The Wonder of Being Childlike

March 26, 2012 Leave a comment

My son Ryan will turn fifteen in a couple of months. Naturally, then, he is acting less and less like the little boy I’ve watched grow up. Last Tuesday night, though, he took me back to a simpler time.

He is a freshman on his high-school j.v. baseball team, and they had an away game against Polk that night. So I made the hour-and-a-half drive to watch him play. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. The conference rule is, teams play six innings and then get one extra inning to decide a tie. If the score is still deadlocked after that seventh inning, that’s it, time to load up the buses and go home.

Ryan rode home with me and we stopped at a Burger King to grab a late supper. I ordered my usual Whopper with cheese and he ordered his usual chicken tenders. We sat down at the table and I got back up to fill my drink. When I returned I saw that Ryan was praying. I figured he was offering his typical “fast” prayer over his “fast” food. As I stood there, though, not wanting to interrupt him, I noticed that the prayer seemed a touch more lengthy and intense than usual.

Once the prayer was finished, I took my seat across from Ryan and just had to ask, “What were you praying?” Yes, that was nosy of me, but, hey, that’s how parents roll. Before Ryan answered, he gave a little grin as if he had been caught doing something off limits. Then he said, “I thanked God for the game. I thanked Him for the food. And I asked Him to have you let me get some dessert.”

You’d understand that request better if you knew how passionate the boy is over his desserts. It’s an ongoing issue with us that every time we walk into a restaurant he has to do a second round of ordering so that he can enjoy dessert while the rest of us are still finishing up our meal. There have also been plenty of occasions where I gave him the canned speech, “Son, isn’t it enough that I’ve spent $20 in gas to come to this game and then spent another $10 or $15 for us to eat afterward? Do you have to have another $3 for dessert too?”

By the way, before you label me as a heartless, miserly Scrooge, let me say that I almost always give in and let him have dessert. I have to admit that as I watch him wolf down those sweets I’ve never seen anybody enjoy anything more! And, yes, he got his ice cream-brownie-thing at Burger King that night too. I couldn’t refuse him after he melted my heart with such a sweet, simple, childlike request, one that he wasn’t even going to let me in on if I hadn’t asked.

But here’s the thing, that night, as I sat there eating my Whopper, I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if we Christians could master the childlike faith of a boy asking God to lead his daddy to let him buy a dessert. What was it Jesus said?

Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4)

The pure, innocent, guileless faith of a child, how much of it do you have? I confess that the longer I walk with the Lord the less I have of it. Things just seem to keep getting more complicated and convoluted between me and the Lord. How I’d love to get back to that simplistic walk I once enjoyed with Him.

Perhaps it will be that the greater toll the aging process takes on me and the less self-sufficient I become, the more my childlike faith will return to me. That’s what I suspect will happen anyway. Let’s face it, when you just can’t do for yourself, somebody else has to do for you, right? This is a concept that we instinctively understand as children, but we unlearn it when we become adults. Unfortunately, that unlearning hurts us in regards to looking to God to meet our needs and expecting Him to grant our requests. Ryan’s little prayer the other night reminded me of all this. Now we’ll see if I can reclaim some of the childlike characteristics I have lost along the way.

Filed under Aging, Children, Desires, faith, Fatherhood, God's Provision, needs, Personal, prayer, Prayer Requests, Trusting In God, Youth Tagged with , , , , ,

Praying In Jesus’ Name (4)

March 16, 2012 Leave a comment

With this post I want to deal with yet another aspect of what it means to pray in Jesus’ name. The new aspect goes like this: To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray with an understanding of the limitless power such praying offers. Christian, I’m not trying to swell your head with this one, but I do want you to realize just exactly what Jesus said in John 14:12-14 concerning praying in His name. Read His words again and let them sink down into your soul:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Now, before you run off and become a “name it and claim” kind of Christian, let me remind you of my second post from this series. There I explained that to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in submission to God’s will. This means that words such as “whatever” and “anything” must always be viewed through the lens of God’s will. Not only is this implied in the New Testament, there is even a passage that comes right out and says it. That passage is 1st John 5:14-15, and it’s worth mentioning that it was written by the same John who wrote John 14:12-14. The passage reads:

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

And so, you see, it’s clear that Jesus never intended for His followers to turn God the Father into a wish-granting genie via their prayers. Let’s be clear about that. But, with that fully understood, let’s not water down what Jesus did teach about prayer either. He said, “The one who believes in Me and asks for things in My name will do even greater works than I have done.” What an astounding thought!

Jesus walked on the water. Jesus fed thousands with a boy’s lunch and had food left over. Jesus turned water into wine. Jesus healed the sick. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. How could Christians, even praying Christians, do greater works than these? The answer is: Our works can be greater in extent.

Remember that Jesus, in His earthly body, was confined to one place at one time and spent His entire life in one small part of the world. Furthermore, His public ministry only lasted for three-and-a-half years. Jesus didn’t preach a sermon that led 3,000 people to get saved. But Peter did (Acts 2:14-41). Jesus didn’t take the gospel throughout the entirety of the Roman empire. But Paul did. Jesus didn’t start churches wherever He went or write the books of the New Testament. But His followers did. And these works were greater in extent than even Christ’s earthly works.

Therefore, Christian, never be guilty of underestimating the incredible power of prayer. As James 4:2 says:

…you do not have because you do not ask.

A church got a new pastor, and the first Sunday the man was there he walked to the pulpit and said, “Let us pray.” Then he proceeded to pray for ten minutes. When the service was over, one church member said to another, “Boy, we’ve sure got a good pastor now. He asks God for all kinds of things our other pastors didn’t even know were available.” Christian, don’t you be like those previous pastors. Lay claim to the fact that praying “in Jesus’ name” means praying in POWER. The only requests that lay outside that power are those that lay outside God’s will for your life. Other than those, have at it with your asking! Who knows what “greater works” the Lord might have in mind to pour out in your life?

Filed under Christ's miracles, Desires, God's Omnipotence, God's Provision, God's Will, God's Work, prayer, Prayer Requests Tagged with , , , , ,

How To Handle A Bad Inning

March 5, 2012 Leave a comment

My son Ryan has now officially begun his high-school baseball career. He had his first j.v. game last Friday. It’s put me in the mood to share one of my favorite “baseball” illustrations.

At a Little League game the visiting team had already scored 21 runs and was still batting in the top of the first inning. The mother of the kid in right-field began to worry that such a staggeringly lopsided loss would demoralize her child and destroy his confidence. So she left her seat in the stands and made her way out to the right-field fence. She stood there on her side of it and yelled out to him, “Son, this has to be an awful experience for you, and I just want you to know that you don’t have to keep playing if you don’t want to. I’ll take you home right now and explain things to your coach.” The boy, however, seemed shocked by the suggestion. He simply smiled back at her and said, “But mom, we can still win this game. We haven’t come to bat yet!”

You have a choice to make as to how you approach life. You can operate with an optimistic attitude or a defeatist one. You can believe that God is up to something good in your life or that He is leading you off a cliff. The choice is yours.

As for the optimistic approach, I’m not talking about some pie-in-the-sky, “hope so” kind of thing. I’m talking about you putting your faith in a Savior who loves you enough to die on the cross for your sins and stands ready to give your life ideal meaning and purpose. I’m talking about heeding Him when He says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). I’m talking about relating to the apostle Paul when he says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Does following Jesus mean that you will never experience any blowout defeats? Hardly. But it does mean at least two things. First, if you stay submitted to Christ’s will for your life He will keep you out of a lot of those situations that would end badly for you. Second, even when those difficult times do come along, Jesus will not only give you what you need to get through them but also use them to increase your strength and wisdom.

I don’t know where this post finds you today, but perhaps you are right now guilty of bringing a defeatist attitude to the playing field. I suppose this is understandable for a person who doesn’t know Christ as Savior. After all, if I didn’t have the hope provided by Him, the state of this world would have me down in the dumps too. But it should be different for the Christian. Our Savior wasn’t a quitter, even as battered, bloodied, and bruised He carried the cross up Calvary’s hill. None of us will ever have a worse day than that one, and yet the eternal good He accomplished through it is far too deep for our human minds to grasp. That should teach us that the hardest things we have to endure in life can produce the greatest good. And that’s why we shouldn’t quit playing even in the midst of a bad inning.

Filed under Attitude, Belief, Choices, Christ's Death, Disappointment, Encouragement, God's Love, God's Provision, God's Will, perseverance, Personal, trials, Trusting In God Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Now That’s A Good Question

January 11, 2012 Leave a comment

A great debate was held between a devout Christian and a staunch atheist. The Christian was allowed to speak first, but without saying a word he simply pulled an orange from his pocket and began to peel it. Then, with thousands of eyes watching him in curiosity, he separated the orange into slices and ate each slice.

The Christian then looked over to the atheist and asked, “How did the orange taste?” The atheist, with a smirk, answered, “I don’t know; I didn’t taste it.” To that the Christian responded, “Then why do you talk against Christianity and salvation? You haven’t tasted or experienced the blessings of salvation and the joy Jesus gives to those who serve Him. So how can you intelligently debate something of which you know nothing?”

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him. (Psalm 34:8)

Filed under Atheism, God's Love, God's Provision, salvation, Trusting In God Tagged with , , ,

Burning Your Ships

December 30, 2011 Leave a comment

Hernando (Hernan) Cortez was a Spanish Conquistador who launched ships from Spanish held Cuba and conquered Mexico in 1519. In doing so he brought about the demise of the great Aztec empire. As the legend goes, when Cortez first landed on the shores of Mexico he commanded his men to burn the ships. This burning made retreat impossible and has thus become the classic historical example of going “all in” for an endeavor.

Truth be told, many historians doubt the truth of the legend. Some of them contend that Cortez did purposely render his ships unsuitable for sailing but didn’t burn them. According to the theory, he did this because he didn’t want his men to mutiny and return to the safe haven of Cuba. Others say that the idea of Cortez burning the ships stems from a poor translation of the Latin in which the story was written. But, hey, let’s not let the facts get in the way of a great story!

If you want to run with the idea of going full bore into something by “burning your ships,” there’s a Bible story that you’ll like. It’s even one that you’ve heard. It’s the one about God parting the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites to facilitate their escape from Pharaoh’s army. You’ll find it in Exodus chapter 14.

Exodus 14:21 says that the Lord divided the waters and turned the sea into dry land by means of a strong east wind that blew all night. In Exodus 15:8, Moses describes this wind as the blast of God’s nostrils. Isn’t that great? And so the people of Israel passed through the Red Sea on dry land. But then what happened? The Egyptian army pursued them into the dry land only to be drowned in the depths when the waters came crashing back into place once the Israelites were safely on the opposite shore.

Okay, now here’s where I’m going with this. When those waters thundered back down and closed the pathway through that sea, that was God slamming the door shut on the Israelites possibly returning to Egypt. You see, it wasn’t just His way of slaying Egypt’s army; it was also His way of forcing the Israelites to forge onward into a new day. Going back to Cortez legend, it was God burning Israel’s ships.

As you read this, perhaps God has pushed you out into a new adventure but you are considering returning back to more comfortable ground. All I’ll say is that if you genuinely believe the adventure is of the Lord, don’t try to return to Egypt. There’s nothing for you back there. It doesn’t take much faith to live in Egypt anyway. That life is what it is. But it takes a high degree of faith to let God lead you step by step into a new, uncharted land. So it might just be that a good prayer for you to pray right now would go something like this, “Lord, if you want me to continue on with this adventure, close up the waters behind me so that I’ll have to stay here in this new land. And then help me make it here.”

Filed under Adversity, Choices, Courage, Disappointment, faith, fear, God's Provision, God's Will, perseverance, prayer, Prayer Requests, Trusting In God Tagged with , , , , ,

Getting Ready For Thanksgiving

November 22, 2011 Leave a comment

Charles Spurgeon, the most famous preacher from the Victorian England era, said, “God’s people are prone to engrave their trials in marble and write their blessings in the sand.” Truer words were never spoken. I myself do far too much marble engraving.

Yesterday at our local pastors’ conference, the moderator asked each of us to name at least one thing for which we are thankful. The next twenty minutes or so turned out to be the highlight of the conference. Even though the singing was nice and the weekly sermon was interesting, hearing each pastor talk about the great things that God had done for him was spellbinding. Many of them cried as they spoke. All of them spoke in utter humility. One man told of how Jesus had saved him out of a family of bootleggers. Another talked about how wild he used to be before Christ’s transforming power radically changed his life. Another praised the Lord for meeting every need he had ever had. Another described how God had raised up his alcoholic daddy from a seemingly terminal illness to mercifully give that father more days to accept Christ as Savior and have, for the first time, a true relationship with his son. On and on it went like that around the room, story after story. The next time that you get to thinking that all preachers are fakes, hypocrites, or money hungry manipulators, come with me to a certain pastors’ conference that meets on Monday mornings. I know some men of God who are real.

And what word of thankfulness did I offer up when my turn came? Well, I thanked the Lord for how He broke me when I was in my early twenties. That experience changed me from a backslidden Christian into a sold out disciple and set me on the path to becoming a preacher. I also thanked Him for my wife and two boys. And yes, I was one of those who teared up as he spoke. Needless to say, I could have gone on for an hour naming things for which I am thankful (as each of us could have), but we had to restrain ourselves a bit if the scheduled speaker was going to be left any time to preach.

Everybody knows that Thanksgiving is this Thursday. But why wait until then to go to the Lord in prayer and express your gratitude? Have you got 30 minutes today? Then spend it just going down the list of all the things for which you are thankful. Don’t make any new requests. Don’t mention any of your problems. And put down that marble engraver for a while. Just have a time of saying, “Thank you” to the Lord. If you will make the effort to do this, I promise you that it will get your heart and mind prepared to genuinely celebrate Thanksgiving this coming Thursday.

Filed under Attitude, Backsliding, Change, God's Love, God's Provision, prayer, preaching, Thanksgiving Tagged with , , , , ,

Got A Need?

September 20, 2011 3 Comments

A small Bible college was growing so fast that it desperately needed more dormitory space. If a new dormitory couldn’t be built, students would have to be turned away. The school’s president took the matter to God in prayer and left the request with Him.

Not long afterward, the president was invited to speak at a conference in another city. One night, after the service, he was handed a small envelope with a note inside it. The note was a request from an elderly woman. She wanted to meet with the president.

The following day he went to her home for tea. In his heart he couldn’t deny that he hoped that God would work through the woman to meet the financial need. But as the visit came to a close, no offer had been made.

Somewhat disappointed, the president headed for the door. As he did, the woman’s face suddenly lit up. “Oh my,” she said, “I almost forgot.” Then she left the room momentarily and came back carrying a small folder. She handed it to him and said, “This is for you and the work you are doing for the young people.” The folder contained many thousands of dollars of stocks and bonds. As a matter of fact, the amount totaled up to the exact amount needed to build the dormitory.

Now, this story is supposedly true, but, frankly, the Christian realm is filled with such stories. Preachers like myself know all about books of illustrations, and these books offer many such stories about God meeting needs. I’m not trying to sound cold or hard, but the stories are so numerous as to be almost cliched. But are they true? Do such things really happen? Does God really meet needs?

I speak from personal experience when I answer, “Yes.” During our first few years of Disciples Road Church, God ran me through a class on this subject. Oh, I had always preached that God would meet every need, but it’s a different deal altogether when you find yourself sincerely wondering how you are going to pay the light bill, the phone bill, the car payment, the mortgage payment, etc. That’s when you find out if all those corny old stories you’ve read are for real. And again let me say: they are.

So who am I writing this to today? Is it you? Do you have some pressing need staring you squarely in the face right now? If you do, take heart. God can and will meet that need if you will sincerely turn it over to him. Remember, Philippians 4:19 is still in the Bible:

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Filed under faith, God's Love, God's Provision, needs, Personal, Prayer Requests, Trusting In God, Worry Tagged with , , , , , ,

How To Recite The Twenty-Third Psalm

May 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Back in the day when orators were highly esteemed, a banquet was held for such a man. Following the banquet, he was asked to recite something for the pleasure of the guests. He agreed to do so and asked if anyone in the audience had a specific request. An elderly preacher spoke up and said, “Sir, could you recite the twenty-third Psalm?”

After a moment’s pause, the orator said, “I can and I will, but after I have recited it I want you to do the same.” Surprised, the preacher said, “Well, I’m not much of an orator, but I will oblige if you wish.”

Then the orator began his recitation. He held the audience spellbound as he worked his way through the majestic lines of the beautiful Psalm. When he finished, the audience burst into a great round of applause.

When the applause finally died down, the old preacher arose and began his turn. His style was vastly different from the orator’s, much more simple and humble. But there was a strange, undeniable, uncommon power to it. When he finished, no applause broke from the audience. Instead there was a holy silence, marked only by a few tears that streamed from some faces.

At that point the orator walked over to the old preacher, put his hand on his shoulder, and summed up the scene perfectly. He said, “My friends, I reached your eyes and ears, but this man reached your hearts. I know the twenty-third Psalm, but this man knows the Shepherd.”

Filed under Belief, Bible Study, Comfort, Communication, God's Love, God's Provision, Humility, Personal Holiness, Scripture, Trusting In God, Witnessing Tagged with , , , ,

The Test of Prosperity

April 26, 2011 Leave a comment

Quick, name the toughest test to pass spiritually. Did you say, “Disease”? Did you say, “The death of a loved one”? Did you say, “Troubles?” Did you say, “Disappointment”? Well, there’s no doubt that none of these tests are spiritual gimmes, but would you believe that for many people the correct answer would be, “Prosperity”?

King David was just such a person. Study his life sometime and you will see why I say that. When he was a young man, he was such a spiritual wonder that God Himself rated him as a man after God’s own heart. David was most likely still in his teens when he was anointed by the prophet Samuel as the king of Israel. Not long afterwards he brought comfort to the demon-tormented Saul, the sitting king, by playing soothing music on the harp. Not long after that he slew the giant Goliath. David was on a spiritual roll!

Then began the long years wherein Saul tried to kill David, years which saw David and his personal army living in constant hiding from Saul and his troops. Was David’s behavior perfect and above reproach during those years? No, not by a long shot. But was he always God’s man, a man whose basic spiritual center was right? Yes. And David remained that way all the way up through: those years on the run from Saul, Saul’s death, David’s ascendency to the throne of Judah (the southern part of Israel), and seven years later his ascendency to the throne of all Israel.

What happened next? Oh, the story keeps getting better. As king of all the land, David unified Israel’s fiercely independent twelve tribes. He led his army in the conquering of Jerusalem. Then he expanded Jerusalem and built it into his capital city. A major part of that was him bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. We can truthfully say that, during those days, David’s decisions were, for the most part, dead on. His army was unbeatable. All the people loved him. And God was pouring out His favor upon him. God even made a covenant with him that David’s royal line would be established forever.

You see, after all the years of struggling to formally claim his annointing as king and make the nation of Israel the greatest and most godly nation on earth, David had now “arrived.” His life was just as he wanted it to be. He had remained true to God during all the trials and troubles, and now he was living in a season of major prosperity.

But guess what story from David’s life comes next. Tragically, it’s the one about how David had a one-night-stand with Bathsheba, the wife of one of David’s most loyal soldiers, Uriah. That one-night-stand resulted in Bathsheba getting pregnant. David then indirectly had Uriah killed and hastily married Bathsheba to prevent a royal scandal. You see, David emphatically failed the test of prosperity.

Noted pastor Chuck Swindoll has said, “When testing comes we get purified, but when prosperity comes we get vulnerable.” How true. So tell me, is your life looking pretty good these days? Are you enjoying more ease, comfort, and worldly blessing than you have ever known? Would you call it a season of prosperity for you? Then you’d better put in extra effort to stay on top of your game spiritually. Please don’t pull a David and forget the Lord in the midst of all that prosperity!

But what if your life isn’t looking very prosperous right now? What if you have more in common with David when he was on the run from Saul than when he was reigning as king? Well, if that’s your situation, could it be that God knows that you aren’t ready yet to handle the test of prosperity? Maybe you need some more spiritual maturing and seasoning. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but that doesn’t make it a wrong assessment. So my advice is: Don’t be so quick to gripe and complain to God that your life isn’t exhibiting much prosperity. The fact is that might just be nothing less than an act of mercy on His part.

Filed under Adversity, Backsliding, Choices, contentment, Desires, God's Provision, Greed, Mercy, needs, Patience, perseverance, Personal Holiness, Problems, Sex, Sin, Temptation, trials, Trusting In God Tagged with , , , , , , ,

All You Need To Know

April 5, 2011 Leave a comment

The teacher of a children’s Sunday School class had her students memorize the 23rd Psalm. She gave them one month to do so. Little Bobby gave it his best, but by month’s end he still couldn’t quote all the Psalm. So when it came his turn at the microphone he walked up there and said, “The Lord is my shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.” I like his theology.

Christian, what perils are you facing today? What problems? What worries? What fears? No matter what they are, here’s what you need to do about them: just play the role of a sheep. You see, you have Christ as your great Shepherd, and He knows the direction you need to take. So listen to Him and do whatever He tells you to do! Furthermore, He is your protector and your sustainer. So trust in Him that He is going to take wonderful care of you. A good shepherd never abandons his sheep, and Jesus will never abandon you, even if the times get tough.

Filed under Adversity, Comfort, Eternal Security, God's Love, God's Omnipresence, God's Provision, needs, Problems, Sunday School, trials, Trusting In God, Worry Tagged with , , , , ,

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