Matthew 13:44 NKJV "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
Dear Jesus,
What is the buried treasure for which You exhort me to dig? You tell me that it is the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven. Practically speaking, what does that mean?
Your parable describes a man going about his daily routine when he happens upon treasure. He was not a treasure hunter, a dreamer, or a speculator. He was simply an industrious, hard-working man of the earth. In the course of everyday living, faithful service reaped an unexpected reward.
Legend ascribes this saying to You: "Raise the stone and thou shalt find me; cleave the wood and I am there" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 95). Grant me enduring grace to dig deeply into the pages of Your Word. Help me to discover daily treasures, unearthed by diligent habits of personal holiness. Grant me the spirit of resolute sacrifice, to set aside the trivial, for the pursuit of Your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is the reign of Your perfect will. I know not when Your Kingdom will be set up on earth, but I know that I must have it in my heart. Reign without rival or competitor in me.
So, I dig for buried treasure. I seek You in the common and ordinary affairs of life. I seek You in Your general revelation through Your world around me. I seek You in the pages of Holy Scripture. I dig for treasure. I dig for truth. I dig to be found faithful and expectant. I dig because I want Your Kingdom to come in me. I dig because You are my Kingdom Treasure, and I want to know You.
May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in me,
Amen.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Thursday, May 21, 2015
For the Weak and the Powerless
Matthew 13:33
My Heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Savior of the world. Your Gospel has transformed, lives, cultures, nations, and history. Jesus brought a transformational Gospel that gave hope and direction to a broken civilization. The Gospel, like leaven in a loaf, has spread to the nations.
Thank You for the social transformation which Your Gospel has brought to the downtrodden and rejected. Wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has gone, it has transformed the lives of women, the sick, the elderly, and children. Often, these weakest of society are the most exploited, but the Gospel brings genuine care, love, and transformation.
The power of the Gospel is greater than a socialist revolution in its care for the powerless. The Gospel is greater than a social justice movement in its care for the weak and ignored. The Gospel brings more than a reversal of the flow of power into the brokenness of sinful culture. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings hope, joy, and love. Genuine transformation.
But when the weakest of Your Creation are shown the care of genuine love, they are suddenly and somehow empowered. A broad social movement to empower women, children, ethnic minorities, or impoverished can only occur in a civilization that has a Christian basis. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ demands that sort of compassion from its faithful. Socialists have twisted and distorted these Christian virtues until they are hardly recognizable, but the truth remains that only in a civilization graced by the power of Gospel virtues, can any sort of care for the marginalized germinate into a transformational social movement.
Barclay wrote: "It is abundantly true that there is nothing in this world so disturbing as Christianity; that is, in fact, the reason why so many people hate it and resent it, and refuse it, and would wish to eliminate it" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. II, p. 92).
Help me to hold Your mirror to the face of the world I encounter today. Steady my hand, strengthen my voice, steel my will, and sustain my resolve. Help me to demonstrate the compassion of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to men, women, and children caught in the sex trades, human trafficking, and war's devastation. May I not waver in calling my Christian friends to abandon the fornication of pornography. Help me to call the church to repent of business dealings that fund the exploitation of the innocent. I desire to join the succession of the faithful who have opposed institutionalized cultural practices promoting sins against the weak. I will be leaven in the loaf to advance Christ's Kingdom in the world, loudly, silently, faithfully.
In the Name of my Lord and Savior who still changes nations,
Amen.
My Heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Savior of the world. Your Gospel has transformed, lives, cultures, nations, and history. Jesus brought a transformational Gospel that gave hope and direction to a broken civilization. The Gospel, like leaven in a loaf, has spread to the nations.
Thank You for the social transformation which Your Gospel has brought to the downtrodden and rejected. Wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has gone, it has transformed the lives of women, the sick, the elderly, and children. Often, these weakest of society are the most exploited, but the Gospel brings genuine care, love, and transformation.
