Persistently Praying for Someone Else

Posted on October 8, 2018 by russellmckinney

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. (Luke 11:9-10, N.L.T.)

An old saying in preaching circles says, “A text taken out of context is a pretext.” The saying simply means that the writers of the Bible didn’t pen down random thoughts in random order. To the contrary, each writer organized the content of his book in a systematic, intentional way that was inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). In most cases, the order stems from the chronology of the events recorded in the book, but in some cases the order is topical rather than chronological.

Okay, so why am I bringing this up? I’m doing it because Luke places our text passage right on the heels of Christ’s story about a man who knocks on the door of his friend’s home at midnight and asks for three loaves of bread. The door-knocker needs the three loaves because another friend of his, one who is in the midst of a journey, has showed up very unexpectedly and very hungry at the door-knocker’s home.

Jesus says, “Even though friendship alone won’t compel the friend who receives the late-night request to get out of bed and give the bread, he’ll do it to end the door-knocker’s persistent midnight knocking.” Following this illustration Christ’s next words in Luke’s gospel are, “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.” You see, Luke wants the illustration and the promise to walk hand in hand. The illustration segues directly into the promise.

You say, “Well, what’s the big deal about that?” The big deal is that the context for Christ’s promise is one of intercessory prayer as the door-knocker in the illustration is doing nothing less than interceding (making request) for his hungry friend. It’s the friend, not the door-knocker himself, who needs the bread. As for the guy who is asleep in bed, he’s merely the person through whom the door-knocker gets the traveler’s need met.

Now, to be fair, this same promise about asking, seeking, and knocking is also given in Matthew 7:7-8, and in that passage the context has nothing to do with intercessory prayer. So, it’s not right to say that Jesus intended the promise to be used exclusively for intercessory prayer. It is clear, however, that the promise can and should be claimed in this way. (For the record, I’m in the camp of those who believe that Matthew 7:7-8 and Luke 11:9-10 are the record of two separate quotes from Jesus that were spoken in two different settings at two different times.)

The upshot of all this is that if you’ve been praying that God will meet the need of a certain individual, don’t stop praying. Don’t stop asking for that request. Don’t stop seeking that answer. Don’t stop knocking on God’s door. After all, God is the friend of yours who has the bread, and He’s the one who will at some point honor your persistence by granting your request so that the need of that other individual can be met.

Posted in Friendship, God's Timing, God's Provision, God's Word, Intercessory Prayer, Ministry, Needs, Perseverance, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Scripture, The Bible, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Trouble with Power

Posted on October 5, 2018 by russellmckinney

Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” (Matthew 26:3-4, N.K.J.V.)

Evil can be shameless. Can you imagine the Jewish religious elite sitting around in the palace of the high priest, engaged in open conversation about killing a man? What would have caused them to do such a thing? One thing: power (or more precisely, their potential loss of it.)

Those chief priests, scribes, and elders saw Jesus for exactly what He was: the greatest threat they had ever known to the status quo in Israel. That status quo, of course, was to their overall liking because it allowed them to play the role of big shots. They had the stroke. They had the influence. They were in control of the Jewish way of life. Sure, the Romans held sway over the entire land, but those pagans were content to let Israel’s religious elite manage the commoners.

Some of the nastiest people you will ever meet are those who are feeling threatened by a potential loss of power. Such people don’t like change, are loathe to admit mistakes, and tend to be bullyish and vindictive. They talk a lot about the past and want the future to be nothing more than a grander continuation of it. When threatened they go for the jugular. And if they see someone as a big enough threat to their control, they’ll play as dirty as dirty gets.

This brings us back to those Jewish religious leaders. Not only was Jesus not impressed by them, He dared call them sinners who needed to repent. The nerve of that fanatic! Those men thought, “This man must be stopped.” But clear thinking was required. After all, it was the feast season of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That meant the streets of Jerusalem would be jammed pack with Jews from up and down the land, and a large percentage of those Jews considered Jesus to be nothing less than the Messiah.

If Jesus was to be killed, the situation had to be handled delicately. Those religious leaders didn’t want a riot on their hands. By the way, egomaniacs drunk on power always want to keep the sheep tranquil. Tranquil sheep never alter the status quo.

Now, just to be clear, let me say that the world does need leaders. The Bible, for example, features scores of characters who were great leaders. But the key to godly leadership is that the leader himself must be fully submitted to Jesus. Really, such leaders don’t even make their own decisions. What they do is allow Jesus to channel His decisions through them. That, needless to say, is a whole other way of operating.

Unfortunately, this style of leadership is all but extinct in our governmental offices, businesses, courts, schools, churches, and homes today. To the contrary, the prevailing attitude of the era can be summed up in the question: “Why should we come together in a palace and have a time of confession, repentance, and seeking God’s will when we can come together in that same palace and seek the demise of those who are causing us problems?” You see, the world still has its chief priests, scribes, and elders. If you are looking for them, look in places where people have the power and control over certain situations. There you’ll find them, and the chances are high that they’ll even be in the process of plotting someone’s demise.

Posted in Business, Character, Church, God's Will, God's Work, Greed, Headship, Leadership, Pastors, Politics, Submission | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The People Had a Mind to Work

Posted on October 3, 2018 by russellmckinney

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (Nehemiah 4:6, N.K.J.V.)

The book of Nehemiah tells the story of a Jew named Nehemiah. He served on the royal staff of the Persian ruler Artaxerxes as the king’s cupbearer. However, that is not what made Nehemiah famous. What made him famous was leading an unlikely movement to rebuild the walls surrounding the city of Jerusalem. Those walls had been torn down over a century earlier by the Babylonian army that had conquered Jerusalem and burned the city’s temple in the process.

Thanks to the previous efforts of another Jew, Zerubbabel, a new temple had been erected in Jerusalem, albeit one not as grand the original one (Ezra chapters 1-6). But that new temple, which was now several decades old, stood in constant jeopardy as long as Jerusalem’s protective walls still lay in ruins. This was Nehemiah’s cue to volunteer himself to gather the permission, the resources, and the people to lead the effort to rebuild those walls.

Despite serious opposition instigated by local enemies, Nehemiah and his group of workers managed to completely finish the wall in just 52 days. It was nothing short of one of the most remarkable building achievements in history. The secret to their astounding success is stated in our text verse, Nehemiah 4:6, which reports the group’s progress at the halfway point of the project — when the rebuilt wall stood at half its desired height. The verse simply says: “the people had a mind to work.” Yep, that will get a job done.

It’s sad, downright tragic in fact, that our churches today are not marked by congregations who have a mind to work. Instead, we have congregations that have minds to (take your pick): argue, fuss, fight, obsess over money, play, be entertained, compromise, or be lazy. It’s no wonder that we can’t make a dent in shaping the spiritual, moral fabric of our times. Who wants to follow the example of a bunch of people who get together, claim to be members of the same spiritual family, and proceed to act like kids in a sandbox?

One notable preacher once said, “You can’t build a great church on spare time and pocket change.” How right he was. A great church requires sacrifice, not just the sacrifice of money but also that of time. This, of course, is to say nothing of the sacrifice of work.

Unfortunately, most church-members nowadays pour so much of themselves into doing the work of their secular jobs and their daily chores that they can’t muster up any work at church, too. That’s why they are content to come, sit, soak, and leave. They never really invest themselves into a church, which makes it easy for them to head down the road and find another one anytime things don’t go to their liking.

It is with all this in mind, Christian, that I ask you: How much work are you really putting into church? When it comes to your local church, do you have a mind to work? Do you have what it takes to lose some of your time, your energy, and your resources in helping rebuild a wall? Do you show up at church with rolled-up sleeves rather than a turned-up nose? One out-of-heart pastor said, “My people aren’t born again; they are born against.” That’s not you, is it, Christian? If it is, then you are standing in the way of God’s work rather than joining in with it. And that’s a real shame because, after all, there is always so much of His work that needs to be done.

Posted in Attitude, Church, Church Attendance, Commitment, Complaining, Deacons, God's Work, Ministry, Missions, Money, Pastors, Sacrifice, Service, Sunday School, Work, Worship | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Repairman Cometh

Posted on October 1, 2018 by russellmckinney

Well, it’s Monday, a day I’ve been dreading since this past Saturday. I say that because Saturday was the day I found out that Monday would most likely be the day when the repairman would come to fix our home’s central air conditioning unit. The unit hasn’t been working since last Wednesday.

The dread came from the fact that the unit itself is old and has been, shall we say, “dicey” for several years now. We’ve had to replace various parts on it here and there along the way. The last go-round we had to put a whole new motor on it. That explains why when it stopped working last week, my first thought was, “Uh, oh, will this be the year we have to bite the bullet and pay the big money to replace the entire system?”

