Category Archives: Purpose

Daily Struggles of Life, Prayer, Purpose, Scripture, Struggles, hardship

Prayer’s Content

Posted by admin on June 3, 2010 at 10:18 am.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Eph 3:16-19).

                Prior to almost any group session of prayer, it is the usual custom to ask the group for specific requests that should be prayed for. Typically these requests include a relative’s minor physical ailment or an acquaintance or family member that has become involved with a vice of some sort. There is nothing wrong with praying for these things. God is concerned for every care that weighs down our hearts.

                But when we read the New Testament we see a completely different content to Paul’s prayers than ours. The prayer quoted above (and it is representative of many others) is not concerned with relieving the temporal physical needs of individuals. Paul seemed to know that if his Ephesian friends understood how great is the God we serve, the minor physical needs would take care of themselves. The goal of his prayer seems to be closer to the formation of the likeness of Christ in his friends than it is to the relief of some physical pain.

                Now we all understand that there are times when a physical malady inhibits our service to Christ, so it is appropriate to pray about that physical malady. But why not rather make the focus of our prayer to be the restoration to fruitful service or to the accomplishment of the internal qualities that God may be seeking to develop rather than simply the relief from physical suffering?  An outsider might properly get the impression that our first and foremost concern is freedom from pain and difficulty. This was not the kind of prayer that Paul modeled for us in the New Testament.

                Here’s a challenge: identify an individual for whom you regularly pray. Then find a passage of Scripture that describes what you think God wants to accomplish in that person’s life. For example, since I want my son to take the Truth he has been taught and apply it more fervently to his life, I pray “that the eyes of his heart be enlightened that he may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19).

Each day as you pray for him/her, remind God of His own Word. By the end of a week you will have accomplished two things: (1) you will have prayed for your friend about what God Himself says He wants accomplished, and (2) you will have memorized a passage of Scripture.

Peace, Purpose, Satisfaction

My Portion

Posted by admin on March 25, 2010 at 6:22 pm.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Ps 73:25-26

                Having grown up in a family with six children, I have always understood the word “portion.” When a pie was served in my family, I could only expect one piece – it was my portion.

                The writer of the 73rd Psalm – Asaph – understood this principle as well. There are lots of things this world has to offer a man – fame, riches, pleasures, health, etc. – but his portion was God Himself. His claim on God was both for this life as well as for heaven.

                When God is our “strength” and our “portion,” we can face all of the trials of life with a resource that those who claim the other portions will never have. Fame is fleeting at best. Magic Johnson was a household name when he was in his prime in the NBA. Today his name is merely associated with a chain of household and electronic rentals. It’s an honest living, but far from the fame he used to command. Riches never satisfy; just ask Donald Trump as he keeps striving for more and more. Hugh Hefner desperately tries to find his portion in pleasures, but even if he can still enjoy some sexual satisfaction, it will end finally and forever when he meets Christ.

                But for Asaph and all who have followed his example, there is an abiding joy that attends their lives even in times of trouble. God created us for a purpose and when we fulfill that purpose there is peace, joy and satisfaction. But when we try to find it in the many things that this world has to offer, we will always come up empty.

                Clara Williams wrote the words of an old hymn in the Nineteenth Century which says,

All my life long I had panted for a drink from some cool spring.

                That I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within.

Hallelujah! I have found Him, whom my soul so long has craved –

                Jesus satisfies my longings, Through His blood I now am saved.

 

Poor was I and sought for riches, Something that would satisfy.

                But the dust I gathered round me only mocked my soul’s sad cry.

Hallelujah! I have found Him, whom my soul so long has craved –

                Jesus satisfies my longings, Through His blood I now am saved.

Messiah, Purpose, Righteousness, Scripture

Search the Scriptures

Posted by admin on March 14, 2010 at 9:56 pm.

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39-40

The King James translation of these verses omits the first word “You,” thereby making this statement a command, and while it works, most translators think the context would suggest that this is a declaration of the attitudes of the Pharisees and religious leaders toward the Scriptures.

Something in me wants to make this a command, because it is what men should do, especially those who claim to know Jesus. I want it to be a command because such a statement is the passion of my life and ministry. But, alas, I recognize that this desire in me is just a fleshly attitude, justifying my desire that men study the Scriptures. There are plenty of other places where my passion can be expressed legitimately.

