How’s Your Prayer Life?

by | Feb 28, 2018 | discipleship, prayer

This past Sunday, I shared a message (found HERE) from God’s Word to the people I have the privilege to call “my church,” (not that they are mine as if I died for them, but that God has entrusted to me the privilege and responsibility to shepherd them and teach them the things of God, in season and out of season). The message related to the series we are studying that examines what qualities, characteristics, and disciplines the Lord seems to use most often to accomplish great things for His glory and His Kingdom work. This week we looked at kingdom prayer from Luke 11:1-13.

In Luke’s account of what many call “The Lord’s Prayer” but should more accurately be called the “Model Prayer,” we find several key elements of prayer that reaches heaven. I shared five of those elements in the message:

  • A FOCUS on God’s GLORY.
  • A DESIRE for God’s KINGDOM.
  • A DEPENDENCE on God’s PROVISION.
  • An APPRECIATION for God’s PEACE.
  • A PASSION for God’s HOLINESS.

What I think is telling is that Jesus doesn’t stop with a form or format for prayer, but continues to express that kingdom empowered, world-changing, life-transforming prayer is also PERSISTENT as it continues until the burden is lied (like the man knocking at the door at midnight). Further, it is CONFIDENT in the fact that God answers the prayers of His people and always answers in a GOOD manner. Those examples, that Jesus gives inform us and instruct us. They also may convict us.

As I reviewed the message myself again today, I was impressed with these two questions:

How’s my prayer life?

How’s the prayer life of God’s people at Calvary…my people?

So, perhaps you’d ask yourself:

“Does my daily prayer life exhibit these things?”

If so, Praise the Lord and press on. If not, today is a great day to begin or begin again.

Make a difference for the King today!

If you’d like to view the message on prayer, CLICK HERE to be taken to my video channel.

Don’t Discount the Difficulties…

by | Feb 27, 2018 | Devotions, discipleship, Faith, Leadership, Pastor's Reflections

Life is hard. Even on its best days, there are moments that test you, try you, and even grieve you. Some believe that difficulties are the times we must endure so that we can get back to God’s plan for our lives. In these cases, it is as if the difficulties are an interruption to God’s good favor on our lives. What if, however, difficulties were significant and good and glorious and God’s design?

I was meditating on Psalm 23 this morning and thinking through events of recent days. This verse arrested me: “Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because You are with me…” (Psalm 23:4).

No one volunteers for “the valley of the shadow of death.” That would be crazy; however, it was in the valley that David recognized God’s presence. (Because You are with me…)

This observation is not new. It is not trendy. It is not unique to the Old Testament. It is, rather, a consistent theme. It was under a Juniper tree in the desert when God sent an angel to minister to Elijah. It was walking on the waters of the Sea where Peter experienced Jesus’ salvation. It was in the prison that Paul and Silas, having endured beatings and humiliation that they were stirred in their hearts and sang hymns that ushered God’s saving presence into the jail and saved a household.

James opens his epistle by reminding us to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (James 1:2-3).

Perhaps a better view of trials and difficulties is required. When facing the trials, consider these five things:

  • What is God Doing? If this trial is intended to cause me to stumble, it is not a trial but a temptation…meaning that it is not God who is acting. (James 1:13).
  • Where is God working? God never wastes His time. Pause and pray, asking to see what God is up to. What areas of the trial are most heart-wrenching and prevalent.
  • How does this trial build on what I learned in the last one? In my experience, God doesn’t use a one and done (Like: Oh, you need some humility. Here is a humbling experience. Check. Ok, back to your regularly scheduled life—God).
  • What are you confessing? Often, our trials are connected to the sins we are confessing. For instance, “God I struggle to love others with a love like Christ. Forgive me…” This may be followed by a trial of loving an unlovely person or losing an opportunity to love someone…through death or disconnection.
  • Who is God putting in your path? If you read and reflect on 2 Corinthians 1, you realize that God is always shaping us through our experiences to be a conduit of comfort and grace toward others. Often, God teaches me compassion toward others by allowing me to experience a similar struggle. This really does influence my empathy.

