Faithful Prayer (Ps 86 - III)

¹ Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;

    answer me, for I need Your help.

² Protect me, for I am devoted to You.

    Save me, for I serve You and trust You.

    You are my God.

³ Be merciful to me, O Lord,

    for I am calling on You constantly.. – Psalm 86:1-3

Verse 3 jumps out at me when I read this Psalm from a position of desperation.  So many terms point out to David's desperation.  "Bend down and hear my prayer", "answer me for I need your help", and "protect me .. save me".  Then, comes verse 3.  "Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on You constantly."  In other words, "I call upon you so much, do not get tired of hearing me.  Show me mercy as a needy child that must have You to make it."  While David is humbly asking his Lord to be patient with his constant cries for help, I think God answers such a position in prayer.  Alternately to the desperation, David says "I need Your help", "I am devoted to You", "I serve You and trust You", and "You are my God."  He has a heart of desperation and a heart of faith and complete dependence.  

Too often I think I have a heart of desperation, but not enough faith and dependence.  What answer can God give that is unacceptable to me?  Every answer He gives is the right answer.  It doesn't matter if I like it or not.  He is so far above me that I cannot possibly think I have to have a say in the response.  I must trust His character of love for me and His words to me that assure me He has me in His thoughts and He will do what is best for not just me, but all those around me.  I need to grasp this dual concept of faith and complete dependence with my desperation.

Humbly requesting from a desperate heart trusting wholly upon Him.  Welcome to faithful prayer.

Getting to the Heart of the matter

1 Tim 5:8 “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

‭Over my years I've had numerous trouble with tires. Once I left for a hunting trip with a badly out-of-balance tire. Noting that it would require rebalancing I pressed on out of town. Later that night on a dark road, the tire blew due to extreme uneven wear. I really struggled to change it on a very dark narrow road in the mud (ever tried to jack up a truck in mud?). On another trip, I had an alignment problem and it revealed itself in two blown tires within 60 miles.  My family and I enjoyed an unplanned tow and an overnight in Little Rock, Ark to have the tires replaced and the truck aligned.  On yet another occasion we missed a day at Disney due to failed tires. The problem proved to be simply due to lack of use of that particular vehicle which convinced my mother to finally part with a vehicle she really didn't need and couldn't properly maintain.  The point is that tires weren't the issue.  In each case these failures were symptoms of an underlying problem. In order to truly fix these problems, I had to get to the root cause and fix it.  

There is a great debate going on in America over how to respond to the Syrian refugee problem. Clearly the vast majority of these people are truly oppressed and persecuted to the point where they feel compelled to leave their homeland of thousands of years.  Obviously caring Christians need to respond in real and tangible ways to aid and assist these people through the motivation of the love of Christ.  I don't think any of my Christian friends are advocating turning a cold shoulder to people truly in need.  

Yet a debate rages in all forms of media, especially social media.  At issue is our ability to find and separate those that would attempt to come to America with intent to harm from true refugees.  People quote statistics and Bible verses in a running and heated debate, but the debate fails to address the underlying root cause of the refugees in the first place.  

When I was young teen, our church and our family sponsored a Vietnamese refugee family. We paid for their legal fees to immigrate, transportation to Gulfport, MS, bought them a house and arranged jobs in our community all through a little church with only a few hundred members. My role was to clean up the yard from years of neglect and then periodically mow and trim.  The family adjusted to America, joined our church, and were Baptized. I believe we made a difference not only in their earthly lives, but more importantly, in their external lives.  

The ongoing Syrian refugee issue is of similar magnitude with a sinister twist.  There are those among the refugees who mean to commit random and horrible violence.  I had the privilege of sitting next to Rep Jeff Miller on my trip this week and after bragging on our sons recent hunting successes (His son recently took a white tail deer in the morning and a monster mule deer in the same afternoon on a trip to Texas - what are you doing Ryan?), I asked him about our claim of "robust vetting."  He clearly stated that the claim was a lie. The refugees often have no identification to include licenses of any kind or even birth certificates.  So the evil intent of the few has instilled fear in the masses, me included. I'm not afraid so much for myself, but the images of victims have shaken me as I picture my kids, wife, friends and relatives subjected to random acts of degrading and horrible violence.  The resulting nightmares have interrupted sleep on several occasions that I can't simply eradicate from my mind.  While I'm confident that God is ultimately in control, I pray his protection from this type of earthly pain and anguish.  When not fearful, I sometimes wonder why God chose to put me here in America rather that anywhere else in His creation. While feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude, I am compelled to demonstrate my appreciation in measurable ways.  

Which brings me to my point:  I'm concerned that we in America are not truly addressing the root cause of these refugees.  The ongoing debate regarding refugees totally ignores both the physical and spiritual root cause behind the great violence and resulting diaspora throughout the world.  Physically, the problem is both random and targeted acts of in inhumane violence throughout the Middle East, regions of Africa, and other spots around the world.  Targeted acts of violence are especially disheartening as Christians are being singled out for execution by the thousands. Radical extremists simply don't share our western (never mind Judeo/Christian) value of life and our live-and-let-live secular mentality. This fact points to the underlying spiritual issue that these extremists and those that support them and advocate for their cause need Christ.  The fact that many, but admittedly perhaps not all, espouse a false god called Allah complicates sharing the gospel message resulting in the martyrdom, persecution, and in-prisonmeant of many courageous Christians. 