The power of the Gospel is greater than a socialist revolution in its care for the powerless. The Gospel is greater than a social justice movement in its care for the weak and ignored. The Gospel brings more than a reversal of the flow of power into the brokenness of sinful culture. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings hope, joy, and love. Genuine transformation.
But when the weakest of Your Creation are shown the care of genuine love, they are suddenly and somehow empowered. A broad social movement to empower women, children, ethnic minorities, or impoverished can only occur in a civilization that has a Christian basis. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ demands that sort of compassion from its faithful. Socialists have twisted and distorted these Christian virtues until they are hardly recognizable, but the truth remains that only in a civilization graced by the power of Gospel virtues, can any sort of care for the marginalized germinate into a transformational social movement.
Barclay wrote: "It is abundantly true that there is nothing in this world so disturbing as Christianity; that is, in fact, the reason why so many people hate it and resent it, and refuse it, and would wish to eliminate it" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. II, p. 92).
Help me to hold Your mirror to the face of the world I encounter today. Steady my hand, strengthen my voice, steel my will, and sustain my resolve. Help me to demonstrate the compassion of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to men, women, and children caught in the sex trades, human trafficking, and war's devastation. May I not waver in calling my Christian friends to abandon the fornication of pornography. Help me to call the church to repent of business dealings that fund the exploitation of the innocent. I desire to join the succession of the faithful who have opposed institutionalized cultural practices promoting sins against the weak. I will be leaven in the loaf to advance Christ's Kingdom in the world, loudly, silently, faithfully.
In the Name of my Lord and Savior who still changes nations,
Amen.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Sowing and Reaping
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Galatians 6:9 " And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Dear Jesus,
Your parable of sowing and reaping challenges me to invest in eternity. You challenge me to enduring service, even in the face of obstacles, adversities, and reverses.
Dr. Barclay wrote: "We live in an age which looks for quick results, but in the sowing of the seed we must sow in patience and sow in hope, and sometimes we must leave the harvest to the years." (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, pp. 70-71).
Telemachus, a Christian monk, sensed Your call to Rome to minister to a broken Roman civilization. Rome had experienced some Christian conversion, but was still caught in the grasp of sensuality and the games. In the fifth century, Telemachus attended a gladiatorial event where he witnessed the slaughter of humanity. Overcome with the loss of human life, the holy man leapt from the seats of the arena to the field. He placed himself between the combatants. A swift slice of a gladiatorial sword spilled the mortally wounded monk's blood on the sand of the arena. The crowd grew silent, and the games came to a cataclysmic halt.
Sowing and reaping. The seed of Your Gospel had been sown for four decades across the Roman world. Faithful sowing reaped an eventual harvest that was demonstrated in radical cultural change.
Often, Your truth and goodness take time to germinate. Faithful sowing, cultivation, and spiritual care of the riches of Your message bring change to people, communities, culture, and entire civilizations.
I confess that my timetable is now. My impatience short circuits my ability to wait on Your timing. I am sorry. I find myself fainting while attempting to wait for the harvest. I confess that my impatience is often without faith. When You don't act on my timetable, I panic. I default on trust and consecration to You. I then behave with disjointed, panicked, directionless jerking about for some new initiative to fix my problems. Teach me the timeless patience of trusting You. Empower me to hold a steady course.
I surrender afresh to Your timing. Help me not to panic when those about me are flailing and floundering for life. May the poet's words be Your Words to my heart:
Galatians 6:9 " And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Dear Jesus,
Your parable of sowing and reaping challenges me to invest in eternity. You challenge me to enduring service, even in the face of obstacles, adversities, and reverses.
Dr. Barclay wrote: "We live in an age which looks for quick results, but in the sowing of the seed we must sow in patience and sow in hope, and sometimes we must leave the harvest to the years." (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, pp. 70-71).
Telemachus, a Christian monk, sensed Your call to Rome to minister to a broken Roman civilization. Rome had experienced some Christian conversion, but was still caught in the grasp of sensuality and the games. In the fifth century, Telemachus attended a gladiatorial event where he witnessed the slaughter of humanity. Overcome with the loss of human life, the holy man leapt from the seats of the arena to the field. He placed himself between the combatants. A swift slice of a gladiatorial sword spilled the mortally wounded monk's blood on the sand of the arena. The crowd grew silent, and the games came to a cataclysmic halt.
