Why Pray?

For the last few weeks, I've taken Sunday evenings at the church I pastor to discuss the idea of defending the Christian faith. The Bible obligates us to be ready to give an answer for the hope we have within us, so it's pretty important that we can do that. We've covered topics such as the reliability of scripture, the existence of God, the divinity of Christ and, most recently, we discussed the problem of the Canaanites, i.e., how could God condone what appears to be cold blooded murder of men, women and children in Joshua 6? We've had some great studies together and the series has been well-received.

A few weeks ago I asked people to submit any questions they had on this topic. Could be questions they've been asked and didn't know how to answer, or it could simply be questions they've wrestled with themselves. One of those questions is the title of this post: Why Pray? It's a great question. If one believes that God is sovereign, that He is going work all things according to the purpose of His will (Eph. 1:11), then why do we pray? Why ask for specific things if He already knows what we need? Why ask Him to do specific things if He already knows what He's going to do? So I listed some reasons why we should pray.

1, We're commanded to. Pray is an obligation. 1 Thess. 5:1 tells us to pray without ceasing. So before anything else, we have to see that prayer is something that we are supposed to do. God expects it of us. But that just sort of moves the discussion back doesn't it? Why does God command us to pray?

2, God works through prayer. Over and over in scripture we see that God works when people pray. Several specific things we can mention, ways that God works when we pray: Matt. 26:41, prayer helps us overcome temptation; Luke 10:2, the kingdom is advanced when we pray; Eph. 6:18, people are blessed when we pray; 2 Thess. 3:1, the gospel goes out and triumphs when we pray.

3, Prayer affirms our relationship with God. Ps. 46:10, God tells us to be still and know/acknowledge that He is God. When we spend time in prayer we are reminded about who God is--and who we are in Christ.

4, Prayer is Fellowship with God. John Piper wrote a book entitled God is the Gospel. His premise is that God is the gospel. So the title was very well chosen. His point is that the purpose of the gospel isn't to obtain things from God; it's to obtain God Himself. The highest treasure, the greatest goal of Christianity is to know God, to be able to experience His presence, to be swept away by His grandeur, His majesty and splendor. When we pray, we are fellowshipping with this great and awesome King.

5, Prayer blesses God. In the OT incense was burned in the temple. It had a sweet aroma that pleased God. In Rev. 5:8 we read that the 24 elders who surround the throne hold golden bowls full of incense in their hands; and that incense is the prayers of the saints. Our prayers are pleasing to God, they bless Him. What an amazing thought! That something I do can bless God!

6, Prayer teaches us God's will. In 2 Cor. 12, we read of Paul's thorn in his flesh. And while we often focus on Paul's declaration that God's grace is sufficient, how did Paul come to this revelation? As he prayed that God would remove it, vs9 says, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Who said that? God did. That means that through prayer, Paul was able to discern God's will regarding this hardship. Prayer teaches us God's word.

7, God answers prayer. We should pray because God answers our prayers. Of course there are times when the answer is no. But there are also times when the answer is yes. Jesus' parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18) reminds us that God, who is loving and faithful to us, will certainly answer the prayers that we offer.

8, We get to. Finally, we should pray because we get to. It's easy to take prayer for granted. It's easy to forget that our sins had separated us from God. It's easy to forget that nothing we could do could bring us back to Him. Eph. 2:13 reminds us that through the blood of Jesus, we who were separated have been brought near. We can go into the presence of God through our Great High Priest, King Jesus.

Father, thank You for the gift of prayer. Help us not to take it for granted, nor forget the exceedingly high cost that was paid in order to secure this great privilege. Make us men and women of prayer, for the glory of Your name. Amen.

My Wife is Awesome

So apparently I haven't blogged in a couple months. And since my inbox and facebook hasn't blown up with people demanding I return there isn't a huge compulsion to do so today. However, I started this thing, darn it, and I need to be consistent.

