FreeTruth

Today marks the conclusion of our 2010 Lent series, Path to Glory. We hope you've enjoyed the experience as we have reflected on our Lord's journey through humiliation into glory. Before we conclude with one final reading, I want to mention a couple of things:
1. Thanks to all who've contributed to this series. It wouldn't have happened without you!
2. Tomorrow, I plan to start a several part series tentatively entitled: Christian Grace in Political-Cultural Crisis. Based on Psalm 37 this series will present a better response to our current poltical-moral-social crises than that which I perceive in many believers today. I hope it helps.
3. But before that, one last Lent post, this one from Ernie Kerwin, calling us to know and love the risen and ascended Lord. Enjoy.


After His resurrection, Jesus had some priority reminders for his disciples. Shortly he would be ascending to his Father, so he wanted to make the best use of his time with them.

The women at the tomb were given a reminder, from angels, of something Jesus had said to them,

"'He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.' And they remembered his words."

The two on the road to Emmaus were reminded, by Jesus, from the words of the prophets,

"'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."

Then he paid a surprise visit to His disciples. He reminded them,

"'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 23:44, 45).

Later on in the chapter He reminds them of the promise of the Father, power from on high. My focus, for this time, specifically is Luke 24:44, 45.

Here are a few questions for you, how well do you know Jesus? Would you like to know him better? Are you wondering how you can know him better?

Paraphrasing Jesus' words the answer would be "everything you want to know about me you will find in the Scriptures". Jesus once said, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me."

So, how can we get to know him better? READ THE SCRIPTURES! Intimacy with someone you love can only truly happen as you get to know that someone on an ever deepening level. How deep do you want your love to be?

Are you having trouble understanding what you are reading? You're in good company, the disciples were obviously having trouble but Jesus "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." He will do the same for you just ask "that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Colossians 1:9b).

One last item, the things written about him "must be fulfilled". This is important because in the priority reminders of Chapter 24 it is the Gospel, which is of first importance that is proclaimed.

As you read your Bible look for Jesus. Look for the Gospel. The Gospel is not just confined to the New Testament. Dive in deep, drink deep; eat the rich Word of God.

by Ernie Kerwin

Labels: Guest Post, Lent, Spiritual disciplines

I've been a hold-out on Lent, and, as commonly practiced, I still am. All human traditions have a built in high-risk factor which is one reason why I try to undermine them every chance I get!

This gets me into a lot of hot water, but I believe that traditions about music, Sunday attire, men's and women's roles (other than those spelled out in God's Word), holy days, liturgies, and more, must be deliberately altered periodically, or else in time they will replace God's Law. I must intentionally change the way I've always done things or the way I've always done things will supplant God's Law in my conscience.

Spiritual growth should never depend on a tradition, but on God and all His ordained means of grace alone. All else is sand. Traditions are just tools to be used or not, as the moment may suggest, and the heart may choose.

But with all that necessarily said, I think there are helpful ways we can observe traditional holy seasons if we so choose. Regarding Lent you might choose from the following options (from various sources):

1. Take a deep repentant inventory of soul. This should happen regularly (do not wait for Lent!), but it can be helpful to use the Lenten emergence from winter as a kind of spiritual emergence from any soul-winter we may be in. You can ask questions like:

- What are my characteristic sins, and how can I work and pray for change?
- What idols have captured my imagination and cooled my love for the living God?
- In what ways is my devotion to Christ and his church less than wholehearted?

2. Memorize a gospel, cross-focused text like Isaiah 52:11-53:12.

3. Write one gospel-presenting letter each Lenten week to an unbelieving person expressing the love of Christ.

4. See Lent and the Good Friday/Resurrection Day event as a reminder of your solidarity with all true believers everywhere. It's undeniably stirring, if you have a love for the universal Church, to realize that in such "holy seasons" true Christians everywhere are united in repentance, faith, and love for Christ.

5. Read good books about the finished redeeming work of Jesus Christ--through Whom alone we have our salvation apart from works and traditions. Fill your mind with grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone themes.

6. Plan to make three visits to people who are lonely or especially needy. Read them Scripture on the death and resurrection of Christ and encourage their faith and hope in Christ.

7. Choose to fast, going without food for a meal or a day or longer, using the time and energy saved to pray and meditate.

Whatever you choose never think of your way as God's Law. Never think that your observance of Lent is penance or atonement for sin. Jesus' blood alone atones. By His blood and righteousness alone are we justified in God's sight. Trusting in Jesus alone, make your choice regarding Lent. This is an evangelical way to do Lent.

As we proceed now to offer 40+ readings on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus--His Path to Glory--the way is clear for us to reflect and worship with no legalistic strings attached.

Labels: Fasting, Holy Days, Lent, Prayer, Repentance, Spiritual disciplines

Most of my early life major influences had a strong distrust of holy days, and an instinct to avoid them. They saw verses like Colossians 2:16-23, and (in my judgment) rightly concluded that any legalistically required observance of holy days (what Paul calls new moons, festivals, etc.) is a form of spiritual babyhood; a reverting to "elemental" principles of religion below that to which we are called in Christ. We've been set free from such childish requirements.

They also pointed out that the Bible nowhere mandates Lent or Good Friday or Easter or even Christmas observance. And they were right. These are human traditions, and nothing more. And as such, they cannot be required for anyone. No one has a right to command what God does not command.

They also observed how many people treat these "holy days" as if they are really holier than other days. They noticed how people act more spiritual on these days than on others. In other words, people play the hypocrite, and feel that all is okay between them and God because they've done their Easter/Lent/Christmas thing. And so my early influences reminded me often that Paul says that all days are to be consecrated to God as equally holy (Romans 14:1-12). And they were right.

I thank God for these early influences. They gave me a due caution toward all traditions and man-made additions to God's Law. I live with what I think is a healthy resistance to anything that is a human add-on to God's Word. I hate legalism and thank God for all those who've guarded me from the deadening effects of tradition.

But I do think that many in my early life missed something else Paul said. It's found in Romans 14:5-7. Honoring one day above another in a special way is not sin. It can be done for God's glory.

So long as we avoid all the dangers alluded to in my last post, it's possible and permitted to observe special days. It's possible and permitted to set apart Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ, Good Friday to remember the death of Christ, Easter (or as I prefer to call it, Resurrection Day) to rejoice in the victory of Christ, and--if we are so inclined--Lent, to do whatever our hearts desire to draw closer to God, more appreciative of grace, more humble before the Holy One, more repentant over sin, more trusting in Christ alone for our salvation, more in love with the Savior.

All the warnings still apply, but one thing we cannot do is forbid what God allows. If some choose to honor a season as unto their Lord in a way that does not compromise any truth of the gospel, then more power to them. May God truly bless those who do. And may God truly bless those who do not!

All that said, tomorrow we'll look at a suggested evangelical way to observe Lent if you so desire.

Labels: Christian Liberty, Holy Days, Legalism, Lent, Spiritual disciplines

Many would ask what Lent is. People put ash on their foreheads; others go without meat or some other pleasure for a few days or weeks; still others fast seriously for a season--and we wonder what to make of it all.

The word "Lent" refers to spring, signalling emergence from the cold barrenness of winter to life-renewal on planet earth. The symbolic usefulness of this is plain. Lent can mark the coming of spring with a reflection upon how our souls may need renewal, as they often grow cold and barren for a season.

From back in the 100s AD some Christians have prepared for the Good Friday/Easter event with fasting and prayer. Marked by repentance, this was a season for personal reflection about one's own relationship with Christ, with an accompanying sorrow and confession over sin.

Someone has written: "The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial, for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ."

So Lent, with most of its individual components as practiced by many Christians throughout the centuries, is really a merging of many Christian disciplines into one forty day long event.

It's hard to argue with any of this. We evangelicals embrace penitence (not the same as penance), confession, fasting, prayer, self-evaluation, almsgiving, self-denial, and even the observance of holy days. Who can deny the value of these practices? In fact, each (with the exception of holy days) is biblically required of believers in some form or another, at one time and another.

What is optional is whether one attaches them to a Lenten pre-Good Friday/Easter experience. If one chooses to do so, I'd only urge that the following safeguards be observed.

--Lent must never be seen as a form of penance or personal atonement for sin.
--Lent must never be required of a believer by any Church or spiritual authority
--Lent must never be elevated above human tradition status. We must keep in mind our Lord's teaching in Matthew 15:1-9 that traditions are very dangerous things.

If so guarded, this discipline can prove and has proven immensely helpful to many. After all, don't we all have sin-winters in the soul from which we need to emerge into springtime life and renewal?

Labels: Death of Christ, Gospel, Lent, Spiritual disciplines, the passion of Christ

Today FreeTruth begins a Lenten series entitled Path to Glory. Nearly twenty of my friends will contribute to this 45+ day journey through the life, passion, resurrection, and triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ--His path to glory.

I think there's wisdom in first getting this "Lent thing" straight in our minds, before we present about forty meditations heading into the Good Friday and Easter season. If you're an evangelical Christian like me--someone who has a legitimate concern to keep the gospel free from man-made traditions and legalistic additions--you've probably asked questions about Lent. If you haven't, you probably should have, for traditions and additions can kill unguarded evangelical faith.

Let's see if I can help out with a few posts answering some FAQs about Lent.

FAQ #1--"Isn't Lent a Catholic holy season?" Answer: Yes and No.

Yes, Roman Catholics observe Lent every year. No, Lent is not only a Catholic holy season. The fact is that through the centuries to this day, many evangelical, Bible-believing Protestants have observed the Lenten season to one degree or another. That doesn't mean it's right or wrong. It just means that it isn't strictly accurate to say that Lent is only a Catholic holy season any more than to say that Christmas is only a Catholic holy day because Catholics observe that too.

Church history shows that Lent-like practice was observed widely before the Roman Catholic Church ever became very dominant and as seriously in error as it is today. Widely diverse observance of some form of fasting, repentance, and prayer, all leading into the Good Friday/Resurrection Sunday (Easter) season, traces back at least into the 100's A.D. That doesn't mean necessarily that this is a good thing to do; it simply means that a lot of real Christians have been observing Lenten-type practices for a long time.

Truth be told: there are troubling Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, High Church Anglican or Lutheran, and even superficial evangelical ways to observe Lent, and there can be a truly evangelical, gospel- and grace-saturated way to observe it.

It is by no means critical that we choose to observe Lent. I never have. And many other Christians have chosen not to and are strong devoted believers. What matters is that if we choose to observe Lent (which I believe a Christian may do), we do so in a way that in no way compromises the gospel of God's free justifying grace through the atonement of Christ alone.

We'll see if we can outline an approach to such holy seasons that does not undermine the gospel in the process.

Labels: Fasting, Holy Days, Lent, Spiritual disciplines

Many of you know James 5:13-18. I feel like I'm just beginning to really know it, if you know what I mean. I've got a long way to go, but at least in recent time, this is what I've seen:
1. A brother in severe back pain just before a missions trip, stand and walk within minutes of prayer, and stay strong throughout the next days of his long ride and work.
2. Another brother have potentially serious surgery near his brain, go into the hosptial one day, be told he'd be there at least 4-5 days, and in recovery for months, only--in response to many fervent prayers--have the surgery, get a wonderful report, and leave the hospital the next day!
3. A mom's long and persistent prayers for a prodigal son answered this week with him "coming home" to Christ with a contrite heart and humble faith.
4. A sister and daughter travel to Haiti to serve; get there and back safely and with a deepening heart for Christ and others; having left a mark on dozens of children and families--prayed for all the way there and back again.
5. A brother in the Lord--and son of one of our TFC sisters in Jesus, prayed for on Sunday and now--this Thursday given a medical report saying his cancer is in remission.
6. Long damaged and even broken relationships prayed for, talked through, and on the mend.
7. A brother with a recent stroke--prayed for and experienceing the sustaining grace of God in trial.
8. Another brother with cancer, not fully healed but prayed for and tasting the very good, very sufficient grace of God.
9. A brother caught in sin, and earnestly prayed for, now repenting, and being restored to family and those around him.
10. A family mourning the tragic loss of a son, but through prayer and fellowship going on with God in grace.

I could add more my friends, but this will do to make this point: pray on dear ones. Pray on!

Labels: Faith, Prayer, Spiritual disciplines

Just a short thought for today folks. We just finished a series showing reasons to believe the Bible is God's Word. That leads to this reminder: in the Bible God speaks. I read Numbers 7:89 in my devotions this morning. Friends: everytime we open our Bibles we are entering the tent of meeting to hear God's voice.

Here are several questions I have often found helpful in hearing Him speak as I read a Scripture text:
1. What do I learn here about God's character & works?
2. What do I learn about the Lord Jesus Christ?
3. What do I learn about God's law? What demands my immediate and determined and happy obedience?
4. What do I learn about my own self and sin?
5. What do I learn about God's thoughts toward me? Am I under his favor or under his frown?
6. What do I learn about God's grace and salvation?
7. What promises of God are here for me?
8. What cause for worship and praise do I find?
9. What should I pray for now in response to God's voice?
10. What can/must I share with others?


A few suggestions for life.
Open to any feedback.

One more suggestion: to help encourage a few more to get into the conversation let's keep all comments to no more than four sentences.

Labels: Spiritual disciplines, The Word of God

As we enter into this new year I do so thinking about the spiritual disciplines and how I need to pursue them with greater effort over the coming days and months. Foundational to all the disciplines is the wise and careful use of time. Jonathan Edwards knew the importance of how we are to respond to the time given us by God, regarding which Donald Whitney has helpfully commented:

At the root of all discipline is the disciplined use of time. Without this one, there are no other disciplines. Edwards recognized this early on, and thus three of the very first of his famous Resolutions--in this case, numbers 5-7--were on the stewardship of time:

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

One of Edward's best-known and most soul-searching sermons is on this very subject. In December 1734 he preached on "The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It." Taking the words "redeeming the time" from Ephesians 5:16 as his text, Edwards reminded his listeners that time is the only brief preparation we have for all eternity. This time is short, it is passing, the remaining amount of it is uncertain, and whatever time is lost can never be regained. We will give an account to God of how we use our time, Edwards noted, and our precious time is so easily lost. In the most solemn section of the sermon, Edwards called his hearers to consider how people on their deathbed, and especially those in hell, long to have the time that we have at this moment, and how we ought to use our time as they would, if they had the opportunity." ("Pursuing a Passion for God Through Spiritual Disciplines: Learning from Jonathan Edwards," Donald S. Whitney; in--A God Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards, John Piper and Justin Taylor--General Editors, Crossway Books, pages 123-124)

Time is indeed precious. I am particularly struck by the observations made by Edwards that it is "the only brief preparation we have for all eternity", that "time is short, it is passing, the remaining amount of it is uncertain, and whatever time is lost can never be regained." Moreover, "we will give account to God of how we use our time", and that "our precious time is so easily lost."

How will we, how will I, use the time God gives us this new year? Pray that it will be redeemed well. The eternal implications of this for our lives are enormous.

Labels: Guest Post, Spiritual disciplines, Time

I have just a few thoughts as we embark on another new year. I have come to value this holiday increasingly as the years have passed. As a child it meant no more than I got to stay up past midnight on New Year's eve. Today it means that I have a chance to pause, to think, to evaluate, to set goals, to take stock of life.

Gayline asked me last evening if I'd be willing to take some time this evening to talk over our personal and family goals for 2010. It was a great idea (she's got lots of them!), so that's part of what we're going to do.

I suspect that this is going to lead us toward a few goals like these:
1. Make sure that we're both going hard and happy after God in 2010.
2. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after personal character and faith in 2010 by mortifying specific sins of which we're aware and bringing to life the fruit of the Spirit.
3. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after Truth in 2010, through daily reading of the Word and extensive reading of the Truth-gold that others have written.
4. Make sure that we're both going hard and happy after each other in 2010.
5. Make sure we're both going hard and happy after our children and grand-children in 2010.
6. Make sure that we're both going hard and happy after our spiritual family in the church in 2010.
7. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after good nutrition and exercise in 2010 that we might seize whatever years we have left with as much energy and good health as it's in our power to develop.
8. Make sure that we're going hard and happy after joy--in all God is, and all God does--in 2010.

Now if we are enabled to apply specifics to all of this, all in the strength which God supplies, it will prove to be a God-filled year.

What are your goals?

Have a blessed new year.

Labels: christian life, Spiritual disciplines

The third question asked in response to my message on the end of the unbeliever (which is destruction) this past Lord's Day was this: How do I approach prayer for unbelievers (and prayer in general) knowing that everything has been ordained before I even existed?

This too is a question the answers to which are incomplete and shrouded in mystery. And having only a few minutes to post this morning I will have to reply very simply and succinctly. Having just read Jesus' words in Matthew 5:8 in my devotions this morning, let me answer simply with this: The fact that God knows what we pray for before we pray says to me that prayer is fundamentally not so much about what it produces (by way of answers) as it is about what it produces in us (by way of humility, desperation, faith, dependance).

I can only develop this briefly but I believe that prayer is mainly a means of grace to change us, to humble us, to remind us of our need for God, to deepen within us a sense of our utter inadequacy. God calls me to pray not so much that He can get things done through my prayers as so that He can get things done in me through my prayers. Prayer for the lost, prayer for needs, prayer for anything is always helpful if for no other reason than that it reminds me that conversion and provision are God's work and God's gifts. For a sinner like me who tends arrogantly to rely on self, this is a reminder I need multiple times, daily.

There is more to be a gained through prayer, but there is always this: I am forced to think about God's sovereignty and my need for His help. For that reason alone I will keep on praying for the lost, for the sick, for the hurting, for the lonely, and for today's bread.

Sorry I can't add more at the moment, but the heart and encouragement needs of a son bid me come.

Labels: Evangelism, Prayer, Spiritual disciplines

In yesterday's RMMR reading, we found ourselves hearing Jesus say: "This kind cannot be driven out but by prayer" (Mark 9:29). Some aspects of spiritual warfare can only be won with prayer.

There are certain challenges, certain spiritual impediments (in this case demonic possession), and certain spiritual battles, in which the enemy can only be defeated, the sin can only be vanquished, the habit can only be broken, the demon can only be exorcised by real and prevailing prayer.

From the context of Jesus' life as recorded by Mark and the other gospel writers, it is clear that Jesus does not have in mind here simple, quick, or easy prayers on the run. He means prayer like the prayer He prayed. Look at texts like Mark 1:35; 6:46; and 14:32-42 to see what I mean. When Jesus prayed He prayed.

This is not to say that quick spontaneous prayers of gratitude or need are not real prayers; it's just to say--and this is Jesus' point in Mark 9:29--that there is a different kind of prayer needed for some kinds of needs. There are really hard, really tough, really entrenched, really supernaturally evil spiritual foes that we will confront at times that can only be faced when first we have drawn near to God in earnest, prolonged, fervent, focused, prevailing prayer. It is this that explains why some translations have added the phrase "with fasting" to Jesus' call to prayer. The early copiests of the texts were in tune with the fact that Jesus was talking about prolonged and sustained prayer. This isn't prayer lite; this is prayer with power.

When I ponder this, one question that comes to mind is this: what are the types of spiritual battles that can only be won through this kind of prayer? When is prayer the only thing that will work?

Can I suggest a few answers based on 27 years of pastoral warfare side-by-side with my fellow soldiers in the cause of Christ? This kind of prayer is needed:

1. When there is or may be demonic activity involved; when the struggles of a person's life seems beyond the norm, beyond the run-of-the-mill, garden variety spiritual problem. When it seems that the battle is born in hell, the prayer must increase.
2. When there is physical and spiritual addiction to drugs or porn or food involved. These bondgaes usually do not get broken without profound prevailing prayer.
3. When children are deceived by their flesh and the world to go prodigal on us and God. This blindness can be so darkening and senseless that only prayer can cause the light to shine.
4. When there is chronic long-term disease or malady or handicap being faced. These afflictions have a cumulative affect on people and their families that can eventually debilitate them if not countered and conquered through much prayer.
5. When there are long-standing habits, traditions, preferences, and opinions that are entrenched so deeply in people's mindsets and lifestyles that they have become to them as inflexible law and/or hopelessly enslaving bondage.

Just a few thoughts about battles and needs in which only prayer will work.

Can I suggest by way of application that you think through a few such needs in your life or in the lives of those you love, and then commit some prolonged seasons of prayer to wrestle with God until He gives the victory?

Labels: Prayer, Spiritual disciplines

In 1 Corinthians 7:31 there is an interesting concept. It's missed in the translation I use, but is captured more accurately in several others. The NASB translates the verse: "...and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away." This "full use" seems to imply an abuse, as other translations make clear.

It is this concept of using the world without abusing it that intrigues me. Today there will be many aspects and benefits of the world that will come across my path. I have at least three options when they do:

1. Non-use. This option is often chosen by the ascetic types among us. These are those who view the stuff of this world as being bad. They may not realize it but they have more in common with pagans in this point of view than they do with Christians. The idea that created things in this world are bad; things like food and work and making money and sports and music and drink and sex and the internet and TV and whatever else might have made the various taboo lists people have, is simply a bad idea. It's not true. God made all these things or gave man the ability to make them. So unless you're ready to say that God makes bad stuff, you'd better recant any notion that stuff is bad. It's as simple as that. (Let me qualify just enough to say that if you are one who has a hard time with addictions/bondage to stuff or pleasures or drink or food, the rules are a bit different for you. The Bible says things like "Flee temptation" and it means it. Stay clear and don't play with fire.)

2. Abuse. This option is often chosen by the free-spirited types; those that are allergic to rules and boundaries, and just feel that they can do what they please when they please. These too are more pagan than Christian and need to repent of their lawlessness real soon or find themselves on the wrong side of heaven's gates.

3. Right use. The Apostle advocates the right use of the stuff and pleasures and good things of the world .

But what is the right use of the world? That, I think, is a very good question; a question worth pondering. The right use of the world's stuff and pleasures obviously includes a use of them in compliance with God's Law. That's a given, or at least ought to be.

But in addition to that I'd suggest that a right use of the world's stuff and pleasures is any use that:
1. Increases joy, gratitude and love for the Giver more than the gift (Psalm 104:1-31; 1 Tim 4:1-5).
2. Balances out the tasks and duties of life with glad-hearted enjoyment of earth's simple pleasures (Eccles. 5:18, 19)
3. Builds bridges to the world for evangelism (1 Cor 10:27; Jesus ate and drank with sinners)
4. Adds spice and pleasure to married life. (Proverbs 5:18, 19; Song of Solomon; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5)
6. Makes a profit in order to be able to give more! (Eph 4:28)

I'm sure more could be added, but I'll, leave it at that. Interesting that in the middle of a joyful austerity month-long experiment in which I'm simply trying to get close to a need-only way of life, God should lead me to think on the right place and use of the things of this world. These things may not be needed for mere physical survival but they may be part of an over-all healthy life on planet earth, as God defines that.

Any thoughts?

Labels: Christian Liberty, Materialism, Self-control, Spiritual disciplines, Worldliness

One of the woeful effects of the evolutionary theory that Peter wrote about yesterday (isn't it good to hear that the peddlers of folly are at least squirming a bit under the weight of having no proof?!) is that it has given a pseudo-intellectual credibility to the age-old philosophy of materialism. It has made the idea that all there is and all that matters is matter. The realm of the spirit and the supernatural has been denied even more openly and brazenly than ever.

One effect of this has been an emergence of crass hedonistic materialism. We're told to love money and what money can buy, because after all there is nothing but the body and the present to live for. Even though our world's woeful condition of unhappiness (I saw a report just this morning that 27 million stuff-stuffed Americans are on anti-depressants!) would surely imply that stuff doesn't bring happiness, and life disconnected from the Living God and connected only to matter, is bankrupt, the blind still don't know they're blind.

A few weeks back I told you I wanted to do a 30 day experiment in joyful austerity; a commitment for one month to live as close to a need only existence as I can get. It has begun. For one month I'm going to eat, drink, shower, spend, relax, and simply live with need rather than mere pleasure or habit in mind. I started on Saturday. Three days in I'm learning some things about what we really need and what we don't. I'll try to keep you posted.

BTW this really isn't inteneded to be something like a fast; it's not really a profound spiritual plan so much as an intentional learning experience. I want to learn a bit more what God sees as my needs, what others have and don't have, and just how happy and contented I can be without all the stuff that money buys.

As one stuff-stuffed American to others, I'm hoping to learn some things that'll change my life.

Labels: christian life, Fasting, Materialism, Spiritual disciplines

In Acts 17:11 and 2 Timothy 2:15, God indicates His standard for nobility and approval: diligent and daily examination of His Word of truth. I know the Timothy passage is written to a pastor, but that really doesn’t let any non-pastors off the hook. After all, we’re all pastors to someone; we've been called to shepherd at least one or two in the way of truth. Noble and approved men and women of God are those who spend much time in God’s Word, examining, studying, applying, and then teaching it to others.

To this end we will need to:
1. Redeem our time. Time seems scarce for us all; let’s use it well by scheduling it diligently. We’ll need to plan devotional and study time. It’ll surprise us how much time we have when we strategize its use (e.g.-we can redeem even commute time by listening to selected sermons or Scripture on tape).

2. Read more, and read more selectively. Based on your reading skills, plan out the books you’ll read for the next year (six per year for those just getting started, perhaps twelve for those further along, then go from there.) Ask a good theologian in your church for how-and-where-to-get-started advice.

3. Resource technology. Those who struggle hard with reading need not despair. Technology is God’s gift, providing audio resources galore for truth-hungry men. In today’s world, inability to read well is hardly an excuse for being a poor theologian. Start by listening to your pastor’s recorded weekly sermon at least one or two times each week. Then ask your pastors for recommended audio series.

4. Strive for theological accuracy and consistency. Don’t read and study smorgasbord style. Too many American Christians are listening and reading based on what’s hot on the Christian scene, what appeals to their tastes, or how a writer/speaker tells stories or makes them feel. Remember II Tim. 4:3, 4, and be warned. Friends, truth and time are too precious to be spending hours reading what may be appealing, but is less than fully nourishing. Seek theological accuracy and consistency in your reading. Read books and listen to series that reflect consistently sound doctrine and application. In our church, our bookstore selections and all recommended materials and ministries provide a consistent, balanced and carefully applied theology for life. There’s enough spiritual pastureland in these resources to feed men and their families for the rest of their lives.

5. Create a library and study area. Again, ask your pastors what basic book and audio resources would be valuable for you to collect into a theological library for you and your family. If possible create a study area set apart for you and the Word.


Well friends, this gets you pointed in a right direction. There's no time like the present to go hard after God and truth. Enjoy.

Labels: Doctrine, Spiritual disciplines, Study, Theology

Some of the better theologians I know are not career pastors or seminary professors. One is an engineer, one a social worker, one a teacher, one an insurance guy, one a phone system operator, one a banker, one a computer geek, one a broker, one a musician, one a mechanic. There are more, but I hope you get the point. Theology is for everyone.

Looked at one way, we could say that all believers are, in fact, theologians. There’s no question that everyone has a view, or theology of God, life, sin, and salvation. That makes each one a theologian. The only real question is whether one is a good theologian or a bad one. The real concern is whether or not each one has developed a lifestyle of learning to ensure that his/her theology is true, Biblical, and pleasing to God. So what kind of theologian are you?

Before you beg off by copping an “I’m not the bookish type” attitude, you need to understand that whether that is true or not is irrelevant. A love of theology is not determined by bookishness; it’s determined by a love of God.

Friends, this isn’t hard to figure out. Theology is the study of God’s revealed truth, character, works, grace, salvation and glory. So if we love God we will love theology, since it is a study of who He is, what He is like, and what He does. It really is that simple. So, on to the question: how do we become better theologians?

Here are two initial suggestions:

1. Be grateful for grace. If you're reading this blog (which is an attempt at theological reflection on God’s truth, glory and love revealed to us), it means that you want to learn, and that God’s theology-teaching grace is already functioning in your life. Praise the Lord!

2. Redefine your relationship with Christ. The most common New Testament word for a Christian is disciple. A disciple is a student or learner in the school of Christ. That idea needs to be near the center of your self-understanding as a Christian. Get it there and you’ll be on your way to becoming the studying and learning theologian God wants you to be.

Labels: Doctrine, Spiritual disciplines, Study, Theology

Questioning Questions

There is no one way to do fellowship. The Bible presents many approaches to personal care for each other’s souls. One very effective method relies heavily on the use of questions. Now you may find yourself questioning the use of questions: “Is there a biblical precedent for this? How is this helpful? Will this feel oppressive and intrusive for the one being questioned?”

“Where Are You” Adam?
In the first ever personal ministry and counseling time (Genesis 3:9-13), we find God searching for Adam following Adam’s act of disobedience. As God approaches this hiding sinner (which describes all of us to some extent), He approaches him with questions, questions the answers for which God already knew.

God asks Adam a series of questions in order to give Adam an opportunity to come out of hiding and to see issues of his heart in ways more helpful than if God had simply come to Adam with a series of corrections or pieces of advice.

The use of questions to help people see the needs and issues of their hearts is a common biblical approach to personal care and correction.* It is not the only valid approach but it is an extremely effective one. One of its advantages (in contrast to a more informational and advice-giving approach) is that it allows people to hear their own thoughts and attitudes without having to be told them by others. In this way, under the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the process of conviction goes on more personally and directly.**

If you obtain my full booklet on this topic (Live Together or Die Alone: a Call to Radical Fellowship), you will see an example from my own life of when I was led into seeing my own heart through a brother’s effective use of questions. In that situation, I do not think I would have seen my heart as clearly if I had been approached by someone loaded with observations and words of wisdom or correction to bring to my attention. The use of gentle questions was effective in opening my heart to see my own issues without proud defensiveness or argument.

Here is a list of questions that can be useful for our conversations/fellowship together:
1. What evidences of grace are you experiencing these days (i.e.-clear signs of growth in Christ and joy in the gospel)?
2. What is one specific truth you gained from that sermon or study or book?
3. What is one specific application of it that you plan to make in your life?
4. What are you struggling with these days?
5. What are biblical terms for this struggle?
6. Why do you think you are struggling with it?
7. How might your view of God affect this struggle?
8. How does the gospel affect you in this battle?


* For a sampling of other examples see God’s questioning of Cain in Genesis 4:6, 9, 10 and of Job in Job 38-41; Samuel’s probing of Saul in 1 Samuel 15:14; Jesus’ use of questions in John 6:5, 6; Luke 24:17, 19; apostolic deployment of questions in James 4:1f; 1 Corinthians 4:7.

** Another fruit of the practiced use of specific questions is an ability to self-assess and self-counsel. Individuals can ask themselves questions which aid in their awareness of the issues and state of their own hearts, so that even when others are not present, the work of sanctification can proceed at full speed.

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

Hebrews: A Model of Gospel Centered Correction

As stated earlier, the book of Hebrews is both a call to warning and exhorting fellowship, and an example of it. It calls us to warn each other and it is itself an extended warning. So it models what it commands.

If space allowed we could unpack various aspects of such ministry that the author utilizes in this letter.* We would see that he uses a variety of tools in his exhortation appeal to his readers: fear, hope, the love of God our Father, promises, historical examples of what happens to people who do not persevere in faith, and then examples of what God does for those who do.

More than anything, the author proclaims the surpassing worth of Christ (Hebrews 1-4) and the surpassing work of Christ (Hebrews 5-10) as the chief means to inspire his readers to keep on keeping on in the faith of Christ. This is another reminder that all ministry—even warning and exhortation ministry—must always remain gospel ministry. All one anothering in the body of Christ must always be thoroughly Christ and cross centered, or it will not be effective ministry at all.

This is truth for life. I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 where the ongoing process of being saved (i.e.-the process of perseverance in faith) is maintained through a never ending commitment to the gospel of a crucified and risen Savior. Hebrews models this wonderfully.

All ministry, all fellowship, all correction and wounding grace must be lived out in an atmosphere saturated with an everyday focus on the Person and Work of Christ. Never correct anyone without giving them Christ. Never receive correction without receiving Christ in a fresh way along with that correction.

Correction, the harder work of fellowship, will do only harm unless it is accompanied by reminders of the free justifying, adopting, preserving, and forgiving promises of the gospel—all guaranteed for us through the redeeming work of the Savior.

The writer of Hebrews knew that; so should we.



* For a more complete understanding of the Hebrews’ call to radical fellowship you may obtain a spring, 2008 series of messages presented by TFC, entitled, Live Together or Die Alone. Visit our website to order or download this series.

** For more on cross centered living see our Cardiphonia entitled, Gospel Centered Living from A-Z as well as C.J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life and Jerry Bridges’ The Gospel for Real Life.

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

There is much about fellowship, that could be said, but I can’t draw this series out for too long so I’m going to have to zero in here on a few matters that I think need focus because they are areas of weakness in contemporary fellowship.

Where We Are Not So Strong

As we encounter the one another commands of Scripture we are not given the luxury of selective obedience; we have to pursue faithfulness in all that fellowship involves. With this in view we realize that there are aspects of fellowship in which most Christians are not so strong. Particularly I would identify the aspects of biblical correction, warning and admonition. We’ve yet to fully embrace the Bible’s teaching that we are to seek out and offer a ministry of mutual accountability and warning care, such as is encouraged in Proverbs 27:5, 6, 17:

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs isn’t calling us to a ministry of criticism or to a witch-hunt in the church. Rather God is challenging us to notice when brothers and sisters in Christ are caught up in patterns and habits of sin, and to do what we need to, to lead them into the forgiving and transforming grace of God.

Fellowship’s Harder Work

This is what I would call fellowship’s harder work. I say it’s harder, because, well, other things are easier. If anyone finds this work easy, I’d suggest a heart transplant. Frankly, anyone who enjoys wounding a friend is disturbed. People who love find no immediate pleasure in speaking correction or rebuke into the lives of those they love. Parents will know well the experience of disciplining their kids, and being compelled to say to them in the process; “This hurts me at least as much as it hurts you.” Why? Because it does.

Hebrews: A Mandate for Wounding Fellowship

The New Testament letter called Hebrews serves at least two functions. It is both a wounding and warning letter, and it is also a call to wounding and warning fellowship. In this letter the Holy Spirit warns us to stop sinning against, and wandering from Christ,* and He also commands us to warn one another, lest any of us should so wander. Here are three key texts commanding the latter:

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin…”

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal” (Hebrews 3:12, 13; 10:24, 25; 12:12-16).

Hebrews makes it clear that we are our brothers’ (and sisters’) keeper. What matters to you should matter to me, and nothing matters more than that you (and I) keep on keeping on in the way of Christ.

Next time we'll look at what's at stake in all this.


* See Hebrews 2:1-3; 3:12; 4:5-13; 10:26-39; 12:18-29; 13:22. In Hebrews 13:22, the author calls his whole letter an exhortation/warning: “I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.”

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

One Anothering

Biblical fellowship is fleshed out through a series of New Testament one anothering commands.* Numbering over 50, these commands define the breadth, depth and scope of fellowship as revealed by God. Through these one anothers we see that biblical fellowship cannot be reduced to one-dimensional conversationalism, but must be pursued as a multi-faceted and multi-layered enterprise of love. In order for a church to care faithfully and fully for its members, it needs to embrace all these dimensions of fellowship and practice them with intentional focus.

Selective Fellowship

My experience has been—as I witness my own inclinations and those of others I love—that we tend to be selective in our practice of fellowship. We define and do fellowship in commitment terms with which we are most at ease. We choose aspects of fellowship that fit our personality most readily, make our friends most comfortable, or avoid the tasks most unpleasant.

But the thing about one anothering commands is that they are one anothering commands. All of them are imperatives which mean that none of them is optional. So practicing the one anothers is not a matter of personality or spiritual gifting; it’s a matter of obedience. All of us must do all these things in whatever sphere of fellowship and responsibility God entrusts to us. God calls us to step into this work with faith that He will enable us as we go.

God Gives What God Commands

Sometimes we avoid certain duties because we fear we cannot do them. When obedience is neither comfortable nor easy nor natural, we are tempted not even to try. It was this battle with moral paralysis that led the early church father, Augustine to pray: “Lord, give what you command, and command what you will.”

Augustine prays for grace from God so that he might be obedient to God. He asks God to give what He commands. Then in the confidence that God will do just that, this early Christian pastor boldly invites God to command whatever He wills. And he does so backed up with biblical promise:

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:8-11, emphasis added).**

It is this confidence that God gives grace whenever God gives duty that can liberate us to enter the world of true fellowship with believing hope.


* For example: Romans 13:8; 12:5, 10, 16; 15:5-7, 14; 16:16; Galatians 5:13; 6:1, 2; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9; 5:11, 26; 1 Peter 1:22; 5:14; 1 John 3:11; John 13:34, 35; Acts 2:46; 4:32; Ephesians 4:2; 5:21; Philippians 1:27; Hebrews 3:12, 13; 10:24,
25; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; Colossians 3:12, 13.

** See also Philippians 2:12, 13; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, especially v.11

Labels: Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

I’ll be away on vacation for a few days, but in my absence I’ve prepared a few posts that are excerpted from my booklet: Live Together or Die Alone: A Call to Radical Fellowship. I hope you are stimulated to love and good works by them.

Introduction

The Greek words for fellowship appear twenty-seven times in the New Testament, and speak of something shared or held in common or partnered in. Fellowship, a shared life of faith and love, is an essential dynamic of the Christian life. It is essential in that it is part of the essence of life in Christ: we cannot be in Christ without sharing the life of His body (1 Corinthians 12:12, 13).* And it is essential in that none of us can get along without it.** Literally it is true: we live together or we die alone.

Going Beyond “How Are You?”

It’s been observed often that we Christians know well how to dilute the idea of fellowship. We reduce it to little more than chit-chat, being masters of the superficial, engaging in the equivalent of a social dance with a stranger, synchronizing our conversational steps so as to move slightly in each other’s direction without stepping on each other’s toes or getting too close.

We ask each other “How are you?” but then don’t wait around for anything resembling a real answer. If anyone answers with anything but a smiling-faced “I’m fine!” we don’t know how to respond and we’re quite sure we don’t want to. We know that we’re supposed to go beyond how are you, but we seldom seem to get there.

I wish these last two paragraphs exaggerated churches’ fellowship deficiencies, but as I re-read them, I’m startled by how precisely they describe much of my own flawed interaction with others. I’m guilty of the sin of shallow fellowship.

May I encourage you to feel bold enough in God’s forgiving grace in Christ to look hard at yourself to see if you have been guilty of fellowship neglect as well? Let’s realize that grace covers even our failures to love one another in the church as we ought, and with that knowledge let’s stare sin in the face so we can see where we need to grow.


* “All believers share a common life in Christ, whether or not we recognize it. We are in fellowship with literally thousands of believers from every nation of the world. Although we have never met most of them, yet we are in fellowship with them. We disagree with many of them over various issues of faith and practice, yet we are still members of the same Body. Even though we struggle to like some of them, that does not alter the fact that we share together a common life in Christ. Neither our attitudes nor our actions affect this objective sense of koinonia (fellowship). We are in fellowship with all other believers, whether we like it or not--or even recognize the fact. This objective truth of koinonia is meant to provide the foundation for the experiential aspects of fellowship. The realization that we do in fact share a common life with other believers should stimulate within us a desire to share experientially with one another. This is the whole thrust of New Testament teaching on koinonia" (Jerry Bridges).

** "We should not...think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition to the exercises of private devotion. We should recognize rather that such fellowship is a spiritual necessity; for God has made us in such a way that our fellowship with himself is fed by our fellowship with fellow-Christians, and requires to be so fed constantly for its own deepening and enrichment” (J.I. Packer).

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

I have only a moment or two to post a thought for the day, so here it is: I'm going to pull away from the normal routine for the next two days in order to pray, read, plan, and care for my flock through a personal, pastoral retreat.

I'm retreating in order to advance. I'll be avoiding the phone, staying away from the internet (so there will be no blog posts over the next couple days), breaking loose from pressing details and plans and administrative work, avoiding food, and more, in order to go before God in your behalf. In other words I'll be in retreat in order to help us advance.

Please pray for me as I pray and plan for you all. As I enter this retreat I do so with a heart aching for the spiritual strength and joy of all those I know and love and pastor. Very much aware of the ways the enemy is attacking souls and families and our world, I long for the joy and holy growth of all of us and our families. I am pulling away that I might serve you in a quiet place.

And I pray that I will see many of you Friday evening at 7:00, as we gather together to pray that God would dazzle our hearts, our church, our families, and our world with His glory.

Please prepare. Please pray. Please come.
God bless.

Labels: Fasting, Prayer, Spiritual disciplines

In past times fasting involved great sorrow and despair. And there may be occasions still--especially when a person is facing a battle with sin over which he/she has had little victory--in which a fast may be one of repentance with cries for mercy and grace. But there is a distinct difference in the starting point of fasting for the Christian today.

Whereas in the past fasting emerged from a posture of desperate need and perhaps even overwhelming grief, today we can fast from a place of great joy and overwhelming confidence. The believer need never be in despair. He need never be in a place of wailing hopeless sorrow. He need never be in a place of emptiness.

For the believer does not fast as a have-not, but as a have. She fasts, not from a position of longing for love or grace or favor that she does not have, but from a position of knowing that He who did not spare His Son but delivered Him up for us all, will also graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32).

Here's what the fasting believer carries with him/her into each season of abstinence:
1. Confidence that the fast will not make God love him/her more, though it will help us to love God more. God cannot love us any more than He already does. Fasting (or not) does not affect the love of God for us; it affects only the love we have for God.

2. Confidence that our standing before God is not dependent on the frequency or quality of one's fasts. Our standing before God rests on the finished work of Christ in our behalf, and the perfect life and obedience (which includes flawless fastings) which Jesus performed while on earth and credits to our account upon our faith in Him.

3. Confidence that our fasting is inspired, sustained and made fruitful by the Spirit of Grace within us. We need not fast in our own strength, but as with all works we do, we may fast in the strength of Christ through His Spirit.

4. Confidence that as we draw near to God through Christ in fasting and prayer, God is going to prepare a feast of grace for us as we linger in less distracted fellowship in His presence.

Have you ever been so hurried and harried that when some good news or circumstaces arrived you had to stop what you were doing, pause in mid-activity, put things down, take a deep breath, and then pay attention to take it all in?

That's something of what Christian fasting is. It's stopping the mad rush and frantic pace to pause, stop what you're doing, put things down, take a deep breath, get focused, and enjoy the news of all that God is and has for us in Christ! Try that out this coming week and see if maybe it transforms your abstinence from fast to feast!

I close with another Piperian moment:

"What’s new about the fasting is that it rests on...[the] finished work of the Bridegroom. The yearning that we feel for revival or awakening or deliverance from corruption or the mere presence of the Bridegroom is not merely longing and aching... We have tasted the manifestation of Christ’s glory, and our fasting is not because we are hungry for something we have not tasted, but because the new wine of Christ’s presence is so real and so satisfying.

"We have tasted the powers of the age to come...and because the new wine of Christ's presence is so real and so satisfying...because we have tasted it so wonderfully by his Spirit...[we] cannot now be satisfied until the consummation of joy arrives...[w]e must have all he promised" (John Piper, Hunger for God).

Labels: Fasting, Prayer, Spiritual disciplines

In his comment on my May 19th post, Gregory asked about whether fasting should ever include abstinence from things other than food. His point is well taken and is worthy of a post all its own.

Remember that Dr. Piper says that it is not the poison of evil so much as the simple pleasures of earth that most often distract us from devotion to God. These we have to renounce. That doesn't mean that we can never enjoy these things (unless they are sinful in themselves) but it does mean that if any of these are impeding our walk with God in any way, they need to go.

You might remember the words of John Wesley's mom, Susannah, who answered her son's question, "What is sin?" with these words:

Whatever impairs the tenderness of your conscience, weakens your reason, obscures your sense of God, or dulls your deep desire for spiritual things; whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind and will, that thing to you is sin.

This wise woman knew that Christians need to guard their souls from anything and everything that distracts them from God.

I've noted elsewhere that in a recent conversation someone asked me what my greatest pastoral concern is at this moment. It's an easy question to answer: My greatest concern is the fact that so few believers practice the spiritual disciplines which are meant to increase their devotion to God. And if someone were to ask me why this is so, I'd have to suggest that it is largely because so many people are distracted by so many lesser things.

If people are having a hard time finding time for daily, focused, and beneficial prayer, Bible reading, private worship, and communion with God, then they need to proclaim a fast from whatever it is that is keeping them from these delightful duties of the soul. It may well be that a prolonged period of abstinence from TV, sports, internet, movies and other forms of amusement needs to be considered.

This cannot be done as an end in itself; it must be done for the purpose of prayer and devotion. It must be done so that time and mind and heart can be dedicated to Christ, His Word and His love without the normal dulling distractions of other things.

Does this seem radical to you? If it does, then you need to ask God to give you a greater passion for Him.

If it doesn't and you find your heart connecting, how's this for a suggestion: (If you're a part of TFC) Why don't you do a fast starting right now through next Friday PM (when we gather for our time of prayer and singing at the close of our More of God season)? Why don't you reduce or even better, curtail all TV-watching, internet for entertainment purposes use, movie viewing, novel reading, non-Christian music listening, sports following, and/or any other amusements?

Then fill the time by reading the Word and good books on Christian faith and life, and by spending time in prayer.

If you don't think you could handle that, you've got a pretty good indicator that the world's got too strong of a hold on you. Are you up for it? If so, seize the moment and go hard after God!

Labels: Fasting, Sin, Spiritual disciplines

I'm back with a few more thoughts on prayer and fasting. My plan is to employ some material from John Piper's simply marvelous book entitled: A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Prayer and Fasting. This book is packed with simple but deep thoughts about God and our needed hunger for Him. It's been a joy-giver in my life, so I'm not hesitant to share some of its choicer fruits with you.

As the sub-title indicates, the chief purpose of fasting--and really all spiritual disciplines and (now that I think of it, the purpose of all of life)--is to desire and delight in God.There are many things that can interfere with such delight in God. For some it is legalistic religion and religiosity. You know what I mean: formalistic prayers, ascetic attitudes that we ought to abstain from certain foods or drinks or enjoyments because they are bad.

Such fasting and self-flagellation have certainly been practiced as a way of trying to atone for sins and win the favor of God. But I'm not guessing that that is a clear and present danger for many, if any, of us. I'm guessing that it is not abstinence that is dulling our affections for God, but indulgence. Dr. Piper says:

The discipline of self-denial is fraught with dangers--perhaps only surpassed by the dangers of indulgence (p. 9).

Let's face it: indulgence has killed a lot more grace in our lives than abstinence has. If our affections for God are going to go cold on us, it's not likely going to be because we've been too hard on our bodies but because we've been too soft. It's going to be because we've enjoyed the gifts of God more than we've enjoyed the Giver. We're full and forgetful.

Piper adds:

For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife. (Luke 14:18-20) The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable (p. 14).

Food is among those wonderful gifts which God gives which can steal our hearts away from God. One value of fasting from time to time is that it reminds us of that for which we should really hunger: God. It subdues for a time the appetite of the body (whether for one meal or one month of meals) in order to give freer reign to the appetite of the soul.

By fasting from time to time we are able to say to our souls: "I love God more than food." This is what Dr. Piper has in mind (at least in part) when he writes:

Therefore when I say that the root of Christian fasting is the hunger of homesickness for God, I mean that we will do anything and go without anything if, by any means, we might protect ourselves from the deadening effects of innocent delights and preserve the sweet longings of our homesickness for God (p. 15).

Are you hungry for God? If you fast occasionally you might find that you get even hungrier. If you are not hungry for God it could be that the very thing you need is a time in which you pull back from your normal appetites and give space and time and thought to the One Who alone can fill your heart.

Things to think about.

Labels: Fasting, Prayer, Spiritual disciplines

We've been announcing recently our upcoming quarterly More of God fast and prayer season (May 28, 29). If past history is an indicator it's likely that many have hardly given this event a second thought. So far the commitment we've made to corporate fasting and prayer has not caught on much, and it sets me to wondering why.

The reasons may be many:

1. People somehow have had (by an almost unbelievable series of providential circumstances) other unavoidable commitments every time we've scheduled one of these (I'm not suggesting that there not valid occasional scheduling conflicts; there are).
2. People forget to put it on the calendar (just to remind: with few exceptions, we plan these every time there is a fifth Friday in a month; go ahead and mark the calendar now for July 30, 31; Oct. 29, 30).
3. People really aren't that interested.
4. People have decided that they don't need these times despite the leadership of their pastors who have determined from Scripture that such events are important.
5. People prefer a more traditional approach to prayer meetings (by the way, one reason we have not gone the traditional route is precisely because we do not want more of the same; we want more).
6. People are full and forgetful.

Here's what I mean by suggestion #6. Hosea 13:4-6 is one of many Bible texts which warn us of the danger of becoming full and forgetful. Among other passages are Deuteronomy 8:11-19 and Proverbs 30:8,9. When people are experiencing material, physical, and I'd suggest even doctrinal fullness, they tend to forget their need for God and their desperate dependance on Him for more.

This was the Israel experience time and again. And it is ours too. One reason we do not pray more, and fast more, and then more often combine our prayers and fastings in corporate events is because we've lost our sense that we need more.

Ours is the complacency that comes from living in a culture that feeds us well physically and in a church that feeds us well spiritually. One reason why fasting is a good spiritual discipline is because it reminds us of what hunger feels like, and in so doing it reminds us to hunger more for God and for more of God.

Are you hungry? If so, please tune in in coming days as I review some thoughts on fasting. If not, may I ask you why you think that is? Do you really have all you want of God, or is it possible that you have been nibbling on so much of the stuff of this world that you've lost your appetite for God Himself? I leave you with a few thoughts from John Piper:

If we don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great (John Piper, Hunger for God).

Labels: Fasting, Prayer, Spiritual disciplines

You'll remember that I started a series on finishing well a few days back, and it all began with a look at King Uzziah. Uzziah was a man who started well, but then failed to cross the finish line in good form. He fizzled out in his later years, and so we've been trying to think about how we may do better than he.

Along with the other things we've mentioned, I'd like to suggest that in order to finish well we need to go hard after God through instruction from and meditation on His Word. In 2 Chronicles 26:4, 5 we see that Uzziah set his heart to seek God by submitting to instruction in the fear of God and he was blessed as a result. However in later years, in the pride of his heart he became unfaithful (2 Chronicles 26:16)--presumably giving up these very patterns of going hard after God through instruction and godly fear--and all went south from there.

How does one keep on keeping on in the race of faith? It is by staying strong in the Word; by yielding to its instruction every day. The thought reminds of Psalm 1:1-3. There we see that the one who stays in the Word day and night will have unwithering leaves and will prosper all his days.

I was asked recently what my greatest present tense pastoral concern is. I think it is this: I am deeply burdened beyond words with how many of God's people do not have a regular and meaningful devotional life in which they are being instructed in the fear and love of God through the Word of God in consistent quiet times with God. It cannot go well with God's people when they do not get with God daily and hear His Word that teaches them how to fear and love Him more. We pastors talk to people just about every day (it seems) who do not have consistent devotional times with God--and their stunted spiritual growth and and frustrated relational, moral, and ministry lives are the result.

I'm guessing it was 10-15 years ago now when this lesson came home to me with sufficient force to change me (God enabling) for good. My devotional life was okay, but not great. I was in the Word in quiet times with God perhaps 3-4 days out of 7. But the times were brief and superficial. As I considered this, the following words came to mind with life-altering power: "Tim, you can survive on 15 minutes of Bible reading and prayer per day, but you cannot thrive. And you need to thrive."

So by the help of God and the conviction and faith work of the Spirit, I radically altered my course of life. From that point on I knew I had to fundamentally change how I started my days. I cleared my early morning (7:00AM or so) schedule of sermon study and church tasks, started my day even earlier and committed myself to what has normally consisted of a 60-75 minutes long daily early morning season with God in which I simply read God's Word and mingle it with prayer.

I knew I needed to do this consistently and devotionally and worshipfully if my soul was going to thrive. By this means I have been able to read devotionally and personally (with no thoughts about developing preaching material from it) through the whole Bible at least a dozen times, and the New Testament twice that many times, allowing it to instruct me in the love and fear of my God. It shouldn't surprise me that this has been the most joyful and spiritually prosperous time of my life!

I must do this until the day I die. I want to die with a Bible in my hands. I must never stop going hard after God and being instructed in how to fear and love Him more. As soon as I stop, I will stop running well, and I will not finish well.

Psalm 1 makes it clear that as long as I continue to delight in God and His Word daily my leaf will not wither, and I will bear fruit and prosper in soul, even in my old age. I don't know about all of you, but I know this: I have no interest in simply surviving; I want to thrive. To do it I have to set my heart to seek the Lord through His Word. Nothing less will do.

Labels: christian life, Old(er) Age, Retirement, Spiritual disciplines

Another Bible turn of phrase that captures my mind's eye and wins my heart is found in 2 Kings 19:30--

And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

Here is a promise of the restoration of the people of Israel, a promise of both depth and fruit. This image of strong, deep, and fruitful living in God and by His zealous grace (2 Kings 19:31) is rich, and it rewards some reflection.

It's been said somewhere that Christianity in America is about 3,000 miles wide and a half-an-inch deep. This may account for why we have so little effect on our culture and neighbors: we seem about as shallow as everyone else! What we need is depth; roots going deep into the things of God, the wonders of grace, the glories of our Savior and Lord.

We need to be people who have tasted and seen the good things of God; people who have beheld the Glory and been transformed by it (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18); people who have thought beyond the cliches and lived in the shadow of the Almighty. If we do not go deep with God, we'll really not go very far for or with God. Fruit upward and outward will be proportionate to roots downward.

There is no easy method for taking root downward. It involves study, prayer, meditation, a renunciation of the world, a love of theology (more precisely, a love of the God revealed through Bible theology), an embrace of suffering as a means of grace and a cathartic for the soul, a welcoming of true probing fellowship with other beievers to help us see the real issues and needs of our inner being, and a faithful attendance to real preaching of God's Word. All this and more sends the roots of grace deeper into Christ and in the end causes us to bear much fruit of holiness, joy, worship and love within.

Take some time today to stay put on some truth about God or grace long enough to have it sink a little deeper into your spirit. Don't be a perpetual spiritual taste-tester who never really swallows and digests. Get hold of some truth and then hang on to it until it gets hold of you.

Go deep with God.

Labels: christian life, Culture War, Spiritual disciplines

In our hearing of the Word I've suggested that we need to: prepare (our bodies), pray (for illuminating grace), preview (the text to be preached), posture (our hearts in teachable humility), prove (what has been preached), and possess (making what we've heard our own through note-taking and thoughtful conclusions).

To all these I add a seventh step: personalize or practice (pick your personal p-word preference). God insists that what we hear be applied and obeyed personally. Check out how insistent God is about this: James 1:19-25; Matthew 7:24; 1 Samuel 15:22 (where through Hebrew poetic parallelism, obeying and listening are seen as synonymous). Folks, we have not really heard God unless we are obeying what He says.

There's real danger in hearing preaching, particularly goodpreaching. We can enjoy the preacher's skills and even appreciate the truth-content of his sermon without really being changed by it. This is a very common issue in churches that feel pretty good about themselves for their "faithful" and "sound" preaching.

But it is a profound concern to God as is clear from His words through the prophet Ezekiel:

“As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it"(Ezekiel 33:30-32).

Sermons are not like performances to be critiqued or good music to be enjoyed or fine food merely to be tasted. They are God's provision for the soul that needs to be ingested, digested, and then transformed into soul-nourishment for actual faith, real life, and obedient and cheerful godliness.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 God tells us what His Word is profitable for (check it out), and then in 2 Timothy 4: 1-4 He tells pastors to preach that Word faithfully no matter whether their people want to hear it or not.

This 2 Timothy 3 list of benefits to be gained by good preaching of God's Word can be a guide for our personalizing of the Word heard. After you've taken the steps we've mapped out in recent days, conclude your hearing of God's Word by asking yourself these questions:

1. What teaching about God or the gospel or Christ or myself or this world has this sermon presented to me? That is: what have I learned or relearned from this message from God's Word?

2. What reproof has this word from God through preaching brought to me? How has it rebuked or confronted my sin? What conviction over sin has been stirred?

3. What correction has this word brought me? How has the Word preached adjusted my thinking and guided me to a better way of living? How has the Word preached given me a better way to feel or act or live or serve?

4. What training in righteousness has the Word brought to me through this message? How am I now better equipped to worship or rejoice in God or serve or help others or build up the church or share my faith or mortify sin or vivify holiness?

And then to make sure that it doesn't stay theoretical, ask yourself: "What specifically am I going to change (in attitude or action or worship or obedience or service or joy...) this week as a result of what I have heard?

That my friends is true hearing; until we get all the way to change today and this week as a result of the Word preached, we're simply listening to a performance and kidding ourselves.

May God make His Word gloriously transforming for your progress and joy in the faith (Philippians 1:25).

All for now. God bless you.

Labels: Hearing God's Word, Spiritual disciplines

If you've been following along with our entries of late you know that we've been laying out some reasons for, and some steps to improve in, the hearing of God's Word preached. Tomorrow is Sunday so whoever you are and whatever your church family, I'd encourage some review and application before going into the Lord's Day. Don't keep this theoretical folks; let's make it real.

As you review, let me add just one pointer for today, our 6th overall:

6. Possess. By possess I mean that we need to take steps to make the preaching and the truth of a text our own. This happens of course as we study it, and review and prove it; things we've talked about already. But another way to own or possess what is being taught is to take notes. Record your thoughts, questions, observations, conclusions, joys, and convictions as you hear and then prove what you've heard. While you're listening take some notes, and then when you've finished your proving step, try to put the truths you've learned into your own words.

This process will move you ever closer to an "Aha! I see!" experience of the truth, rather than a hearsay experience of the truth. First-hand experience is always more powerful than second-hand. To hear and see the truth is always better than to hear it only. And writing out your conclusions and the truth learned in your own words helps you to see it for yourself.

Enough for today. Go back and review. Then apply. Then arrive at your place of worship tomorrow expecting to hear the voice of God!

Labels: Hearing God's Word, Spiritual disciplines

I'm back with a couple more application points for the right hearing of the Word of God. One thing to add as I continue: Friend, the matter at hand is as important as about any we can discuss. Life-long practice of these things will determine the growth, sanctification, joy, and consistent revivings of your soul.

God has ordained that the preaching of the Word be the power of God for salvation and godliness (1 Corinthians 1:18-24; James 1:19-21; 1 Timothy 4:13-16). I urge you to read those texts to notice the importance given to preaching. When we come to hear God's Word preached each Lord's Day, we are coming to a means of grace that is "the power of God" which "saves the souls" of those who hear.


With that in view I offer two more how-to-rightly-hear-the-Word application ideas:

4. Posture. Take that as a verb. We need to posture our hearts rightly if we're going to hear God's Word rightly. We're to cultivate teachable and submissive hearing. We ought always to hear God's Word humbly, no matter who is preaching, because the Word faithfully preached is not the word of man but an oracle of God (1 Peter 4:11). Every faithful and accurately preached word is God talking. And (let me just say it because it is true) we must listen with even greater humility as we hear our pastors, since they are in a place of spiritual authority in our lives (Hebrews 13:7, 17).

Look again at James 1:19-21 to see how you should approach preaching, and make sure that as preaching starts you have consciously so postured your heart. James is clear; we are to guard our hearts from hasty, angry, critical reactions to preaching. We're not to argue with the preacher. We're not to come as self-appointed and self-assured critics; we're to come with conscious humility. I'm to do this every time I hear preaching. I'm to do it especially, every time one of my fellow pastors or one of my spiritual leaders is preaching. All of us are. Such humiltiy guarantees God's grace (James 4:6).

5. Prove. This point balances the previous one. Acts 17:11 is one of my favorite Bible verses. True listening involves a testing and proving of what we hear. It requires that we receive and search the Word to see if what we've heard is true. If we are members of a church in which the pastors exhibit proven carefulness in how they handle the Word, there should be a consistent teachable and humble trust when they speak. However, this should never be blind trust, for pastors err. God's Word is inerrant but His messengers are not.

Here are a few hints for the testing and proving of what you hear (BTW--as you practice these, expect to be blessed!):
a. Pray for illumination from the Holy Spirit--to understand what you've been taught.
b. Re-listen. In today's hi-tech world messages can be listened to more than once. There's always more in a Sunday sermon than you can take in in one hearing. Plus people almost always mishear the first time through. A second hearing can help you get what the speaker was really trying to say.
c. Double-check all texts cited. Read each text and its context to make sure it says what the preacher says it says. If you don't see it, ask him about it humbly the next time you see him!
d. Think about the main points of a message in light of what you already know to be true from God's Word to make sure that it agrees with what God has already taught you. At the same time be willing to learn something new so long as it passes the test of God's Word.
e. Embrace the hard work of discernment; it doesn't come easily as Hebrews 5:11-14says.

(By the way: this testing and proving process should sound an important alarm. Beware of listening to or reading more than what you can test and prove. We're better off listening to and testing a few proven messages/messengers (including your pastors and those recommended by them) than to listen to and read more broadly and indiscriminately. As one in my church has put it: she's come to realize that it is better to learn than it is to just listen. Better is one message per week heard, tested and proven than several messages or studies merely heard.)

Enough for today. I'm still very much interested in the hearing helps you all have gained along the way; send in your comments.

Labels: Hearing God's Word, Spiritual disciplines

With the theological pointers of the past couple of days guiding us, I want to offer ideas on the practical matter of application.

I'm assuming that we're agreed that the Bible is the Word of God which should be heard with all diligence and joy, and that many of us have a sincere desire to hear it with eager, believing, submissive ears. So let's think about the right hearing of the Word as it is preached. These thoughts certainly have relevance for hearing God's Word through your reading and study as well, but we'll concentrate on how to get the most out of preaching.

Since I'm going to use six "P" words over the next couple of days, I'd better borrow J.I. Packer's alliteration apology. "Alliteration", he once wrote, is a "preacher’s ploy for pointedness, precision, and perspecuity. Pardonable? Perhaps." Whether or not my appalling alliteration activity is absolutely absolvable I'll allow all you to adjudicate.