Sowing and reaping. The seed of Your Gospel had been sown for four decades across the Roman world. Faithful sowing reaped an eventual harvest that was demonstrated in radical cultural change.
Often, Your truth and goodness take time to germinate. Faithful sowing, cultivation, and spiritual care of the riches of Your message bring change to people, communities, culture, and entire civilizations.
I confess that my timetable is now. My impatience short circuits my ability to wait on Your timing. I am sorry. I find myself fainting while attempting to wait for the harvest. I confess that my impatience is often without faith. When You don't act on my timetable, I panic. I default on trust and consecration to You. I then behave with disjointed, panicked, directionless jerking about for some new initiative to fix my problems. Teach me the timeless patience of trusting You. Empower me to hold a steady course.
I surrender afresh to Your timing. Help me not to panic when those about me are flailing and floundering for life. May the poet's words be Your Words to my heart:
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise...
... If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise...
... If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
(Kipling--IF)
In the Name of my ever-living Lord Jesus Christ who grows each seed,
Amen
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Negative and Positive
Matthew 12:43-45. 43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds itempty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
William Barclay: "The easiest Way to keep a life from sin is to fill it with holy action. To put it quite simply, the church will most easily keep her converts when she gives them Christian work to do. Our aim is not the mirror negative absence of evil action; it is the positive presence of life and work for Christ. If we are finding the temptations of evil very threatening, one of the best ways to conquer them is to forget them by plunging into activity for God and for our fellow man."
Dear God,
You have saved me by Your grace, cleansing my temple by faith through the power of the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ. You've driven despair from me, as daylight scatters the darkness of the secret corners of a dimly lit room. You have through open the curtain of light and love to shine upon me. You have cleansed me of obstructions and uncleaness. Thank You.
My fallen inclination is to focus my attention upon that which I must avoid. But You teach me the holy principles of replacement. You have me fill my once sin-blighted life with holy activity. Prayer, study of Your Word, fellowship with other believers, acts of witnessing, acts of love, acts of mercy now consume me. You are making me a disciple.
When I encounter further unholiness within me, protect me from despair. Drive me to Yourself with a hunger for Your holiness. Make me clean through Your blood and the power of Your Holy Spirit.
Protect me from legalistic striving that pretends to make myself holy. Protect me from the pitfalls of pride that would deceive me into adoring my good works, thus corrupting them. Where You have cleansed me, now fill me with all of Your fullness. Make me clean. Make me useful. Make me to love You and Your children as I ought.
In the Name of the One who has cleansed me of death and given me the gift of life,
Amen.
William Barclay: "The easiest Way to keep a life from sin is to fill it with holy action. To put it quite simply, the church will most easily keep her converts when she gives them Christian work to do. Our aim is not the mirror negative absence of evil action; it is the positive presence of life and work for Christ. If we are finding the temptations of evil very threatening, one of the best ways to conquer them is to forget them by plunging into activity for God and for our fellow man."
Dear God,
You have saved me by Your grace, cleansing my temple by faith through the power of the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ. You've driven despair from me, as daylight scatters the darkness of the secret corners of a dimly lit room. You have through open the curtain of light and love to shine upon me. You have cleansed me of obstructions and uncleaness. Thank You.
My fallen inclination is to focus my attention upon that which I must avoid. But You teach me the holy principles of replacement. You have me fill my once sin-blighted life with holy activity. Prayer, study of Your Word, fellowship with other believers, acts of witnessing, acts of love, acts of mercy now consume me. You are making me a disciple.
When I encounter further unholiness within me, protect me from despair. Drive me to Yourself with a hunger for Your holiness. Make me clean through Your blood and the power of Your Holy Spirit.
