Aching for the Church

Saints,                                                                                                                              29 Nov 10

Let me share a little of my heart.

My perspective today is on the American culture church as I know it. I realize some of you may have a different cultural background--you may even live in a different country. Even so, let me try to communicate my heart.

I am really hurting. It is hard for me to fully explain. Maybe you can help me? I hurt for the church. (I am speaking of the church as a formalized group of believers.) It seems that so often in the church we are content to come to God and really enjoy His presence in corporate worship, even enjoy a wonderful Bible class time with hearty discussion. But, where does all this lead? Are we really content to continuously learn and go over Scriptures with this apparent minimal effect on our lives and consequently the lives of others? What is wrong? Where is God’s power? Where is the amazing unity and oneness in The Church? Where is the supernatural response to God for cooperation, even interdenominational cooperation to reach a world for Christ?

We can feel so utterly helpless to do anything about our situation—even now you may be saying, “What situation? Steve, I don’t see the problem.” David Platt in his book Radical, Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, might help us to better understand “the problem,”

“As the American dream goes, we can do anything we set our minds to accomplish. There is no limit to what we can accomplish when we combine ingenuity, imagination, and innovation with skill and hard work. We can earn any degree, start any business, climb any ladder, attain any prize, and achieve any goal. James Tudrow Adams, who is credited with coining the phrase “American dream” in 1931, spoke of it as “a dream…in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”

David continues…

“The dangerous assumption we unknowingly accept in the American Dream is that our greatest asset is our ability. The American dream prizes what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves and trust in themselves, and we are drawn toward such thinking. But the gospel has different priorities. The gospel beckons us to die to ourselves and to believe in God and to trust in his power. In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability to accomplish anything of value apart from him. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

I recently had the amazing privilege to pray with a pastor from Africa (via Skype). As we talked and prayed, he shared that he though the American church was asleep. Yes, this is a good descriptor. This is what I am trying to share. We are asleep. Somehow we have become unaware of the (spiritual) battle raging all around us. Somehow we have drifted into learning about God, but not passionately living in God. We focus on financial challenges and political debates. It is hard for us to see the much-more-real spiritual battle.

Some of you may resonate with what I am saying. Some may think I am crazy. All I can say is that I believe we can be so much more. Please note the verb BE. As Jesus stated, we must abide and remain in Him, not merely do for Him.

In my last seminary course I learned of John 14-17 as Jesus’ “farewell discourse.” This is a common part of Hebrew literature in which a famous hero would explain how to continue on without him as he departs. As I am sure you have read many times, Jesus, shares in John 15,

John 15:5 (NASB)
⁵ "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Jesus prays in John 17,

John 17:20-23 (NASB)
²⁰ "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
²² "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

So where do we go from here? Please, let’s passionately join Jesus in His prayer for unity. Let’s make our priority abiding in Him. Let’s truly live like Jesus is Lord of our lives, not we ourselves.

In short, let’s live so a world would come to know Jesus.   

Father, yes, please help us abide in Christ. Help us live totally for you. Help us to be united in the love you supply that the world would know you sent Jesus and come to know Him. Lord, please remove any cultural hindrances we might have to this mission.

May God daily teach us to pray. May God compell us to pray for the church.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Submission and Conformity, a Better Unity

Saints,                                                                                                                               23 Nov 10

This devotional is not about you and me. This is about unity in the church. Please, let us be emptied of ourselves and filled completely with God, His love, His plan, and His purpose.

As one pastor said, “Pray for the church, because society does a good job at being society, but the church doesn’t do such a good job at being the church.”

May this devotional spur you on to chase after loosing yourself in God. May we embrace being conformed into God’s image, into His love, into His mind, into His plan. I submit to you that in conformity to Jesus Christ lies complete satisfaction. This is how we connect with our creator in the deepest way. This life is not about us! My life is not about me! Our lives are about bringing glory to the Father in a maximal way. And somehow through this, we receive complete joy, complete satisfaction, and consuming peace. As a Christ follower, you know this is true. I do too.

We know that God earnestly desires unity in the church. Paul speaks about it in Romans 15:5-7. Jesus prays for it in John 17:20-23.

Romans 15:5-7 (NIV)
⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,
⁶ so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

John 17:20-23 (NIV)
²⁰ "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
²³ I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Yes, Father, two thousand years later we echo with passion these words of Jesus: “May we be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent Jesus and have loved them even as you have loved Your Son.”

So, if unity in the church is so important to the Father, let’s ask ourselves some questions to help us see how we can be a part of building unity in the church.

Think about a unified church. Think about your church being more unified. What would that look like? What role would you play in moving your church to be more unified in Christ?

What does the Holy Spirit bring to mind?

For your church to be more unified, would that mean that you need to go to a brother or sister and be reconciled? Does it mean that you need to give yourself to prayer for unity, your staff, and your church? Does it mean you need to offer forgiveness or confess a sin? Does it mean you need to swallow your pride and do something you don’t want to do, but is the best thing to do? Does it mean you need give your prize possession for God’s work? As a musician, I understand how music can deeply move us—it also can be a source of contention in the church. Have you allowed music or anything else to become a stumbling block to humble, surrendered worship of our most high, amazing God? Is church about you or is it about our heavenly Father? Do I need to make some adjustments with my tongue—to build and encourage, not backbite or tear down?

If some of these questions sting a bit, please take them to God and work through them in prayer. May God help us as we do this…all to His glory!     

To help us see how conformed we are to Jesus Christ, determine which statements best describe your prayer life?

I tend to pray for myself more. I tend to pray for God’s help with MY life.

Or

I pray that God would take my life and glorify His name and use my life as He wills. I tend to pray for others more.

I know this can be discouraging, even so, take heart saints, because God is our strength. Let us cry out to God that yes, His name be glorified in our lives. May our lives be spent for His eternal purposes, not our temporary purposes.

Father, please help each of us to be one with You not only to yield in submission, to Your will, but to enjoy complete conformity to Your will, that we may see the unity in the church which You desire. That with one voice we will glorify the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, making disciples, witnessing, praying, and engaging in the ministry of the Word.

As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, may we cry out with one heart, “Thy will be done!”

May God daily teach us to pray. May God compell us to pray for the church.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

What are We Modeling?

Saints,                                                                                                                                9 Dec 10

The Apostle Paul, said to live like him as He modeled His life after Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)
¹ Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

We must seek to be able to say the same thing through the power of the Holy Spirit!

Have you ever wondered why it seems that so few of us are “compelled” to regularly share our faith, or be actively engaged in making disciples one-on-one or in a group?

I submit to you that new believers are imitating the kind of Christianity which we live. Not the kind of Christianity we think we live, but how we actually live. For Paul, there was no difference between how he thought he lived and how he actually lived. This is why he could say imitate me as I imitate Christ. Let’s look at a couple of modern examples of new believers who came to know Jesus in a culture which was hostile to the gospel.

The first example is a young woman who converted to Christianity from Islam. The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptists shared about this true story in the publication Commission Stories Volume 2, no 2, “Fatima Al-Mutairi knew the consequences could be harsh. The 26-year-old woman told her family that she had forsaken Islam to follow Christ—brazenly asserting that the way of Jesus was more righteous than that of Muhammad.  Her brother, a member of Saudi Arabia’s religious police, accused her of blasphemy and demanded she recant her belief. When she refused, he brutally murdered her.”

Our second example is a Christ follower in Iran who received the death sentence by hanging because he shared the gospel of Jesus Christ. This Christ follower embraced the full gospel. He knew he was saved not just so that he would enjoy eternity with the Father, but so that he must share the gospel with others.

What about you? Are you dissatisfied with the passion level you see around you for the lost? For prayer? For serving people? For actively witnessing? To help increase our passion for these things, I suggest that we start by looking in the mirror, with some help from the Holy Spirit. Let’s ask God, “How am I modeling faith in Christ?” Ask God to show you if your church family were to model your life in every way to include: finances, prayer life, relationships, work habits, speech, hobbies, leisure time, and school then what would your church look like? Would it be more or less passionate for Jesus, His word, prayer, and people?

The Muslim convert above came to Christ in a cultural context which made her conversion costly—she knew that, she embraced that. This persecution was a very real part of her faith. The Iranian evangelist knew the risk for sharing the gospel in his country—he embraced that. Again, this persecution was a part of his faith. What happens in cultural contexts where the gospel of Jesus Christ is not persecuted is that the gospel as a free gift is clearly communicated, but the element of faith that Jesus Himself demonstrated which included costly risk taking and sacrifice (not to earn salvation—but as a compelling outgrowth of salvation) is somehow not communicated. This lack of communication happens primarily because Christ followers do not live it. So here is our question…Is it possible that my life is demonstrating or modeling a partial or watered-down gospel? How about yours?

Let’s pray!

May we cry out to the Father to make us like David, Daniel, Paul, Peter, Stephen, Barnabas, and Abraham. May our lives clearly communicate the real gospel to a deceived world. May we be willing to DO whatever it takes to share Christ with a lost world.  May we be willing to BE in the Father, so that His name is glorified as He uses each of us to reach a lost world. Oh God, make us consumed with You.

Foot note…I do not claim to be what I am writing about. However, I do want this in my life and for every believer.

1) May we not limit God in any way. Yes, dear friend we can limit God. Somehow in His sovereignty He chooses to allow us to limit His work on earth as Jesus allowed when He went to His home town. He did fewer miracles there because of their unbelief.

 2) May God empower us to be all we must be to maximally impact this world for His kingdom.

May we be able to say along with Paul, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

May God daily teach us to pray. May God compell us to pray for the church.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Prayer is Essential

Saints,                                                                                                                               16 Dec 10

Prayer is essential.

How do you view prayer? How important is prayer to you? How important is prayer to your family? To your church? Well, to answer that question, answer another question…how much do you pray? If we truly believe that prayer is essential, we will pray. I want to go deeper here. The more aware we are of eternal reality, the more we must pray. If we truly see the real spiritual battle all around us, we will pray. We will pray because we know that we know that we cannot do anything about this battle on our own—the heavenly Father can do something. Prayer is essential. Please read these words by E. M. Bounds from his book, The Weapon of Prayer,

“It must never be forgotten that Almighty God rules this world. He is not an absentee God. His hand is ever on the throttle of human affairs. He is everywhere present in the concerns of time. “His eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men.” He rules the world just as he rules the church by prayer. This lesson needs to be emphasized and stressed in the ears of men of modern times and brought to bear with cumulative force on the consciences of this generation whose eyes have no vision for eternal things, whose ears are deaf toward God.

Nothing is more important to God than prayer in dealing with mankind. But it is likewise all-important for man to pray. Failure to pray is failure along the whole line of life. It is failure of duty, service, and spiritual progress. God must help man by prayer. He who does not pray, therefore, robs himself of God’s help and places God where he cannot help man. Man must pray to God if love for God is to exist. Faith and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom, and fruitage in prayer.” From chapter one, God Says Prayer is Essential.

What does this kind of prayer look like?

I can share with you I never cried over another person’s salvation until God got a hold of me in prayer. I have to believe that God gave me more of His heart for people, during that time. I’m not saying that we all have to go around crying all the time. Even so, we should be going around driven, compelled, even aching to reach others for Christ, because that is the heart we have in Christ. Let’s not smother these flames any longer! Burn, church. Burn white-hot, like you were designed to burn. Yes, may every non-believer see the church and know Jesus is God and He is real and He is the way, the truth and the life. May they know that they need Him and need to turn away from all else to pursue Him! Brothers and sisters let us ask God for His burning compassion for people—may love for Jesus and His love for people in us drive our lives!

Chris Tomlin sings in his song, All to Us,

Let the glory of Your name

Be the passion of the Church

Let the righteousness of God

Be a holy flame that burns

This is exactly how prayer is essential, but essential for what? I submit to you that we will not have passion for people, or compelling drive to love people, or an aching over souls without prayer. We will not have a burning desire to see God’s name glorified in our lives, our churches, our cities, and our nation without prayer. We might have dutiful religious activity with little fruit, but this is not what God destined the church for. Brothers and sisters, the church is God’s method to reach a world for Christ in victory. May we completely yield to God in this purpose on our knees.

We all know that Jesus said repeatedly, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” He is not referring to His name as a magic word, like “Hocus Pocus.” No, Jesus is saying that we lose our self in Him. We lose our agenda, our purposes. He fills us with His desire--His purposes. I think this is what Paul referred to in Galatians 2:20,

Galatians 2:20 (NASB)
²⁰ "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

So, I challenge you brothers and sisters, come to God in undistracted, focused times of prayer. Pour your heart out to Him. Ask Him to lead your prayer through the Holy Spirit. Pray through God’s Word. Ask God to give you the same spirit of intercession that Jesus has as He is praying on our behalf at the right hand of God the Father.

Let us declare with our lives that prayer is essential.

May God daily teach us to pray. May God compel us to pray for the church and for the world.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

How Intimate are You and The Heavenly Father?

Saints,                                                                                                                                  21 Dec 10

How intimate are you and The Heavenly Father?

I submit to you that no matter how you answer this question, God wants to go deeper in His relationship with you.

This is amazing. The Most High Creator God desires deep communion with each of us. This truth is very different than what most of the world’s religions assert about their gods. Most religions have a god who is distant and cannot be known intimately. No, not The One true, Most High God, He is a personal God, who values each person. He put a price tag on human life. He decreed that each human life was as valuable to him as His own Son. Let this steep for a while…you are as valuable to God as His own Son.

What does our God desire from us? Worship? Obedience? Brokenness? Loyalty? Repentance? Yes to all of these and more. He desires intimacy. Again, see how Jesus prayed in John 17,

John 17:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Yes, Jesus prayed for intimacy with God. This is not a closeness which selfishly focuses on our enjoyment only, no, this is a closeness which affects our hearts and minds and consequently impacts lives. This intimacy results in something. It transforms the lives of those around us. For those around us somehow see Jesus in us. They see His love. They see truth lived in the flesh. Jesus is the truth.

John 14:6 (ESV)
⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In other words, the eternity which has permeated our lives is spread to others so that people no longer wallow in temporal mud puddles, consumed with things that will burn up in the end. No, as they are brought to The Most High Creator God, as they see Him in us, they are filled with a desire for more of Him—they come into His light and chase the things of Him. They desire the eternal. They come to know God the Father and God the Son, just like Jesus says in John 17:3,

John 17:3 (ESV)
³ And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

This relationship with God is the core of our faith. We deeply commune with God every day. We abide in Him. He lives in us. His Holy Spirit leads, empowers, transforms, convicts, teaches, reminds, and even compels us. What then? What is the result of all of this? The result is Fruit! God uses our deep relationship with Him to produce fruit--fruit that remains (John 15:16).

Yes, Father, please help us to be closer to You. Convict us of anything that is hindering a deeper relationship with You. God, may our lives completely be filled by Your hope, love, peace, joy, and a compelling to pray so that we are completely useful to You--all to Your glory. Father, we want more of You. Father, we desire to see more fruit—fruit that remains.  

Yes, may the words of Hosea be our hearts’ desire today,

Hosea 6:3 (NASB)
³ "So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth."

See how Jeremiah makes it clear. We are to know God over and above wisdom, might, and riches,

 Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NASB)
²³ Thus says the Lord, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;
²⁴ but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the Lord.

So Saints,

How intimate are you and The Heavenly Father? I challenge you to make this your life priority. Know God more intimately. Pray for this. Diligently seek it. I believe this is the heart of revival—believers running after God. As we live this, a passion for God will spread. 

May God grant us a compelling passion to know Him more.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

We Must Pray and We Must Pray Together

Saints,                                                                                                                                   4 Jan 11

There is power in prayer—we must pray.

We do not fabricate or conjure up this truth. God designed it this way. Jesus instructed it. Prayer is how the church is supposed to work.

Today’s thoughts are divided into two truths, the first is that Jesus designed each of us to function in and through prayer. The second is that the church (any group of Christ followers) has power in praying together—power from God to accomplish God’s purposes, for God’s glory!

As we all know, a basic literary device used to emphasize a point is repetition. If the Son of the Most High, Creator God, decided to repeat something six times, how important would you think it is?  Jesus Christ repeats six times in John that if we ask anything in His name or according to His will, He will grant it. Here are the references for these passages for you to look up. Remember these come from a part of scripture which is referred to as Christ’s farewell discourse. Jesus is telling His Disciples how to carry on after He leaves them. In other words, this is what Jesus thinks is most important in order for His true followers to carry on. He is sharing how to love, work, serve, witness, and make disciples. Within this farewell narration is found the repeated instruction to pray (1 & 2: John 14:13-14, 3: John 15:7-8, 4: John 15:16, and 5 & 6: John 16: 23-24).

The Kneeling Christian is a powerful book about prayer written by (as the author described himself) an “unknown Christian.” Today, we believe that Albert Ernest Richardson is the “unknown Christian.” Here are his thoughts about Jesus’ call to prayer,

“Never before had our Lord laid such stress on any promise or command—never. This truly marvelous promise is given six times over. Six times, almost in the same breath, our savior commands us to ask whatsoever we will. This is the greatest—the most powerful—promise ever made to man. Yet most people—Christian people—practically ignore it. Is it not so?”

He continues…

“…So our blessed Master gives us the final exhortation, before He is seized, and bound, and scourged, before His gracious lips are silenced on the cross, “Ye shall ask in My name…for the Father himself loveth you” (John 16:26-27). We have often spent much time in reflecting upon our Lord’s last seven words on the cross. And it is well we should do so. Have we ever spent one hour in meditating upon our Savior’s sevenfold invitation to pray?”    (chapter two, Almost Incredible Promises) 

You may not agree with how Richardson chose to phrase his points, but the sad truth remains that many believers rarely pray—true, prevailing, life-changing, Holy Spirit-driven prayer.

David Platt says in his sermon, The All Satisfying Christ, that Daniel knew the importance of prayer as a “God ordained means to God ordained ends.”

Brothers and sisters, may we surrender to the Holy Spirit as He prompts or even compels us to pray, while at the same time giving us the very words to say in prayer.

On to the second point this week--God wants us to pray together.

Andrew Murray quote from With Christ in the School of Prayer, from lesson 15, The Power of United Prayer,

“Who can say what power a church could develop and exercise, if it gave itself to the work of prayer day and night for the coming of the kingdom, for God’s power on His servants and His Word, for the glorifying of God on the salvation of souls? Most churches think their members are gathered into one simply to take care of and build up each other. They know not that God rules the world by the prayers of His saints; that prayer is the power by which Satan is conquered; that by prayer the church on earth has disposal of the powers of the heavenly world. They do not remember that Jesus has, by His promise, consecrated every assembly in His Name to be a gate of heaven, where His presence is to be felt, and His power experienced in the Father fulfilling their desires.”

Yes Andrew, bring it on!

The Apostle Paul knew the power of corporate prayer.

To the Romans he says,

Romans 15:30 (ESV)
³⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,

To the Corinthians,

2 Corinthians 1:11 (ESV)
¹¹ You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

To the Ephesians,

Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

To the Thessalonians,

 2 Thessalonians 3:1 (NASB)
¹ Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;

As a missionary once said, “Prayer is the work.”  Another missionary to Asia in the early 2000’s was used by God to at one point to train 300-400 church planters per month. By 2003, God’s work in this area produced 9,320 new churches and 104,542 baptisms (Church Planting Movements, p291). “If you ask John the secret of this powerful movement, he will pull up his pants legs and show you the calluses on his knees. “You must spend two hours every day in prayer,” he says. (Garrison, p 290)

Father, help us to see the desperate need for prayer in our lives and for your kingdom’s impact. God, please give us your intercessory Spirit.

May God grant us a compelling passion to know Him more—to go deeper with God in prayer.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Jesus is Everything: Paul, Brother Lawrence, and a Friend

Saints,                                                                                                                                11 Jan 11

 

Jesus is everything. Yes, Jesus is everything.

Reality is not measured by stuff. Reality is not glass, plastic, rubber, metal, concrete, and bricks. Actually, true reality isn’t even family relationships. True reality is Jesus.

Many have embraced this truth through the ages. We see Abraham who believed the gospel and his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness. We see David who was a man after God’s own heart. We see Daniel who valued prayer--deep connection with his God as more important than breathing.

Today we will look at three people who have in some way communicated that Jesus is everything. First we will see the Apostle Paul. Then we will fast-forward 1600 years to Brother Lawrence. Finally, we will turn to a God-given gift and friend, Babak.

Please know that in no way am I trying to glorify these three men. God is God. God alone is worthy of all praise, glory, and honor. Today, however, we will see (or review) how these men through their lives and words proclaimed the truth that God is everything—He is reality.

Paul

I love how Paul lived not for himself, but for Christ. You may say, “Well of course, if God slammed me to the ground with intense light, blinded me, told me He was going to use me to open blind eyes and transfer folks to God’s kingdom forever, I would live for Christ too.” Even so, we do have the same Holy Spirit that Paul had living in us. Yes, may we live for Christ as Paul. We will look at two Bible passages to see Paul’s heart. Please read these slowly—let them sink in. Let’s ask God to work in our hearts so that Christ may truly be all to us.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Philippians 3:7-15 (NIV)
⁷ But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
¹⁵ All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Brother Lawrence

Brother Lawrence was a monk in the 1600s. His duty in life was to work in the kitchen. His passion in life was to be consumed with God’s presence every moment. We read from the book, The Practice of the Presence of God from the Pure Gold Classics Series published by Bridge-Logos, which is written about Brother Lawrence,

“The time of business does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, even while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.”

“Brother Lawrence says of his constant conversation with God, “I make it my business to rest in His holy presence, which I keep myself in by habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God. This often causes in me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes so outwardly, so great I am forced to use means to moderate them, and prevent their appearance to others.” (p 2)

On his death bed, Brother Lawrence summed up the same heart Paul had for Christ,

“We can do nothing better than abandon ourselves to God.”

He continues after being asked what was on his mind after taking the Lord’s Supper for the last time,

“I am doing what I shall do through eternity—blessing God, praising God, adoring God, giving Him the love of my whole heart. It is our business, my brothers, to worship Him and love Him without thought of anything else.”

Yes, Father, please help us to have the same complete simple devotion to You as Brother Lawrence expressed.

Babak

Babak is a dear brother in Christ. He became a Christ-follower in Iran and has paid dearly for his faith. His mother was the one who told the Mosque leaders that Babak was connecting with infidels (Christians). He has been threatened, tortured, beaten, and imprisoned for a year for his faith. He has lost his job, his savings, his cars and house. He is currently here in the US, seeking asylum while his wife and two daughters are in another country, waiting. They have been waiting to be reunited for over five years.

Over this past weekend I heard Babak give his testimony to a church in Southwest Colorado. It convicted me once again to see and hear alongside these dear brothers and sisters his gentle, soft-spoken expressions as he described being cut and beaten for his faith. As he spoke, I was impressed that he was not complaining about this horrible treatment—he was just describing his story for us. Babak finished by sharing, “I did not have anything, but I had God.” I imagine Paul might have told us his story in a similar way. Most likely, Brother Lawrence would have somehow rejoiced in such treatment for His Savior.

When Babak finished, Pastor Joe got up and gave a sermon based on Babak’s testimony using Luke 9:23-27 and 56-62 as his Scripture passage.

Luke 9:23-27 (NIV)
²³ Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
²⁵ What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
²⁶ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
²⁷ I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."

Luke 9:56-62 (NIV)
⁵⁶ and they went to another village.
⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
⁵⁸ Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
⁵⁹ He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
⁶¹ Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
⁶² Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

The most moving moment for me, followed Pastor Joe’s sermon as he asked Babak if all he suffered was worth knowing Jesus Christ. Joe asked, “Babak, would you do it again?” It took us a few tries to clearly explain this question so that Babak understood. The room was very quiet, patiently waiting for Babak’s response. You could see in his eyes the instant he understood the question and blurted out, “Oh yes!” As if to say, “Are you kidding me? Absolutely, I would do it all again. Absolutely, Jesus is worth it!” We ended the service by surrounding Babak and laying hands on him praying for him and his family.

Would you join us in that prayer? Please pray for Babak, that he will be granted asylum and be reunited with his family. But please do not stop there. Please pray that God would continue to use Babak’s story and others like him to awaken and revive our churches here in Colorado and the US.

So here is my question, “Are you willing to do or give whatever it takes to love God and be used by Him to glorify His kingdom? These three men answered this question with a resounding, “Yes!” both with their words and with their lives.

God, You are worth it! You are worthy of my (our) all. Father please grant us the same heart Paul and Brother Lawrence had, as well as the heart our dear friend Babak has for You.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Praying the Scriptures: Bold Suggestions

Saints,                                                                                                                                 18 Jan 11

I have to share something before we get to our main point today. Reading in Luke 15 this morning, I was reminded that Jesus spent time connecting with “sinners.” Yes, He even touched a coffin. Was He somehow stained by touching a box with a dead person in it? No, He transformed reality. After Jesus touched that coffin, the man rose from the dead. Jesus defines reality—he defines life. He is life! I confess that sometimes I don’t truly believe this for my actions don’t always point to this truth--we live what we believe. But, when I am resolute about this truth, God’s hope and confidence lead me to pray for bold things like revival in Colorado and Asia and Africa and Ireland, India, Sterling, Wiggins, Norwood, Montrose, Ridgeway, Denver, Aspen, Boulder, Karval and everywhere. One thing I have come to realize as we pray for revival...we have to be revived ourselves—it starts with us. We can’t pray for God to only revive or awaken others. This prayer request or heart-cry starts with praying for revival in us. In other words, may God make us the fire that spreads. Please, Saints, let us pray for this! Today, we will look at praying God’s Word boldly.  

As we have seen before, Jesus directs us to pray in His name and according to His Word. He repeats this direction six times. When He was preparing His disciples for His departure in John chapters 14-17, Jesus issued the command to pray in His name and according to His will six times. Within this farewell narration is found the repeated promise for prayer (1 & 2: John 14:13-14, 3: John 15:7-8, 4: John 15:16, and 5 & 6: John 16: 23-24). He then prayed including prayer for us in Chapter 17.  

Here are the first two of the six promises Jesus gives: 

John 14:13-14 (NASB)
¹³ "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

So, here are suggested passages in God’s Word to pray. Remember, we are to pray in Jesus’ name and according to His will. Praying in His name does not mean adding the phrase “In Jesus name” to whatever we dream up to pray, like a “hocus pocus” magic word. No, we pray His purposes for His glory as led by His Spirit.  

Let’s pray like John the Baptist lived, May we decrease and Christ increase in our lives, from God’s perspective… 

John 3:30 (NASB)
³⁰ "He must increase, but I must decrease.

Let’s pray like Paul prayed for believers, that they might have the eyes of their heart enlightened and that they will know the depths of God’s love… 

Ephesians 1:18-20 (NASB)
¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might ²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NASB)
¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

 Let’s boldly proclaim to God as John Hyde did,

“God, grant me souls or I die!” 

Let’s ask God for an undivided heart for Him—a life that is completely His, not compartmentalized or marginalized. This means we are the same Christ-follower at church, work, school, while shopping, as we are when we are on our knees.  

Psalms 86:11-12 (NASB)
¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. ¹² I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.  

Let’s pray as Jesus did for intimacy with the Father and churches which are in unity, all for God’s glory--that the world may know… 

John 17:20-23 (NASB)
²⁰ "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.  

Yes, Father, we pray in Jesus name for Your Holy name to be honored and glorified in the church—our churches. Father, may we truly make disciples and witness. May we be a picture of Your love to all others—now. Forgive us for forgetting the real purpose of the church. Forgive us for our apathy. Revive us again. God please hear and grant this request to Your glory. 

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve

Here and Now or Eternity?

