The Matter of Uriah the Hittite

Posted on October 4, 2023 by russellmckinney

One night a man got drunk and ended up in a bar fight during which he received several cuts and bruises to his face. When he got home, he stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tried his best to bandage his face, after which he quietly snuck into bed beside his sleeping wife. But when he opened his eyes the next morning, she was standing over him with a scowl on her face. She said, “You were drunk last night, weren’t you?” “No,” he answered. “Well then,” she said, “if you weren’t drunk, who stuck all those band-aids on the bathroom mirror?”

We try to cover up our sins because, let’s face it, we are ashamed of them. Some people seem to be experts in the art of the cover-up whereas others, like that drunk, aren’t so skilled and get exposed far more easily. These are the folks who end up in the news, in jail, fired, divorced, or the talk of the town.

I suppose the Bible’s best example of a man who tried to cover up his sins is King David. The infamous story is found in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12. David had an adulterous one-night-stand with the beautiful Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David’s most loyal soldiers. Not long afterwards, Bathsheba got word to David that she was pregnant with his child. That put David in full cover-up mode. After he tried a couple of shrewd attempts to create the illusion that Bathsheba’s pregnancy was caused by Uriah, he ended up having Uriah killed. Of course, even that was made to look as if Uriah had legitimately died in battle. Following Bathsheba’s suitable time of mourning, David moved her into his home and made her his wife. Later on, she gave birth to his son.

Perhaps David thought that his cover-up had worked. Then again, his words in Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 might indicate that he didn’t. Either way, God had the final verdict on the sordid mess, and His verdict was a stern one. For one thing, the infant son died. For another, God spoke through the prophet Nathan to inform David that the sword would never depart from his house. That meant that death and tragedy would characterize David’s line for years to come.

Didn’t God forgive David of his sins once David confessed them? Yes. But forgiveness wasn’t the issue. The issue was that, despite the forgiveness, God didn’t erase the public stain of what David had done. Even long after David had passed away, the memory of what he had done to Uriah was associated with his otherwise great name. 1 Kings 15:5 says of him:

…David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if David’s life and service to the Lord hadn’t included that closing thought? With that said, though, let’s not judge David so severely. I say that because if every last cover-up was suddenly exposed today, how many of us would be scandalized by our own “matter of Uriah the Hittite”?

You say, “I’ve never committed adultery or had someone killed.” Okay, I’ll give you that, but chances are that you’ve done other sinful things for which you are quite ashamed. I’ve got such things on my resume, as do most people. So, let’s all step down off our holier-than-thou pedestal and start seriously dealing with these sins. Rather than try to cover them up, rationalize them, or explain them away, let’s sincerely confess them and repent of them. Who knows? Maybe no one but God will ever know about your Uriah. Then again, maybe it will one day become open scandal. Either way, confession and repentance is the only chance you’ll ever have at right fellowship with the Lord.

Posted in Adultery, Backsliding, Change, Character, Confession, Conscience, Conviction, Disobedience, Forgiveness, God's Chastening, God's Judgment, Guilt, Lying, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Repentance, Sin | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Don’t Let Yourself Be Stopped

Posted on October 2, 2023 by russellmckinney

A missionary society in South Africa wrote to David Livingstone, the legendary Scottish missionary who blazed trails in Africa for over thirty years. The letter read:

Have you found a good road to where you are? If not, we want to know how to send other men to join you.

The reply Livingstone sent back was classic Livingstone. It read:

I don’t know what you mean by asking about ‘other men’ joining me when none have come as yet. If you have men who will only come if they know there’s a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come even if there is no road.

The strongest man of God might be injured by Satanic opposition, as Job was. He might be wronged by others, as Paul was. He might become discouraged in the work, as Moses and Elijah did. He might temporarily succumb to sin, as Noah and David did. He might even lose his way for a while, as Peter did. But such a man will never be truly stopped. At some point, he’ll right himself and get back on with his purest ambition in life: serving his Lord. As I once heard a preacher say, “The test of a man is what it takes to stop him.”