No matter how we approach this verse – as a command or a declaration – Jesus is clear that the testimony of the whole of Scripture is about Him. The historical sections of the Old Testament describe His sovereign activity in the lives of His people. The Psalms often describe His workings in the emotions of individuals that trust in Him. And the prophetic sections tell of the declarations and commands that He has given to His people. Sprinkled throughout are a large number of specific predictions about the life and ministry of Messiah – Jesus.

We who love a spouse or child learn all we can about that person. We know what makes them happy, what makes them sad or angry and a function of our love is to use this knowledge to please them. It should be the same with Jesus. In fact, I dare say that the fact that we haven’t made Jesus our passionate study suggests that we don’t love Him like we say we do. I fear that this will be the indictment upon our generation.

Daily Struggles of Life, Maturity, Pain, Perseverance, Prayer, Purpose, Struggles, hardship

Never Give up

Posted by admin on March 8, 2010 at 9:08 am.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1

                One of the most famous speeches that Winston Churchill ever delivered was given, as I understand it, after WWII. Churchill was the Prime Minister of England who stood up to Adolf Hitler, instead of giving in to the “peace in our time” policy of his predecessor. In this famous speech, he came to the podium and simply said, “Never… Never… Never give up.” Then he sat down.

Whether my memory of this speech is exactly accurate or not, it is the same theme that Jesus had in His parable in Luke 18. I admit to you that I don’t understand why prayer often seems to go unanswered, but the reason is not the apathy of the God we serve. Neither is it that He is too busy or that He has forgotten us. As best I can understand, it has something to do with the work He is trying to accomplish in me.

Unlike parents whose job it is to give their children “roots and wings,” maturity in Christ involves an increasing dependence upon Him for every need we have. The more we are conscious of our need, the greater will be the glory He will receive when He answers our prayer. It was not a failure on God’s part that Abraham and Sarah were barren up to her 90th birthday; it was not an oversight that Moses found himself between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army; it wasn’t because God didn’t care that Jehoshaphat the king found himself threatened by a vast army; and it wasn’t because God had overlooked something that Hezekiah faced impending destruction at the hands of the Assyrian army. Each of these events – and many more – became an occasion for the Sovereign King to show the glory of His power before a watching world. Each of the human characters found himself in an acutely uncomfortable position, but they had surrendered themselves to His purposes and to live for His honor.

This is what Jesus tells us we need to do as well – never give up. We are to recognize that unless He delivers us, we are lost; unless He intervenes, we have no hope. Though this position is exceedingly uncomfortable, our comfort is not His primary concern, and should not be ours either. We are here to glorify God – to demonstrate the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His light. And if we die in the process – either figuratively or literally – our reward will be that much greater.

Faith, Purpose, conversion

The Gospel Yeast

Posted by admin on February 27, 2010 at 11:58 am.

Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”  Luke 13:20-21

                This is one of the few times in Scripture where yeast is not compared to sin. Most often it is used to speak of the way sin changes the state of a person’s heart. But in this case, that change is a positive one. The Gospel (the kingdom of God) actually alters the very nature of human development.

                I came to know Christ in college. To many around me, the changes that took place in my life were probably considered changes that came with maturity and human development, but I knew different. There was a significant difference between the “BC” person and who I became.

                Though my life as sheltered and stable, I grew up with no real sense of personal value. Before I came to Christ, I had no understanding of why I existed. I was scared to try new things because I feared ridicule or that I would fail and people would think poorly of me. I’m sure it was not intentionally communicated, but I believed my personal worth was a function of some unique contribution that I knew was not in me. Had I embraced an Eastern mystical religion in those days, it would have fit my don’t-rock-the-boat demeanor. I wasn’t passionate about anything so that I would avoid being criticized.

                But Christ changed that. His presence in my life began to permeate everything I was and did. That “small” decision to trust Him with my life suddenly impacted the whole of my life, just like the yeast did to the dough in Jesus’ illustration. I recognized the Bible as the source of Truth; I saw Jesus as the Ruler over the universe; I may not have had clear vocational direction, but I knew it was somehow connected to my relationship with Him. All the pieces of my life that had previously seemed so fragmented, now were brought into order by His presence, like a magnet does to iron filings.

                But it makes me wonder about some of the people near me. Has their internal orientation changed because of their decision to trust Christ? (Has the Gospel yeast permeated their lives?) Rather, have they viewed Christianity as “fire insurance,” simply to keep them from hell? When small children (even my own) trust Christ, does the Gospel yeast so alter their lives that they will be true to it in the turbulent adolescent years and beyond? Certainly, I can never peer into the hearts of these near me, but He does expect me to inspect the “fruit” or see if “the dough has risen.”