So here's what's on my mind today. My wife is awesome. I don't mean that in a silly, aw-shucks kind of way. I mean seriously awesome. Mind-blowingly awesome. People often comment on how hard it must be to serve as a pastor--had a guy tell me the other day he would rather be whipped with a switch than have my job, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that (thank you? you're welcome? I was sort of at a loss there)--but let me assure you that the pastor's wife has the hardest job of all. In addition to everything else she has to do, she has to listen to her husband gripe/complain/whine. And let me tell you, my wife is so gracious to let me do all this.

In addition, my wife does an amazing job of taking care of our 3 kids. If you've never spent day after day in your home, tending to several children who daily demonstrate the utter depravity of the unconverted human heart then you have missed a blessing. Kelly handles the stresses of this job with grace and humility.

Something else that makes my wife awesome is that she is way smarter than I am. Anyone who knows us would certainly agree. But this amazingly intelligent woman has chosen to use her intellect, and the previous 10 years of her life, not pursuing a career, not continuing her education--both of which are lofty and noble goals. No, she has laid that aside for a season so she can devote herself to her kids. That, boys and girls, is what we call selfless underappreciated sacrifice.

You know why else she is awesome? Just now she started texting me quotes from Tombstone. Seriously, how awesome is that?

Here's another reason she's awesome. She's so stinking pretty. I mean, look at that picture of her. No kidding, have a look. OK, that's long enough. Quit staring at my wife. Kelly is amazingly beautiful. I'm not sure why she settled for a guy who looks like me but let me tell you, I'm glad she did.

So in summary, let me just state that my wife is awesome. Babe, I love you so much. I'm so grateful for you and so thankful for the last (almost) 13 years. It's been a great start to the rest of our lives. Now come give me a kiss.

Lost, Funerals, and Loving the World

This morning I was listening to K-Love on my way to the office and one of the DJs was talking about some friends who had just gotten the complete series of Lost on DVD. What made it such a neat gift for them was that they had never seen it before. Not a single episode. So apparently I'm not the only person in America who has never seen a single episode. Anyways, they started watching (wait, now I am the only person who's never seen an episode). And they got into it. Really into it. Like watching 2-3 episodes per day every day into it. And talking about nothing but Lost all the time into it. The DJ said, "They were telling me, 'It's all we talk about! When we're at the table, when we get up, we wonder what will happen to Butch and Linda and Gilligan (or whatever the names of the cast were--wasn't there a Jack in there somewhere?) and the rest of the gang.

My first reaction on hearing this was, "How sad." And don't misunderstand-I got no beef with Lost. Seemed to be a great show, lots of people enjoyed it, all that. And I'm thrilled for everybody that got into the smoke monsters and unanswered questions. But I couldn't help but think how sad it is that this couple who professes Christ, who have surrendered their lives to Him, who have sworn their allegiance to the King of Kings are spending all their time talking about something that didn't happen.

And I post this because as soon as I thought about how sad it was that they were doing this, I was immediately reminded that I do the same thing. Maybe I'm not crazy into Lost. But how many times per day do I check my facebook page? "Ooh, I wonder if anyone commented on my witty status? Maybe someone will think I'm cooler now!" How often do I spend time thinking about the things of this world rather than the Savior of this world? What a waste of a life that could be spent pursuing Christ and His glory.

I John 2:15 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him." Read that again, slowly this time. You don't have to be a theologian to interpret that one. Pretty plain. John says very plainly that we are not to love the world, that if we do love it then the love of the Father is not in Him. Consider the implications of that verse. We can say that we love Jesus, that we've given Him our lives, all that stuff. But if I still love the world with the same fervor then the love of the Father isn't in me. This is why we must constantly guard our hearts, make sure that our joy is in Christ and not in the world. Because when we let the things of the world begin to take hold there's a problem.

I suppose this really stuck with me today because I'm preaching a funeral in a couple hours. And funerals really help bring things into perspective. See, the thing I always remind myself when I'm at a funeral is that one day I'll be the one in the casket. One day, I'll be the one laying there while my family listens to a preacher. And on that day it won't matter how well I understood the plot of Lost, it won't matter how many comments I got on facebook, and it won't matter how well liked I was. All that will matter is what I did with Christ. Did I love Him above everything else? Did I serve Him with gladness? Was Jesus my righteousness and my joy? That's what matters.

Father, thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your salvation. Help me to love You more. Help me to be swept away by You, to be caught up in how amazing You are. Help me to love you so greatly that everything else in my life fades into the background. Amen.

In which my Idolatrous Heart is revealed

Following Jesus is a lifetime journey. It's not something we do one time and then stop. Jesus said he who endures to the end will be saved. That doesn't mean we endure to earn salvation but that we endure to prove it. And as we walk this journey, as we are continually conformed to the image of Christ, there are times when we are reminded of just how far we still have to go. Times when the searchlight of God's holiness shines on our lives--brutally and clearly--and we see things in our hearts that we didn't know were there. Happened to me this week.

It's tax season, everyone's favorite time of year. And ever since I've pastored Kelly and I have never gotten a refund. Ever. Rather than a refund we've actually had to pay in every year. So this year I expected the same. I hoped that it would only be a few hundred bucks but really hadn't given it much thought. Worrying about it wouldn't change it, right? So Kelly goes to the guy who does our taxes yesterday. Calls me on the way home with good news. This year we don't have to pay in. Better still, we're getting some money back. Now not to get off subject but how sad is it when we get excited that the government gives us some of our money back? Or has my friend Jonathon Baird says, "Yay, the government is paying me back my interest-free loan!"

But this isn't a post about the sad state of our tax system. It's about the sad state of my heart. I was glad to hear that we didn't have to pay in. Even more glad that we're getting a refund. It's not a ton of money, but it's certainly enough to help out. And I was sort of relieved. Very relieved, actually. I began to think about some of the things we could do with the money. We could put some towards some unexpected medical bills we've recently had to deal with. We could put back a little for some tires on the car. We could take the van in to have the front end inspected, figure out why it's been shimmying.

With each addition to the list I felt a little better. A little more peace, little more relief. My day had brightened considerably since I found out I would have a few extra dollars in my pocket. And therein lies the problem--I was finding peace and happiness in something other than Him. Rather than finding my joy in the fact that King Jesus has saved me and that He has promised to provide for me, my joy was found in the fact that I'm getting a check from Uncle Sam.

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not saying its wrong to rejoice in the Lord for His provision. Nor am I suggesting that it's wrong to be relieved when you're able to pay some bills. The problem is that my heart was happier because of money I was getting. But regardless of whether or not I was getting a refund, God was still on the throne. My sins had still been nailed to the cross. I had still been buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. My sins had still been washed away by the blood of Jesus and my name was still written in the Lamb's book of life. And I still had a God who had promised to supply my needs. But rather than resting in these things, rather than finding my peace and joy and relief in the truths of God's word, my joy was wrapped up in a few bucks.

Paul's desire was that he would never boast in anything except the cross. God reminded me this week that it's easier to say that than to do it. My prayer, my aim, is that I'm won't boast in refund checks, in superficial abilities, in my discipline, in my position, in any of that; rather I will rest in the finished work of King Jesus on the cross. I will boast in my Savior who love me and gave Himself for me. And I will trust in His provision. I will look to Him for my joy. And I will violently remove all idols from my heart and bow before the only one Who is worthy of praise.

Father, thank You for Your love, mercy and patience. Forgive me of my idolatry. Forgive me for looking to any other source but You for joy and peace. May I boast only in the cross. Amen.

Space Junk, Sin, and other Things of a Destructive Nature

I read an article the other day about near tragedy that was averted in space. Seems that the men aboard the International Space Station had quite the close call. A piece of space junk came dangerously close to them; so close, in fact, that they considered rerouting the station's trajectory. Images of gigantic pieces of discarded technology came to mind as I tried to figure out what could be so serious that they would attempt an avoidance maneuver. And then I discovered the culprit--according to the story, what struck fear in the hearts of the astronauts in space and the controllers on the ground was a six inch piece of debris. That's right, six inches. Not six feet, not some unimaginably large piece of garbage; a little 6 inch piece of trash was enough to raise the specter of an avoidance maneuver. I'm not sure what all that would entail but I'm pretty sure that changing the trajectory of the space station is slightly more complicated than parallel parking my minivan.

Like me, you might be wondering, "Why make such a big deal about something so small?" And the reason is simple--this wasn't just a six inch long piece of garbage. It was a six inch long piece of garbage traveling at 5 miles per second. I'll give you a moment to try and wrap your noodle around that. That, as we say in the south, is putting the hammer down. The reason the astronauts were prepared for an avoidance maneuver wasn't because of the size of the object; it was because of the damage it could have caused.

And that's what really struck me about this story. For the sake of such a small piece of debris, they were willing to go to all the trouble of changing the flight path of the International Space Station. Seems like much ado about nothing--until you consider the damage this tiny piece of debris could have caused. In light of that, an avoidance maneuver would be the least they could do, right?

Now here's the point. The bible describes something that is even more dangerous, contains even more potential for damage than a lightening fast piece of space debris--sin. Sin kills, it maims, it destroys; it separates us from God, it hinders our walk and it ruins our testimonies. But we rarely treat it that way. Sure, we'll try and avoid the "big" sins. We won't run around on our wives--but in the secrecy of our homes, with a few clicks of a mouse we'll indulge the flesh with pornographic fantasies. We won't murder anyone--but we'll hold grudges and simmering anger deeply in our hearts and refuse to lay them aside.

You see, it doesn't take much sin to ruin us. In I Corinthians 5 Paul warned the church against this attitude. In vs6 he says, "Don't you know that just a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" The church was proud of their accepting attitude towards sin and sinners. And Paul says, "That's the wrong idea! Sin is dangerous, it has the potential to destroy you. Rather than embracing it, you need to be planning an avoidance maneuver!"

Just as the astronauts were willing to completely change the trajectory of the space station to avoid this tiny piece of debris, I need to be willing to do whatever it takes to avoid sin in my life. God hasn't called to be pretty good. He's called me to be holy. Because of the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, and because I've surrendered to Him and turned from my sins, I am positionally holy. But God calls me to practical holiness, to living on the outside according to who He's made me to be on the inside. To be holy means I must shun sin, I must turn from it, I must always be ready for avoidance maneuvers. Doesn't mean I lock myself in my home and never leave. Means that I seek to avoid anything that could make me stumble into sin. And do that not so that I'll be holier than someone else or so I can earn God's favor. I do that so I can bring honor and glory to my Great King, to please the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. I encourage you, make sure that you don't overlook the danger of sin. Be ready with an avoidance maneuver. And spend each day in the pursuit of holiness--to the glory of our King.

Father, thank You for loving me and saving me. Keep the dangers of sin ever before me, and help me to continue to run to You for strength and wisdom to overcome sin. Help me be who You have created me to be, for Your honor and for Your glory. Amen.

Winter clothes and other transitory things

Last night Kelly began taking the kids' winter clothes out of their closets and putting them away until cold weather returns--which is always a tricky proposition in Arkansas. It may be 90 degrees next week or it may snow. But we've always been the kind of people who give a strong, Celtic laugh in the face of danger so we're going ahead with the plan.

When you change out the seasonal clothes it's a time of transition. You are transitioning from one season to another, one need to another, one time of year to another. And as I was looking over all the winter stuff I was reminded that all our lives are times of transition. When you're an infant you are transitioning through various stages of helplessness. You transition to a person who can communicate, move about independently, and control your bowels--all of which prove marvelously useful in the years to follow. As you grow older and begin school you are continually transitioning through different grades and different social situations and different friends.

The transitions continue through college as you study a discipline that you'll use to gain employment. Often during this time you transition into marriage. And with time, you'll transition to parenthood (which is often accompanied by frustration-hood, lack of sleep-hood, and extreme gratitude to God for such amazing gifts-hood).

Life is a series of transitions. Right now I've got a pile of winter clothes that need to be put away. Before long there will be a pile of summer clothes. Right now we're getting ready to transition Owen to Pre K. But before I know it we'll be getting ready to transition Lily into college. Life is a series of transitions. And those transitions happen faster than we realize. James 4:14 says, "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." Sounds pretty transitory to me.

