To Hell in a Hand Basket

In John 17 Jesus prays for himself, then for his disciples, and then for all believers.  His prayers are powerful and set the example for how we should pray for ourselves and others.

Jesus prayed that believers may be one, united in their faith in Christ, just as Jesus and the Father are one.  He emphasizes unity four times, so it must be important.  He prays for   

·         Unity in fellowship.  There is strength in numbers. (John 17:11) 

·         Unity in witness bearing.  This could mean evangelizing the lost, but more importantly I think of consistently modeling God’s Word in the world. (John 17:21) 

·         Unity in the glory of Christ.  Sharing the honor, rewards, and blessings that come from being a child of God and co-heir with Christ. (John 17:22)

·         Complete unity.  How?  Through Christ in us.  Why?  So that the world will know Him through us.  (John 17:23)

It is through our complete unity in faith and reflection of Christ as believers that the world encounters Him, learns His plan for salvation, and experiences His unconditional love.  The world will know Christ when his people stand united in their faith. 

How?

The Lord keeps leading me back to sanctification.  While salvation occurs the moment someone accepts Christ as Savior, sanctification is a process that continues throughout the rest of a believer’s life as he or she grows in Christlike character, attitudes, behavior, etc.  Sanctification comes through knowing, hearing and obeying God’s Word.

Based on recent news, it seems the world is “going to hell in a hand basket,” and the US, true to form, seems to be going faster and more efficiently than everyone else.

The Lord prayed that His people would be sanctified by the truth of His Word.  Yet we (I’m talking about believers here, myself included) seem to make so many compromises with what God’s Word says.  Where things are written in black and white, we rationalize varied interpretations and applications.  We change God’s Word to fit our desires and circumstances.  We try to turn Christ into someone we can live with when the whole point is that God’s people should be different, set apart, unyielding, and uncompromising when it comes to His truths. 

Think about all the hot topics in our recent election campaign – gay marriage, abortion, fiscal responsibility.  Think of the undercurrents that were also being evaluated – character, honesty, integrity, morality.  God’s Word is black and white in these areas.  Yet we as Christians often waver back and forth, and like my puppy, track mud through the house until everything is a dingy grey.

We tolerate sin calling it “not judging.”  We accept sin calling it “forgiveness.”  We commit sin calling it “the way God made us” or “OK because of God’s unconditional love and grace.”  We compromise, even re-write, God’s word wearing our “tolerance”, “progressiveness”, “liberalism”, “open-mindedness” and so-called “maturity” as a badge of honor. 

Except that this not sanctification or spiritual maturity, it’s the complete opposite.  We separate ourselves from God when His heart is to unite us with him and with each other.  We kick God out of our lives and then wonder where He is when we need Him.

As the saying goes, if the shoe fits wear it; if it doesn’t, don’t.  But I have to believe we all have areas where compromise is distancing us from God, impeding His will, and muddying our witness.  Or maybe this is just for me…

So pray for yourself, for me, and for all believers – that we may be one as Christ and the Father are one, that our lives reflect Christ in such a way as to draw others to Him, and that we continue to grow in God’s Word as our guiding and absolute truth – no compromises.

Jesus Prays For His Disciples

In John17:6-18, Jesus prays for his disciples – those given to him, those charged with carrying his Word and will out into the world, those commissioned to bring glory to his name.

What did Jesus pray for them?

First, for God’s protection by the power of his name, the same power God gave Christ.  Jesus’ disciples were learning that they had the same power as Jesus himself.  Jesus had been teaching them all along that they could do the same things as he, and even greater.  Did they believe that?  And what was the goal of experiencing the power of God’s name?  So that they may be one as God and Christ are one.  A united front.  An effective team.  A witness to nonbelievers.  A formidable force in the world. 

Second, that they may have the full measure of Christ’s joy in them.  They were going to encounter some rocky roads.  The world would hate them because of him, so Jesus wanted them to be able to face those challenges with joy.  Notice that Jesus didn't intend to take them out of the world, away from the challenges and persecutions, rather he prayed for their joy and protection in facing them.