Christian, perhaps you are reading this right now and you are currently experiencing some difficulty in serving the Lord. Maybe you are to blame for the difficulty, or maybe someone else is, but either way the result is that your service has been slowed down considerably. If this describes you, let me encourage you to start afresh and anew right where you are and get back to your purest ambition. If your sin is the problem, confess it and repent of it. If the action of another is the problem, seek God’s wisdom for how to deal with the situation. The point is, whatever it takes to get you moving forward again, do it! Keep in mind that God doesn’t have an abundance of workers to build His roads.

Posted in Adversity, Commitment, Confession, Courage, Depression, Disappointment, Encouragement, Faithfulness, God's Work, Leadership, Ministry, Missions, Pastors, Persecution, Perseverance, Priorities, Problems, Repentance, Service, Suffering, Trials | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Do Your Building with God

Posted on September 29, 2023 by russellmckinney

Psalm 127:1 is one of my favorite verses from the book of Psalms. The first part of that verse reads:

Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it… (K.J.V.)

The Bible’s best illustration of these words is the story of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), from which I’ve got a sermon entitled “Building A Babel.” In the sermon, I talk about how impressive Nimrod’s (Genesis 10:8-10) city of Babel was, especially its tower, which was its centerpiece. How impressive was it all? It was impressive enough that no less an authority than God Himself said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Genesis 11:6, N.K.J.V.). Think about that. God said, “If humans can work together in the necessary way to build this city and tower, they are now capable of doing anything they set themselves to do.” That’s quite a statement!

But what was the great problem with Babel and its tower? It was the fact that it was all built a million miles outside God’s will. You see, in that early post-flood era, God didn’t want people gathering themselves together into a centralized city. To the contrary, He had told Noah’s descendants to go out and, “…fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1, N.K.J.V.). Therefore, Nimrod getting a large group of people together and building a city was a direct disobeying of God’s command. Oh, and don’t think that the people didn’t understand perfectly what they were trying to accomplish. They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower…lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). Furthermore, they built the city to make a name for themselves, not for God (Genesis 11:4).

Of course, most of us know how the story ended. The whole endeavor was relegated to the scrap heap of history when God confused the peoples’ one language (Genesis 11:7-9). Yes, this was the beginning of different languages being spoken upon the earth. The language confusion forced the people to cease their building project long before they got it finished (Genesis 11:8). In other words, a whole lot of time, energy, and resources totaled up to a very unsatisfactory result.

So, how does Babel’s story speak to our lives today? It reminds us to do our “building” in God’s will. Whatever we are “building” (a career, a marriage, a home life, a social life, etc.), we should seek God’s direction and guidance and follow His instructions to the letter. Perhaps today you are plotting, planning, scheming, and scheduling something for which you haven’t consulted God. If that’s the case, you’d better watch out. You might just be building your own little Babel. And if you are, God won’t be any more pleased with it than He was Nimrod’s. For that matter, when it is all said and done and all the books are closed, my guess is that the end result of the building won’t be to your liking, either.

Posted in Choices, Decisions, Desires, Discernment, Disobedience, God's Will, Obedience, Priorities, Prosperity, Temptation, Trusting In God, Work | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Good Versus Best

Posted on September 27, 2023 by russellmckinney

It’s easy to understand that “bad” is the enemy of “good.” But have you ever considered that “good” is the enemy of “best”? Abraham thought of Ishmael as a good blessing, but God wouldn’t stop talking about Isaac as the best blessing (Genesis 17:15-22; 21:1-21). Moses felt that living in Midian, being a husband and father and tending to his father-in-law’s flocks, was a good life, but God gave him instructions for his best life, which meant returning to Egypt and leading the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage (Exodus chapters 2-14). Jude had a desire to do a good thing by writing a letter to his fellow Christians on the subject of salvation, but God knew that the best letter he could write at that time dealt with the subject of contending for the Christian faith (Jude v.3-4).

I once had the misfortune of needing to pull up a pump from the bottom of a well. The pump was attached to the end of a long, black, plastic line, and the only way to retrieve the pump was to take the cover lid off the well and start pulling up the line. My boss at the time, a man named Billy Pitman, graciously volunteered to help me with the job. He said, “As I pull up the line, you keep taking the excess line down through the yard to keep it out of my way.”

And so, Billy began to pull up line and I began to walk the excess line down through the yard. He pulled and pulled and pulled and pulled. As a matter of fact, he pulled up so much line that I started running out of room in the yard to put it! Finally, when he was near total exhaustion, he said to me, “You come pull a while.” I don’t mind admitting that I didn’t look forward to taking hold of that line and getting my dose of a job that had left Billy’s face blood red and sweat pouring off him.

It was my turn, however, and so I walked over to the well, got a firm grip on the line, and gave my first pull upward. No sooner had I done that than the pump came flying up out of the top of the well. I actually had to stagger backward to keep my balance when the resistance vanished so suddenly. What had happened? The answer was obvious. Billy, with all of his pulling, had brought that pump right up to the very top of that well. If he had given just one more pull, he would have earned the wonderful feeling that comes from the completion of a task. He had quit, though, just when he was on the precipice of success.

Bless his heart, I felt for him. But that didn’t stop me from bursting out laughing at the absurdity of the moment. After a second or two, even he had to laugh. It was all just too funny for him to get mad about it.

Now, could it be that I’m writing this to someone who is just about to settle for something “good” when God’s “best” is still available? Maybe you are like Billy, right at the brink of getting in on the best, but you are about to give up on the whole endeavor. Listen to me when I say, “DON’T QUIT PULLING!” If Abraham had settled for Ishmael, history would never have known the Jewish race. If Moses had settled for life in Midian, no one would remember his name, let alone revere him as the “giver of the law.” If Jude had settled for writing a nice, pleasant letter on salvation, his letter wouldn’t have been preserved as a part of God’s inspired word. You see, “good” is always the enemy of “best,” and you don’t want to make the mistake of giving up too soon. I’m not trying to sound hopelessly optimistic or naive, but the truth is that God’s “best” for you might be just one more pull from happening.

Posted in Adversity, Choices, Commitment, Encouragement, God's Timing, God's Will, Impatience, Patience, Perseverance, Problems, Temptation, Trials, Waiting | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Ball’s in Your Court, God”

Posted on September 25, 2023 by russellmckinney

Anyone familiar with tennis, ping-pong, or volleyball understands the words, “The ball’s in your court.” If I speak these words to my playing partner, it means that the match cannot continue until he hits the ball back to me. Thus, the line has become an idiom for, “The next move is yours.”

There have been times in my walk with the Lord when I’ve gone as far as I could go on my end. At that point, the ball was in God’s court. If the situation was going to progress any further, He would have to hit the ball back to me. In one sense, it’s comforting to get to such a place. It’s comforting because the pressure and responsibility is off you for the moment. In another sense, however, such a place is frustrating. It’s frustrating because you can grow impatient waiting for God to hit the ball back to you. Honestly, there have been times in my life when I felt like God had stopped playing the point altogether, walked over to the sidelines, toweled Himself off, and was enjoying a cool drink while I stood out on the hot court waiting for Him to return the ball to me.

As we study the Bible, we find numerous examples of this post’s topic. Noah could obey God’s instructions to the letter by building that ark, but he couldn’t make it rain (Genesis chapters 6 and 7). The rain was a ball in God’s court. Moses could obediently return to Egypt and confront Pharaoh about freeing the people of Israel, but he couldn’t create the ten plagues that would eventually break Pharaoh’s will (Exodus chapters 3-12). Each one of those was a ball in God’s court. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego could refuse to bow down before Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image and allow themselves to be thrown into the fiery furnace, but they couldn’t keep themselves safe in that fire (Daniel chapter 3). That was a ball in God’s court. Peter could remain faithful to the cause of Christ and allow himself to be thrown into prison by Herod, but he couldn’t cause his miraculous release from that prison (Acts 12:1-19). That was a ball in God’s court.

Perhaps you are reading this right now and you’ve done all that God has told you to do about a certain situation, but things seem to be at an utter standstill. That’s okay. It just means that the ball is now in God’s court and He is taking His time with the return. Trust me, you’ll know when He has hit the ball back to you, after which the next move will be yours. That might be today. It might be next week. It might be next year. But whenever it happens, you’ll know it.

Oh, and by the way, I should also mention that God never hits a “winner” that you can’t return. His goal with you is to always keep the point going, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. You see, He absolutely loves playing with you, and He doesn’t want the game to ever end.

Posted in Adversity, Discipleship, Faith, God's Love, God's Timing, God's Will, Impatience, Obedience, Patience, Perseverance, Personal, Problems, Trials, Trusting In God, Waiting, Worry | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Right Tool for the Job

Posted on September 22, 2023 by russellmckinney

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them… (Romans 12:4-6, N.K.J.V.)

One night a few years back, three different storms brought booming thunder, streaks of lightning, and a deluge of rain to our little town. It was the rain that created the biggest problem for me as a rushing current dumped a lump of old leaves and pine needles onto the top of a drain cover at the bottom of our outside basement steps, right in front of the basement door. It didn’t take long for that clogged cover to create a dam that caused the water to mount up in front of that door and begin to seep into the basement rather than exit the premises by way of that drain.

Thankfully, I was still up at the time and had the good sense to check the basement in the midst of all that rain. That allowed me to fix the problem before the entire basement ended up flooded with water. Of course, I must have been quite a site out there at 12:30 a.m., in the midst of a downpour, trying to clear that drain cover. At least the lighting strikes every five seconds allowed me to see what I was doing!

Well, the next morning was cleanup time, which meant that I needed one of those wet/dry vacs to get the water out of the basement. I called my brother Richie, who had one, but he had already left his house to go to work. He offered to make the trip back home to get the vacuum, but by then I had another plan in mind.

As it just so happened that morning, one of my church members, a fellow named Chris, was doing some renovation work around our house, and he had a small wet/dry vac with him. I figured his vacuum would be big enough to handle the job since there didn’t seem to be that much water in my basement. I soon found out, however, that I was mistaken.

For one thing, there was more water in that basement than I realized. For another, that little vacuum had to be emptied about every thirty seconds. I was wearing myself out walking to and fro emptying that thing, and I hadn’t even gotten to the deepest part of the basement’s water yet. Clearly, it was time for a better plan. So, I got into my car, drove out to our local Sears, and bit the bullet to buy a shiny new sixteen-gallon wet/dry vac. Now I had the right tool.

Once I got the new vacuum back home, the battle with the basement water didn’t last long. Whereas I had been making numerous trips to empty that small vacuum, the sixteen-gallon one kept pulling up water and storing it until the basement was dry. As I was emptying the vacuum for the one time afterwards, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “There’s just no substitute for the RIGHT tool.”

Have you ever used a shoe to drive a nail in a wall? Have you ever used a knife to turn a screw? Have you ever used a pair of scissors to prune a bush? Speaking from experience, I can tell you that using the wrong tool might be one way to get a job done but it will never be the best way. For example, if I had kept working with that small vacuum, I could have eventually gotten that basement dry but it would have taken me half the day!

As I consider all this, I honestly feel for the Lord as He tries to get His work done in this world. What do you do when a nail needs driving but your hammer won’t report for duty? You use a shoe who will report for duty. What do you do when a screw needs turning but your screwdriver is a.w.o.l.? You use a knife who is present and willing to work. What do you do when a bush needs trimming but your pruning shears are off doing their own thing? You use a pair of scissors who will do whatever you ask them. Such is God’s plight. He has to make do with what He has available to Him, and so many times that just isn’t the best tool for the job.

Please understand that I am in no way criticizing anybody who is out there doing any work for the Lord. Much to the contrary, I praise each one for his or her willingness. As the old saying goes, God is more interested in your availability than your ability. I’m merely pointing out that God’s work gets done so much more efficiently and proficiently when the exact tool for a job is yielded to Him and willing to do it.

You see, small wet/dry vacs can do certain jobs far better than large, cumbersome ones, but drying up a fair amount of water from a basement isn’t such a job. And so it is with God’s work. That’s why He needs all different kinds of tools at His disposal. Oh, and by the way, that includes the tool that you are. So the question is, are you letting Him use you to do the jobs for which you are specifically designed or is He having to use the wrong tools to do those jobs because you refuse to report for work?

Posted in Faithfulness, God's Will, Individuality, Ministry, Obedience, Personal, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Talents | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Born Liars

Posted on September 20, 2023 by russellmckinney

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. (Proverbs 12: 22, N.K.J.V.)

A paratrooper finished basic training and went up for his first jump. As he was about to leap from the plane’s exit hatch, he pulled back and said, “I can’t do it.” His sergeant said, “Yes, you can. Just jump, count to ten, and pull the cord of your main chute. If the chute doesn’t open, just count to ten again and pull the cord of your emergency chute. And if that chute doesn’t open, we’ll have a feather bed waiting for you to land on down there.”

So, the paratrooper jumped. He counted to ten and pulled the cord of his main chute. Nothing! Then he counted to ten again and pulled the cord of his emergency chute. Nothing! As he plummeted to the earth, toppling end over end, he said to himself, “And I’ll bet they don’t have that feather bed down there, either!”

How many times does someone have to burn you with lies before you get wise to their fire? I’ve known some people who were so good at lying they could pass a lie detector test. How good were they? They were good enough to get me to half believe them even when I KNEW they were lying!

I don’t know how you feel about the term “born liar,” but in Psalm 58:3 David seems to give the concept a touch of validity. I guess his inference is that some peoples’ inborn pet sin (the sin toward which they are highly bent, the sin that comes easily to them) is lying. He writes:

The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. (N.K.J.V.)

The takeaway from this post is that you would do well to learn to spot liars and avoid them. And if circumstances prevent you from staying away from a particular one (perhaps a family member or a coworker), you should at least have the spiritual discernment to see the person for who he or she is. Putting it simply: That person might be good at lying, but you don’t have to be good at believing!

Posted in Character, Communication, Deception, Discernment, Honesty, Lying, Personal Holiness, Sin, The Tongue, Truth | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Your Sign?

Posted on September 18, 2023 by russellmckinney

As a woman was waiting in the checkout line of a grocery store, she noticed a young mother standing in line in front of her. The mother had a baby strapped to her back in one of those baby-backpacks. Attached to the backpack was a large sign that read: “This child tends to shoplift. Please inform mother.”

Truth be told, each of us could have a sign attached to us. One sign would read: “This person tends to lie.” Another would read: “This person tends to use profane language.” Another would read: “This person tends to lust.” Another would read: “This person tends to covet.” Another would read: “This person tends to throw temper tantrums.” Another would read: “This person tends to not pay his bills.” Another would read: “This person tends to get drunk.” You get the idea.

In Isaiah 53:6, the Bible says:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Notice please that each person has his or her own way of sin. My way isn’t your way and yours isn’t mine, but each of us is particularly susceptible to some specific sin. For this reason, we shouldn’t be so quick to judge others or come down so harshly on their sin. You say, “But I would never be guilty of committing that person’s sin.” Perhaps you wouldn’t, but there is some other sin that you are guilty of committing. And I’m guessing that you know what your pet sin is.

The good news is that the Isaiah 53:6 verse ends by saying:

…And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (N.K.J.V.)

The “Lord” spoken of there is God the Father, and the “Him” is God the Son, Jesus. Actually, the entire chapter of Isaiah 53 is a Messianic passage concerning Jesus. Writing prophetically under the inspiration of God, the prophet Isaiah speaks of how Jesus will be “wounded for our transgressions,” “led as a lamb to slaughter,” and “cut off from the land of the living.”

Of course, we Christians understand that Christ’s death on the cross pays the totality of our sin debt to God. We’re very quick to claim that truth, aren’t we? Unfortunately, however, we are tempted to use that truth as a license to sin. The apostle Paul addresses this problem in Romans 6:1-2 when he writes:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (N.K.J.V.)

In the verses that follow, Paul goes on to explain how a Christian’s baptism symbolizes that he has died to his old sinful way of living and is now walking in a newness of life. In this new life, the Christian will no longer be a slave of sin or let sin reign in his body. Rather than presenting the parts of his body as instruments of unrighteousness, he’ll present them as instruments of righteousness. I doubt that the average Christian knew that he was committing to so much when he agreed to be baptized.