Ultimately, if we hold to a correct doctrine of God’s sovereignty we must declare that God is sovereign both on the mountaintops and in the valleys. So…don’t discount the difficulties. They are gracious gifts from a loving and sovereign King.

I Did Not Know You Were Watching…

by | Feb 26, 2018 | discipleship, Faith, Leadership, parenting, Pastor's Reflections

It goes by so quickly. One minute, you’re warming up bottles of milk and the next, they’re in college. Well, maybe it isn’t quite that fast…but it sure seems that way. What I know to be true is this, it went faster than I imagined and the lessons of life that seemed most impactful to my children were not the “intentional messages,” but those they observed by my conduct. This is no small matter! I preach the gospel with words every week…yet the messages that resonated most deeply, that influenced most effectively, that influenced behavior most predictably were those that were less intentional.

If this is true, perhaps we would do well to consider, What am I teaching unintentionally? Better yet, “How can I use unintentional opportunities INTENTIONALLY?”

Here is what I mean:

No parent ever tells me that they hope that their children grow up to be apathetic toward God. That’s crazy…yet what if we are actually teaching apathy? Is it possible that our children learn about passion for God from observing our passion?

No parent ever says, “I hope my kids value sports more than Jesus…or work more than Jesus,” but our unintentional messages (example) may be teaching that very truth as normal and acceptable.

In a day and age when we are so shocked that, according to a recent study, kids believe it is a more morally wrong matter to “not recycle” than to tell a lie…we must ask, “How can we change the trajectory?”

Here are four suggestions:

  • Model Commitment to “best” things. We always had a rule in my house that if you signed up for something, you finished your commitment. When our boys signed up for band, they were expected to complete the whole season. When the joined a team, they were expected to compete for the entire season. What if we placed that same commitment on ourselves and our children regarding our faith? I mean…model being moms and dads who choose on Saturday night to worship on Sunday morning.
  • Model Service over Consumerism. I love to see families that serve in the church and have their kids alongside. Whether in the foyer serving as greeters or on a team caring for the grounds… service is elevated. The result will likely be that when they begin to choose these things for themselves, they will choose wisely.
  • Model Value for Worship and Small Groups. I know that time is precious, but can you believe that some families will only participate in a worship service or a small group for 90 minutes in an entire week? What happens then? Well, if you don’t insist on your child participating in worship, he or she will come to see corporate worship as optional. If they only come to worship, they’ll see small group ministry (which is vital…as optional). Who among us wants our children to devalue one of these while they are raising our grandchildren?
  • Model Dependency in Every Area of Family. Take time to be caught learning. Let the family catch you reading the Scripture according to a disciplined schedule. Let them see you pray for wisdom and insight on decisions–big and small. Let them join you in seeking the Lord’s answers and direction.

Leadership in these areas affects future trajectory. 3 John 4 reminds us of the joy in a parent’s heart when seeing his grown children walking according to the proper example.

Remember, we are always leading. The question is not IF, but WHERE and HOW.

It is rigged!

by | Feb 12, 2018 | church, discipleship, pastor

Ok. It’s rigged! That was the young man’s conclusion after the third attempt at the carnival game. He was ten dollars into his quest and that stuffed animal was as safe as anything under the sun. He realized that the game had a predetermined outcome and a preset means to win. All other attempts will fail.

Years of looking at the process of how Jesus grows believers have convinced me of this truth: The process is rigged. There may be different pathways to maturity but they all involve community if Jesus is involved. Consider this:

  • Jesus discipled in groups. Sure, he had individual encounters with people, but there were 12 disciples and 3 of those in the inner circle. He trained developed people in groups.
  • The New Testament was predominantly written to churches (communities of believers). Some may correctly observe that the pastoral letters (Timothy and Titus), as well as Philemon, are addressed to individuals, but it is not a far stretch to argue that the subject matter was meant for a much broader audience. Still, that leaves well over 90% of the actual content as intended for communities rather than individuals.
  • Finally, there is no small emphasis on relationships, offense, and forgiveness in the New Testament. It seems that when people get together (community) they can “rub wings” and need to regain alignment. (See Matthew 5:21-26, 18:15-18; Eph 5:21-27, 6:1-9, et.al.)

A favorite tool of the enemy to inhibit growth (at least here in the West and particularly in America) is the infatuation we have with individualism and the nearly universal availability of information. The internet makes information as accessible as the phone in your pocket. If you want to know something about anything, Google lets you type it into a search bar, even poorly worded and misspelled, and spits out a gazillion possible matches in a fraction of a second. This access has reduced the reliance on the church as the dispenser of truth about God and His purposeful design. IOW…why go to a church and listen to stuff you may not agree with alongside people you don’t necessarily have a lot in common with, when you can dial up a podcast of some famous guy across town or across the country and listen in the deer stand?

Here’s what is true as I understand the Scriptures: You cannot make it to maturity apart from the community. Consequently, neither can your children or teens…but they won’t know that until after their values are established by the example and incidental leadership of their parents. (What I mean is, if we as parents model in our actions that corporate worship, small group engagement, and relational alignment are unimportant, we set a foundational stone that will guide the conduct of our younger ones perhaps for a generation or more!)

So, how do we move toward maturity?

  • Be as committed to and engaged in corporate community (church) as we are to our employers or our kids’ cheer squad or traveling soccer team. I we would commit to three practices a week for baseball, could we really argue that the spiritual maturity of our family deserves less?
  • Be engaged in small group ministry. (Yes, engagement is more than membership or sitting through a lesson on Sunday).
  • Get married! Commit yourself to one church and one church system. In a world of ubiquitous information it is easy to find Chandler’s podcast, or the church down the road’s singles ministry…but if you’re committed to your church (via formal or implied membership), placing your trust in these other venues may not only be hurtful to your own community, but harmful to your development.

There are a ton of other things we could talk about or adopt regarding community. What is always true and, really, beyond honest debate:

  • Jesus loves us, and therefore always acts in our best interest and His glory.
  • Jesus designed church as a preferred community for His people. It is not optional. It is a design.
  • The closer we are to His design, the more fulfilling we will find the life He created us for.

Be Redemptive, not just Receptive…

by | Feb 6, 2018 | discipleship, Leadership, pastor

“Hey pastor! So-and-so is upset over _____ and thinks that the direction you are taking is wrong. I prayed with them and, after learning that they had not yet talked with you about it, set up for the two of us to meet with you. Can we do that Tuesday?”

Man! If only every conflict and misunderstanding conversation went like that! Unfortunately, they often go a little differently.

“Pastor. So-and-so left the church because they were upset about ____ and no one ever fixed it. They shared it in Sunday School and the class batted it around, but nothing changed.”

Or, even more often… “Pastor, “a man” (who wants to remain anonymous) is really upset over ____. He shared with me “in confidence” and I prayed with him, but it doesn’t seem to be getting better. He is just more angry. I think he is probably going to leave the church. I know he hasn’t talked with you and I think he should but don’t feel right telling him since he is comfortable sharing his concerns and I don’t want to damage that. I can’t tell you his name…but just know that this man is upset and pray for him.”

Now…none of these conversations are real (at least today), but they have been through the years. They point to a need that I think exists for the believer who wants to do the right thing but doesn’t know how.

What do you do when someone wants to “share” with you a concern involving another person? Should you be receptive or redemptive?

