  Far too often parenting is negligent, permissive, or authoritarian, but biblical parenting is the way that our heavenly Father parents us–authoritatively, a process that, out of love, outlines the consequences for our choices but allows us to make our own choices.

I. Genesis 2:20-24.  God created parenting.  In the verses, we often use to show how marriage is between a man and a woman, the concepts of “father” and “mother” are mentioned.  How strange they must have sounded to Adam and Eve who had neither!  But, here God institutes not only marriage but the concept of family and parental roles.

II. Ephesians 6:1-4.  Children are to obey their parents in the Lord, but fathers are to instruct their children in the Lord.  Parents must actively train their children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).  The Israelites were told to do this (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) but forgot while they conquered the Promised Land with disasterous consequences (Judges 2:10-13).

III. 1 Timothy 3:4-5.  Even an elder must have parented in the style of our heavenly Father over us, so that he can shepherd Christ’s church in that same parenting style.  A kid that doesn’t accept correction brings grief to his mother (Proverbs 29:15) and breaks his mother’s heart (Proverbs 15:20).  Rather, when a child does not turn from the way he was trained (Proverbs 23:25), he brings joy!

This is a difficult topic as no matter our kids’ ages, we realize we all have made mistakes in parenting that we regret.  Where it is not too late, we can change.  Where it is, we can apologize.  But, there are still kids in our lives (in the church especially) over which God has given us influence.  How’s your example?  How are you training the children in your life?

Posted on

Praise Must Roll from Tongues

Heavenly Father, praise must roll from tongues
And tallest hills, from every rock and tree,
From creatures large and small, from depths and height,
From sea and space, from earth and seventh heaven.

For you, O Lord, the God who made it all,
Are sovereign over matter and murkiest mind,
You know the deepest secrets of sinful man,
Your word creates, your breath dissolves at will.

To you all glory and honor and power belong:
Besides your strength, what moves you is selfless love;
No evil’s in you, and none before you resists,
The good of light is you, and ever will be.

Posted on

Too Good for God

There are certainly many sections of Scripture that most of us would admit we skip or at least skim.  When the unpronounceable names and unfathomable numbers pile-up, we shrug, not knowing these people, and look for the next bit of story.  But, every once in a while a spiritual gem can be mined from these passages.  This week while skimming (I admit it!) such a chapter in Nehemiah that mentioned who was rebuilding the wall next to whom, I found one that made me almost fall out of my chair:

“And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.”
Nehemiah 3:5.

First, let’s look at the context.  In successive waves, starting with the best and brightest who had skills or could oppose him, Nebuchadnezzar had brought the inhabitants of Judah into captivity in Babylon, where they would become ‘Jews.’  Seventy years later, Cyrus allowed all those who would want to return to go back and make a life out of the burned rubble of Jerusalem.  They didn’t need to and many chose not to.  Those who did, we would think, would have a pioneer spirit, willing to do whatever was necessary to survive and serve God who, in His mercy, had allowed them to return to the promised land.

But not these nobles!  As the very defense of what little life they and their neighbors had managed to scrape together was at stake, they “would not stoop to serve their Lord.”  It was beneath them.  These nobles would be that friend who you take camping who sips iced tea from a lawn chair while you pitch the tent.  They are Mr. and Mrs. Howell on Gilligan’s Island.  As some who returned were alive when the city and temple were destroyed, it’s hard to imagine that they believed they were coming back to the Golden Age of Israel under Solomon when the Queen of Sheba was so impressed with what she saw that surpassed the reports that she proclaimed, “Behold, the half was not told me.”  No, this Jerusalem required sweat and the rolling up of sleeves.

Sadly, we have those in the church who believe themselves ‘too good for God.’  While many labor around them rebuilding the walls of broken lives, these ‘nobles’ will not stoop to serve the Lord.  Too wrapped up in their own lives to feed the hungry, clothe the needy, or teach the lost, they only warm a pew for an hour on Sundays and gain a smug checkmark on the attendance roster.

But, the way up is down on our knees.  If God is so beneath us that stooping to serve Him is detestable to us, then how can we expect Him to lift us up?  After all, if Jesus, who was God in the flesh, could stoop to wash feet and then die on the cross for us, can’t we follow His example?

 

Posted on

Our Desire

To you belong the power and praise,
O Ancient of Days!
No season, age, or dawn confines
Your eternal times!

Your grace is high — let no one miss
That heavenly bliss!
Our blackened root of bitterness
We soon confess!

To know your love is our desire,
Our zealous fire!
Our souls renew, our bodies raise
To joyfully praise
Your righteous ways.

Posted on

No Matter How High or Low

O Lord, no matter how high or low
this roller-coaster life may go,
remind me you are solid ground,
immune to quake or flood or wind.

I know, O God, to find in you
the source of all that’s good and true;
Though in the fray, I moan and sweat,
Let me not your grace forget.

Posted on

Seasoned with Salt

Benevolence springs from who we are in Christ.  Edification is the building up of and teaching truth to everyone around us so that we can get to our third main value as Christians: evangelism.  We can not, however, share the good news with others unless we are the type of people from whom the gospel can be received.  In the close of his letter to the Colossians, Paul gives us great insight into this:

Colossians 4:2-6
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

  1. We are to be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  Prayer is essential for open doors and for a clear proclaiming of the good news.

  2. We must be wise toward the lost, knowing our audience and making the most of every opportunity that God gives us.  We must also pray that God would open our eyes to recognize them as they come before us and for the wisdom, which God gives to us if we ask, to know what to do with the opportunities when He gives them to us.

  3. Finally, we must watch our words to answer everyone well.  They must be full of grace or, like tasty food that people would want to eat, seasoned with salt.   Salt also creates thirst–in this case spiritual thirst.

How are you prepared to share the gospel?

Posted on

To know you better every day

Our Father in Heaven, your name is special. Let us all give you proper respect. Let us treat your things with special regard. Keep us from acting in a profane manner.

Help us to think constantly of you and your plan of salvation. Thank you for reaching us with the Good News. We rejoice in our hope of eternal life. Reach others through our teaching. Motivate us to share the message of Christ with others.

We want to know you better every day. We read Scripture in order to understand you and what you like and dislike. Give us understanding. We ask for wisdom. Keep our feet from transgression. Hold back our hands from doing evil. Give us the power of your Spirit to win over temptation.

Lord God, the faith of many is weak. Their zeal wanes and, for some, is doused by the devil. Fire us up. Make us enthusiastic for Christ. But keep our fervor guided by knowledge. Let that knowledge be the firewood that keeps our love burning strong.

Father, the church seems such a fragile thing. So few people, with few physical and material resources. It seems like all our work would fail with but a little gust of wind. But we know that your Spirit enlivens us all. Your power will not be denied its efficacy in the world. The evil one cannot push over your people.

Others seem to have so much to work with. Resources are squandered, funds are spent selfishly, time is wasted. But help us not to look wistfully at what others have. Let us see how you work in and through us. Make us understand that we have all we need to be powerful instruments in your hand. Keep us from resentment and bitterness. May Christ live in us to bring us peace, joy, and righteousness.

Posted on

So many options and opportunities

Father, create a climate for your gospel to grow in this place. May government officials allow us to live in peace. Help us to be good citizens. Let our proclamation of Christ to each person have good results and contribute to a more just society. Bless us that we might be a blessing to others.

Father, there is so much to be thankful for, all from your good hand.

  • Thank you for so many options and opportunities.
  • Thank you for wisdom to use our time properly.
  • Thank you for your Spirit who gives us self-control.
  • Thank you for boldness in Christ to show the way through kind and true words.
  • Thank you for like-minded brothers and sisters who live by your will and pray at all times.
  • Thank you for a clear mind, a sound body, a tender soul, a seeking spirit.
  • Thank you for making us participants in the grace of salvation and in the mission of Christ.
  • Thank you for knowledge and wisdom to walk before you in love.
  • Thank you for providing for needs and for making your provisions always available to us.
  • Thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus the Lord who gave himself in our place, for our forgiveness.

Let my tongue be loosed today, so that it may speak of your goodness and love. Father, let the seed of truth bear fruit that remains to eternity.

Posted on

Faith Under Trial

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” Hebrews 11:1.

Faith, by very definition, means that we are trusting in God during a trial of uncertain outcome.

Abraham could see no clear way that his barren, ninety year-old wife could bear him a son, yet this same chapter says he “considered him faithful who had made the promise.”  Faith, then, depends on how well we trust solely in God’s solid-rock character that does not change despite our circumstance.  Talk about ‘faith under trial’–it is only under trial that we know if we have true faith.

This came home to me in 2012 when my wife, never a smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Now into our sixth year of various chemotherapy and radiation treatments, even a four-hour surgery last May to remove an egg-sized brain tumor, my faith as a husband and caregiver, elder and evangelist, in particular is still under trial.

If I get a cold, I am reasonably assured that if I take a regimen of medicines over a short window of time, I will be better soon.  Colds come and go, often with no serious life-altering effects.  It is a very low-level of faith indeed (even if at the time I feel like I might die) to believe that I will eventually get well.  But cancer?  We have been living with excruciating uncertainty for six years!  Will she live or die?  Is today a go-to-work or lie-on-the-couch day?  Will she feel too queasy to eat supper tonight or is there a specific craving that I have to run to the store to find?

That kind of trust over that period of time takes incredible faith.  “God’s got this–He always has,” has become our mantra that reminds us, sometimes daily, that He is the only One who has ever been in control anyway.

It was always during the difficult times that Jesus would rebuke his followers for lack of faith.  It is not easy to be a Christian.  When the squall comes up on our Sea of Galilee, we believe God to be asleep and so not in control.  We may even accuse Him of not caring.  But, our lack of faith is showing.

After Jesus’ hard teaching about His body being real food and His blood real drink in John 6, many “turned back and no longer followed him.”  When Jesus asked the Twelve if they too would leave, Peter answered with words that should encourage all to find faith under trial, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”

There’s no one else.  Our lives depend on us having faith under trial.