And so I’ll close out this post by simply asking, “How are you doing with your pet sin these days?” Are you keeping it in check? Or is some confession and repentance called for? You’ve probably heard that 1 John 1:9 is found within the context of John offering a word to Christians, not lost people. The verse says:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (N.K.J.V.)

Like you, I thank God for this verse, and I thank Him that it is written to Christians. But my point today is that if you find yourself confessing one particular sin over and over again, day after day after day, you need to roll up your sleeves and work harder to STOP committing that sin. If God forced you to literally wear a sign like that baby, the embarrassment would motivate you to change your behavior so that you could lose that sign, wouldn’t it? Well, out of your love for the Lord and appreciation for Christ’s death on the cross, why don’t you just go ahead and change your sinful behavior anyway? After all, the Lord doesn’t need a sign to know how you are living.

Posted in Addiction, Adultery, Alcohol, Anger, Backsliding, Baptism, Change, Christ's Death, Christian Liberty, Confession, Conviction, Depravity, Desires, Drugs, Forgiveness, Gambling, Gluttony, Guilt, Lust, Lying, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Sex, Sin, Temptation, The Tongue, Worry | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Praying in Jesus’ Name (part 6)

Posted on September 15, 2023 by russellmckinney

For the past several posts, I’ve been explaining what all is involved with praying “in Jesus’ name” (John 14:12-14). Thus far we’ve covered the following ground:

1. Praying in Jesus’ name can only be done by a Christian.

2. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in submission to God’s will.

3. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in the authority of Jesus.

4. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray with an understanding of the limitless power such praying offers.

5. Praying in Jesus’ name means praying the kind of prayer that Jesus would pray.

Now let me move on to the sixth and last thing I want to say on this subject. It is this: To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray with an awareness of the work of redemption that Jesus completed.

Christian, whenever you pray you should be keenly aware of the fact that your privilege of prayer rests upon the foundation of Christ’s divinity, virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, miraculous resurrection, and victorious ascension back to heaven. Hebrews is the Bible’s great book here. Allow me to string together some of the relevant passages (all from the N.K.J.V.):

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. (2:9)

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things, pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (2:17)

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (4:14-16)

You see, the teaching of these passages is this: The only reason we Christians can bow our heads anytime, anyplace and have our prayers heard by God the Father is because Jesus did the work that we might be redeemed. If you take that work out of the equation, our prayers take a deadly hit. That’s why, Christian, when you pray you should always have Christ’s work of redemption in the back of your mind. You should remember not only that Jesus is your High Priest but what it took for Him to earn that title. The redemptive work He did is of infinite importance, and without it your prayers would carry little if any weight with God the Father.

Posted in Christ's Birth, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Salvation, Series: "Praying in Jesus' Name" | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Praying in Jesus’ Name (part 5)

Posted on September 13, 2023 by russellmckinney

Perhaps the simplest thing I can say about what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name” is this: Praying in Jesus’ name means praying the kind of prayer that Jesus would pray. As we study the four gospels, it isn’t hard to see how Jesus thought, how He responded to certain situations, what priorities He held, and what goals He wanted to achieve. To use an old expression, it isn’t hard to see what made Him tick. So, Christian, as you listen to yourself pray, you should engage in a running analysis of contrasting what you know about Jesus with what you are saying in prayer. You just might be surprised at how different your prayers sound from what you figure your Savior would say if He Himself was doing the praying.

You’ve heard the term “power of attorney,” haven’t you? A person who holds the power of attorney for another person has the privilege of handling that individual’s affairs. However, according to the spirit of the arrangement, the one who has the power of attorney should make decisions that are in line with the wishes and desires of the one he is representing. Well, to a certain degree, Jesus gives Christians the power of attorney to handle His affairs, and much of this handling is done by way of our prayers. This means that it’s vitally important that we pray prayers that are in line with Christ’s wishes and desires.

Some years ago, the letters WWJD became something of a craze. They stood for the question, “What would Jesus do?” My point with this post is that our prayer times should fit into the confines of the letters WWJP: “What would Jesus pray?” Keep these letters in mind the next time you pray, and I’ll guarantee you that your prayers will be much more effective.

Posted in Prayer, Prayer Requests, Series: "Praying in Jesus' Name" | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment