A Good Conversationalist

The prayer of the upright is His delight. – Proverbs 15:8

What if your loved ones only communicated with you in prescribed, rote, memorized fashion? What if they never deviated from certain written phrases? No matter how eloquent the phrases, wouldn’t you be disappointed? If my children only addressed me when they wanted something and did it in a very formal, ritualized fashion (in old English) it would drive me crazy! “Our Father, who art in the living room, how handsome thou art today,” they might say. “Thy fatherhood be established, thy will be done upstairs as well as downstairs. Give us this day our weekly allowance, and forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven our siblings. And don’t make our chores too difficult, but deliver us from hard labor. For thine is the authority, the wisdom and the ability to do these things. Thank you.” After a couple of times, I might refuse to answer simply out of pique!

Prayer is more than a rehearsal of a series of words - whether the words come from the Bible or a famous liturgy. If you utter the words more from the throat than from the heart or mind, don’t be surprised when you don’t seem to get the deep abiding centeredness you seek.

Genuine prayer is our conversation with God. It expresses our deepest feelings, our greatest desires and our worst nightmares to Someone who truly is concerned. To simply recite preset words at God rather than speaking to God implies that He is without a will. It implies that He is a machine that will respond to a set of stimuli in a given way every time. It denies His personhood. It demeans God.

By adoration, thanksgiving, confession of sin and petitions for mercies and gifts we ascend to the very throne room of God and come to know Him. The very act of searching deep within ourselves for what to say changes us. Prayer is like a being on a boat and pulling on the line that is tied to shore. You get closer, yes – but it is because YOU are moving. Prayer is intense. It is hard work. It reveals the depths of our sin, it shows us the limits of our capabilities, and renders us down to the essentials before an Almighty God.

However, like any good conversation, it is also a delight. Once in a while, you meet someone who is a great conversationalist. In other words they are interested in you! They ask good questions; they are interested in your history; they like to hear of your victories; they appreciate the life wisdom you can share. They ask your advice…then actually ACT on it! God is looking for a good conversation. He delights in it. Why not simply try talking to Him instead of reciting to Him? The last time we spoke He said He would really appreciate it.

A Satisfied Princess

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him. - 1 Corinthians 2:9

There once was a princess who married a very wealthy commoner. He loved his wife and wanted to please her. So he bought her a huge mansion filled with the most expensive furniture money could buy. He purchased an exquisite wardrobe with each dress having been hand-made by the most famous designers. There were servants for every imaginable need.

However, while she smiled when he presented her with yet another gift, she never seemed to be interested in those things for very long. She didn’t quite seem…impressed. Discouraged because she was unmoved by his efforts, he finally asked her what was wrong. Her response was that no matter what he gave her, she could expect even better from her father the king.

Your soul is the princess. Your soul was born to be in fellowship with God. That is what you were designed to be. No amount of material things will ever be able to satisfy your soul because it has heavenly tastes. You may have an excellent spouse, wonderful children, an adequate job, a sufficiently large house, all the furniture you need…but are you satisfied?

Do you look for satisfaction out of the next big ticket item? Do you wait for that next vacation to some glamorous place with anticipation? Do you remember the last vacation? How did you feel when it was over? Weren’t you exhausted? Weren’t you glad to be home? Didn’t it almost seem like you needed a vacation to recover from your vacation?

How about praise? Do you look to people to satisfy your longing for acceptance and love? Do you get upset when you are not sufficiently praised? Are you tempted to quit when people simply don’t appreciate you? Guess what – they never will. Think about it: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God in flesh, the only perfect human, the one who spent his entire life serving others, was crucified for his efforts.

Why did God, who is perfect and perfectly self-sufficient, create mankind? I believe that He wanted to share the bliss of the Trinity’s communion with us. Jesus told us that He wants us to be one with Him as He was one with the Father. He told us that He wants us to have abundant joy! God wants to share His bliss with us.

All worldly happiness is as ephemeral as the breath of a deer on a dark winter’s night. Happiness will disappear when its cause disappears. Joy, however, that deep inner satisfaction that can exist even in the darkest, bleakest night of human suffering, is forever. Why not develop a better taste in satisfaction? Give your soul what it longs for – heaven’s bliss – communion with the King.

A Great House Falls

I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me. I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. – 1 Samuel 2:30b-31a

Eli was a good man with bad sons, a frequent phenomenon in the Bible. Eli’s two sons were supposed to assist him at the temple, but they began to take for themselves meat that was supposed to be sacrificed to God. As if that was not enough, they took the meat by force and they also slept with women who came to worship at the temple! Eli tried halfheartedly to rebuke them but was too weak to disown or dismiss them. So God condemned Eli for permitting his sons to continue their sins, thus honoring them more than the Lord. He predicted terrible, seemingly eternal punishment to the House of Eli: both his sons would die on the same day, and none of his other descendants would live a long life. In 1 Samuel 3:14, God told Eli through Samuel that because his sons committed sacrilege and he did not rebuke them, the iniquity of the house of Eli would never be expiated by sacrifice or offering. Note that God did not say that their iniquity would never be atoned for by sincere repentance and change of behavior. He just specified that ritual acts, such as bringing sacrifices, would not effect expiation.

There are lessons to learn from this tragic story. The first is that natural birth is not a qualification for spiritual service. Some families seem to have a history of service in certain fields. But men cannot inherit qualifications which fit them to be moral leaders and spiritual guides. If birth and blood and time-honored custom could qualify men for a moral service, then Eli’s sons would have been destined to be great men of God. Yet they were miserable failures. They did not know the Lord (2:12). You cannot rely on your family’s religiosity or faithful church attendance. The only thing that will help you is your own personal walk with God.

Also, when we reject the great advantages that God grants us, we become even worse sinners than the common ilk. I sometimes refer to this principle as the “Law of Light”. Everyone receives a certain amount of “enlightenment” from God. Call it grace, call it truth, call it opportunity, call it whatever you want – it comes from God and is given to every human. According to the Parable of the Talents, when we “bury” these opportunities, we do not merely remain at a spiritual stand still. Whatever light was originally given is taken away! We are left in a more darkened and sin-stained condition than we started! Therefore, make sure that whatever truth God sends your way that you react positively to it; being not just a hearer of the Word but a doer of it.

The Second Sin

The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” – Genesis 3:12-13

A lot has been said about the first sin. Philosophers often wonder about it, though the average person doesn’t usually give it much thought. But the second sin may, in fact, be more important because we’ll never recover from the first sin as long as we’re guilty of the second. No matter what the sin, no matter the problem, we have a God who has the solution, if only we will avail ourselves of Him. But this second sin renders us incapable of receiving aid. So what is the second sin? It is the sin of passing the buck, shifting the blame.

As we see in this passage, after Adam and Eve sinned, God came (as was His custom) walking in the garden. God, knowing everything and being everywhere simultaneously, knew exactly what they had done, but He came looking for them anyway. He even tried to give them the chance to own up to their sin. I am firmly convinced that if they had simply “fessed up” and repented, He would have forgiven and rehabilitated them. Why am I so convinced? Because Humanity’s long and sordid history is full of stories of God seeking us out to forgive us and restore us to fellowship. But Adam and Eve didn’t repent. They didn’t confess. They blamed others. And because they would not take personal responsibility for their sin, they blocked God’s forgiving powers.

This is the very essence of the unpardonable sin. People always ask what the unpardonable sin is. It is not suicide. It is described in Matthew 12:31 as the “sin against the Holy Spirit.” And in Mark 3:28-29 we see that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit “never has forgiveness”. What exactly is the Holy Spirit’s role? What does He do that we could blaspheme against Him? Christ tells us that the Spirit’s role is to testify about Christ Himself (John 15:26). This gives us our clue. The Holy Spirit constantly points toward the atoning work of Christ. He always speaks of the Son and directs us to accept His Lordship. Since it is only through the finished work of Christ that we may receive forgiveness, refusing the Spirit’s message of salvation by grace through faith in Christ means you are refusing forgiveness.

One last word on this – notice that Adam was even brazen enough to blame God for his own sin! “The woman YOU GAVE ME” he said. If you harden yourself against the gentle whispers of the Holy Spirit about your sinful condition and about the source of your salvation, you will end up even blaming God for your own sin. Then, not even God Himself can help you.

The First Sin

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6

Adam and Eve were living in an absolutely perfect setting called Eden. They had everything their hearts desired. The only thing forbidden was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

One day a spectacular visitor, the serpent, struck up a conversation with Eve. The serpent raised in Eve’s mind a question about the goodness of God: Why would God refuse her and Adam the privilege of anything in the Garden, especially something that obviously was the most desirable thing there? And then, an accusation: God refuses you this fruit because He knows it will make you equal to Him. So Eve was convinced, and she ate. Being generous by nature, she shared the fruit with her husband, and he ate. And that was the first sin.

The Bible, in its profound wisdom, portrays the first sin with a simple image. If it had described the sin as the violation of a specific commandment, we humans would ever after have thought that act to be the worst sin and probably the only one to worry about. But the writer of Genesis simply gave us a picture. The first sin was eating the forbidden fruit. Disbelief leading to disobedience is the essence of humanity’s sin.

Adam and Eve lacked faith in the goodness of God. The circumstances may have changed since those days in Paradise, but today, the temptation remains the same. The devil tempts us by causing us to doubt God’s goodness. He whispers in our ears, “If God really loved you, wouldn’t he want you to have fun?” Or, “God doesn’t really care about that little trifling sin, does He?”
Do you ever wonder why God hates sin so much? It’s because He knows how damaging it is. He does not wake up in the morning and rub His hands together in glee as He comes up with new rules and regulations to make you miserable. He loves you! He wants you to have the most joy possible. As Jesus put it, “I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” God wanted to keep Adam and Eve from the tree because they already knew goodness! The only thing they could learn from it was the knowledge of evil! He was trying to protect them.

As you pray today, watch carefully for areas of unbelief. Do not allow the subtle nuances of Satanic doubt to filter into your language. Do not use words that qualify your confession of sin. Do not limit your praise of God’s goodness. Cast yourself completely, recklessly into His arms, knowing that He cares for you.

Milque-Toast Prayers

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. Mk. 10:51

The Lord is still asking us that question. So many times I have been guilty of vague, open-ended prayers. These are the prayers of a coward. A coward makes his prayers nice and vague so that he can claim anything as an answer. He can use that same obfuscation to excuse the lack of effectiveness in his prayer. Either way, he’s covered himself.

In the French language, the verb “to love” and the verb “to like” are the same. This is surprising in a language that is known for its precision. English may have a dozen words that mean pretty much the same thing but when a Frenchman speaks, he generally does so with precision and emphasis except…in matters of love. He can say “Je t’aime” to a girl and mean either he likes her in the same way he likes peanut butter and jelly, or that he loves her with a passion as deep as the ocean and as powerful as the volcano Krakatoa. This is handy in trying to get a girl to kiss you without involving yourself in a potentially messy, personal long-term relationship.

Are you deliberately obtuse with the Lord? Do you dally with words as you pretend to pray? When you pray, are you really praying to God or to the mere mortals who may be listening to you? Think carefully before you answer because your reply will make all the difference between becoming a powerful prayer warrior and a 95-pound weakling. One of the first steps to overcoming the barriers between you and the Lord is to develop brutal self-evaluation.

Do not make vague appeals for God’s mercy. Do not pray for “All the missionaries out there”. Pray for specific needs. Ask for specific things. Name names. See the person’s face as you pray for them. Don’t just ask for a building for your church. Ask for a specific size, ask for a type of architecture, think about all the church’s future needs and anticipate them in your prayers. How many classes? How large a choir loft? How many bathrooms? How many parking places?

You may find that as you pray, the answer lies within you. You may realize that you are the answer to those prayers. Maybe you are a carpenter, an engineer, or a really good cook who can invite people over to your house to find solutions to the questions raised during your prayers. Maybe (gasp) God may tell you to donate toward the building. But you will never know God’s will if you stick to milque-toast prayers. Your answers will only be as clear and definite as your prayers.

One Away from Lonely

Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you He will not fail you or forsake you. - Deuteronomy 31:6

I was sitting in the lunch room, eating my pb ‘n’ j sandwich and reading my Bible, when a co-worker sat down beside me. “What are you reading?” she asked.