Another way I think the disciples would experience the full measure of Christ’s joy is by following Christ’s example of focusing on others above himself.  Jesus knew he was about to face a horrific crucifixion and death, yet he put the needs and welfare of his disciples above his own.  Putting others first is a way we can experience Christ’s joy, peace, compassion, power, authority, character, you name it!  When we love and trust him enough to look beyond our circumstances and focus on the bigger picture – God’s calling on our lives – we experience the full measure of Christ in our lives.  And Jesus modeled this in his prayer for his disciples.

Third, that they would be sanctified with God’s truth.  The basic meaning of sanctification is to be set apart for God.  It has a moral connotation of holiness or purity.  Whereas salvation occurs the moment someone accepts Christ as Savior, sanctification is a process that continues throughout the rest of a believer’s life as he or she grows in Christlike character, attitudes, behavior, etc.  And as Christ showed through his prayer, sanctification comes through knowing, hearing and obeying God’s Word.

Jesus knew his disciples needed to be equipped with power and protection, to stand together in unity, to retain an attitude of joy through all circumstances, and to be ever-growing in spiritual maturity to carry out his mission for them in the world.

And what is even more amazing is that this is also Christ’s prayer for you and for me.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,” (John 17:20)

When I read this I was compelled to go back through his words with this new perspective in mind.

Lord, Teach Us To Pray

One of the misconceptions I had about prayer stemmed from an incomplete understanding of its purpose.  Another misconception had to do with the learning and intentionality required to achieve powerful and effective results.  (James 5:16)  If we think of prayer as “merely” talking to God, we tend to stop short of learning how to pray according to God’s Word.

I find it interesting that of all the things the disciples heard Jesus say and saw Him do, the one thing they asked Him to teach them was how to pray.  (Luke 11:1)  Why not something more awesome like feeding thousands with just a few loaves and fish, calming storms, or raising the dead? 

…why prayer?...

I just read a great book by Dr. Myles Munroe called “Understanding the Power and Purpose of Prayer”.  He suggested several reasons why the disciples wanted to learn how to pray above other things.

In terms of ministry, the disciples saw Jesus praying more than anything else.  The Bible tells us how Jesus was up early, often withdrawing to quiet places to pray.  It sounds like Jesus devoted hours each day to prayer.  His miracles, on the other hand, took mere minutes, seconds even.  Consider the ratio of time spent.  Consider the results.  What a lesson this is for our lives and ministries!

Often we think we’re too busy to pray, especially for hours a day.  Yikes!  But what if 1 hour with God could accomplish hours of work by knowing how to direct our efforts according to His will?  By avoiding all those things He didn’t have planned for us, including false starts and spinning wheels from striving in our own strength?  By having the right mindset of peace, joy, confidence, and courage?  Prayer is meant for us to talk to and hear from God – agreeing with His will, and receiving His wisdom and guidance for carrying it out.  Spending time in prayer actually saves time in the long run.

I’m sure the disciples also recognized how prayer developed intimacy between Jesus and the Father.  We know that Jesus always knew God’s will and did it.  (John 5:19-20)  How often do we spend hours talking about problems with only frustration and weariness as the end result, no solutions?  Societal issues.  The economy.  Healthcare.  The government.  Wayward teenagers.  Addiction.  Those are some pretty big problems.  Maybe we should do less talking and more praying because it’s our prayers that God needs to actually be able to operate in those situations and to use us as well.

We also see in Luke 11:1-4 that prayer doesn’t come automatically, it needs to be learned.  While Jesus was praying, the disciples weren’t, they were just watching and waiting.  They obviously saw something different about Jesus’ prayers and didn’t think they could pray that way on their own, even though they would have grown up praying in their synagogues.  So what did Jesus do?  He taught what we call The Lord’s Prayer to serve as a model.  Jesus taught us because He agrees we need to learn.