As always with these matters, prayers were prayed. “Lord, we don’t have the money to replace the entire system right now.” “Lord, if it be Your will, please allow the fix to be a relatively inexpensive one.” “Lord, You know all about our needs and our finances, so it’s all in Your hands.” “Lord, help us.”

While our prayers were as sincere as they could be, sincerity isn’t enough to make something God’s will. What I mean is, God could easily have answered our prayers by saying, “No, not this time. You’all (you know that God talks with a southern drawl, don’t you?)  have put off replacing that system long enough. But don’t worry, I’ll make a way for you to pay for it.” And if that had been in His answer, it’s not like Tonya and I would have had any move to make other than to say, “Okay, Lord, we trust you.”

However, in God’s divine plan and providence, this year happened to be another glancing blow in regards to the fix. The problem was a corroded connection that was keeping the motor’s unit from engaging. In other words, it was no big deal. Also, as long as the guy was here, I had him charge up the coolant level and give the entire unit a good cleaning. Now the thing is humming along just fine, cranking out the cool air it should.

As I think about the events of today, allow me to pull two spiritual applications from them. Application #1: Just as air-conditioning units need regular maintenance in order to run efficiently, so do our spiritual lives. Obviously, having a daily devotional time with the Lord helps with that. Bible study, church attendance, reading Christian books, ministering to others, and systematic giving does as well. Any Christian who cuts himself or herself off from these things will eventually find that their spiritual unit has shut itself down.

And then application #2 is this: Even though today wasn’t the “big one” in regards to replacing our air-conditioning unit, the fact is that it could have been. Such is life. This speaks to the uncertainty and the unpredictability of making it in this world. We just never know what any day will hold, and we really don’t have a lot of say-so about it. Yes, something great might be just around the corner. Then again, something awful might be about to knock the wind out of our sails. Welcome to living in a fallen world as a card-carrying member of Adam’s fallen race.

Still, the thing that we Christians mustn’t lose sight of is the fact that we have a Savior who promises to never leave us nor forsake us. A cancer diagnosis? He’s right there with us. A devastating accident? He’s right there with us. The death of a loved one? He’s right there with us. A wayward child? He’s right there with us. A lost job? He’s right there with us. A bill that we don’t have the money to pay? He’s right there with us.

The upshot of all this is that no Christian has to face life, with all its trials and troubles, alone. That goes for worrisome days when the air-conditioning repairman is coming as well as days when there isn’t a problem in sight. Jesus is always Jesus, and He is always right there. Take heart in this, Christian, and live in the hope that you never walk alone. The Creator of the Universe (Colossians 1:15-18) holds your hand, shepherds you (Psalm 23; John 10:1-18), and says, “Cast all your cares upon Me, because I truly do care for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Comfort, Courage, Creation, Depression, Disappointment, Entertainment, God's Provision, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Human Life, Needs, Personal, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Problems, Salvation, Sickness, Submission, Temptation, Trials, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Are You Taking Your Stand with God’s Revealed Truth?

Posted on September 28, 2018 by russellmckinney

One day a teacher set up a telescope in his classroom so that his students could view a certain planet and its moons. The students lined up to peer into the telescope, and one by one each student confidently affirmed that he could see the planet and the moons. The whole project was humming along nicely until one student looked into the telescope and said, “I can’t see anything.”

The statement angered the teacher a bit, and in a tone of annoyance he told the student to adjust the lenses. The student did so but still claimed to see nothing. At that point the teacher leaned over to the telescope and had a look for himself. To his complete surprise, he saw nothing. Upon investigation he discovered that the lens cap hadn’t been removed from the telescope. This is a true story, and the student who said, “I can’t see anything” was Benno Muller-Hill, who would go on to become one of Germany’s leading biologists.

This story reminds me of an experience I once had in high school. Stan Elkins, our Physical Science teacher, stood before our class one day holding two objects, one in each hand. I can’t remember precisely what the objects were, but one of them was obviously heavier than the other one. Stan said, “I’m going to drop these two objects at the same time, and I want a show of hands as to which one will hit the ground first.” The three choices were: the heavier object will hit first, the lighter object will hit first, or both objects will hit at the same time. I remember the hands of the entire class, except my hand, going up to vote for the heavier object hitting first.

As for me, I voted for the option that both objects would hit the ground at the same time. When Stan saw my solitary hand in the air, he grinned at me and asked, “Are you sure, Russ?” That’s when I started waffling, which was quickly followed by me answering, “No” and dropping my hand to about half mast. I mean, c’mon, it’s one thing to write down an answer that only the teacher will ever see, but it’s something else entirely to get horse laughed by a room full of your peers because you are the only idiot among them. When Stan saw me backing up from my answer, he just laughed and said, “Ah, he’s not so sure now.”

Okay, now it was time for him to drop the objects. Everyone in class grew deathly silent as he first made sure that the objects were at equal distances from the ground. Then he did the drop.

And what was the result? Both objects hit the ground at the same time. The whole class was astonished except for me. I was just mad at myself for not sticking to my guns under pressure. It also didn’t help that Stan smiled at me and said, “You see, Russ, you should have trusted yourself.”

By now you are probably wondering what compelled me to give that minority answer anyway. Well, I assure you that it wasn’t because I was so much more brilliant than my classmates. No, I gave the answer because I had an advantage over them.

Through no planning of my own, I had recently watched an old black-and-white television show in which a man had taught a boy a lesson by dropping two rocks, one heavy and one light, to the ground. (All these years later, I wish I could remember which show it was.) Like my classmates, that boy had assumed that the heavier rock would hit the ground first. But just as Stan’s experiment would prove a few days later, in the man’s experiment both rocks had hit the ground at the same time. The man had then explained to the boy that the famous Italian scientist Galileo had taught the world the odd fact that gravity accelerates all objects at the same rate, regardless of their mass or composition.

(For the record, Galileo’s discovery is now known as “The Universality of Free Fall” or “The Equivalence Principle,” and it’s a cornerstone of modern physics. Albert Einstein used the principle to formulate his theory of relativity. It should be noted, however, that the principle can only be perfectly displayed by items being dropped inside an airless vacuum. This is because if the air resistance is great enough on an object, it can cause that object to fall at a slower rate. For example, a bowling ball will hit the ground long before a piece of paper even though gravity is pulling on them at the same rate.)

Okay, now let me get to the point of this post, and it has nothing to do with physics. The point is that God had used that old television show to reveal truth to me, truth upon which I should have firmly stood in Stan Elkin’s class that day. Like a lot of Bible-believing Christians, though, when the pressure rose a bit, I folded like a cheap card table in regards to what God had revealed to me. All it took to get me to forsake what I knew to be true was some laughter from my fellow students and just a touch of questioning by Stan. That I admit to my everlasting shame.

But tell me, Christian, is there some God-revealed truth that you have forsaken lately? If there is, what was your reason for forsaking it? Did peer pressure get you? Did a potential loss of friends or even family cause you to fold? Did you fear being ridiculed? Or did you forsake God’s truth because Satan got you with the same lie that he used on Eve: “Has God really said…”?

Whatever it was that caused you to waffle on God’s revealed truth and lower your hand, let me encourage you right now to confess your sin to God, repent of it, and embrace that truth afresh and anew. That might require you to revisit some conversations you’ve had with people. It might require you to make some changes in how you’ve been handling situations. It might even require you to rearrange your entire world. But in the end the all-important question that you have to ask yourself is, “Am I going to take my stand upon the truth that God has revealed to me or not?” You see, it really does come down to just that. And if you answer that question wrongly, then get ready to live with regret for the rest of your life. Take it from someone who could have stood tall in a Physical Science class one day but wasted the golden opportunity.

Posted in Abortion, Belief, Bible Study, Choices, Courage, Criticism, Discernment, Doubt, Faith, Faithfulness, Fear, God's Guidance, God's Will, God's Word, Homosexuality, Personal, Rebellion, Satan, Scripture, The Bible, The Devil, Trusting In God, Truth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Holy Spirit as Comforter

Posted on September 26, 2018 by russellmckinney

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38, N.K.J.V.)

R.A. Torrey was one of the most famous preachers who ever lived. His resume would impress anyone. He graduated from Yale University and Yale Divinity School. He was a prominent pastor. He worked extensively with the great evangelist D.L. Moody in evangelistic work. He preached around the world. He was the Superintendent of the school that is now known as Moody Bible Institute. He founded Biola University in Los Angeles and served as its dean. He authored dozens of books.

Torrey and his wife had five children, four of them girls, but a tragic accident claimed the life of their twelve-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. The funeral was conducted on a rainy day, and the weather seemed to fit the mood of the family perfectly. As Torrey and his wife, Clara, stood over the gravesite, Clara said, “I’m so glad Elizabeth is not in that box.”

The next morning R.A. got up and went for a walk. As he walked, he began to think about how he wouldn’t get to hear Elizabeth laugh again or see her grow into a young woman. Even though he knew her soul was in heaven, the loss of future earthly memories with her was more than he could take. His grief became overwhelming.

Barely able to stand, and desperate for God’s comforting presence, Torrey leaned up against a light pole and began to pray. As for what happened next, I’ll let the man himself explain. He said:

And just then the fountain, the Holy Spirit, whom I had in my heart, broke forth with such power as I think I had never experienced before. And it was the most joyful moment I had ever known in my life! It is an unspeakably glorious thing to have within you a fountain ever springing up, springing up, springing up, ever springing up 365 days in every year, springing up under all circumstances.

Christian, there are two things that I want you to learn from Torrey’s experience, an experience that calls to mind Christ’s words from our text passage (John 7:37-38). First, you should learn that being a Christian doesn’t make you immune from life’s hardships and tragedies. If a great Christian like R.A. Torrey could have a young daughter die in an accident, none of us is safe from calamity.

Second, you should learn that one of the indwelling Holy Spirit’s most important roles in your life is that of Comforter. In John 14:26, the Greek word that is used in reference to the Holy Spirit is parakletos, from which comes the Greek proper noun Paraclete. Because the word parakletos literally means “called to one’s side,” various translations of the Bible translate the word as “Helper,” “Counselor,” “Advocate,” “Companion,” or “Friend.” None of these translations, however, is as heartwarming as the classic King James translation’s familiar “Comforter.”

Christian, the point is that when you need comforting, the indwelling Holy Spirit wells up inside you and does that comforting. This comforting is something that R.A. Torrey once experienced while leaning against a light pole the day after he had buried his daughter, and it’s something that you can experience as well. Obviously, you’d rather not experience any loss or tragedy, but unfortunately life makes that an impossibility. So, when those difficult times come, what you should do is pray to God and ask Him to have the indwelling Holy Spirit minister His sweet comfort to you. And then don’t be surprised when the Holy Spirit does just that.

Posted in Adversity, Comfort, Death, Depression, Disappointment, Encouragement, Fear, God's Love, God's Omnipresence, God's Provision, Inner Peace, Peace, Perseverance, Problems, Restoration, Suffering, The Holy Spirit, Trials, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Story About the Value of Waiting Just a Little Bit Longer

Posted on September 24, 2018 by russellmckinney

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say on the Lord! (Psalm 27:14, N.K.J.V.)

In his booklet When Everything Goes Wrong, Adrian Rogers tells the story of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn, who was a Christian, was a Russian writer who was an outspoken critic of communism and the Soviet Union. In February of 1945, he was arrested for making disparaging remarks against Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin and was sentenced to the Soviet Union’s “gulag” system of forced-labor camps. He would remain a prisoner for the next eight years, being assigned to different camps and different work details over the course of those years.

As a prisoner, Solzhenitsyn was not allowed any mail, newspapers, magazines, or letters. He couldn’t write any letters, either. He had absolutely no communication with the outside world. The rules of imprisonment in the “gulag” camps were so extreme that the prisoners were not even allowed to communicate with each other.

Each day for Solzhenitsyn was filled with nothing but hard, physical labor that was carried out in either scorching heat or brutal cold. Guards stood in constant watch over the prisoners, and the food rations were meager. Even nighttime didn’t provide much relief as the beds were barely beds.

After enduring such conditions for years, there came a time when Solzhenitsyn decided to end his suffering by committing suicide. But the more he thought about that drastic course of action, the more he realized that he couldn’t go through with it. His Christian faith simply wouldn’t allow it.

Solzhenitsyn’s misery was so consuming, however, that his mind quickly hatched another idea. He would try to escape by breaking and running. He thought, “If I’m shot in the back, at least I’ll be free from this awful existence, and my death won’t be my fault.”

And so, the day came that Solzhenitsyn had decided would be his last, one way or the other, as a prisoner. After a period of the day’s typical grueling work, the prisoners were given a few moments of rest. Solzhenitsyn then made his way over to a tree and sat down under it. As he sat there, he intently watched the guard who had a rifle. That guard would be the one to shoot him in the back if the escape didn’t work.

Solzhenitsyn knew that the prisoners’ moment of rest wouldn’t last long, and so he figured that now was the time to attempt his escape. He put his hands to the ground and was ready to push himself up into his best run, but at that very moment another prisoner, one he had not seen before, walked up to him and stood directly in front of him. Solzhenitsyn couldn’t believe the man’s timing.