If you listen to that “inner voice,” for a thousand reasons, you’ll want to be receptive; however, Jesus specifically gave us a redemptive ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-21, Gal 6:1-2, Matt 5:21-26, Matt 18:15-18, et.al.). If Jesus is Lord, and our playbook is the Word of God, then our response must be determined by God! After all, He may have invited us into this situation to minister FOR HIM by helping one of His precious ones be redeemed. But, this takes CONFIDENCE in the Lord and COURAGE in our hearts.
In a world of one-directional communication where opinions rule the day…this seems to be increasingly difficult…but if you love Jesus, you can do it!

Here are 5 Steps to being Redemptive rather than being merely Receptive.

  • PRAY. Not merely for courage, but for wisdom. You are about to speak for God.
  • LISTEN. Try to get the story…but start with the parts that matter most. Is the person personally involved or are they “carrying water” for someone else? Have they spoken with the offender directly? If not, was that by design or just a mistake?
  • LEAD. Listening alone, in these examples, is not a biblical approach. If you are going to get involved, you have to speak for the Lord. Lead the person to act biblically and go get answers. Sometimes that means walking with them through the process, even though that is not always the best first step.
  • LOVE. Choose to think charitably about motives. Even if the motives are wrong, the person has worth and there is usually a nugget of value in every criticism (or critical question). If you discover this is not the case in this matter, love them enough to gently redirect them…but redirect them at all costs.
  • LEAVE. Sometimes, a person is entrenched in their mindset and unwilling to move or be moved. In this case, it is often best to extract yourself from the discussion. Every time they recount their story they solidify it deeper in their minds. They start to really believe it as fact. You actually hurt their redemptive process by allowing them to rehearse their disagreement repeatedly and unchallenged. Graciously and lovingly point out what it takes to go to the next step of the redemption process and if they will not go there with you, move on. Your silence may inspire them to come back to that step one day, and if so, pick up where you left off.

Why is this process so critical? Beyond the obvious practical considerations…because Jesus said so. If He is all-knowing and wise, loving and gracious…we should, could, and must trust Him on matters He speaks to by walking in humility and obedience in a manner consistent with His Word.

Not Alone in the Dark…

by | Jan 22, 2018 | Devotions, discipleship, Pastor's Reflections

We never “really” get over it. That feeling that what we cannot see just might “get us!” When we were small children, our parents may have installed nightlights to show us that nothing was really in the room with us at bedtime. They may have inspected the closet and looked under the bed to demonstrate that nothing bad was there. They may have even explained to us all the reasons our fears were irrational and reminded us that they were on the far side of the house (away from us) and that if we needed them…we only needed to cry out.

The feeling never went away. We wondered if the object of our fears might be lurking in a shadow or may have been overlooked when inspecting the closet. Our real issue was not the darkness but the sense that we were alone.

How does one find peace from the fear and anxiety that bad things happen when we are alone?

I think this is the heartbeat of Jesus’ statement to His followers just prior to His ascension back to the Father in heaven… “and I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

Jesus never promised that bad people or bad things would not come against us. He never declared our lives to be filled with unicorns and cotton candy. He, in fact, declared the opposite, “In this world you will have tribulation!” (John 16:33). And at the same time, Christ indicated that we could experience a profound peace, even amid our difficult circumstance.

God’s PEACE is not experienced based on the absence of trouble but on the presence of God.

In Psalm 23, David declared, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me.” God’s presence put our “trouble” in perspective.

A boy was having difficulties with a bully on the walk to school. After several confrontations, he was so afraid of what would happen that he dreaded even walking that way again. His father, recognizing the real issue, did not promise to remove the bully but chose instead to walk with his son on the journey the next day. When they faced the bully kid along the walk, there was no issue. The bully was the same, but the son had confidence because his dad was bigger than the bully and HE WAS WITH HIM.

Today, as you face the challenges that are guaranteed to come, don’t fear the dark or dread being alone. If you are His child, you are never alone…not even in the dark. “Fear not for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God.” (Isaiah 41:10).