So how are we as Christians to respond?  Clearly we are minister to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of all those truly in need (1 Tim 5 does caution us to be somewhat selective, but I don't want to digress into discernment). So we need to reach out to refugees as they are clearly in need.  Yet to limit our assistance to Facebook debates  is clearly useless.  Moreover, merely welcoming refugees doesn't create a system of long term support to ensure successful transition to a new life.  Finally even a systematic approach to immigration and integration into society won't address the root cause of their refugee status.  Clearly our strategy of "containment" has not succeeded and needs an altogether different approach.  Unfortunately a part of that plan requires a comprehensive and overwhelming military response as clearly simply abandoning the aforementioned regions won't result in immediate peace and prosperity.  The recent attacks in Paris afford an unprecedented (at least in recent history) to establish a worldwide coalition to not only provide a military response, but also galvanize Non-Government-Organizations to provide "soft power" to those in need of assistance.  

Just like a bad alignment will chew up both the old and new tires, failure to deal with the root cuss of the ongoing refugees will damn them, their families, and the world to an unstemmed tide of endless refugees.  We need to reach out with the hand of Christ to the truly needy 1 Tim 5), but we also must deal with the root causes of these refugees.  

Angst

Joshua 10a:  13So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
Just when I thought I was going to have a steady period of work through the holidays, a wrinkle gets thrown in that will have me working long hours, traveling more and standing before a "Red Team" of very senior leaders to defend not just my own, but wholly other organization's work.  At least through early Dec, I look to be very busy and I had so looked forward to a steady pace through the holidays to take some time and rest. 
Joshua essentially prayed for God to multiply his time and as recorded the sun and moon stood still until God could lead Joshua's army to a complete victory.  I know scripture goes on to say that there has never been a day like it before or since, but I need a similar miracle.  I need time multiplied to accomplish all before me. 
Moreover, I need to have a better attitude about what lies ahead.  As Dad always said, God didn't bring me this far to abandon me now, but this isn't what I had in mind for the holidays.  I need to learn to rest in Him more completely and then not pick up my problems when placed at the alter. 

What am I living for?

2 Peter 1:3  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
The world puts so much pressure on me!  I've got to succeed in everything I do from appearance to career, wealth accumulation, material possessions, and even hobbies.  I just can't get it all done! 
Someone once said that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience (1 Ptr 1:17).  This realization puts things in a different perspective.  If this life is simply preparation for the eternal life to come, then I need to focus, organize and execute my life differently (James 4:4).  I need to have an eternal focus, not a here-and-now focus.  I need to understand that I was made to reflect God's glory (Is 43:7) throughout eternity, not just live for this relatively short physical life on earth.  So the real priorities in life are to: 1) worship God, 2) love others, 3) become like Christ, 4) serve others through gifts of the Spirit, and 4) tell others about Him (both evangelism and discipleship.  Now that list provides a completely different perspective.  Sure I need to do a good job at work (Col 3:17), but instead of doing it for personal gain, I need to view it as a means to bring honor and glory to God - an act of worship and ministry.  Other earthly priorities should be examined and re-focused likewise. 
So what am I living for isn't the right question.  The question in every second of every activity should be "For whom am I living?"  Not only is it grammatically correct, that question focuses the way to view and live our temporary lives here. 
Lord may I live this day with eternal focus.  May my actions reflect your glory such that others are drawn to you. 

Trust Him (Ps 86 - II)

¹ Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;

    answer me, for I need Your help.

² Protect me, for I am devoted to You.

    Save me, for I serve You and trust You.

    You are my God.

³ Be merciful to me, O Lord,

    for I am calling on You constantly.

⁴ Give me happiness, O Lord,

    for I give myself to You.

⁵ O Lord, You are so good, so ready to forgive,

    so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help.

⁶ Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;

    hear my urgent cry.

⁷ I will call to You whenever I’m in trouble,

    and You will answer me. – Psalm 86:1-7

There is a foundation of trust in this prayer of David.  David trusts the Lord to be the Lord.  He trusts Him to hear him because the Lord says He does; He trusts Him to not forsake him because the Lord says He won’t; He trusts the Lord loves him because He says He does.  David calls upon the Lord to do what the Lord says He does.  Hear me, protect me, be merciful to me, and give me happiness David cries out to the Lord.  All aspects that are only performed by God Himself.  David calls upon God to show His characteristics towards Him and he trusts that God will do it.  He acknowledges that the Lord is ready to forgive and full of unfailing love for those who ask for His help.  Characteristics only found in God Himself.