I was reading Deuteronomy 6:4-9, a passage the Jewish people refer to as the “Shema”. I explained to her that they have been reciting these verses as a prayer every morning and evening for thousands of years. Suddenly and unexpectedly, she burst into tears! She began sobbing as though her heart was broken. The manager of the business came in and angrily wanted to know what I had done to the girl. I protested that I had done nothing! He sent me out of the room and about half an hour later, ordered me to never talk about religion at work again.
I later discovered that as she had realized how old that prayer was, and the image of generation after generation of Jews praying the same thing twice a day flooded into her mind, and the feeling of being small and insignificant overwhelmed her. She had broken down when faced with her own mortality.

As our society has become more and more reliant on technology it has become increasingly lonely. The television that was meant to unite us with the world has caused us all to sit alone staring at a flickering screen. The television, rather than uniting us with our loved ones, has brought a siege of telemarketers. The internet, rather than forming a unifying web of liberating information and flow of conversation, has brought a deluge of pornography and insanity. We struggle through our days, overwhelmed with information and “underwhelmed” with relationships. Where a few decades ago, we had many friends, most of us are down to one. We are one friend away from being alone.

But God invites you to a real, meaningful and healthy relationship. Paul encourages, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," so that we confidently say, "The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6). He echoes God’s words to Joshua, "The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Joshua 1:5)

You may feel alone, but you are not. You may look around and see no one, but that is because He is invisible. Circumstances may crush and all other humans may leave, but God promises that you are always one away from lonely.

Hindblindness

And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. – Luke 2:36-38

Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Anna lived her whole life in expectation of God’s redemption. As a result, she recognized the Promise when she saw a little baby in the arms of a young rough looking couple from the wrong side of the tracks.

Meanwhile, the Pharisees had accurately predicted where the Messiah would be born (Bethlehem) and some say they had successfully predicted the timing of the Messiah’s arrival to be within their generation. They were busy digging tunnels under Jerusalem and stocking weapons and supplies so that the Messiah would have the wherewithal to kick the Romans out. But because their minds were made up on what the Messiah would look like, they didn’t recognize the young carpenter from Nazareth. And when Jesus failed to be grateful for their efforts and lead them to military victory – when He refused to play ball – their anticipation turned to jealous, murderous outrage.

Hindsight is usually looked down upon in favor of foresight. But I believe that it is at least as valuable, since it does include a few facts. We need to learn from Anna and the Pharisees. We need to learn that God does not think like we do.

We think we must push our way forward to be recognized as leaders. Christ says the way to leadership is through humble service.

We think that in order to lead a fulfilling life, we need to cling to our rights. Christ says that those who cling to their life will lose it and those who are willing to lose their life will gain it.

We think that we need to accede to our family’s machinations so that we can keep our relationship with them. But Christ says putting Him first and being willing to lose them if need be is the only hope we have of keeping them eternally.

We believe that political activism and global mobilization will allow us to solve the world’s problems. Christ says that it is through individual one-on-one efforts to restore justice that help will be had.

Look back on your life. How many times has God intervened on your behalf so that you might be at this particular juncture in life? I don’t just mean times when your physical life has been threatened. How many decisions have you made in your life? At each one, Proverbs teaches that “there is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” At each step, the Holy Spirit was present, seeking to give us His guiding hand. Angels and demons were all around, fighting for our souls. Christ was watching from heaven to see which direction His errant sheep would go. A “great cloud of witnesses” waited with bated breath. We can learn from this process or go through our lives stricken with “hindblindness”.

Awiya the Hunter

“…Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” - Matthew 19:21

Awiya was renowned as a great hunter. People far and wide talked of his exploits and craftiness. Being part pygmy, he stood barely five feet tall, but he did not rely on his strength or speed to catch his prey. He knew his quarry well and caught them by using their weaknesses.

One day, he went into the jungle to catch a monkey. He went to a coconut tree and found a nut. Drilling two holes into the nut (one larger than the other) he ran a small chain into the smaller one, with a little metal spring-loaded claw that would spread once inside. He took an oddly shaped pebble and dropped it into the other hole. The pebble fit through the hole only one way.

He hid a short distance away and waited for a couple of hours. Sure enough, along came a large ape. He knocked several of the nuts around, looking for some of the succulent white meat, and drawn by the smell of the freshly cut coconut, quickly found the trap. He pawed at the nut, which made the chain rattle and the pebble sounded hollowly inside the nut. Curious, he shook the chain a couple times and tried to peer into the nut. It was too dark inside to see anything so he slid his hand into the hole and grasping the smooth pebble tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his hand which now formed a fist. As soon as Awiya saw that the ape’s hand was caught, he jumped up and walked quickly toward it. The ape saw Awiya and began jerking on the coconut, but the chain held fast. He started screeching at Awiya who walked right up to him and killed him with his club.

Do you know why that ape didn’t simply let go, withdraw his hand and escape? The ape’s greed overcame even his sense of survival. He was so determined to keep his worthless little stone that he forgot common sense and thus fell into the trap.

What are you holding onto? Is it some grudge that you’ve even forgotten the source of? Is wealth or the lack of it keeping you from serving God? When a young rich man came to Jesus and asked him what remained for him to be saved, Jesus (knowing the young man was trapped by his wealth) told him “…go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21. The Scriptures say the young man went away sad, because he had great wealth. He held on to his sad little things that would remain behind when he died, and missed the greatest gift of all: God’s gift of love. (John 3:16)

The Lord My Provider

Abraham named the place “The Lord Will Provide.” This name has now become a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Genesis 22:14

Abraham was at home one day when the Lord spoke to him. By now, he recognized the Voice because he had spent so much time listening to it. Just as a football player must study the play book in order to be a good player, a true worshiper realizes that worship is not based on our likes, dislikes, personal preferences or priorities. It is based solely on the scriptures. Because true worship is based on the Bible, the only question that needs to be asked of our means of worship is: are they biblical? The music must be biblical. The sermon must be biblical. The prayers must be biblical. If you want to do more this Sunday than merely sing songs and listen to a preacher talk, then STUDY THE PLAY BOOK.

Just like Abraham, we need to make the appropriate preparations in order to worship God. Football players GET THEIR GAME FACE ON. That means they prepare themselves mentally for the challenges of the game they are about to play. Spiritually speaking, we need to ‘get our game faces on’ before we go to church.