Saints,                                                                                                             26 Jan 11

A few introductory thoughts,

The world does an excellent job at being the world, let us stop being surprised at this truth. We act as if the world’s job is to live by God’s principles—no, dear friends, that is our job!

The enemy is completely committed to stealing, killing and destroying. Let us realize this truth.

Brothers and sisters, this “here and now” existence is not our home. Even so, we act and live like it is. Frankly, I think we believe that this “here and now” existence is our home. If we are honest, we would have to admit our heart’s desire is personal security, and safety. Doesn’t this ring true in your heart? Oh, how I hope we disagree with that statement!

Let us understand very clearly. Our eternal safety and security is very important and God has secured that. But, our temporal, “here and now” safety and security has been laid on the altar—embrace this, Christian. May we, right now, live for Christ. Make the decision. Delete this email or hammer the stake in the ground of your life…we are the Lord’s—every part of our lives is His!

We are at war! Not a war in the flesh, but a war existing in the spirit. As Christ followers, we are in the middle of a battle. We may lose our lives—our “here and now” existence. Many have already lost their lives. It is time to ask, “What do I really value, my here and now, or eternity with Jesus Christ?” Let us remember our fundamental faith. Our Savior explained,

John 17:3 (ESV)
³ And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Father, I believe Your Word. If I love You, then my whole life (heart, actions, words, thoughts) is Yours. Not to just sit around and wonder. “God, what is Your will for my life?” No, You have made Your will abundantly clear in Your Word. I (we) exist to to deeply connect with You through Christ. We exist to adore You and worship You. We exist to value You above all else. We exist to first, be a true disciple ourselves and then be used by You to make disciples. We exist so that every cell, fiber, and element of our being glorifies and points to God. This is God’s will. Saints, I accept this. This morning, my confession to you is resolute:

Lord, take me. Take my family. Use us as You see fit. We are yours! We love You. We trust You!

What is your confession to God?

Three years ago, God changed my direction in life. I began a process of trying to figure out a calling. Of course, as we often do, I had my thoughts about what this would look like. Today, as I look back, I am amazed at how much God had to do in my life—He still has much to do to empty me of me and fill me with Himself. How great He is. How loving. How patient He is. How faithful God is.

Please read how our corporate heart for God is defined by Andrew Murray in His book, Absolute Surrender, p 69 and 85. We need Him!

“The will of the creature is nothing but an empty vessel in which the power of God is to be made manifest.”

“Do not let us think, because the blessed reformation restored the great doctrine of justification by faith, that the power of the Holy Spirit was then fully restored. If it is our faith that God is going to have mercy on His church in these last ages, it will be because the doctrine and the truth about the holy Spirit will not be studied, but sought after with a whole heart; and not only because that truth will be sought after, but because ministers and congregations will be found bowing before God in deep abasement with one cry: “We have grieved God’s Spirit; we have tried to be Christian churches with as little as possible of God’s Spirit; we have not sought to be churches filled with the Holy Ghost.”

My prayer,

Oh God, please step up Your work in our lives. Please, do not allow one person to die in sin—to die without a deep knowledge of You, without a relationship with You. Father, fill me (us) with You. May others know Jesus Christ, not me. God, it hurts me to see myself or others dig our prideful, selfish heels in and resist You in any way—how this must displease and hurt You. No God, forgive us. We yield. We surrender. We freely give ourselves. We love you more. We desire You. We yearn to see Your kingdom come, now! Father, we may not deserve the out-pouring of Your reviving Spirit, but we must have it. Too much is at stake. There is urgency. God revive us so that the dead in sin are raised in Christ.

Revive us so that Your name is glorified. Father, we write You a blank check. We do not desire cultural security and personal safety over Your name receiving glory and honor. Father, if it means taking our coveted church buildings so that we as believers “wake-up” and cherish You more—please take them. Many throughout this world do not have church buildings, but they do have an all-consuming love for You. God, we are yours. You bought us with an amazing price, May You be the center of our lives. Make us true Christians. Make us Christ-followers. Make us true worshipers who worship You in Spirit and in Truth!   We cry out to You and ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Compelled to pray and desperate for God, Steve