Protect me from legalistic striving that pretends to make myself holy. Protect me from the pitfalls of pride that would deceive me into adoring my good works, thus corrupting them. Where You have cleansed me, now fill me with all of Your fullness. Make me clean. Make me useful. Make me to love You and Your children as I ought.
In the Name of the One who has cleansed me of death and given me the gift of life,
Amen.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Fill my Mouth
Exodus 4:10-12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
Psalm 81:10b I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant...”
17 “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. 18 For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land—Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”
Luke 21:12-15 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant...”
17 “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. 18 For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land—Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”
Dear Lord,
I speak for a living. I lecture. I preach. I chair meetings. You have placed me in a world and charged me to speak with conviction and confidence. You have called me to influence people to understand reality in a specific way, and then lead them in taking appropriate actions.
But today, I don't know what to say. I don't know how I should respond. I feel small and ignorant. Yet I am called to lead, and that demands I speak.
Somehow, I feel that You have me exactly where You want me. You have put me in a spot where I am empty and You want to fill me. You have put me in a situation where I am ignorant and You want to teach me. You have put me in a position where I feel helpless, and You want to help me. You have put me in a spot where I am weak and You want to be my strength.
My mind is scrambled with words, lines of arguments, attacks, defenses, questions, speculation, scenarios... useless thoughts.
Thank You for trusting me with an impossible task and promising me Your words, Your Presence, and Your help. Be with my mouth and show me what to say. Put Your words in my mouth. Impress me with words to speak, and press me until I know it is You demanding me to speak. Grant me a voice of wisdom, rationality, and a connection with the heart of my listener that will reach beyond argument or contradiction. Grant me the anointing of Your Holy Spirit to know and speak truth. So empower me that the words You speak into me and through me are irresistible and eternal in their impact.
For the Glory of Your Name,
Amen.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Security or Adventure?
Matthew 12:30a NKJV "He who is not with Me is against Me..."
II Corinthians 5:7 NKJV "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Dear God,
II Corinthians 5:7 NKJV "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Dear God,
William Barclay writes: "Most people would rather have security than adventure, and the older they grow the more that is so. A challenge always involves an adventure; Christ comes to us with a challenge, and so often we would rather have the comfort of selfish inaction than the adventure of action for Christ." (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, p. 45).
I know this reality of wanting security. I am convicted for my desire for a life governed by sight rather than a life of faith. Sight seeks to control the variables in a quest toward security. Sight demands data, predictability, and known information. Sight is realistic.
But You keep challenging me toward a life of faith. Adventure. You challenge me to something greater than my ability to control variables in a quest for security. You challenge me to a life of adventure with You.
This adventure demands that I take a stand. I must make decisions. I must lead. All too often I don't know where to stand or what goal to pursue. But in the face of my own ignorance, I place myself firmly on Your side. Barclay asks: "Am I truly on the Lord's side, or, am I trying to shuffle through life in a state of cowardly neutrality?" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, p. 45). God forbid that I should ever capitulate to a position of neutrality that diminishes my Lord Christ or Your Gospel.
I love You. I love the adventure of living for You. I will follow You. I will endure the challenge. I will face the foe. I will fight the battles. I will endure bravely. But I can only be faithful to Your charge, not by grit, resolve, or self-determination, but by Your grace through faith.
In the Name of my God who leads me squarely into adventure,
Amen.
Monday, May 11, 2015
My Yoke is Easy
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
William Barclay tells a heart-warming legend of Jesus and the carpenter shop. "Now there is a legend that Jesus made the best ox-yokes in all Galilee, and that from all over the country men came to Him to the carpenter's shop to buy the best yokes that skill could make. In those days, as now, shops had their signs above the door; and it has been suggested that the sign above the door of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth may well have been: 'My yokes fit well.' It may well be that Jesus is here using a picture from the carpenter's shop in Nazareth where He had worked throughout the silent years" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 19).
Lord Jesus,
You promised me a yoke that would not chafe as I bear the burdens of life to which You have assigned me. You promise to be my yoke-fellow, and to bear the load of life alongside me. You promise me Your Holy Spirit to be my Comforter, my Paraclete, my along-side One.
I am stopping into Your shop this morning for an adjustment of Your yoke upon me. The burden is heavy. Exhaustion ways upon me. Empower me to the task. Stand along-side me and help me to bear the load. I know there are moments when I feel the force of Your strength propelling me forward, my feet barely touching the ground. There are other moments when I cannot discern You next to me, pulling, bearing, encouraging... but You are nevertheless ever present. Thank You.
In my weariness, I am unable to love others as I ought. My weariness mixes anger, impatience, apathy, and boredom with my feeble attempts to love. Fill me with Yourself and a fresh outpouring of your perfect love. Empower me to love.
I cannot bear the burden of the yoke alone. Thank You for being my yoke-fellow. I love You. I need You today.
Amen.
William Barclay tells a heart-warming legend of Jesus and the carpenter shop. "Now there is a legend that Jesus made the best ox-yokes in all Galilee, and that from all over the country men came to Him to the carpenter's shop to buy the best yokes that skill could make. In those days, as now, shops had their signs above the door; and it has been suggested that the sign above the door of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth may well have been: 'My yokes fit well.' It may well be that Jesus is here using a picture from the carpenter's shop in Nazareth where He had worked throughout the silent years" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 19).
Lord Jesus,
You promised me a yoke that would not chafe as I bear the burdens of life to which You have assigned me. You promise to be my yoke-fellow, and to bear the load of life alongside me. You promise me Your Holy Spirit to be my Comforter, my Paraclete, my along-side One.
I am stopping into Your shop this morning for an adjustment of Your yoke upon me. The burden is heavy. Exhaustion ways upon me. Empower me to the task. Stand along-side me and help me to bear the load. I know there are moments when I feel the force of Your strength propelling me forward, my feet barely touching the ground. There are other moments when I cannot discern You next to me, pulling, bearing, encouraging... but You are nevertheless ever present. Thank You.
In my weariness, I am unable to love others as I ought. My weariness mixes anger, impatience, apathy, and boredom with my feeble attempts to love. Fill me with Yourself and a fresh outpouring of your perfect love. Empower me to love.
I cannot bear the burden of the yoke alone. Thank You for being my yoke-fellow. I love You. I need You today.
Amen.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Seminary Without Walls
Here is a message I preached on chapel at Wesley Biblical Seminary on May 7, 2015. It casts a vision for our future. The message is titled Seminary Without Walls. In it, I cast a vision for the future of WBS. If you love WBS, I think you will find the message challenging.
http://wbspod.libsyn.com/dr-john-neihof
http://wbspod.libsyn.com/dr-john-neihof
Friday, May 8, 2015
Indifferent or Different?
Matthew 11:20-24 NKJV
I have seen the work of Your hand in my life. Sometimes, Your hand moves in dramatic fashion with miracles that leave me staggering with wonder. Sometimes, Your hand moves slowly, steadily, transforming my life toward the character of Your Son, Jesus Christ. The slow, the steady, the immediate... each is miraculous when crafted by Your gentle touch.
Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
Dear God,
I have seen the work of Your hand in my life. Sometimes, Your hand moves in dramatic fashion with miracles that leave me staggering with wonder. Sometimes, Your hand moves slowly, steadily, transforming my life toward the character of Your Son, Jesus Christ. The slow, the steady, the immediate... each is miraculous when crafted by Your gentle touch.
I find myself accustomed to Your touch. I expect it. May my expectation be pleasing to You, and never become one of thankless apathy. You had your fill of thankless apathy in Chorazin and Bethsaida. Your miracles left those folks unmoved. May indifferent disregard never characterize my response to Your tender care.
William Barclay described much of the world as indifferent to You. "There is no hostility to Christianity; there is no desire to destroy it; there is blank indifference. Christ is relegated to the ranks of those who do not matter" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 14).
But if I act, if I do something for You, if You begin transforming others through my obedient action, apathy may soon turn to angry opposition. John Wesley asked his early evangelists as to the success of their revival efforts, questioning the number of souls converted to Christ as well as the number of folks who became angry!
If I genuinely embrace the reality of Your miracles in my life, and if that faith moves me to action for You, my obedience will run cross grain to a sinful culture. Apathy will turn to anger. "Crucify him" will become the cry of the secular progressive agenda, and the cross they erect will be intended for me.
Give me a desperate courage to move beyond any apathy, indifference, or inaction. Help me to obey Your call to challenge the culture, to live against the grain of received views of complacency and self-satisfaction. Forgive my indifference, the indifference of my people, and empower me to obey Your call to be different.
In the Name of my Savior,
Amen.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Courage to Lead
Almighty God,
Grant our leaders courage to lead. Isaiah described you as (Isaiah 59:17) putting “on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.”
Zechariah described the authority and origin of true leadership (4:6): “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.”
Grant each leader present today courage to lead the organization to which You have appointed us. We need you to clothe us in Yourself, so that we can serve You courageously as we ought.
Clothe us in righteous actions. Clothe us with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Clothe us with the perfect love of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want Your armor to protect us against Satan, wicked leaders, spiritual sabotage, and against roaring assaults. Protect us against the espionage of spiritual powers that oppose You. Secure our spiritual garments with the belt of Truth. Hold us together. Shield our hearts, our affections, and our passions with Your righteousness. Protect our desires. Help us to trek the journey that is graced by Your peace. If our path removes us from the Witness of Your Spirit, guide us gently to return to the course You trace.
We raise our shield of faith to advance against the hailstorm of Satan’s assault. Grant us the courage to lead others and to wrest from the enemy that which he has maliciously seized, and return the bounty of conquest to You as an offering of praise. Protect the knowledge of my mind through the Witness of Your Spirit, that we may know the reality of Your approval and the assurance of Your great salvation. We will advance against the foe, rallying others to join, through the sword of Your Holy Spirit–the Word of God, as our offense.
The old preacher’s prayer humors and challenges me: "Oh Lord, give me a backbone as big as a saw log, ribs like the sleepers under the church floor, put iron shoes on me and galvanized breeches, give me a rhinoceros hide for a skin, and hang a wagon load of determination up in the gable-end of my soul, and help me to sign the contract to fight the devil as long as I've got a fist and bite him as long as I have a tooth, then gum him till I die..."
Grant us the courage of the Lord Jesus Christ when he cleansed the temple. May Your Divine Imperative urge us to take up the tasks that matter to You. Remind us that there is enough time each day to do Your will, and then grant us the wisdom to discern what that includes, and to lay aside the tasks that are not Your priority for our time and energy.
Lord God, there will be inevitable casualties in the conflict. Help us to love the fallen, to embrace the discouraged, and to care for the mortally wounded. Then grant us the grace to return to the conflict, pressing the battle for righteousness against Your foes. You have promised ultimate victory. Now give us courage to lead today.
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen.
Grant our leaders courage to lead. Isaiah described you as (Isaiah 59:17) putting “on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.”
Zechariah described the authority and origin of true leadership (4:6): “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.”
Grant each leader present today courage to lead the organization to which You have appointed us. We need you to clothe us in Yourself, so that we can serve You courageously as we ought.
Clothe us in righteous actions. Clothe us with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Clothe us with the perfect love of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want Your armor to protect us against Satan, wicked leaders, spiritual sabotage, and against roaring assaults. Protect us against the espionage of spiritual powers that oppose You. Secure our spiritual garments with the belt of Truth. Hold us together. Shield our hearts, our affections, and our passions with Your righteousness. Protect our desires. Help us to trek the journey that is graced by Your peace. If our path removes us from the Witness of Your Spirit, guide us gently to return to the course You trace.
We raise our shield of faith to advance against the hailstorm of Satan’s assault. Grant us the courage to lead others and to wrest from the enemy that which he has maliciously seized, and return the bounty of conquest to You as an offering of praise. Protect the knowledge of my mind through the Witness of Your Spirit, that we may know the reality of Your approval and the assurance of Your great salvation. We will advance against the foe, rallying others to join, through the sword of Your Holy Spirit–the Word of God, as our offense.
The old preacher’s prayer humors and challenges me: "Oh Lord, give me a backbone as big as a saw log, ribs like the sleepers under the church floor, put iron shoes on me and galvanized breeches, give me a rhinoceros hide for a skin, and hang a wagon load of determination up in the gable-end of my soul, and help me to sign the contract to fight the devil as long as I've got a fist and bite him as long as I have a tooth, then gum him till I die..."
Grant us the courage of the Lord Jesus Christ when he cleansed the temple. May Your Divine Imperative urge us to take up the tasks that matter to You. Remind us that there is enough time each day to do Your will, and then grant us the wisdom to discern what that includes, and to lay aside the tasks that are not Your priority for our time and energy.
Lord God, there will be inevitable casualties in the conflict. Help us to love the fallen, to embrace the discouraged, and to care for the mortally wounded. Then grant us the grace to return to the conflict, pressing the battle for righteousness against Your foes. You have promised ultimate victory. Now give us courage to lead today.
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
The Adventure of the Cross
Matthew 10:34-39
"The Christian may have to sacrifice his personal ambitions, the ease and the comfort that he might have enjoyed, the career that he might have achieved; he may have to lay aside his dreams, to realize that shining thing of which he caught a glimpse are not for him. He will certainly have to sacrifice his will, for no Christian can ever again do what he likes; he must do what Christ likes. In Christianity there is always some cross, for Christianity is the religion of the Cross...
"There is no place for a policy of safety first in the Christian life. The man who seeks first ease and comfort and security and the fulfillment of personal ambition may well get all these things--but he will not be a happy man; for he was sent into this world to serve God and to serve his fellowmen. A man can hoard life, if he wishes to do so. But that way he will lose all that makes life valuable to others and worth living for himself. The way to serve others, the way to fulfill God's purpose for us, the way to true happiness is to spend life, for only thus will we find life, here and hereafter" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, pp. 408-409).
"The Christian may have to sacrifice his personal ambitions, the ease and the comfort that he might have enjoyed, the career that he might have achieved; he may have to lay aside his dreams, to realize that shining thing of which he caught a glimpse are not for him. He will certainly have to sacrifice his will, for no Christian can ever again do what he likes; he must do what Christ likes. In Christianity there is always some cross, for Christianity is the religion of the Cross...
"There is no place for a policy of safety first in the Christian life. The man who seeks first ease and comfort and security and the fulfillment of personal ambition may well get all these things--but he will not be a happy man; for he was sent into this world to serve God and to serve his fellowmen. A man can hoard life, if he wishes to do so. But that way he will lose all that makes life valuable to others and worth living for himself. The way to serve others, the way to fulfill God's purpose for us, the way to true happiness is to spend life, for only thus will we find life, here and hereafter" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, pp. 408-409).
Friday, May 1, 2015
Fearless
Acts 2, Ezekiel 3, Matthew 10
Dear God,
Grant me the fearless boldness that characterized your disciples on the day of Pentecost. Grant me the Spirit-filled boldness that You used to turn the world upside down through the power of Your Gospel.
Bearing Christ's message will often mean suffering. Jesus' life and ministry warns me "that, as Christ had to carry a cross, so also the individual Christian must have to carry a cross... To suffer for Christ is to share the work of Christ; to have to sacrifice for the faith is to share the sacrifice of Christ... When Christianity costs something we are closer than ever we were to the fellowship of Jesus Christ; and if we know the fellowship of His sufferings, we shall also know the power of His resurrection." (p. 394-395).
Ezekiel provides a vivid example of Your demands for me as Your spokes person "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul" (Ezekiel 3:17-19).
So, today I need boldness. I need courage. I need strength.
I am weakness, full of weakness,
At Thy sacred feet I bow;
Blest, divine, eternal Spirit,
Fill with power and fill me now.
(Elwood Stokes, 1879)
Make me fearless in You.
Amen.
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