We prepare for church by getting dressed in our Sunday best, fixing our hair and make-up, and grabbing our Bibles as we head out the door. We may prepare to go to church. But that isn’t the same as preparing for worship.

At a certain point in the journey, Abraham left his servants behind. It is very possible that they would have interfered when they realized that he was going to sacrifice his son and Abraham wasn’t about to allow anything to distract him from worshiping.

We need to separate ourselves from anything that would draw our attention away from God. Not just sinful things, but also the natural and normal things of life. Things like work, family, finances, the preacher, the music can all distract us from the worship of God. These are not things that we can simply eliminate from our lives, but we do need to put them out of our minds so that we can be free to focus on God.

The night before a game the players all stay in a hotel together so that they can separate themselves from the cares of their regular lives and begin to focus on the game entirely. The coach establishes a curfew because they need rest to be their best.

We need to KEEP OUR CURFEW. We need to start getting ready for Sunday morning worship on Saturday night. On Saturday evening, we should begin reading and meditating on God’s revelation. We should spend time praying and praising. And, we should get to bed early.

Abraham dedicated his son, Isaac, to God. Isaac was his only son, the son God had promised to him, the son that was to carry on the family line and grow into a great nation. But Abraham had dedicated himself and all he had to God. True worship is always costly. True worship always requires us to give up our best for God’s best.

Football players have a saying -- “leave it all on the field.” It means that during the game they don’t hold anything back. They give 110%. God expects us to do the same thing as Christians. He wants us to be totally dedicated to Him.

Only then could Abraham call that place “The Lord Will Provide” -- Yahweh Yireh. Only after he had studied the play book, got his game face on, kept the curfew and left it all on the field could Abraham realize God’s provision.

The Lord Who Makes Holy

Keep all my laws and obey them, for I am the Lord, who makes you holy. - Leviticus 20:8

At the village church in Kalonovka, Russia, attendance at Sunday school picked up after the priest started handing out candy. One of the most faithful attendees was a pug-nosed, pugnacious lad who recited his Scriptures piously, pocketed his reward, and then fled into the fields to munch on it. The priest took a liking to the boy and persuaded him to attend church school. This was preferable to doing household chores from which his devout parents excused him. By offering other inducements, the priest managed to teach the boy the four Gospels. In fact, he won a special prize for learning all four by heart and reciting them nonstop in church. 60 years later, he still liked to recite Scriptures, but in a context that would horrify the old priest. For the prize pupil, who memorized so much of the Bible, was Nikita Khrushchev, the former Communist Premier.

As this anecdote illustrates, the "why" behind memorization is fully as important as the "what." The same Nikita Khrushchev who nimbly mouthed God's Word when a child, later declared God to be nonexistent -- because his cosmonauts had not seen Him. Khrushchev memorized the Scriptures for the candy, the rewards, the bribes, rather than for the meaning it had for his life. Artificial motivation will produce artificial results.

Did you notice in the verse above that we are to keep and obey God’s laws, not in order to BECOME holy but because God is Yahweh M’Kaddesh (the Lord Who Makes Holy)?

At times I have been accused of preaching a doctrine of works – of preaching that one must do good works in order to get to heaven. I do not believe that at all. What I do believe is that if you are “saved” (by which I mean you have put all your trust and faith in the ability of Jesus’ sacrifice to get you to heaven and decided to make Him your Master), you will inevitably work. In both cases, good works are being done, but the difference is in the motivation.

I have also been accused of being judgmental at times. But Christ said, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-16). You can tell a person is alive by what they DO. If I had a body lying down before me that did not speak, see, hear, smile, move, defecate or procreate, I would have a hard time believing that it was not a cadaver. A person who claims to be a Christian but does not understand the holiness of the Lord and react by keeping all His laws and obeying them will have a hard time being a convincing Christian.

Where Holiness Dwells

With unfailing love you will lead this people whom you have ransomed. You will guide them in your strength to the place where your holiness dwells. - Exodus 15:13

A woman’s husband returned home from the war with post-traumatic stress syndrome. She was unable to deal with him or get him to care for himself and was soon ready to leave him. But first, she sought the help of a wise man who told her he could make a potion to heal her husband, but the remedy required the chest hair of a bear.

The woman spent months befriending a bear at its cave, getting closer and closer to it until one day she was close enough to pull the hair and run for safety. She then brought the hair to the wise man who simply threw it away. The woman screamed “I risked my life for that hair! You were to make a potion to heal my husband!”

The wise man smiled and said, “Now go home and be as patient with your husband as you were with the bear.”

The Jewish people were expecting God to take them to a place “where holiness dwells.” But when they got to Canaan, they found giants and walled fortress cities. They balked and ended up wandering the wilderness for forty years. Forty years later, they still had to face the same giants and walled cities but this time they were prepared to fight for it.

One of God’s names is Ga’al, or Redeemer. He has ransomed us from the clutch of Satan through the finished work of Christ. But that does not mean holiness (or what some refer to as sanctification) comes easy. There is still an effort on our part. Listen to the apostle Paul – “We put no confidence in human effort. Instead, we boast about what Christ Jesus has done for us…I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I KEEP WORKING toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am FOCUSSING ALL MY ENERGIES on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I STRAIN TO REACH the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3:3b, 12-14)

Holiness cannot be found in a potion, nor in a location (like church or in nature). Holiness is a path. It is the effort to demonstrate our gratitude to Christ for our redemption by obeying Him and serving Him. But just like Israel, we cannot fight in our human strength alone – we need the Redeemer, Ga’al, to call us, set us on the path and give us the requisite strength. In the end, it’s all still His doing.

Killing God's Anointed

“Were you not afraid to kill the Lord’s anointed one?” David asked. Then David said to one of his men, “Kill him!” So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him. “You die self-condemned,” David said, “for you yourself confessed that you killed the Lord’s anointed one.” - 2 Samuel 1:14-16

David had been anointed as Israel’s king for many years but God had not seen fit to remove the reigning king, Saul, yet. Saul had disobeyed God and lost His approval. David understood that God’s plan would happen in time and was willing to wait. Saul, however, was insanely jealous of David and kept trying to kill him. So, David spent years on the run, hiding in caves and finally had to take refuge with the Philistines, Israel’s enemy, by pretending to befriend a Philistine ruler by the name of Achish.

One day, a man who was an Amalekite arrived in David’s camp and announced that David’s enemy, Saul, was dead. He lied through his teeth about it, saying that he had happened upon Saul alone, wounded and suicidal. He said that Saul had asked him to take his life. He presented Saul’s crown and one of Saul’s bracelets as proof. But the truth was that he was a battlefield scavenger who had found Saul’s dead body before the Philistines. He had come to David for a reward for something he hadn’t actually done. But worse than that, he had seriously miscalculated David’s character.

David knew that if a precedent was set that a king could be killed at will, then his own throne would never rest easy! God had established Saul as king and so he should remain until God removed him.

Too many of us are perfectly willing to kill God’s anointed in our lives. God establishes certain conditions, circumstances or people in our lives and when we don’t enjoy it, we look for an opportunity to overthrow them.

The self-appointed religious elite of Jesus’ day were guilty of this very thing. They didn’t like the teachings they were hearing. These teachings didn’t go along with their view of the world and didn’t make them look good, so they plotted to kill the Lord’s anointed! (John 5:18; 11:53).

Has God made you poor? Work hard, save your money and wait for God to lift you up. If anyone offers you a short cut, get rid of that influence in your life. Are you physically handicapped? Praise the Lord, so was Paul. Paul asked the Lord to remove it but humbly accepted God’s will when God said “No, my grace is sufficient.” Has God placed an authority over you? Then whether it’s your boss, your parents, a mentor or a spiritual leader, humbly submit to that authority until God removes it. Have you learned that the Lord Jesus Christ should be your master? Then accept that state and do not rebel. Don’t be guilty of killing the Lord’s anointed.

A Theology of the Trivial

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God." - Luke 1:35-37

God took an ordinary, every day girl and gave her life such a shake that the whole world has been reeling from the results ever since. She was no different from you and I. She did not have some special merit that we do not possess. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “There is not a single person in all the earth who is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

I do not say that in disrespect, but in wonder and hope. For if God was willing to indwell a girl who would not even understand the true nature of what was growing inside her, would not trust the Christ to know what He was doing but instead would declare Him insane, would not even fully believe in His deity until after the resurrection, then there is yet hope for us.

You see, God is an inveterate renovator. He is in the habit of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. The Scriptures show every biblical hero for all his lack. The good, the bad and the ugly facts of their lives are all clearly demonstrated for our education.

The Lord God took each one that was humble enough to recognize his need for God and impregnated their lives with possibility. He planted a seed of hope deep within their hearts and it grew into the miraculous works we have studied for the last few thousand years.

But let’s not simply shake our heads in wonder at the graciousness of our God. Let’s apply this principle to our lives. It is indeed a great thing to learn about the entire Bible. But adding a single virtue to one’s life is a far greater thing. After all, we have been admonished to not be mere hearers but doers of the Word (James 1:22).

We must understand that at its heart Christianity is a theology of the common deed - of the trivial. We are not so much to prepare for the grand deeds of life as we are to manage its trivialities well. Our piety should be unconscious and unassuming; not extravagant, mortifying or ascetic. Rather than seeking nobility, we should like God constantly seek to ennoble the common.

The Young Man's Beard

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say. – Luke 5:37-39

An old biblical scholar had an odd habit. His students, being curious, asked him, “Why is the first page number missing in all your works? Why does each begin with the second?”

He answered, “No matter how much I may learn, I need to always remember that I have not even gotten to the first page.”

The Pharisees forgot that simple truth. After hundreds of years of studying the works of Moses, the Prophets and the Writings, they concluded that they had it all figured out. Think about that – they thought they had omniscient, eternal, infinite God figured out.

It’s troubling when you hear theologians categorically state, “That part of the Bible was not inspired. It doesn’t fit my notion of how God would act.”

We are so silly. We are like the inhabitants of the town of Chelm, a Jewish mythological place filled with fools. One day, a young Chelmian man, who wanted to be wise, felt very confused. So he went to the Chief Sage and asked, “Why can I not grow hair on my chin? Is it hereditary? I don’t see how – my father has a beautiful, thick beard.”

The Chief Sage meditated on this world-shaking problem for a while and finally he snapped his fingers. “Perhaps you take after your mother!”

“That must be it!” The young man crowed with glee. “My mother doesn’t have a beard! How wise you are!”

He asked a decent question. He got an answer that seemed to fit the facts. But he missed a very fundamental point. Females (at least most) don’t have beards!

The people of Romans chapter one also thought they were wise. They also thought they had God all figured out. The problem was that they were making gods in their own images, worshipping the created rather than the Creator. This act blinded them spiritually and turned them – POOF! – into fools.

The Pharisees liked the old wine just fine, thank you very much. They didn’t want any of this new-fangled, life-changing, head-buzzing wine. They had God figured out and He was an old, comfortable grandfather figure who loved them just as they were. The problem was that the old wine of legalism was powerless to make fundamental changes.

To accept the new wine of salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ requires humility and a reception of Christ’s easy yoke. It requires change – growth. To learn the whole Bible is a great accomplishment. But to learn one virtue through its study is even better.

Don’t try to put God, whom all of creation cannot contain, in your little mental box. As Philo said, “The final aim of knowledge is to hold that we know nothing.”

Surpassing the Master

The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it. - John 14:12-14

Even greater works? How is that even possible? Jesus fed thousands on a few loaves and fish. He healed the lepers, the lame, the mute, and the deaf. He healed people who did believe and those who did not. He exorcised demons, he taught with power and eloquence. He opposed the hypocrisy of the people and taught a simple gospel that even children could understand. How could we surpass this?

Yet, Jesus didn’t just promise that our works would surpass His– He mandated it. We should seek to surpass our Master in the demonstration of compassion to a world in need. We must find a way to feed the millions who are starving. We should send our children to good schools and produce doctors who will minister to the sick and dying of the world. We should actively participate in the political process in order to bring about justice and freedom to the oppressed of the world.

Paul said in Colossians 1:24 “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ’s sufferings for his body, the church.” What could remain to be completed in Christ’s sufferings? His death was complete and sufficient for our salvation. But the full suffering for the consequences of sin is not yet done. We are His body, each of us a different part, having a different role to play. Each of us should be willing to take on some of the suffering of the world as He did. This is what Paul meant in Romans 12 when he said “Give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?” Paul then goes on to talk about the gifts or talents we receive and their use. He concludes, “When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow…Never pay back evil for evil to anyone…Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible.”

We are to imitate Christ. He came and lived among us. He didn’t cloister Himself somewhere. He went out and lived among the scum of the earth…the prostitutes, the publicans, the sinners of the world. He provided for their physical needs. He showed His love in a concrete manner. And thirdly, He provided them with the forgiveness of God and sought to restore them to their rightful place of fellowship with the Father. Can we do any less?

The Power of Commitment

Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. - Mark 11:24

There are two types of martial artists: those who are into the forms and breaking boards, and those who fight. Very few people do both. These different styles are for different purposes, requiring completely different training methods. However, they do have this in common: something called follow-through. A friend told me that when he breaks, he tries to mentally see his hand following a straight white line through the boards. He tries to follow that line and the boards just happen to be in the way. When he succeeds in perfectly visualizing this, he also succeeds in breaking the boards. Because he doesn’t “see” the boards, but only sees the line, he proceeds without fear. He proceeds fully committed.

The same thing helps in the fighting arts. If you hesitate during the attempt of a throw, if you are timid in your punch, the lack of committal causes you to lack momentum. Your hand will hurt when you make contact because there is not enough momentum. Your opponent will not go down because all your weight is not into the throw. Fighters are not to punch TO but THROUGH their target.

In the Christian life, I have too often been guilty of timid prayers. I ask God for something but my faith lacks that extra little “umph” that comes from faith. I pray for rain, but I don’t carry an umbrella. I ask God for forgiveness, but don’t rejoice in the answer. I ask God to save my friends or family, but I fail to witness.

We are talking about so much more than mere positive thinking. If that were the case, God would be no more complex than a vast bubble gum machine. Put in sufficient currency (in this case positive thinking) and out comes what you wish for. Let’s return for a moment to the board breaking analogy. Let’s say that I succeed in fully visualizing the line through the board, but fail to drive my punch through…will the board break? No, of course not. Visualization is insufficient without follow-through. Similarly, faith without action is useless. That’s what James says in James 1:6-8, 2:14, 17 “Ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways…What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead being by itself.”

So, what is the relationship between Mark 11: 24 and James and martial artists? If you truly believe, you will act upon that belief. If you are not acting, you are not believing, and you will not receive.

Dancing into Suffering

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." – John 9:1-3

There were once two great scholars. One, Eli, was a renowned biblical scholar, who was famous for his grasp of textual criticism and ancient languages. However, he rarely attended church and did not submit his life to the teachings he so assiduously studied.

The other, Simon, was primarily known for his ability to apply the Scriptures. He had gone far past simple knowledge, past understanding, past discernment and finally achieved true wisdom.
Eli spent most of his life surrounded by dusty books and had little to do with people. Simon, who understood that the point of the Scriptures was to reconcile humanity to the One, surrounded himself with people. Because of this, he became greatly loved.

One day, Eli came across Simon who was (as usual) surrounded by a great throng of people. Eli asked him, “Why does everyone surround you so adoringly, while I remain almost completely ignored? My knowledge of the Word is just as great as yours.”

Simon answered, “There is only one major difference between us. If the Lord of Hosts asks you to suffer, you respond ‘Who, me? Suffer? Why me?’ And Jehovah must drag you kicking and screaming to your test. But when the Master asks me to suffer, I respond ‘Lord, what would you have me learn by this lesson?’ And because I know that everything comes from His loving hand and that even suffering has its own unique lessons, I can go dancing and singing with delight into the greatest pits of pain and evil if need be. The joy of the Lord is my strength and it attracts the people to God.”

Suffering is a valuable tool. James teaches, Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. (James 1:2-4 NLT)

Many will tell you that if you will only follow them, they will show you the way to health, wealth and success – “Your Best Life Now!” But our Master suffered. Are we wiser than He? The apostle Paul suffered and was told to rely on God’s grace. Even the Psalmist said we would be led through the valley of the shadow of death and have to eat in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23). If Christianity is all about getting rich, having stuff, and never getting sick, what was the cost of discipleship that Christ kept warning us about? Sometimes God teaches us through success. Sometimes He teaches through failure. Either way, we need to gratefully accept His Way and dance forward into whatever lies ahead.

The Key of David

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens says:" - Revelation 3:7 HCSB

The phrase “Key of David” is only found twice in the Bible. It is found in Revelation 3:7 as seen above and in Isaiah 22 where Adonai granted Eliakim son of Hilkiah the “Key of David” and clearly meant the throne of Israel and the authority that came along with it.[1]

Keys are representative of power, ability or authority[2], but simply receiving the keys does not make us infallibly authoritative. Eliakim son of Hilkiah was given the keys but shortly thereafter gave away, was cut off and fell. The Church was given the Keys of the Kingdom but has miserably failed over and over again. Peter himself betrayed the Lord shortly after the statements in Matthew 16 and 18 were uttered.

There is only One who can infallibly rule – that is the Messiah, the Lord’s Anointed. Small wonder that the titles “the First and the Last”, Possessor of the Keys of Death and Hades and Possessor of the Keys of David all apply to Him. This is Yeshua ben Adonai as He now is. He is no longer presented as the Lamb, “Sweet Jesus Meek and Mild” but as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of kings and Lord of Lords.

It would behoove us humans to remember that any authority that we do possess is derived. Eliakim was given the keys and when he was no longer worthy they were taken away. Immediately after Peter uttered the life-changing statement “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God”, he was given the keys. Within minutes, when he allowed the power to go to his head, he was rebuked with "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you're not thinking about God's concerns, but man's."[3] It is when the Christ is present in the midst of His Church that she has authority. If we are to have any spiritual authority at all, we must receive it as a boon from our King.[4]

Since the authority we have is derived, there is no room to boast except in Who is our Lord. We may not take that authority for granted and we may not use it to abuse one another. It must be wielded solemnly, reverently and with compassion.

Authority must be put to work. “All authority has been given to Me…go therefore.”[5] We are not to stand around congratulating ourselves on our good fortunes. We must not be like the wicked servant in the parable of the talents who did nothing with his gift. That one ended in the outer darkness. We must demonstrate our understanding of the value of the Keys by using them to free fellow slaves from the kingdom of darkness.

The key of David is the authority to sit on the Messianic throne and rule the world from Jerusalem. It is a promise to David that Yahweh made that someone from David’s line would sit on the throne forever.[6] There is only one person who is sinless and therefore may hold that key in perpetuity. Eliakim failed, Peter failed, the Church continues to fail – only the Messiah, the only begotten and sinless Son of God may permanently possess that key.

[1] Isaiah 22:19-25; This is one of several correlations between the books of Isaiah and Revelation. For example, the phrase “the First and the Last” is also only found in these two prophetic books (Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Revelation 1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13)
[2] Isaiah 22:22; Matthew 16:16-19 cp 18:15-20; Revelation 1:17-19; 3:7
[3] Matthew 16:23
[4] Matthew 10:1
[5] Matthew 28:18-20
[6] 2 Samuel 7:8-17

Question but Don't Doubt

Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” – Luke 1:18-20

Christians’ reverence for knowledge, education and wisdom should be legendary. It is the obligation of the Master’s disciples to study and question. Moses ordered the elders of Israel to “gather the people – men, women, and children, and the strangers in your communities – that they may hear and learn.” (Deuteronomy 31:12). The people of Israel’s respect for learning is probably best seen in the fact that Moses, their most important historical figure, is not referred to as leader, prophet or savior but as “Rabbenu” – our Teacher. Jesus inherited the same appellation, being frequently addressed as “agathos didaskalos” or Good Teacher.

We should be constantly seeking something new and fresh in the old, old story. We must develop our minds, and hone our skills by learning how to question. The lessons, the inquiries and the call for intellectual, creative and spiritual excellence should begin early in the lives of both our physical and our spiritual children.

Those among us who are appropriately gifted should be producing moral stories, ethical teachings, and analyses of biblical law. We should probe, argue, and consider every thought from as many perspectives as possible. After all, the Scriptures enjoin us to not only be open to new ideas but to actively seek them (Proverbs 18:15). We should double check the motivations of those who seek to teach or lead us (1 John 4:1) with a joyful, respectful attitude, but the ultimate standard simply has to be the revealed word of God (Acts 17:11). As Albert Einstein put it, “The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

However, Zacharias was disciplined for questioning Gabriel’s message. Didn’t Paul specifically teach “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:6-10)? In fact, in the very next chapter, the very same angel was questioned by Mary when he brought her a similar message and he did not discipline her for her question! The difference lies in the nature of the question. Zacharias questioned God’s ability to overcome the problem of his age. Mary was simply stating her commitment to moral purity.

God has no problem being questioned (Isaiah 1:18; 21:12). Feel free to ask Him the big questions, the tough questions - the meaningful questions. Just never doubt His ability to overcome your circumstances. Things that are humanly impossible are possible with God (Luke 18:27; Matthew 19:26).

Praying Scripture

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. - 1 John 5:14-15

I am not a great prayer warrior. I often lack faith. Worse yet – I sometimes openly rebel to the will of God. I struggle with my sin nature and am known to fall.

I am not a master of words. Finding the right word – the one that not only has the correct meaning but also the appropriate flavor – is a challenging safari.

I do, however, have a strong desire to know God and to be a righteous man. I want to pray powerful prayers that are clearly and miraculously answered. I want to see God work in my life and in the lives of others. I yearn to see the kind of revival seen by my forefathers.

Jesus told us how. Our faithful Brother never held truth or help back from us, particularly in the area of prayer. His inspired Word promises that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. If He hears us, then we already possess the answer to our prayers. Therefore, the “trick” to answered prayer (if you’ll pardon the crass way of putting it) is learning to determine God’s will and getting on board. It’s thinking God’s thoughts after Him; hearing God’s Word and repeating it back to Him.

The other means to answered prayer is clearly stated in 1 John 3:22 which states “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” We must not imagine that by simply parroting God’s Word, by picking and choosing verses taken out of context or selectively interpreted according to our pet theories that God will be fooled into giving us what we want. Not only our prayers, but also our lives must match His will.

Praying Scripture – taking a passage and turning it into prayer – is not meant to be a limiting discipline. In the years that I have practiced this type of prayer, I have found that it is the fastest way to finding that worshipful mode that is the holy grail of the devotional life. It makes me pray more deeply and widely than ever. This shouldn’t surprise us. After all, didn’t the author of Hebrews describe the Scriptures as “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart”?

My hope is simply that this simple discipline will help you spend more time with the Master and that you will thereby gain more faith, more love and more works to offer Him in worship.

The Wedding Gift

But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life. – Titus 3:4-7

There once was a rich man who had all the world could offer. But the pride of his life was his son. He arranged a marriage for his son to a beautiful young woman from a fine family. The marriage would be lavish, the presents extravagant and only the best and brightest of musicians would play.

Finally, the day arrived and the ceremony began. In the midst of the quiet hush however the sound of a person sobbing could be heard. A marriage should be a happy event! Who could possibly be weeping at such a time? The rich man sent his servants and a distraught young man was brought to the powerful father. “Why are you weeping on such a happy day?” he demanded.

The boy replied that he and the bride had loved each other for years but because of his recent financial losses her parents had instead arranged for this marriage into a rich and powerful family.

The father called for the bride and asked, “Is it true that you loved this boy all your life?”

She replied, “Yes.”

“Is it true that you love him the most?”

“Yes,” she answered, “it’s true, I love him the most, but my parents won’t let me marry him!”

The rich man said, “Thank you so much for telling me the truth. Thank you so much! Son, do you hear this? I’ll find you another girl who will truly be your soul mate. But now, go back to the house. Take this boy with you and give him your tuxedo.” He turned to the crowd and shouted,

“Today these two will be wed, and all the money and gifts that I was prepared to give my son I am giving to this young man.” The guests all agreed that they had never seen a father dance at the wedding of his own son with as much joy as this rich man danced at the wedding of a boy he didn’t know but whom he had reunited with his intended bride.

God has done such a miraculous thing for us. He has taken poor, blind, dirty orphans with no hopes or expectations and made them co-heirs with His own Son. He has made us the owners of the universe and granted us immortality. And He dances with joy whenever we accept His gift. All He expects in return is our loyalty and gratitude. Is it so much to ask?

The Holy Sacrifice

When Jesus had tasted it, he uttered another loud cry, “It is finished! Father I entrust my spirit into your hands!” With these words he bowed his head and breathed his last, releasing his spirit. – Luke 23:46; John 19:30

A man had a son who was the commander of a tank artillery division. After leaving the home as a young man and joining the army, the son had become more and more anti-religious. He was so far gone that he would even complain about a photograph of his grandfather praying over a meal that hung in his father’s house. “That man was an idiot! Take that embarrassing picture down!” he would shout.

But one day, he converted! When asked what happened, he related the following story: During a battle, his tanks were all spread out when, and as Murphy’s Law dictates, the worst thing occurred. A group of enemy tanks approached his tank before he could get his tanks regrouped. The commander spun his tank around and tried to race back to his other tanks. Unfortunately, the fastest way was straight across an open stretch.

Suddenly, he saw an old man kneeling in the desert sand right in his path. “Doesn’t the idiot have any better place to pray than in the middle of a desert battle,” he screamed. “I’m going to run him over.” But something in him couldn’t do it, and at the last minute he swerved aside. The enemy behind him had no such compunctions. As it ran over the old man, the enemy’s tank exploded into a fiery inferno as it tripped the landmine underneath.

The commander would then finish his story by saying that he realized that the old man had been praying for him while laying that landmine. He came to understand true holiness by that act of tikkun hanefesh (self-sacrifice) and decided he needed to be like that old man.

Two thousand years ago, another man knelt in prayer in a garden called Gethsemane. He didn’t want to suffer. He asked if there was any other way to accomplish what needed to be done. But when he determined that the only way justice could be served was for someone to die, he selflessly made that sacrifice. He took all the fury of God’s wrath upon himself and bore in his body the consequences of our foolish decisions. We separated ourselves from the safety of God’s presence and the devil was waiting to pick us off one by one. But Jesus stepped in the way and if we will simply accept his selfless act as the free gift of love that it is and quit depending on our own works to save us, he will cause the enemy to die in a fiery inferno.

Then, we must try to become like him. We too must pray to ask who God would have us save. And we too must be willing to do whatever it takes. To be a Christian is to dedicate oneself to worshipping God and loving one’s neighbors regardless of the cost. We must never allow ourselves to forget the holy sacrifice that is at the very heart of our salvation.

Passion Driven Prayer

Lord, we love to obey your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. All night long I search for you; earnestly I seek for God. For only when you come to judge the earth will people turn from wickedness and do what is right. - Isaiah 26:8-9

In the beginning, God created. Have you ever considered why? Have you ever stopped to wonder why a limitless, all-powerful God who needs nothing would choose to create creatures that He knew for a fact (due to His ability to foreknow the future) would spit in His face?

It couldn’t have been out of a desire to be worshipped, for that would be narcissistic and in the history of His interaction with man, He has never shown anything but the desire to serve us. It can’t be because we possess something He needs to live or to be happy, because He has constantly told us there is nothing we have that could hold Him or satisfy Him. Didn’t He say, “I have no need for your offerings, I do not desire the blood of bulls. Do I not own all the cattle on all the hills?”

So, why did He do it? If we examine the history of man’s relationship with God, we see the answer. He wanted someone to receive His love. That’s His desire. Love is what created the universe; love is what sustains it; what keeps it running - simple love. This is not sterile reductionism. It is so much more fulfilling than the random accidents of atheistic evolutionary theory. The fundamental principle of the universe is passion – desire. It is God’s desire to love us.

In the same way, we can participate in the continuing sustention of the universe by desiring Him. By longing for God the way God longs for us, we form a cycle, a circuit if you will, that powers the universe. When we long for God, we desire what’s best for Him. What’s best for Him is what’s best for us, so we get what we need. That’s the way to pray. “Not my will but Thine be done.” “Seek first the kingdom of God and THEN all these things will be added to you.”

Happiness is a by-product of searching for God. Joy is a by-product of righteousness. Power is a by-product of proximity to God. Our problem is that we search for these things as an end to themselves. We pray, “God, give me this. God, make him or her give me that. God, make that happen. God, I don’t like such and such – make it go away.” But we cannot find fulfillment in things. We dare not trust the empowerment of mere man. We mustn’t expect to find peace, happiness, joy, or value in anything but the desire for God. A passion for holiness (“Be ye holy as I am holy”) should be the central point of our prayers.

The Creative Life

Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. Wherever they go, they will find green pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. – John 10:9-10

Many people feel trapped by their day-to-day lives. Their jobs are boring and purposeless. They could spend their whole lives doing what they’re doing right now and it wouldn’t mean a thing. If they died, no one would notice outside of their immediate circle of acquaintances or business associates. They dream of living great lives. They fantasize about adventures and challenges that will fulfill their minds’ cravings for excitement.

Christ calls us to a creative life. He is longing to give us “life in all its fullness.” But first you must possess a firm belief in God. Believe that He exists and that He created the universe and everything in it. Believe that Creator God did not stop with the origin of the universe, but is continuously creating.

Add to your belief in God’s creative genius and power a faith in the fact that He created you in His image. He has made it possible for you to be a co-worker with Him in the never-ending creative process that will culminate in a new heaven and a new earth.

You must also believe that in Jesus Christ God has given you the perfect example to emulate. If you want to know how to live life, watch Christ. If you want to know how to be more like God, imitate the Son of God. By following the teachings of the Christ and by allowing His divine Spirit to guide and empower you, you can live so creatively that your new life will make you feel “born again.”

God has created each of us with a task, a purpose in mind. Seek that vision. Ask the Giver of Good Gifts what He has in mind for you. Climb high enough in the Christian life to gain a vision of the boundless possibilities that lie at hand.

Commit yourself to never being satisfied with the way you do things. Constantly crave improvement. Take courses, study under a master. Travel abroad to see how others do things. Even the great apostle Paul, as he approached the end of his life said “I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Spend some time discovering what the great truths of life are. What are your convictions? What are you prepared to die for? Then learn how best to articulate those thoughts. Don’t just speak them. Write them down. Draw them. Paint them. Sculpt them. Better yet – live them!