So here's the point--we can either fight against these transitions or we can embrace them and make the most of them. We can realize that this transition, this life we live, isn't going to last forever. And we can seek to make the most of it. Charles Spurgeon said, "God gives His people life, not as the clock ticks, but as He helps them to serve Him; and He can make them to live much in a short space of time." I don't know how long I'll be a misty appearance on this earth. I don't know what transitions I have before me. But what I do know is this: I won't be here forever. So I need to make the most of the time God has given me. And I need to realize that this world is not my home. I've been made for a different home. A home where I'll find eternal rest and eternal joy in the presence of the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. May our lives be lived for His glory. And may the transitions remind us of our temporary stay here.

Father, thank You for the gift of life. Thank You for the gift of time. And thank You for the gift of transitions in our lives. You use these to gently remind us that our time here is short, and that this world is not our home. Help us to live passionately, to embrace the life You've given us--but help us also to hold to it loosely, knowing that we are here but for a moment. Help that moment be used to bring great honor to Your name. Amen.

In which we seek to destroy self-reliance

Ask a group of Christians what matters most, what is the most important thing for them to become more like Jesus and you'll probably get similar answers. Things like prayer, reading the Bible, and sharing our faith with others will dominate the list. And those things are monumentally important in our daily walk with Christ. We're called to evangelize, to pray without ceasing, and to regard the Bible as inspired and useful for making us more like Jesus. But there's something else I would add to that list, something that is just as important as anything on that list. And, that is, as the title might suggest, the importance of destroying self-reliance.

Self-reliance is, as you might have imagined, relying on yourself. And in our culture its put forth as a virtue. "Believe in yourself", we are told; "trust in your heart"; "visualize the life you want to have and it will be yours." Now the problem with this is obvious--it leaves out Jesus. And rather than teaching self-reliance, the New Testament emphasizes a complete reliance on Jesus.

One of the most well known illustrations of this is found in 2 Corinthians 12. As Paul describes a struggle he has faced with a messenger from Satan, and his prayers that were offered to God seeking that this be removed, he reveals that God says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." God essentially says that only when confronted with our weaknesses do we run to Him for His power. And its crucial for us to take hold of this in our lives. The only way we learn to trust in the strength of God is by being forced to see that our own strength is insufficient; the only way I learn to rely on God is by the systematic destruction of self-reliance in my life. Paul goes on to say in vs10, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Paul recognizes what God is telling Him. And he embraces it. He says, "Lord, if the only way to strip away self-reliance is by You demonstrating to me my own insufficiency, then I will glory in those times."

Now that might seem cruel. It might seem heartless that God would expose us to these types of situations. But rather than being cruel, it is actually a demonstration of the great love God has for us. You see, God wants what is best for us. And that doesn't mean He wants what we think is best for us but that He wants what He knows is best for us--and what is best for us is a life given over to bringing Him glory. And the only way this is accomplished is when our lives are devoid of self-reliance, when we boast gladly of our weaknesses, knowing that when we do so the power of Christ will rest upon us.

God loves us enough to put us through that sanctifying surgery, for lack of a better term, that strips away the reliance on self. And that's not an easy process. There is no general anesthesia for that surgery. But it's a worthwhile surgery. And the reason is this; the less I rely on myself, the more I rely on my Savior. That's huge for us because when we rely on ourselves we will do all we are capable of; when you "believe in yourself" you'll do all that 'yourself' is capable of. But when I rely on Jesus, I can do all things through the One who is giving me strength.

Now does this take away the pain of those times of insults, hardships or betrayals by friends? Of course not. But as a follower of Christ I must learn to embrace those things because I know that God is using them to destroy self-reliance.

Father, thank You for loving me, for saving me, and for committing to make me like You. Help me to see things through Your eyes rather than mine. Help me to remember the sufficiency of Your grace. And help me to glory in the fact that through times of hardship I am being made more like You. Amen.