David places his whole life into the Lord’s hands.  I need Your help; save me; I will call to You whenever I’m in trouble.  David is not depending upon anything or anyone else in the created world.  It is God and God alone.  David trusts the Lord with the only thing he has, his life.  Even then he realizes that his life isn’t his, but the Lords when he says, I serve You and trust You, You are my God, and I give myself to You.

What a powerful life it is when we learn to simply trust God to be God.  We call upon Him to show us His characteristics.  We learn that He will answer as Himself at the time He has declared to answer.  Whatever the answer is, we know He has answered in the manner that is best for us because He can’t answer in any other way.  His perfect love demands the best for us.  So we can pray confidently upon that perfect love and walk assured in our circumstances that He has it covered, our faith can be full, unwavering, and our lips can be ready to declare His goodness and hand upon lives.

Pray confidently, trusting completely upon God for His deliverance.  Make the Lord your God.  Depend upon Him and Him alone.  Know that He will hear you and answer you.  Trust in Him.

Pray Confidently (Ps 86 - I)

Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
    answer me, for I need your help.  - Psalm 86:1

I think it is very important to study how David prayed.  David prayed in a way that was considerably different than we pray today.  It seems an obvious conclusion that he thought and felt differently since a prayer is a reflection of our thoughts and our heart’s intent.  David was almost embarrassingly direct and confident in how he addressed our Lord.  But in that direct manner and confidence, I find something that I need to gain.

Looking at the first verse we see a very direct, yet humble, demand/request to his Lord.  David says “Bend down and hear my prayer”.  Isn’t this, well, rude?  I wouldn’t say such a thing to my wife.  I would ask.  “Please bend down and hear my prayer” or even “Would you please”.  I just can’t imagine speaking to the Lord that way, yet this is very characteristic of the way David spoke to God. 

If we consider the whole verse, it starts to not seem so rude.  “Bend down, O Lord”.  David immediately indicates his position and the authority of his God, “Lord”.  You are my Lord.  “Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need Your help.”  David seems to say in his demand/request, You are my Lord and I need Your help; You are my only hope, I need You.  It’s kind of a “I need help and you are the only Helper; I need rescuing and You are the only rescuer; hear my cry, my request, for Your help and answer it. 

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t pleaded with God before.  Usually we cry out with lots of pleases and hope that He hears us.  Yet David told God to listen to him and hear his prayer, then to answer it.  He plainly says You are the authority, You are the only one I count on, I need only You to hear me.  But David goes further as he indicates, You are dependable, You won’t forsake me, You are with me, because of who You are, answer me.  In a way, his insistence upon being heard and answered has everything to do with God’s character.  David simply understands his Lord. … I wonder, do I?

His Light Shall Shine

I could write for days on this, but sometimes His Word needs nothing more than to be read.

“⁶ For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. ⁷ We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. …

¹³ But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” ¹⁴ We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ¹⁵ All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” - 2 Corinthians 4:6-10, 13-18

What a wonderful description for us today!  His light shines through us; there are troubles on every side yet we continue to preach because we believe in God; He will raise us up on day; there will be a great thanksgiving glorifying God; we never give up; our troubles in this world are small so we keep our eyes focused on the eternal. 

God’s Word so often meets us where we are and encourages us exactly how we need it.

Walk in Thankfulness

“My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live Him.  You’re deeply rooted in Him.  You’re well constructed upon Him.  You know your way around the faith.  Now do what you’ve been taught.  School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it!  And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.” – Colossians 2:6-7

I will rarely quote from The Message bible.  Even in this text, I find flaws (such as a direction to stop studying Christ).  However, the overall thought conveyed by this passage is overwhelming.  The messages to “start living it” and “let your living spill over into thanksgiving” are things I need to grasp.

I find the thought of walking in thanksgiving (or gratitude) a complicated topic.  I guess I’m not sure what that should look like.  I suppose the concept is a daily moment-to-moment living in thankfulness for, well, everything.  The idea is to appreciate that everything is a gift.  How often do we get in our car, walk in our home, eat a bite of food, choose which shirt or pant to where, drive where we want to go, etc. and never consider that each of these is a privilege.  But even the pagan can see this type of thankfulness.  Usually by comparison to other national standards of living or even comparisons to other standards of living in their own town.

Another level of thankfulness is being thankful for opportunity.  I get to mow the grass.  I am thankful because we have grass to mow.  I get to go to work.  I am thankful that I have work to do.  I get to clean the house.  I am thankful that I have a house to clean.  This is a different mindset of thankfulness from the first because in chores or work there is some difficulty.  It is always harder to be thankful in difficulties.

Yet another level of thankfulness is for pain.  Francis Chan did a great job of explaining this in his “Holiness Above Comfort” message so I won’t try to top it.  The thought is that the pain has made you or is making you who you are today (assuming you took the effort to learn from it), so you are thankful for it.  It also allows you to relate to others who are in pain and help them in it.  One person said we should be thankful for pain because it means you are alive.  Only dead people do not feel pain.  I think this is true in the physical, emotional, and spiritual realms.

All of these levels of thankfulness are possible in Christ Jesus.  We can be thankful that we do not have to carry the weight of our sins today.  We can walk in a radical freedom that very few people understand.  We are not bound by anything in this world outside of His love for us and our love for Him.  If He only desires what is best for us, has given us His Words to live by for our best, and we can trust Him for our eternity, then surely we can be thankful with an overflowing gratitude and obey joyfully to live our best life. 

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

The classic hymn sings “Count your many blessings name them one-by-one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.”   Take a moment today to walk in thankfulness.  Let His blessings overwhelm you to tears.  

Days Away and Advent

After a conference in Orlando and the family meeting me here for a weekend at Disney, I'm back at home.  This morning I sent this devotion to the writer of an Advent devotional.  I had been asked to provide one day's writing.  There were some instructions and the verse was given.  Hopefully its good enough for the topic.

Friday – Saturday, January 1-2, 2016

Read 2 Peter 3:8-14

God is the only authority.  He created the world and it will pass when He decides.  His most precious creation is you.  The Lord does not want anyone to be destroyed and lost.  His goal for you is to know Him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. 

Your faith must be complete.  Inasmuch as we believe Christ lived, died, and rose again do you live everyday focused on that reality?  Perhaps you are in a storm and finding it difficult to see, hear, or feel anything but the storm.  Perhaps you are idle in a life of ease and the boredom lures your thoughts and dreams away.  Are you focused on your physical senses in this temporary world?  You can be confident that every step of your brief path is a step custom designed to secure your or another’s faith. 

The present is a gift.  This moment in time has unspeakable value as it will never be repeated.  Rare items have the most value in auctions.  What is rarer than the second that just passed?  The only thing more valuable is the second spent in communion with God and you get the opportunity to do that in every second if you so choose.  All that you see, hear, touch, and taste is secondary to the chance to spend moments throughout each day with His Word in your thoughts, His song in your mind, and His path to walk.

Your only influences in this world are through your words and actions.   How will anyone you are in contact with meet or see Jesus?  These are your only tools.  Since it is through your words and actions that the character of your heart will be exposed, it is imperative for you to know where it resides.  Your goal through the storms or ease should be the constant yielding to His Spirit so His character dominates your heart, thereby yielding His words and actions.

O Lord, complete my faith.  Help me to trust in only Your Word and no other, especially my own.  Teach me to focus on every moment, seeing it for its beauty of revelation of You.  Help me to willingly lay down my heart’s desires for the single purpose of Your character’s reign over my spirit.  So be it.

It's a Gift

The last few years have been so rough that I found myself many times not caring if I was alive.  If I would have gotten cancer or some other life-threatening disease in that time I am not sure I would have sought treatment.  I realize that these are terrible things to say.  In Francis Chan’s Holiness Above Comfort message, he refers to the thought of “I’m okay being a shallow Christian, just don’t give me more pain.”  I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry at that … I laughed.

James 1:2 says “count it all joy when you fall into various trials”.  I failed at that.  I shudder to think how mature I’d be if I would have relied solely upon God when I was surrounded by the trials.  God needs men like I could have been.  Fortunately God didn’t give up on me.  I didn’t turn my back on Him and He rescued me.  Isn’t this every human’s story?  He meets everyone wherever they are if they are willing and works to bring them to a constant relationship that believes in Him, in His Word, and seeks to be like Him.  He is willing to walk with us and talk with us at all times.  Shouldn’t it be joy and confidence in all circumstance knowing He is with us and won’t forsake us?  Especially in our failures, since they are inevitable.

Rick Warren quotes a doctor who asked cancer patients if they wanted to live to be 100.  Simply by their answer the doctor could make a prognosis on who would have the best chance to beat the disease.  Those that answered “yes” had a reason to live and enjoyed life.  They would fight for it.

The present is a gift.  This moment in time has unspeakable value as it will never be repeated.  Rare items have the most value in auctions.  What is rarer than the second that just passed?  How can anything be more valuable?  It will never be again.  The only thing more valuable is the second spent in communion with God and as a Christian we get the opportunity to do that in every second if we so choose.  All that we see, hear, touch, and taste is secondary to the chance to spend moments throughout each day with His Word in our thoughts, His song in our mind, and His path to walk.

“God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.”  Whosoever.  Every created person, including me, is a whosoever.  If God is willing to love every person that much, He obviously wants them to be alive and not dead.  He has a purpose for every created life.  As Christians we must know that God created us for His purpose.  We are not here by random chance.  I pray that I will have the discipline to focus so that I do not waste another second.

Life is a Test

1 Cor 4:2  Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

God has entrusted so much to my care and stewardship: my wife, kids, extended family, a job and career, house, vehicles, time and so on.  Life then is a test of how I care for all that with which I've been entrusted.  I've been faithful to that trust moreso in some areas than others, but as I contemplate each specific trust, I find that I could do more or better as the case may be.  I could manage my time and money better for instance.  I could be a better encourager to my wife.  I could be more supportive of my adult daughter.  I could be even more diligent at work. 
Rick Warrant points out that God tests us to reveal and improve our character.  Abraham's test with Isaac, for instance was a test to prove to Abraham that nothing, not even a beloved son, would come before Abraham's relationship with God.  I believe God already knew the depth of Abraham's devotion, but Abraham needed to know and as we see in the new testament, other people needed a frame of reference for true devotion to God.  I believe that God already knows the potential of my character to both grow into full maturity and devotion as well as to backslide into failure due to laziness and self-centeredness.  Someone once said we're always growing until we die.  The question is am I growing closer to God and more like Him, or am I growing apart and thus less like him.  God is testing us to reveal our growth status and challenge us to depend on him to mold us and shape us into His image such that each and every trust is an opportunity for Him to deposit His grace into other's lives.  May I not fear or reject the test, but embrace it as an opportunity to grow into His likeness.

Tie it to a Balloon and Let it Go

In coaching, you learn that for every negative comment you make to a player, you have to make ten comments to overcome it.  I find this true for me as an adult as well.  While I may understand a right action or words as being right, believing it is right takes encouragement and positive reinforcement, especially when as Russ says, “It’s an unpopular position”.  My writing again this morning is an act of encourage and positive reinforcement, at least to myself.

A few times last week this position I've taken came up again as did some of the conversation.  I remarked to a person, “What do you do with that?”  They responded quoting a line from a message from a Pastor, “You tie it to a balloon and let it go.”  Yes.  You let it go.  How easily said and difficultly done.  Doesn’t mean it isn’t the right answer though.

I believe that I would have done better through the effort of conversations in this matter with family to have listened to that advice.  In Matthew 7:6 Jesus says “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.  If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”  I sit amazed at how true this wisdom reflects the events of the last year.  After following an instruction not to judge one another, Jesus specifically tells us not to put His gospel towards those who will reject it and return to the way they want to live.  My biggest concern is actually not that they reject God's clear direction and live how they want to live, but they have become a false teacher through their actions and words.  Oh how I do not want to live or want for anyone else to live under those curses!

Proverbs 26:11 says “As a dog returns to its own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”  2 Peter 2:22 refers to this and says “… and a sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”  We are to learn that once may be enough.  Speak the truth, refer to righteousness, indicate your position, then move on.  1 Corinthians 2:15-16 refers that Christ can appraise all spiritual things and we have the mind of Christ.  So, we are to discern what effect or to what reception our message has and decide to move on or keep telling the Word to others based on that discernment, not our desire to see loved ones make right decisions.  Otherwise they will not only reject and ridicule your position, but also attack you successfully.  I have to assume that “tear you to pieces” means their attack causes pain.  Jesus gave a like instruction to his disciples in Matthew 10:14 when He sent them out in pairs and said, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.”  … Tie it to a balloon and let it go.

In as much as we have to have faith in His ability to save us, heal us, and change anyone who is willing, we have to have faith that letting go of them in their rejection of His Word is the right thing to do as well.  The Prodigal Son’s father did not chase him down and hound him all his days as he wasted his life, but sat at his home doing righteous things looking for his son’s return.  May we be ever looking for such a time and reject the urge to build walls in our hearts.  Jesus knows this too well for we have all rejected Him at some time.  May we lean on Him and ask for His comfort in such times.

Finding Purpose in Life

Ro 8:6  So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

I'm committed to joining my accountability partner as he walks his son through the foundational study entitled The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. This forty day walk through a Christian perspective on our earthly purpose is not just worth doing, but something that should be internalized by every Christian, especially those facing key decision points in life or those positioned to advise people who are doing so such as our youth.  Between the ages of mid teens to mid twenties, we make at least the top ten decisions in life beginning with our spiritual foundation followed by decisions on higher education, employment, housing, marriage, and so on.  These key life decisions set us on a vector we will live the rest of our lives and thus are not to be made lightly. 
Rick points out in the very first day of the study that we basically have two methods to discover our life's purpose: speculation and revelation.  We can approach those top ten decisions with a cut-and-try method and blame others if things don't go to our liking, or we can turn to the only source of the best information; that is information from God who knows us thoroughly, knows exactly why he created us, and knows the future and how we fit in it.  We know that everything God has ever done fits in his singular eternal purpose which is to reconcile a lost world to Himself.  Therefore we can approach life from a self-centered perspective and make decisions based on our own internal motivational factors such as materialism, need for approval, fear, resentment and anger, and possibly others, but these factors are fleeting and decisions rooted in them are doomed to long-term failure.  We need what I call a strategic understanding and focus to properly understand our purpose.  This strategic understanding can only come from our creator who knew us before He created us, created us for an eternal purpose, knows exactly our past, our own capabilities and limitations, and clearly the only one who knows the future.  Therefore the best decisions are rooted in revelation from our creator who gives our eternal life, including that one here on earth, clear purpose direction and meaning. 
One problem we face as parents is lies by Satan who says we are on a timeline and we fail when we violate it.  Satan says that good parents force children into successful programs be they curriculum, extra curricular, or church, then send them off to a quality college or university, guide them into a lucrative field of study, then cajole them into employment that has high profit potential.  Don't get me wrong, we as parents are tasked with ensuring our children are prepared to fulfill God's purpose, but clearly God doesn't mandate a cookie-cutter approach or he would have put such a checklist in scripture.  God may be calling our kids into a "traditional" pattern of school, activities, and higher education, but the true parenting isn't mindlessly following said pattern, it is teaching our kids how to focus on, hear, and follow God's direction.  Rather than follow worldly examples, we need to learn how to pray with our children and teach them to hear God's still small voice - a skill I have yet to master, but have been blessed by kids who will at least dialogue with me and follow my lead at least to some extent.  I always ask folks before they are about to lead in any aspect of worship "have you been prayed up?  Of course my purpose is to ensure I remember and them too that true worship is a spiritual act and can only be effective if led by the Spirit.  I think I need to ask myself daily, "I've got to be a husband and a Dad today, so how have I prayed myself up in preparation?" 

As God would Have it

Eph 2:10 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This week I had to go to WaDC.  When I checked in on Facebook (something I never do) at Joe Theisman's Restaurant in Alexandria, VA, my sister-in-law responded that my brother-in-law was in WaDC as well.  I didn't think much about it, but the next day on a whim I texted him to see where he was staying.  It was my last night there and I already had plans to meet coworkers for dinner and was really surprised when I got a response to my text.  As it turned out, he was staying in the Hilton hotel right across the street from my Embassy Suites. 
Reja and I had been praying for a while about how to best minister to her brother as he goes through a divorce.  He is quite private and had not responded to calls or texts for a couple of months.  While I respect his right to privacy, it was difficult to sit on the sidelines and not provide support. 
We met around 6:30 at the Embassy and shared a couple of beers, then went to Theisman's for dinner where we spent about 2 hours talking in depth about some of the details behind their failed marriage, the impact to their four children, and how to best respond.  I was impressed at how diligent he was to avoid blaming his wife, although he did point out some key foundational differences in their faith and approaches to finance and child rearing.  It was obvious that he felt like a failure and was carrying a large burden of guilt and shame.  Yet he wasn't retreating to his apartment in Hattiesburg and turning to worldly solutions.  He has sought counseling both individually and as a couple, originally starting with a decidedly Christian counselor until his wife refused to return because of the counselor's faith and message.  Furthermore he has been regularly attending Venture church in Hattiesburg and has joined a divorce recovery small group that he looks forward to attending and has awakened his faith and willingness to openly share.
I had an awesome opportunity to boldly proclaim how God's overwhelming grace in our own marriage has literally kept us together in spite of our mutual faults.  The subject of faith is not an open topic in my in-laws family as they retain my father-in-laws practice of keeping private matters if health, money, and faith.  Yet on this day, he was a sponge absorbing my own testimony and probing the deeper subjects of faith and our own human failings.  I'm glad that as I've struggled through my own reaction to your marital issues, that God has pointed out my own faults such that rather standing in judgement, I could simply come along side him as a man with my own failures, faults, and need for a savior and guide.  Perhaps yet another realization of Ro 8:28 from your own faith journey.
Thanks for the lesson and preparation brother!

Oh Glorious Day

Oh Glorious Day by Casting Crowns (live performance).

It’s been a rough few days.  This week it hasn’t been grueling schedules that involve long hours, but completely unproductive work.  Software problems have made any real work progress completely ineffective.  It is frustrating to work on, try to work around, and work through problems to get a result only to get nowhere and have all the other work logjam up because of this.  Frustrations tend to build upon frustrations.  Once one particular item gets us “beside ourselves” the other things which might not be frustrating by themselves or on a normal productive day are frustrating, they get to a heightened level of importance and then the next three things behind them also all add on to that frustration in heightened states of frustration. 

The next thing I knew was I needed to be really careful what I said and did.  Remember, our tools to show Jesus are from His Spirit in our words and actions.  At the end of the day Julie texted me about eating out and I told her I was just sitting in my office trying to change my attitude.  My sinful body wanted to go and beat somebody up, lash out at having such a rotten day, or maybe go drink the pain away.  But what I wanted more was to work with as much effort as I could to remove myself, my pity party, my emotional frustrations, and be sure that what really mattered was more evident than me.  I didn’t want to fail my Savior.  I didn’t want to fail my family or my friends.  I needed Him to overcome this meaningless work stuff so I could gain a reality check on what’s really important.

God is able and willing to be with us to overcome our instinctual responses to this world.  When we focus on Him first and on serving in all circumstances the people around us with joy, looking at the bigger picture of spiritual consciousness in those around us and within ourselves, we are able to crawl out from under those rotten frustrating days with hope.  There will be a new glorious day where the Lord dwells and He is with me there.  One day He's coming. Oh Glorious Day!  Oh Glorious Day!

Testimony of a Messianic Jew

Today I am going to refer to a post from the Tea in Solitude blog by Matt Ayers.  There are just too many good points in it not to just reprint it.  This article is available HERE.

Today I read the following testimony.

“In 1975, our house was robbed. My father called 911 and the officer who received the dispatch raced to our house. While on the way, the policeman heard Jesus say to him, “Tell the person you meet about me.” When the policeman arrived at our home, he said, “Mr. Rudolph, I think you should sit down. I have something to tell you.” The policeman proceeded to tell my father about Jesus—who he was and why God sent him into this world.

My father, who was a criminal lawyer at the time, felt sorry for the policeman, thinking that he had lost his mind. But as the policeman shared the message of the gospel, my father experienced being surrounded by the presence of God. It was tactile and like a force field. While this was happening, the policeman left without taking a report, having done what Jesus told him to do. After about an hour, the presence of God departed, my father fell to the floor, and he prayed, “God, I am so sorry that I have not believed in your all these years. Now I know that you are real. But why did you send a Christian? Is Jesus who the Christians say he is?” My father did not know the answer to this question, but he knew he was going to find out.

Over the next couple of months, my father read large portions of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel foretold by the prophets.” (David Rudolph, “Introduction” in Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial Context and Biblical Foundations (David Rudolph and Joel Willitts; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 11–12.)

There are several points here that I wish to make in response to this. First, we can assume that this man who ended up placing saving faith in Jesus (the father) had Jesus, religion, and especially conversion, no where near his thinking after being robbed. This means that God can meet us at anytime, and at anyplace. 

Second, God uses something bad for a greater cause. This story begins with a robbery and ends with someone coming to know the saving love of Jesus. This is the thrust of the book of Genesis as well as the Cross. It is through our pain and suffering as well as the injustices of the world that God glorifies himself.

Third, this policeman was simply obedient. Of all times to NOT share the gospel, this was one of them. However, the policeman was ready and willing to share when prompted by the Holy Spirit. Do you see what obedience does?!

Fourth, sharing the gospel at this time demanded great courage. This is increasingly the case in contemporary Western culture. It’s becoming more and more taboo to share one’s faith, to challenge the beliefs of another. Without great courage, people do not come to know the Lord.

Fifth, it’s questionable if the policeman ever knew that his testimony was effective. Note that in the story, the presence of God didn’t come until after the policeman left. As far as he could tell, his audience was not receptive to the message. This means that there are times that we’re called to obey and we may not see the outcome. I think this keeps us humble.

Sixth, the presence of God is what transforms hearts, not mere humans. Note that God chose to work through the policeman’s testimony. It was when God showed up that the father was cut to the heart. God and God alone can save.

Compassion

As I reflected this morning I began to consider what characteristic of Jesus stands out the most to me.  It is difficult as Jesus is reflected throughout the Bible in so many ways.  However, the most striking for me has always been His compassion.  Jesus was very compassionate.

How do we know Jesus was compassionate?  The Bible defines God as being compassionate.  Psalm 86:15, 111:4, 112:4, and 145:8 all directly say the Lord is full of compassion.  Jesus said in John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also”.  Jesus told Philip when he asked Him to show them the Father, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).  Further, Jesus told the demon-possessed man in Mark 5:19 to “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”  Therefore, if God is compassionate, Jesus is compassionate.

We are also told directly that Jesus had compassion.  He had compassion for their physical (medical) condition.  “Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’” (Mark 1:41).  “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14).  He had compassion for their hunger.  “Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, ‘I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way’” (Matthew 15:32). 

Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33) indicating how we are to also be compassionate one to another’s physical needs.  One writer defined that compassion will feel the pain and plight of others.  It will enable us to convey a deep feeling of love and concern that moves us to meet their distresses, struggles, and needs.  I get that.  It should be inside of us to feel the pain and hurt in others.  We are often overwhelmed at what to do to help.  Too often we stand completely frustrated by our inability to help another.  We do not wish for others to be hungry, to go through heart-break especially alone, to lose a child or loved one, or to be deeply hurt physically or emotionally by other people. 

As important as this is, I think there is a greater compassion in God and Jesus.  I believe He had the most compassion for our spiritual depravity in sin.  “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).  Jesus’ single purpose was not to heal people physically and it was not to perform miracles.  It was to make a way for all of us to know God.  His whole physical life in this world was to serve us by providing a way for us to commune with God.  He suffered for it.  He wept over it.  He distressed over the cost. 

Jesus told the story of the compassionate father with the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:20).  His purpose was His Father’s compassion on us as sinners with no rescue.  A people with no shepherd needing a way, His way, to find Him.  I get that also.  I need rescuing.  I need people who will show me more of Jesus.  I need people to show me when I’m not reflecting Him, when I’m not following Him.  I believe this to be the clear focal point of my Messiah. 

Mindful

This morning I was fortunate to wake up and remember that it was my morning to help the church’s work to provide free breakfast for the homeless in our community.  It was an absolute privilege this morning.  Sometimes it’s work, but today it was very enjoyable. 

I always try to check my attitude before I get there.  Do I think I’m better than these guys?  Absolutely not.  I have simply had God’s blessings upon me and I deserve no more than any one on Earth.  God has protected me when I didn’t deserve it, allowed my mistakes to not devastate me like I do deserve, had a hand on me when I didn’t deserve it, loved me when I didn’t know it, and tolerated me when I wouldn’t have.  He is a glorious God.  He is a loving Lord.  He is my Father.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

     The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

What is man that You are mindful of him,

     And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

     And You have crowned him with glory and honor. – Psalm 8:3-5

Who am I that God would love so much that He would create a way for me to know Him?  Who am I that God would personally invite me to receive His Spirit?  “What is man that You are mindful of him?”  God is love and He loves.  It is no matter that I have not a single benefit for Him.  I can do nothing of myself.  In fact, I am worse than animals, plants, or anything else in Creation because I can choose to not love Him.  I can choose not to appreciate the beauty in His Creation.  I can choose not to love anyone, ever.  I can choose not to enjoy the free gift of life.  I can choose not to appreciate any gift or benefit. 

Yet, God holds my value to such that He came and dwelled with me.  He allowed Himself to die when He had done no wrong, just so I could choose to love.  Just so I could know Him.  Just so I could be like Him.  Just so we could commune together.  How can I possibly understand the unending dimension of such love?

I can understand how wondrous it is.  I can accept it and enjoy it.  I can let it fill me up and be thankful and grateful.  I can love all that is in His Creation.  I can love His Word.  I can love Him.

Be filled today by His Spirit and be mindful of Him.

Dimension

Dimension.  Everyone has dimension.  Unfortunately we seldom get a really good look at it.  We evaluate and react to everyone in two dimensions.  There are three two dimensional characteristics we evaluate and react to in every person: their physical person, their words, and their actions. 

Of these three, the physical person by comparison is of virtually no consequence.  The Bible hardly describes it except to say that the body is the temple because it physically houses our heart and the Spirit of God, so we need to take care of it.  Unfortunately, we are taught by the world to quickly see what a person’s physical body looks like (although it is three dimensional, I consider it two dimensional for purposes of this discussion) and to evaluate their appearance in seconds.  The world teaches that what a person says or does doesn’t matter, it’s just what they look like that does.  I cannot find where in the Bible He indicates the physical appearance should have such a value on our evaluation of one another.  Our society places such a high value on something the Bible doesn’t mention.  Therefore, for this discussion and for the truth of a real life in Jesus, it is irrelevant.

That leaves us with our words and our actions.  Jesus said it is through these two dimensional items that we will get a glimpse of one another’s depth or third dimension.  It is through our words and actions that our heart is seen.  If our heart is evil, evil words and actions will come out.  But by saying evil, we tend to discard such a term unless someone is a mass murderer. But if envy, jealousy, idolatry, hate, and such are in someone's heart, it comes out in their words and actions, eventually.   The evil inside comes out.  Most of the time evil doesn’t present itself as fire and brimstone, but in a kind and pleasant appearance, just as society has taught us to evaluate it. 

The point is we all have a depth of heart that is unknowable.  We walk alongside people every day and have no knowledge of their character of heart.  Nor can we, except through glimpses from their words and actions.  The most dangerous person is the one who has learned to disguise their corrupt heart through flattering language and apparent good intent.  And with that, I just described every person in America.  No one wants to be seen for what is in their heart.  Even when they cause incredible pain in the lives of others and their actions or words completely disrupts and destroys families, they are reluctant or even unwilling to become aware or acknowledge the source of those words and actions and see their heart condition. 

The only exception to this is the Christian who has the Spirit of God in their heart.  These people have an internal Spirit of love from God that forces conviction of sin, empathy for others, and words and actions to benefit others usually requiring sacrifice of themselves.  It is this Spirit that has no end to its depth.  It cannot be destroyed.  The battle is in choosing to let this Spirit lead the heart of the person every day, every hour, every minute.  It is both painful and rewarding.  It can cause pain down to the middle of the bones and also cause the heart to overflow with pure joy.  This Spirit is life. 

The failure in the body of Christ today is in its inability to be like Christ.  It is the inability to show any characteristics that are different than any persons.  We should want to be Christian so we can strive to be like Christ.  If we do not focus on letting His Spirit within us lead our words and actions, but more than that, the sincerity behind those words and actions, we are no different than any other person and the world is no different. 

Consider that today the only way anyone whom you are in contact with will get to know Jesus is through your words and actions.  The only way for these words and actions to be effective is for you to send them from your heart that is dominated by the Spirit of God.  Christian, those are your tools.  Use them wisely.

God cares About Everything

I've had about two weeks of relentless work.  Worked through last weekend.  Got up at 3:30 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week.  It's been brutal.  However, God has answered so many prayers along the way.  All to do with work.  He had impossible deadlines delayed (twice) when there was no view of a delay (although it was absolutely necessary in my eyes).  He had my presentation moved to a better time and had it go very well.  Every time it appeared to me to be an impossible situation.  I often wonder why, but when I do I am reminded of how God answered Russ' prayer to find a screw he dropped and when he opened his eyes he was staring at the screw on the ground.  God cares about the little things, the middle things, and the big things too.  God cares about you!