I’ve been learning a lot about prayer lately, including that there is a lot to learn – much more than I had originally thought.  But that shouldn’t intimidate us from communicating with our loving Father and Creator; rather it should excite and motivate us to press in deeper!

God Needs Us

Am I the only one who finds prayer a bit challenging?  Not the “talking to God” part, but more so in understanding its purpose, and the principles for those powerful and effective prayers that get results. (James 5:16)

On February 14^th, along with June and Pastor Abram, I had the privilege of teaching local pastors and church leaders about the purpose, principles and power of prayer.  And as usual, teaching also turned out to be a huge learning experience for me as the Lord opened my eyes to His truths and my misconceptions about prayer.

What happens when our prayers aren’t answered?  Sometimes we feel abandoned by God or doubt His love for us.  We may question God’s character, integrity, or faithfulness to His Word.  Or we may doubt ourselves – our faith, our understanding of God’s Word, our discernment of His will.  Maybe we decide that prayer is not for us; rather it’s for those more spiritual, eloquent, or gifted.  (After all, it is a spiritual gift, right?)  Ultimately, our prayers dry up.

Prayers are meant to be answered, so when they don’t bring results we need to find out why.  We need to look to the Word of God for insight, and avoid jumping to the wrong conclusions about God or ourselves, conclusions that actually contradict the Word of God.  And I think one way we short-circuit our prayers is through an incorrect or incomplete understanding of their purpose.

Why should we pray?  Do our prayers matter?  After all, God already knows, controls, and has predetermined everything.  He’s everywhere, all the time, and never changes.  I know the Bible tells us to pray and, of course, and I want to be obedient.  I also know that Jesus did and I want to model Him.  But I’m sorry, those reasons alone just don’t evoke the sense of passion, power, and effectiveness that should characterize true prayer. 

In Genesis 1:26-28, we learn that we were created to reflect God’s image - nature, character and personality – in order to have fellowship with Him.  We were also created to carry out His purposes on earth – to rule, to have dominion, to take care of things – using our own free will, abilities and initiative. 

We know God’s plans and purposes will always be accomplished. (Isaiah 14:24, Psalm 33:11, Proverbs 19:21, Ephesians 1:11)  We also know that God will never break or contradict His Word.  (Isaiah 55:11, Matthew 5:18)  Therefore, when God gave us dominion or legal authority on earth, He also limited Himself from taking over.  Otherwise, He’d violate His purpose as stated through His Word.

God needs our agreement and cooperation to accomplish His purposes – His will, His desires, His promises, and His blessings.  That’s why our prayers matter!  Prayer is how we give God permission to interfere in the earth’s affairs.

Think about the men and women in the Bible whom God used needed to carry out His will - Noah, Abraham, Moses, Esther, even Jesus.  It’s still God’s will that will be done, but He needs our prayers and obedience to carry it out.

What does God need you to accomplish?  What about me?   Let us pray!

Heal Our Land

On Sunday people from different churches within Harrismith gathered together for the Global Day of Prayer. It was amazing for me to see! And it reminded me of the EACH movement going on in metro-Detroit.

South Africa is such a beautiful and diverse country – and this gathering was just as beautiful and diverse. Black and White. Old and young. Different native languages. Different denominations and styles of worship. All united to pray and honor our one true Savior - in a small town in the middle of South Africa, across the nation, and around the world.

Check out www.globaldayofprayer.com for more info including statistics on each country participating. It’s pretty interesting.

In the 10 days leading up to this we had been praying for different things each day – for God to revive and unite His people, for Him to reveal Himself in mighty ways and be the Lord of every area of our lives, for transformation and provision, for forgiveness and reconciliation, and that the Lord be glorified across the world.

As we prayed, we also studied and reflected on Joel 2:12-32 which calls God’s people to return to Him, gather, reignite hope, celebrate all He is doing, and trust in His promises. The passage is a good reminder that even as Believers we can drift away in the currents of day-to-day life.

2 Chronicles 7: 14 “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Who could use some healing these days?