Since the guard with the rifle was standing right there, the two prisoners didn’t dare try to communicate. But the other prisoner looked into Solzhenitsyn’s eyes with such love and compassion that Solzhenitsyn entire demeanor changed. He would later say of the prisoner’s look, “Though he uttered not a word, there was a look upon his face that spoke volumes to my heart.”

Now that the prisoner had Solzhenitsyn’s unspoken attention, the man used a branch from the tree to doodle on the ground in such a childlike, harmless way that the nearby guard didn’t even bother to investigate. And what did the prisoner doodle? Solzhenitsyn looked down and to his surprise saw that the seemingly random doodle was not random at all. It was a cross!

The moment Solzhenitsyn saw the cross he knew that his plan to either escape or be killed was not of God. So, right there on the spot he asked God to forgive him. And it was only a few days later that Solzhenitsyn learned the reason why God had intervened so marvelously to keep him from attempting his escape. To quote Solzhenitsyn, “Little did I know that all over the world people were pleading my cause, and that in just three days I would be a free man in Geneva, Switzerland. Three days!”

Posted in Adversity, Choices, Conviction, Decisions, Depression, Faith, God's Timing, God's Foreknowledge, God's Guidance, God's Will, Impatience, Patience, Problems, Suffering, Suicide, Temptation, Trials, Trusting In God, Waiting | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A New Way to Pray

Posted on September 21, 2018 by russellmckinney

In his book No Common Task, Anglican Bishop George Reindorp tells the story of a nurse who once taught a patient how to pray. Before learning the nurse’s lesson, the patient was an angry, gloomy, bitter type whose life had no real purpose. But after he learned the lesson, his life, to say nothing of his prayer life, took on a whole new meaning.

The key to the nurse’s prayer lesson was her hand. Each finger stood for someone for whom she prayed. Her thumb was the nearest to her, and so it reminded her to pray for those who were closest to her. Her index finger was the finger she used for pointing (as in a teacher pointing at a student to call upon that student), and so it reminded her to pray for all the teachers in her nursing school and in the hospital where she worked. Her third finger was the tallest, and so it reminded her to pray for the leaders in every area of life. Her fourth finger was the weakest — any piano player will attest to that — and so it reminded her to pray for people who were in trouble and pain. Finally, her little finger was the smallest, and so it reminded her to pray for the least important people (people who didn’t seem to have any immediate prayer needs), a list upon which the nurse always placed herself.

Perhaps you might try using the nurse’s exact formula. Then again, maybe you’d like to start with her basic premise but customize it to suit your own prayer life. For example, you might consider this alternative:

  • Like the nurse’s lesson, your thumb can remind you to pray for your family and your closest friends. It’s pretty hard to do better than that symbolism.
  • If you can imagine your enemy pointing a menacing index finger at you, your index finger can remind you to keep the Bible’s command to pray for your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-28).
  • I like the nurse’s take on the third finger, which is the tallest one on most people’s hands. That finger can remind you to keep the Bible’s command to pray “for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
  • Your fourth finger is the one that you think about the least, which can remind you to make a point of praying for someone for whom you’ve never prayed. It can be a friend, an acquaintance, a neighbor, a person you used to know but haven’t seen in years, a celebrity who has been in the news recently because of some trouble, your mailman, your doctor, your dentist, your mechanic, your insurance agent, the kid who bags your groceries at the store, etc., etc., etc.
  • I also like the nurse’s application of the fifth finger. By making that one the reminder to pray for yourself, your “wish list” of requests for yourself lands in last place during your prayer session. This will help you keep things in proper perspective.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not telling you how to pray. If you’ve got a system that works well for you, that’s fine. You keep right on using it. But if you are like me in that you don’t always get around to praying for your enemies, for those who are in authority, or for people who don’t normally come to mind, using your fingers as reminders can help. If nothing else it can get you out of the rut of praying the same old prayers about the same old people involving the same old situations. That, of course, is a good thing because prayer is supposed to be a great adventure that we take with God, and when any adventure becomes boring or routine, it’s no longer an adventure.

Posted in Intercessory Prayer, Prayer, Prayer Requests | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

He Will Make It Plain

Posted on September 19, 2018 by russellmckinney

In his wonderful little book, The Red Sea Rules, Robert J. Morgan shares a story from the life of William Cowper. Cowper was a famous English poet and hymn writer who struggled with severe mental issues, bordering on insanity, until he became a Christian. Even after his conversation, he still struggled at times with bouts of depression and thoughts of suicide.