To get us started, here are a few thoughts on the right hearing of the Word preached:

1. Preparation. I'm thinking here of preparation of the body. To hear God's Word preached is a physical as well as spiritual challenge. It requires immense powers of concentration and effort. For this reason I'd suggest that as a general rule, we all get to bed early Saturday evenings. I'd also recommend that to bring body and mind to full alert status on Sunday AMs, we eat just enough food and (if we like the stuff) drink just enough coffee to nourish strength and awaken the grey cells. Good rest and a careful amount of healthy food and drink before we worship (for a few reasons we'd prefer this not happen during our worship)can prepare the body to rightly receive the Word.

What other helps have you found for getting your body prepared for worship and hearing God's Word? Please comment!

2. Preview. Since we normally preach through a book of the Bible it's possible to know the next text that is going to be preached ahead of time. And even when a special topic is going to be taught it usually is posted on our website before each Sunday. I'd encourage that hearers read that text and its surrounding context prior to their arrival. Preview can also include a quick review of what was preached the Sunday before to make sure that your mind is up to speed. Previous week's review notes are usually available on the site.

3. Pray. Don't treat this as empty cliche. Treat it as necessary heart prep and a God-moving exercise of grace. Before you leave for worship Sunday morning pray either alone or with your family and ask God to come and bless His church by sending His Spirit to work in power and grace through His Word. And if you can make it to the 9:00AM prayer time that would be wonderful too. In these ways ask God to show you through His Word preached, more of His glory, the gospel, and the true nature of faith and obedience in Jesus. Pray your way into a state of expectation so that as you arrive you are confident that God is going to meet with us and speak to us with the power of His truth.

So there you have a couple of starter ideas. I really am interested to know what you have found helpful for the right hearing of the Word preached? Go ahead and comment so we can carry on a conversation here.

Labels: Hearing God's Word, Spiritual disciplines

My dear friend Steve Cassarino gave our church an exceptionally powerful and important word yesterday, preaching about the right hearing of the Word of God.

As I have long reflected on the right preaching and hearing of God's Word I have learned that while the preacher's study, life, and presentation are all very important, at least equally important is the life and present tense heart condition of the hearer. The hearer has to be spiritually tuned in.

The hearer of the Word must be as spiritually prepared and diligent in the experience of preaching as is the preacher of the Word. This is clearly the implication of James 1:19-25; Luke 8:11-21 and other texts.

This biblical perspective is supported by a report from the well-known preacher, Dr. David Jeremiah. As I heard the story, years ago Dr. Jeremiah had a battle with cancer. During his treatments he took his radio program off the air. Once his treatments were over he returned to the air and the public tuned in and was blessed again.

Only now the blessing seemed to be increased. Soon he began to receive many letters thanking him for his preaching and commenting on how his preaching had a distinctly different quality about it since his bout with cancer. I'm guessing that people felt it was more sensitive, more pastoral, more effective--perhaps because it was coming to them now from a man who had been through the fires of affliction. People were very grateful for the marked growth of effectiveness in his post-cancer radio ministry.

But here's the deal: the post-cancer radio ministry was nothing more than recorded messages of Dr. Jeremiah's pre-cancer preaching! He hadn't broadcasted any of his post-cancer sermons yet. Think about that. What it means is that the post-cancer hearers were the ones who had changed, not Dr. Jeremiah.

They were the same people listening to the same preacher, but their hearts had changed toward the preacher. His preaching was the same, but their listening wasn't. They thought they were listening to a cancer victim. They thought they were listening to a man made humble and sensitive by affliction. And as a result they were the ones who had changed. They were more open, more humble, more receptive, more inclined to listen, less inclined to find fault. And as a result, the Word came with greater power and effect to their lives.

This explains the experience I have had more times than can be counted, when people have responded in completely opposite ways to the very same sermon that I have preached. Of course I realize that the effect of preaching is a matter of the Sovereign Spirit blowing where He will and God giving the increase (John 3:8; 1 Corinthians 3:6). And I realize that God is omnipotent in grace so that He can transform a heart through preaching.

But the Bible is also clear that the effect of preaching is often determined by the heart condition of the hearer. This is why one is unmoved by a sermon while another is profoundly changed. One feels a sermon to be hard or harsh while another finds it sweet. One finds it heart-breaking while another finds it soul-thrilling. One is exhilerated while another is bored to tears. It's all about the condition of the hearer's heart.

Unless the Spirit works in ways to overcome the condition of the heart (and praise be to God that He often does!), whatever the heart condition going into the hearing the Word will affect the heart condition and reponse once the Word has been heard. The effect of the Word is more about having good reception than it is about making a good presentation.

So it's important that we think even more about how to prepare to rightly hear the Word. Over the next few days I think we'll explore this vital component of Christian growth in grace.

I hope you'll tune in.

Labels: Hearing God's Word, Preaching, Spiritual disciplines, The Word of God

Psalm 90:16, 17 presents a model for prayer that is well worth imitating.

Recently at a wedding reception I heard a blessing prayed over the newly married couple. The pastor prayed for God's favor on them in such a way that they would know His gracious touch on everything they put their hand and hearts to do, for His glory! I don't remember all that he prayed but in essence he prayed that their love would be sweet, that their work would be prospered, that their union would be fruitful, that their children would be many and godly, that their laughter would be rich, that their witness would be strong, that their health would be good, and that every endeavour to which they applied their hand would succeed.

It was not at all a health and wealth/prosperity gospel/word-faith type prayer in which he presumed to think that everything in life would be pain and suffering free. But it was a prayer that dared to believe that God loves to bless. This brother clearly believed that God is neither stingy nor reluctant nor sparing in His gifts.

It was a really cool and frankly, a really biblical prayer; the type of prayer I hear myself praying more often these days. It was psalmist-like.

In light of his awareness that life is short and our days are few (Psalm 90:3-12) Moses gets right to it with God. Here's the gist of his thought and prayer: "Lord we don't have a lot of time here, and there's lots to do. So please let your work be shown to us (Psalm 90:16) so that it'll become our work. Then let Your favor--Your beautiful, pleasant, delightful, gracious favor (the Hebrew word means all that)--be upon us and all we do. And Lord, please establish the work we do; yes Lord establish it."

Moses is praying for God's favor, God's blessing, God's success-producing grace on all he and the people of God did.

It does remind of the well-known "prayer of Jabez" in 1 Chronicles 4:9, 10. I know the recent best-seller by that name raised some concerns (which I would share). Some seemed to turn Jabez's prayer into a daily mantra with almost magical powers. People abused the truth for personal gain (not including the author, he gave away most of the proceeds from the book as I understand it!). But let's be reminded: the abuse of a truth does not argue for the non-use of a truth. It argues for the right use of the truth.

The right use of the truth that God blesses and favors and establishes the work of our hands for His glory and our happiness, is that we pray boldly and believingly in the light of it, and then live expectantly as a result. I say it again: God is neither stingy nor reluctant nor sparing in His gifts. He loves to bless and He promises to move mountains, build the kingdom, heal diseases, save souls, rescue our children, and bless labors when His people pray in faith.

Today, God enabling me, I'm going to spend about 3 hours in study and the minstry of the Word. I have a doctor's visit (to keep a watch on my health). I'm going to spend a couple of hours encouraging a hurting brother. I'm going to plan a Ministry Fair. I'm going to spend time with the pastoral team in prayer and care for you all. And I'm going to lead a care group meeting at the end of the day. In between and after all that there's a wife to love, and children to raise. All as the Lord enables.

So here's my Psalm 90 prayer for today:
"Lord in my study and teaching of Your Word establish the work of my mind and heart by making my mind clear, by giving me insight for the blessing of Your people, by filling me with your Spirit that the truth I learn may become life and power and joy for my heart and for all who hear it.

"And when I visit the doctor's office, I ask that You give me at least one opportunity to speak openly and clearly of the Savior's love. Make today be a day in which I am able to point someone to Jesus. And Lord remember the prayer I offered a few weeks back and have prayed a few times since: please establish the work of our hands and the words of our lips by giving us at least 50 new believers in our church this year.

"And when I encourage my brother with truth and grace may he be overhwelmed by the love of Jesus, and rise up in new courage and faith to face the challenges of his life. May he leave my presence knowing that he was in the presence of grace. Shine Your favor on him o Lord.

"And when the pastors gather to pray, Lord may we pray with the filling and power and leading of Your Spirit. Give us spiritual gifts, biblical and prophetic insights into the needs of Your people, and a clear leading for the shepherding of Your sheep.

"And Father, establish my care group as a place of refuge for the hurting, of strength for the weak, of correcting grace for the wandering, of hope for the despairing, of faith for the doubting, of fellowship for all. And come by Your Spirit with gifts and blessing for all.

"And yes o Lord--please establish Gayline's and my work in our home. May our marriage be strong and sweet. And may our children become men and women of faith and courage as leaders of the next generation of Your church. Lord, do not just save them; please make them mighty in Your kingdom.

"And I pray all these things not for myself only, but for everyone of those You've entrusted to my care, or who read these words today. O yes dear Lord, may Your favor be upon us all today, giving us mighty God moments of grace and frutifulness and strength.

"O that You would do it Lord--for Your glory! Amen."

Go with God my friends.

Labels: God's Blessing, Prayer, Spiritual disciplines