One night, while Cowper was experiencing a particularly bad bout of depression, he called for a carriage (this was the year 1774) and ordered the driver to take him to the Ouse River, which was only three miles from Cowper’s home. What Cowper didn’t tell the driver was that he planned to commit suicide in the river that night. But the driver suspected anyway. After all, who requests to go to a river in the middle of the night?

So, the driver had to think fast. How could he do his job and yet keep his passenger from carrying through on such a tragic plan? Providentially for the driver, a fog began to settle over the entire area, a fog thick enough for the driver to use the excuse that he had gotten lost in the fog.

Around and around the driver drove in that fog, up one meaningless road and down another, oftentimes going in circles, always avoiding the river, as Cowper fell asleep inside the carriage. Finally, after several hours had passed, the driver pulled the carriage up to Cowper’s home and woke him from his deep sleep. Once Cowper was fully awake and recognized where he was, he asked, “We’re back home? How is that?” The driver answered, “Got lost in the fog, sir. Sorry.”

After paying the driver and dismissing him, Cowper went inside and began to ponder how God had used the fog and the driver to keep him from ending his life. That same night he wrote an autobiographical hymn that contained the following words:

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.

You fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds you so much dread; Are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.

Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan His work in vain; God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.

I especially like those words “God is His own interpreter.” Tell me, have you found that to be true? I sure have. Unfortunately, I’ve also found that He doesn’t always feel the need to share His interpretation with me, at least not until some time has passed.

The good news, though, is that I’ve also found those words “And He will make it plain” to be just as true. It might not happen today, next week, next month, or next year, but somewhere along the way God will make plain to you the reason why He’s either allowed or caused that certain something to come to pass in your life. You just need to hang in there with Him, trust Him, and keep asking Him for the explanation. It’s there, and He’s got it, and one day, when the timing is right and the process of waiting has accomplished its helpful work, He will share it with you.

Posted in Adversity, Comfort, Depression, Disappointment, Doubt, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, God's Love, God's Omnipotence, God's Omnipresence, God's Timing, God's Guidance, God's Mercy, God's Omniscience, God's Provision, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Patience, Perseverance, Suffering, Suicide, Trials, Trusting In God, Waiting | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Important Reminder About Hurricanes

Posted on September 17, 2018 by russellmckinney

We cancelled services yesterday at Oak Grove Baptist Church because of the threat of flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Florence. The forecast was for our Nebo, N.C., area to receive 6 to 12 inches of rain, with the heavy rain beginning shortly after daybreak Sunday morning and continuing through the day. In reality those high rain totals didn’t fully materialize — Nebo got somewhere around 4 to 5 inches, I think — but I suppose it was better to err on the side of caution.

Sadly, for the residents of the North Carolina coast, their forecast wasn’t exaggerated. The town of Swansboro received over 34 inches of rain from the storm. The town of Hoffman received over 25 inches. The city of Wilmington got almost 24 inches, as did Morehead City. The worst part of it all is the fact that the death toll from the storm currently stands at 17 in North Carolina and another 6 in South Carolina. That’s 23 eternal souls who lost their earthly lives in some way that was directly related to a storm that began as a tropical wave off the west coast of Africa in the closing days of last month.

But before we start blaming God for all these deaths, we need remember that hurricanes — along with tornadoes, tidal waves, thunderstorms, hailstorms, electrical storms, floods, heat waves, snow storms, blizzards, droughts, and volcanic eruptions — were not part of God’s original plan for life on earth. When you read the first two chapters of the book of Genesis, you won’t find any of those things in there. To the contrary, the description given is of a world, really an entire creation, that was by God’s assessment all “very good” (Genesis 1:31). I myself agree with the interpretation that it didn’t even rain during those days. Instead, God kept the earth watered by way of a mist that rose up from the earth and watered the whole face of the planet (Genesis 2:5-6).

Dr. Henry Morris, who received a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, was the founder of the Institute for Creation Research. He authored several books, one of them being The Genesis Record, a book he described as “a scientific and devotional commentary on the book of beginnings.” In The Genesis Record, Dr. Morris explains that the “firmament” (the Hebrew word “raquia” literally means “expanse”) that God created on Day 2 of the creation week (Genesis 1:6-8) trapped a vast body of water, most likely in vaporous form, above the atmosphere of the earth. Consequently, this “vapor canopy” created greenhouse-type conditions upon the entire earth. According to Morris, the results of this “global greenhouse” were:

  • A uniformly pleasant temperature was constantly maintained all over the world.
  • Great air-mass movements were inhibited and windstorms were unknown.
  • There was no global air circulation and, thus, no hydrologic cycle.
  • No hydrological cycle meant no rain.
  • The temperature change of the day-night cycle created a bit of evaporation.
  • That bit of evaporation was enough to form dew or mist.
  • The world was filled with lush vegetation.
  • There were no deserts or ice caps.
  • The “vapor canopy” filtered out all ultraviolet radiations and cosmic rays.
  • Those radiations and rays getting filtered out meant that humans and creatures could live extended lives upon the earth.

You see, the earth of the opening two chapters of Genesis was vastly different than the earth we know now. So, what happened to cause the change? Oh, that answer is easy: sin happened. Romans chapter 8 explains that because of Adam’s sin the whole creation was “subjected to futility” (verse 20, N.K.J.V.) and bound in “the bondage of corruption” (verse 21, N.K.J.V.). Consequently, creation now “groans and labors” (verse 22, N.K.J.V.) like a woman desperately trying to give birth. As an example of this, God Himself told Adam that the soil of the earth was now cursed because of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:17-19).

You might be asking, “But what about that protective ‘vapor canopy’ up there in the firmament? Doesn’t that still protect us?” No, that’s long gone. All of that moisture was poured down upon the earth as part of the waters of Noah’s flood. As Genesis 7:11 tells us: “…on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (N.K.J.V.). The Hebrew word translated there as “heaven” is “samayim,” and it’s the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:8, which says: “And God called the firmament Heaven…” (N.K.J.V.). This means that during the great flood the windows of the firmament were opened and all that moisture held in check by the firmament was released.

By the way, don’t let the fact that the King James translation and the New King James translation use the word “heaven” to describe the firmament confuse you. The apostle Paul does the same kind of thing in 2 Corinthians 12:2 when he talks about being caught up to the “third heaven.” His use of that term to describe the heaven where God dwells indicates that the “first heaven” is the earth’s atmosphere and the “second heaven” is deep space.

Anyway, to get back to the point, Adam’s sin ruined God’s original set-up for all creation. It also caused Adam’s entire race to became poisoned with a nature of sin that provoked them to behavior bad enough to cause God to wipe out the entire race, except for Noah and his family, by way of the great flood. What all this means for us is that the pre-sin, pre-flood world is a thing of the ancient past. That’s why we are now all too familiar with: sickness, disease, aging, death, hurricanes, floods, droughts, snow storms, etc. These things are all part of us living as a broken race on a broken planet that’s part of a broken creation that no longer functions the way it was designed to function.

What I’m saying is that if you are going to blame God for every hurricane, you might as well also blame Him for every case of cancer. If you are going to blame Him for every flood, you might as well also blame Him for every fatal accident. If you are going to blame Him for every drought, you might as well also blame Him for every death regardless of how it occurred.

The question to ask is not, “Why are there deaths and hurricanes?” The question to ask is, “Why hasn’t God fixed His creation, including mankind, yet?” And the answer is, “All in due time. All in due time.” The Bible teaches that God has a precision plan of prophecy for when and how He is going to accomplish this fixing. If you want to learn all the details of this plan, I encourage you to read my extensive 26-post blog series “Bible Prophecy in Chronology.” In those posts, I go into a ton of detail on this whole subject. For the purposes of this post, however, I’ll simply offer the highlights of the plan as the close to the post. Here goes:

  1. The Rapture (the snatching away to heaven of the bodies of all Christians and the glorification of those bodies)
  2. The 7-Year Tribulation Period (featuring the Antichrist and his False Prophet)
  3. Christ’s 2nd Coming (which includes His victory over the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the armies of the world at the Battle of Armageddon)
  4. Christ’s 1,000-year reign upon the earth (which is marked by Satan and the other fallen angels being imprisoned for the 1,000 years and planet Earth being restored to a pre-sin state.)
  5. Satan’s Release & Final Rebellion (which doesn’t last long).
  6. The Great White Throne Judgment (where Jesus sits upon a throne and eternally banishes all of history’s lost to the eternal lake of fire, which is not the same place as the hell that exists now)
  7. The New Heaven, The New Earth, and The New Jerusalem (I favor the interpretation that the “New” Heaven and Earth will be the current Heaven & Earth purged of all taint of sin by fire. As for the New Jerusalem, that will be the glorious city where all of history’s saved will spend eternity with the Lord.)
Posted in Aging, Christ's Second Coming, Christ's Return, Creation, Death, Demons, Depravity, Eternity, God's Timing, Heaven, Hell, Human Life, Prophecy, Restoration, Satan, Sin, The Devil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment