The Bullet of the Word: A Meditation on Psalm 18:34
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Psalm 18:34
I have always loved the phrase “He trains my hands for battle,” because that is what the true Christian life is about … spiritual combat! But for the first time the Lord arrested me with the promise that He will teach us to “bend a bow of bronze!” Most bows were made from wood and could produce tremendous tension that would throw the arrow forward with great force.
A bow of bronze can only mean the ultimate in power … if it can be pulled! The Lord whispered to me through this verse that He has given me a task to do in life that is equal in difficulty (or challenge) to a bow of bronze! I can only pull it off if I allow Him to put the force in me! The thought really lifted my spirits! All my battles and pressures have just been to teach, strengthen and enable me to “bend a bow of bronze!” Thank God that the Savior has chosen us to be warriors of power for the cause of the joyful Gospel!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
The Battle: Men on the Front Lines, Continued
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 2 Thessalonians 3:3-4
A third essential step to enter significant combat is to radically embrace a battle plan, both personal and corporate, from which you will not shrink. Only then will you share the Master’s combat confidence. Most men seem to have no tactical or strategic spiritual battle plan. Some live in the hope that the war will pass them by. Others simply pretend to have been in combat. A man must become a serious student of the combat living of Jesus Christ for it is fascinating to see His responses to the hostilities of men. (Hebrews 12:3)
The Master’s combat confidence is demonstrated in the statement, “He despised the shame.” (Hebrews 12:2) He had contempt for the injustices of life in a sinful world. He viewed criticism, hardship, persecution, loneliness, rejection and suffering as mere trifles if they stood in the way of His allegiance to the Father. As He was confident in combat, we too can display that confidence and valor in the spiritual battle. Whatever price we have to pay to be obedient to Jesus Christ and bring glory to the Father is worth it!
The bloodiest and most costly battle in the history of the United States Marine Corps was on the island of Iwo Jima in World War II. For days, beginning on February 19, 1945, over 30,000 marines sought to defeat the well dug-in Japanese numbering in excess of 21,000. Only 1,083 Japanese soldiers survived the onslaught. Over 20,000 died in undiminished ferocity.
Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayshi, the Japanese commander, gave his life in a last fanatical stand. This statement from a letter to his son reveals the reason for his combat confidence: “Will power is the essence of manhood.”
But what of the victors? At battle’s end over 6,800 marines had died in combat and over 19,000 lay wounded. Admiral Chester Ninitz said of the marines who fought at Iwo Jima, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” In fact, of the eight marines who received the Medal of Honor in all of World War II, twenty-two of those came from the combat on Iwo Jima.
Men become great when they give themselves heroically to a task … a battle, bigger than they are. Their goal isn’t to be know as heroes, but only to do the heroic thing.
Combat confidence comes only to the man who is willing to sacrifice his all for the battle plan of Christ, his Commander. Our nation, our churches and our families desperately need men who have been captured by their King’s heroic vision!
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 2 Thessalonians 3:3-4
A third essential step to enter significant combat is to radically embrace a battle plan, both personal and corporate, from which you will not shrink. Only then will you share the Master’s combat confidence. Most men seem to have no tactical or strategic spiritual battle plan. Some live in the hope that the war will pass them by. Others simply pretend to have been in combat. A man must become a serious student of the combat living of Jesus Christ for it is fascinating to see His responses to the hostilities of men. (Hebrews 12:3)
The Master’s combat confidence is demonstrated in the statement, “He despised the shame.” (Hebrews 12:2) He had contempt for the injustices of life in a sinful world. He viewed criticism, hardship, persecution, loneliness, rejection and suffering as mere trifles if they stood in the way of His allegiance to the Father. As He was confident in combat, we too can display that confidence and valor in the spiritual battle. Whatever price we have to pay to be obedient to Jesus Christ and bring glory to the Father is worth it!
The bloodiest and most costly battle in the history of the United States Marine Corps was on the island of Iwo Jima in World War II. For days, beginning on February 19, 1945, over 30,000 marines sought to defeat the well dug-in Japanese numbering in excess of 21,000. Only 1,083 Japanese soldiers survived the onslaught. Over 20,000 died in undiminished ferocity.
Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayshi, the Japanese commander, gave his life in a last fanatical stand. This statement from a letter to his son reveals the reason for his combat confidence: “Will power is the essence of manhood.”
But what of the victors? At battle’s end over 6,800 marines had died in combat and over 19,000 lay wounded. Admiral Chester Ninitz said of the marines who fought at Iwo Jima, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” In fact, of the eight marines who received the Medal of Honor in all of World War II, twenty-two of those came from the combat on Iwo Jima.
Men become great when they give themselves heroically to a task … a battle, bigger than they are. Their goal isn’t to be know as heroes, but only to do the heroic thing.
Combat confidence comes only to the man who is willing to sacrifice his all for the battle plan of Christ, his Commander. Our nation, our churches and our families desperately need men who have been captured by their King’s heroic vision!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The Battle: Men on the Front Lines
In war battles have to be fought! There is no option if victory is prized and envisioned. To refuse the “price of battle” is to surrender your destiny to the will of an enemy. The consequences are tragic!
Too many men in the church (including some pastors, sad to say) are like the dim witted boxer who still can’t comprehend at the end of the fourth round why that other guy keeps hitting him. These men aren’t even aware they’re in a battle.
When a man becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, he steps into the ring against demonic opposition. A faithful man’s only real choice is to fight. The other options are repugnant to a champion disciple – to be disqualified, to cover up and stall, or to be knocked out!
In war battles have to be fought! There is no option if victory is prized and envisioned. To refuse the “price of battle” is to surrender your destiny to the will of an enemy. The consequences are tragic!
Too many men in the church (including some pastors, sad to say) are like the dim witted boxer who still can’t comprehend at the end of the fourth round why that other guy keeps hitting him. These men aren’t even aware they’re in a battle.
When a man becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, he steps into the ring against demonic opposition. A faithful man’s only real choice is to fight. The other options are repugnant to a champion disciple – to be disqualified, to cover up and stall, or to be knocked out!
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13
The first step to enter significant combat is to put yourself under a leader who intends to lead his command into battle. John Paul Jones, Revolutionary Navy hero, put it best. “He who sails with me had best sail fast, as I intend to put myself in harm’s way.” God has either called you to be a pastor or to follow a pastor. You have no other choice if you are to be faithful to Christ. You do have the choice of picking a pastor who “means business” about the Gospel.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… Ephesians 5:25
The second step, if you are married, is to determine that you will be what you ought to be to your wife. It’s never what your wife is to you, but what you are to her that is the mark of Godly manhood.
The greatest battle in marriage is to choose to change into the character of Jesus no matter what your mate does. If the man will pay the price to turn loose the Spirit of Christ through his life on any person or situation, then God’s Word guarantees that eventually positive change will come, one way or another!
The death of a relationship is in the arrogant refusal to change unless the other person changes first. A real man is always the first to change, to make a “Christ adjustment” regardless of what others do. “We love Him because He first loved us!” (1 John 4:19)
Thursday, September 14, 2006
The Bullet of Direction: A Magnificent Obsession
One of the first things I learned after accepting the Lord Jesus as my Savior was that I should have a personal vision for Christ and for His purposes on the earth. The man who led me to the Lord was associated with a group of Christians called Navigators. Their motto was “to know Christ and to make Him known.” I’ve fought to make these words the ambition and aspiration of my life.
I’ve learned that a Christian can either labor in the energy of the flesh or in the anointing of the Spirit. Only God will reveal to us our true motives when we stand before Him. I have no doubt that I love the Savior more now than ever. I want to be totally His man with His message - in any place, time, and way that will please Him. I see the delusions, shams, and trivialities of this fallen world so very clearly, and I know man’s only hope is in a personal, radical pursuit of knowing God’s Word and giving “sprit obedience” to its truth. I gladly confess my own inadequacies, failures, and weaknesses because they bring me to see my desperate need of Christ in all things.
The doctrine of weakness before God (2 Corinthians 12) has been one of my focuses. It’s only when we discover how weak we really are that we are motivated – even propelled – to seek our only source of strength, release and peace: Jesus. The goal is to know experientially, what it means to be “in Christ.” If our hope as Christians is to have the greatest impact for the Messiah, then each of us must be caught up in this magnificent obsession.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
The Bullet of God’s Instruction: His People
Mrs. Charles E. Cowman authored a classic devotional book entitled Streams in the Desert. One entry, “The End of Our Strength”, contains the following thought, “God had to bring Abraham to the end of his own strength…” That phrase led my thinking to the way God picks only a few personalities in His spiritual history rather than many to teach us truth. Even though He could have picked hundreds, He did not do so in order to accommodate His vast list to our own limited capacity. By having only a few we are able to know more of them as we fill in their circumstances and progress. Although a few are easier to remember, the spiritual lessons would be the same with a hundred – or even a different person for every lesson. The Father selected Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Amos or Micah for certain illustrations of truth. Yet He could use nine others we are familiar with to teach the same truth – Isaac, Ruben, Levi, Caleb, Solomon, Jeremiah, Hosea or Zechariah. He could have chosen another nine we have never even heard of. Still the Lord’s purpose would be to teach us His same points! To have used the hundreds of people He could have would have given us three Old Testaments instead of one!! He always tells us enough so that we can know enough in order that we can be enough to the end that we achieve enough to bring Him significance. So if Abraham, Moses and David keep showing up in Scripture again and again just relax! They are just examples for all of us! Ordinary men who acted extraordinary when they risked believing the Father and acting on His desires!
For Internet devotional reading Ventures for Christ recommends the Devotions.org website from Back to the Bible.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
The Mountaintop Huddle
And six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; Mark 9:2
Football season is again upon us! The first games of the 2006 season begin this week. Football fans are an intrepid lot; they love to cheer for their team from the opening of the season to the last day the team plays. The only ones who love football more than the fans are the players and coaches. Not only are they excited about the season, their minds and hearts are fully on the field!
There are some great spiritual lessons to be gained from playing in the game rather than just watching the game! If you want to “play reality” on the team with our Lord Jesus, there are four essential steps that cannot be neglected:
- Join the team – yield to Christ as your personal Savior and Coach.
- Get in the huddle – get the current word from the Coach on what to do next.
- Accept your assignment – find your place in a local church team and take responsibility.
- Run the play – do something significant that will help win the game!
God’s people must get in the Master’s huddle to know what’s going on. They must know their position in the line up and play it in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Savior wants bold people playing on His team … The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1) He desires that each of us – at our own level and wherever we are placed – to be a difference maker, an impact player, to make a “big” play!
From this great experience on the mountain and following (Mark 9:1-29), we see that Coach Jesus wants His players and followers to be bold in a least six ways.
- BOLD DECIDING, And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. (Mark 9:4) You don’t decide your own play when you’re in the huddle. You trust the one called by the “Authority”.
- BOLD LISTENING, Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" (Mark 9:7) The huddle is not the most critical thing but it is essential to accomplish the most critical thing.
- BOLD ACTING, And as they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man should rise from the dead. (Mark 9:9) You don’t change your position after the huddle … you play it!
- BOLD BELIEVING, And He answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!" (Mark 9:19) Out of the huddle your greatest asset is the determination to give 100% of your life to the play. The old saint, John Cheyne, once asked life’s most pivotal question… “What have I ever done in my years of service for God that was really bold?”
- BOLD CONFESSING, Immediately the boy's father cried out and began saying, "I do believe; help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24) Some never really leave the huddle to run the play! They may move their bodies but they fail to move their hearts and minds. The coach never knows if he can count on them being “mentally in the game!”
- BOLD PRAYING, And He said to them, "This kind (demon) cannot come out by anything but prayer." (Mark 9:29) You’re not in the game if you’re not in the huddle. Otherwise you will never understand your part in the team strategy and you can bust the play! Every morning our Lord asks you to huddle with Him to call the day’s play! What a shame if one doesn’t show up to learn what’s going on from the Head Coach!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Bullet of Obedience: Revelation
Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Psalm 34:9
In essence, the Christ Life is nothing more or less than living continuously in the presence of God and receiving personal revelations of His will about one’s decisions, responses, and goals for life. The promise of the Father is that this is a daily, hourly, and ongoing praise relationship.
God has promised to do some of His part unconditionally. The fullness of the Christ Life, however, is conditioned by each believer doing his or her part by responding to God’s revelation of Himself.
The most practical thing we can do in life is to hear God’s Son and obey Him.
Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Psalm 34:9
In essence, the Christ Life is nothing more or less than living continuously in the presence of God and receiving personal revelations of His will about one’s decisions, responses, and goals for life. The promise of the Father is that this is a daily, hourly, and ongoing praise relationship.
God has promised to do some of His part unconditionally. The fullness of the Christ Life, however, is conditioned by each believer doing his or her part by responding to God’s revelation of Himself.
The most practical thing we can do in life is to hear God’s Son and obey Him.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
“I Hate Religion”
As a young Christian I can still remember one of my leaders shocking me with the words, “I hate religion.” Since he was a marvelous example of Christ-likeness, I couldn’t understand his statement. In my ignorance I though of Christianity as a religion. In the passing of the years I have learned that there is an enormous gap between them. So broad, in fact, that I find myself saying the same thing, “I hate religion.”
Religion is one of our worst words as commonly used and understood. The dictionary sums up religion as “any system of faith and worship.” Christianity is not a religion by that definition because it is a Person before it is a system. To seek of and be involved in church, the Bible, religious, denominations, theology, etc., before one has discovered God is an experiment in futility.
Religion reduces God to man’s own level. All of us in our spiritual pride seek to “domesticate Deity” for our own convenience and conscience. We develop our own religion apart from God’s truth. Faith, no matter how sincere, without Truth is an illusion.
Christ the Son, Jesus the Man, is the only One to ever tell us of God beyond our labels, creeds, and religions. Happy are those who see Him and follow Him!
As a young Christian I can still remember one of my leaders shocking me with the words, “I hate religion.” Since he was a marvelous example of Christ-likeness, I couldn’t understand his statement. In my ignorance I though of Christianity as a religion. In the passing of the years I have learned that there is an enormous gap between them. So broad, in fact, that I find myself saying the same thing, “I hate religion.”
Religion is one of our worst words as commonly used and understood. The dictionary sums up religion as “any system of faith and worship.” Christianity is not a religion by that definition because it is a Person before it is a system. To seek of and be involved in church, the Bible, religious, denominations, theology, etc., before one has discovered God is an experiment in futility.
Religion reduces God to man’s own level. All of us in our spiritual pride seek to “domesticate Deity” for our own convenience and conscience. We develop our own religion apart from God’s truth. Faith, no matter how sincere, without Truth is an illusion.
Christ the Son, Jesus the Man, is the only One to ever tell us of God beyond our labels, creeds, and religions. Happy are those who see Him and follow Him!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Bullet of Forgiveness: Forgetfulness
Those who say they’ll forgive but won’t forget are blowing in the wind! Real love forgives and forgets!
Note God’s promises along these lines from Scripture.
I will wipe out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will remember your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)
As far as east is from west, so far hast Thou removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
For Thou has cast all my sins behind Thy back. (Isaiah 38:17)
Who is a God like Thee who pardons evil … for Thou will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19)
Why not admit your own need for forgiveness. Tell God you really want your ways, thoughts, and actions to conform to His! He will listen and forgive if you mean it. Then the power of his forgiveness in your life will enable you to have power to forgive all others, to let go of the past, to remember their sins no more even as God has forgotten your past … just as He promised! What a release!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
The Bullet of Forgiveness: Sure Victory
If you were to ask me to name the most unbelievable truth of Christianity my answer would be easy! Simply put it’s this … that God does love me like I am and will forgive me for my failures, attitudes, selfishness, and messes. I need only to be honest with God, admit my need and ask His forgiveness!
Talk about feeling clean and being able to start fresh! There is nothing like it!! In fact, the most joyous and satisfied human beings on earth are those who know God’s forgiveness and who forgive other people.
It’s obvious I have offended God far more than any other human has offended me. Real life is always found in following Christ’s example. He was walked on and treated unjustly, yet He forgave. We should do likewise when we are walked on and treated unjustly.
Those who forgive always win in the end!
If you were to ask me to name the most unbelievable truth of Christianity my answer would be easy! Simply put it’s this … that God does love me like I am and will forgive me for my failures, attitudes, selfishness, and messes. I need only to be honest with God, admit my need and ask His forgiveness!
Talk about feeling clean and being able to start fresh! There is nothing like it!! In fact, the most joyous and satisfied human beings on earth are those who know God’s forgiveness and who forgive other people.
It’s obvious I have offended God far more than any other human has offended me. Real life is always found in following Christ’s example. He was walked on and treated unjustly, yet He forgave. We should do likewise when we are walked on and treated unjustly.
Those who forgive always win in the end!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The Bullet of Faithfulness: Witness
How do you measure the effective witness for Christ? Do you measure it by the number who hear the message? Do you measure it by those who respond?
The Bible makes it clear that an effective witness may result in a rejection of the message as well as its acceptance (II Corinthians 2:14-17)
Acceptance or rejection, many believing or few coming to faith, a large church or a small one none of these are the issue. Following the commands of Scripture is.
The ultimate test of a person’s life is what God thinks! The only way to please God is faithfulness. Doing what the Father says … from the big things to the little … covers it all! What a responsibility! What a relief!
How do you measure the effective witness for Christ? Do you measure it by the number who hear the message? Do you measure it by those who respond?
The Bible makes it clear that an effective witness may result in a rejection of the message as well as its acceptance (II Corinthians 2:14-17)
Acceptance or rejection, many believing or few coming to faith, a large church or a small one none of these are the issue. Following the commands of Scripture is.
The ultimate test of a person’s life is what God thinks! The only way to please God is faithfulness. Doing what the Father says … from the big things to the little … covers it all! What a responsibility! What a relief!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Of Boxes and Adventures
Guest Blogger: R.A. Stites, Ventures Saff
Sometimes we feel like we have discovered all there is worth knowing. We are comfortable with our status quo. We accept our limitations as normal. Life is familiar and we are comfortable. We like our box.
The trouble with boxes is that they tend to get opened. Sometimes adverse circumstances tear them apart. Sometimes unexpected events poke holes in them. Sometimes the tape just wears out and they pop open of their own accord. Life, the nature of the world, the vagaries of existence all act to move us out of our comfort zones.
When that happens, we have two choices: reseal the box or climb out. The weight of Scripture suggests that God is pleased when we get out and start exploring our limits. Take the Apostle Paul for example. He was quite happy with his Pharisee box as he set of to hunt down Christians. A bolt from heaven punctured his box on the Damascus road and the history of the church changed forever as he began to explore the world outside his box.
Are you comfortable with the box you have fashioned for your life? What things are trying to open your box? Instead of trying to repair it, maybe it is time to step out and see what adventure God has waiting beyond your comfortable box.
Guest Blogger: R.A. Stites, Ventures Saff
Sometimes we feel like we have discovered all there is worth knowing. We are comfortable with our status quo. We accept our limitations as normal. Life is familiar and we are comfortable. We like our box.
The trouble with boxes is that they tend to get opened. Sometimes adverse circumstances tear them apart. Sometimes unexpected events poke holes in them. Sometimes the tape just wears out and they pop open of their own accord. Life, the nature of the world, the vagaries of existence all act to move us out of our comfort zones.
When that happens, we have two choices: reseal the box or climb out. The weight of Scripture suggests that God is pleased when we get out and start exploring our limits. Take the Apostle Paul for example. He was quite happy with his Pharisee box as he set of to hunt down Christians. A bolt from heaven punctured his box on the Damascus road and the history of the church changed forever as he began to explore the world outside his box.
Are you comfortable with the box you have fashioned for your life? What things are trying to open your box? Instead of trying to repair it, maybe it is time to step out and see what adventure God has waiting beyond your comfortable box.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The State of the World – Fallen
Our lives are continuously messed up by “the Fall” and every single person is a victim of that mess. To grasp more and more of Christ’s attitude in response to this mess is to make every experience of life a “win” event regardless of the pain or loss! We learn how to be alive to God’s perfections in a dangerously imperfect world. Living the “Christ Life” means to accept the agonies and ecstasies of each day as inevitable experiences of “the Fall.”
This short passage is but a taste of what is waiting for you in the new issue of Mandate for the Christ Life, set for publication this August. Make sure you are on the mailing list – contact the Ventures office by e-mail or call 479-443-9474.
Our lives are continuously messed up by “the Fall” and every single person is a victim of that mess. To grasp more and more of Christ’s attitude in response to this mess is to make every experience of life a “win” event regardless of the pain or loss! We learn how to be alive to God’s perfections in a dangerously imperfect world. Living the “Christ Life” means to accept the agonies and ecstasies of each day as inevitable experiences of “the Fall.”
This short passage is but a taste of what is waiting for you in the new issue of Mandate for the Christ Life, set for publication this August. Make sure you are on the mailing list – contact the Ventures office by e-mail or call 479-443-9474.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Bullet of Wisdom: Aging
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them — Ecclesiastes 12:1
We can’t choose to age – God made the choice for us – but we can choose how to respond to the process. Think of it, the Lord put far more expectations into age than He did youth. Robert Browning wrote, “I summon age, to claim youth’s heritage!” The older we get “in Christ” the younger we get “in power.” As Paul said in II Corinthians 4:16, “Our outer man wastes away but the inner man is renewed day by day.” The mature Christian eagerly welcomes growing older for it takes him deeper in Christ and closer to the dawn of his eternal youth. As my dear mentor, J. Sidlow Baxter, said at age 94 … “Except for a few growing physical hindrances old (age) is wonderful … I wouldn’t have missed if for the world!”
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them — Ecclesiastes 12:1
We can’t choose to age – God made the choice for us – but we can choose how to respond to the process. Think of it, the Lord put far more expectations into age than He did youth. Robert Browning wrote, “I summon age, to claim youth’s heritage!” The older we get “in Christ” the younger we get “in power.” As Paul said in II Corinthians 4:16, “Our outer man wastes away but the inner man is renewed day by day.” The mature Christian eagerly welcomes growing older for it takes him deeper in Christ and closer to the dawn of his eternal youth. As my dear mentor, J. Sidlow Baxter, said at age 94 … “Except for a few growing physical hindrances old (age) is wonderful … I wouldn’t have missed if for the world!”
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Prayer for the Vice President
I was invited to give the opening prayer for a luncheon in Springdale, Arkansas, July 24, 2006, where the Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, was the guest speaker. Here is the text of the prayer I wrote for the occasion.
Father Creator- I offer this prayer for myself in the name of your Son … and for all my friends here in whatever way they recognize there is a God in Heaven.
First, I ask You to forgive all of us of our sad ignorance about the values, sacrifices, and forces that brought our nation into existence. Let us be honest enough to admit that for too many of us the bump of knowledge on our heads concerning the wondrous founding of our nation is a dent! Help us to be true students of the miracle of the United States of America in the long history of mankind.
Secondly, thank You today for the presence of our Vice President. Enable him in his strategic position to be a leader of highest vision and deepest truth. We ask the same for our President, our national and state leaders, and especially for our military leaders as they serve in harms way. From the highest rank to the lowest may they serve with strength and integrity.
Third, we joyfully thank You for Asa and Susan and their willingness and call to pay the hard price of positive and pure public service. We love them, Father, and ask Your full measure of blessing and promotion on their lives as You will.
Lastly, give this audience today a richer vision for our country. Save all of our truly noble citizens from being captured by the liberal left or captured by the conservative right but rather make them captive to being centered on liberating truth that is both self-evident and derived from our Creator.
Teach our people that we cannot build a free nation if it is an immoral nation. With all our national faults, Father, enable us to take our true message to the Middle East and to the rest of the world.
We say with the Psalmist…”Let us run in the way of Your commandments so that we can enlarge our hearts.”
We ask that our hearts be enlarged as we enjoy this gathering. May we hear well – respond well – do well – and love well – the true American Vision!
AMEN
I was invited to give the opening prayer for a luncheon in Springdale, Arkansas, July 24, 2006, where the Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, was the guest speaker. Here is the text of the prayer I wrote for the occasion.
Father Creator- I offer this prayer for myself in the name of your Son … and for all my friends here in whatever way they recognize there is a God in Heaven.
First, I ask You to forgive all of us of our sad ignorance about the values, sacrifices, and forces that brought our nation into existence. Let us be honest enough to admit that for too many of us the bump of knowledge on our heads concerning the wondrous founding of our nation is a dent! Help us to be true students of the miracle of the United States of America in the long history of mankind.
Secondly, thank You today for the presence of our Vice President. Enable him in his strategic position to be a leader of highest vision and deepest truth. We ask the same for our President, our national and state leaders, and especially for our military leaders as they serve in harms way. From the highest rank to the lowest may they serve with strength and integrity.
Third, we joyfully thank You for Asa and Susan and their willingness and call to pay the hard price of positive and pure public service. We love them, Father, and ask Your full measure of blessing and promotion on their lives as You will.
Lastly, give this audience today a richer vision for our country. Save all of our truly noble citizens from being captured by the liberal left or captured by the conservative right but rather make them captive to being centered on liberating truth that is both self-evident and derived from our Creator.
Teach our people that we cannot build a free nation if it is an immoral nation. With all our national faults, Father, enable us to take our true message to the Middle East and to the rest of the world.
We say with the Psalmist…”Let us run in the way of Your commandments so that we can enlarge our hearts.”
We ask that our hearts be enlarged as we enjoy this gathering. May we hear well – respond well – do well – and love well – the true American Vision!
AMEN
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Bullet of Praise: The Bottom Line
“The bottom line” is a bedrock conversation phrase in the financial world but it is just as critical for the “Becoming in Christ Believer”. What is “the bottom line” for your relationship with Christ Jesus? The best way to measure how close you are coming to the Savior is praise!
You know you are sharing Christ’s triumph when you find yourself in high praise regardless of your circumstances! Turning the best and worst events of your life into praise means you’ve won with Him, no matter what you have lost (or gained) on earth! As my dear, departed friend, Mickey Bonner, so beautifully put it … “a man’s maturity in Christ is revealed by his level of praise during his time of hardest testing.”
To see this happening in you life puts the words of the Psalmist in your heart … “May the high praise of God be in my mouth.”(Psalm 149:6) This is the only place in Hebrew Scriptures “high praise” is used. The entire Psalm (only nine verses) is a sweep of creation (1-3), salvation (4-6), celebration (7-9a), and exaltation (9b). This Psalm suggests there are three levels of celebration … joy, praise, and high praise!
Praise is bottom line stuff if one is serious about the Master. In fact, His presence with us is most clearly revealed to others by the magnitude of the praise within us!
“The bottom line” is a bedrock conversation phrase in the financial world but it is just as critical for the “Becoming in Christ Believer”. What is “the bottom line” for your relationship with Christ Jesus? The best way to measure how close you are coming to the Savior is praise!
You know you are sharing Christ’s triumph when you find yourself in high praise regardless of your circumstances! Turning the best and worst events of your life into praise means you’ve won with Him, no matter what you have lost (or gained) on earth! As my dear, departed friend, Mickey Bonner, so beautifully put it … “a man’s maturity in Christ is revealed by his level of praise during his time of hardest testing.”
To see this happening in you life puts the words of the Psalmist in your heart … “May the high praise of God be in my mouth.”(Psalm 149:6) This is the only place in Hebrew Scriptures “high praise” is used. The entire Psalm (only nine verses) is a sweep of creation (1-3), salvation (4-6), celebration (7-9a), and exaltation (9b). This Psalm suggests there are three levels of celebration … joy, praise, and high praise!
Praise is bottom line stuff if one is serious about the Master. In fact, His presence with us is most clearly revealed to others by the magnitude of the praise within us!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
The Bullet of Wisdom: I Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
The Lord lifted me recently with I Corinthians 1:30. It is only in Christ we have the wisdom that 1) conquers our blindness (righteousness), 2) completes our inadequacies (holiness), and 3) covers our failures (redemption). What a praise that He would do that for the likes of us!
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
I Corinthians 1:30
The Lord lifted me recently with I Corinthians 1:30. It is only in Christ we have the wisdom that 1) conquers our blindness (righteousness), 2) completes our inadequacies (holiness), and 3) covers our failures (redemption). What a praise that He would do that for the likes of us!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
The Bullet of Understanding
Understand you live in a broken world that constantly pressures you and knocks you down.
Only Answer: Keep getting up … Christ will enable you if you start! (II Corinthians 4:1, 16-18)
Understand that death to the secondary things make you alive to the best things.
Only Answer: Seek the Cross … Christ will enable you if you start! (John 12:23-26)
Understand that failure is inevitable to every person, but that doesn’t mean you are a failure.
Only Answer: Accept your sin and weakness … Forgive yourself! Christ will enable you if you start! ((Hebrews 10:14-14)
Understand the wounds and suffering of life, which cannot be escaped, will either defeat us by deceit or direct us to truth.
Only Answer: Endure whatever comes … Don’t quit! Christ will enable you if you start! (Romans 5:1-5)
Understand that all human beings (including you) are flawed and partial people. They will all disappoint you, hurt you, and be inadequate for you. You will do the same to yourself.
Only answer: Fill in their gaps (and yours) with the wisdom and power of God’s forgiveness. Christ will enable you if you start! (Ephesians 4:29-32)
Understand that praise (worship) is your ultimate strength against depression, aimlessness, weariness, and insignificance. His presence will be sovereign over you if you praise Him.
Only Answer: Praise Him continually, especially in the non-praise situations. Christ will enable you if you start! (Psalm 149:6)
Understand that you must practice and become continuously proficient in putting every experience of your life … good or bad, victorious or catastrophic … in Christ. There is no other “balance!”
Only Answer: Discover the hidden promises of God … dig! Christ will enable you if you start! (Colossians 2:1-8)
Understand God’s purpose on this fallen and broken world. Life is hard … very hard. Most try to escape the reality of it, but God must make us face hardness if we are to be trained in Christ’s likeness and become His warriors in spiritual combat!
Only Answer: You must learn to see everything … everything … from God’s point of view. Be eager and ready for problems and learn to process truth quickly! Christ will enable you if you start! (II Corinthians 5:13-21)
Understand that joy … indescribable joy … is possible on earth, but it is a gift of God and not experienced or achieved by anything we do. It is a gift only for those who please God. It is greater than happiness. Life is boring, meaningless, and sad without God’s kind of joy.
Only Answer: Finding God’s joy is the true source of overcoming-strength! Christ will enable you if you start! (John 10:7-10; 15:11; 16:33)
Understand you live in a broken world that constantly pressures you and knocks you down.
Only Answer: Keep getting up … Christ will enable you if you start! (II Corinthians 4:1, 16-18)
Understand that death to the secondary things make you alive to the best things.
Only Answer: Seek the Cross … Christ will enable you if you start! (John 12:23-26)
Understand that failure is inevitable to every person, but that doesn’t mean you are a failure.
Only Answer: Accept your sin and weakness … Forgive yourself! Christ will enable you if you start! ((Hebrews 10:14-14)
Understand the wounds and suffering of life, which cannot be escaped, will either defeat us by deceit or direct us to truth.
Only Answer: Endure whatever comes … Don’t quit! Christ will enable you if you start! (Romans 5:1-5)
Understand that all human beings (including you) are flawed and partial people. They will all disappoint you, hurt you, and be inadequate for you. You will do the same to yourself.
Only answer: Fill in their gaps (and yours) with the wisdom and power of God’s forgiveness. Christ will enable you if you start! (Ephesians 4:29-32)
Understand that praise (worship) is your ultimate strength against depression, aimlessness, weariness, and insignificance. His presence will be sovereign over you if you praise Him.
Only Answer: Praise Him continually, especially in the non-praise situations. Christ will enable you if you start! (Psalm 149:6)
Understand that you must practice and become continuously proficient in putting every experience of your life … good or bad, victorious or catastrophic … in Christ. There is no other “balance!”
Only Answer: Discover the hidden promises of God … dig! Christ will enable you if you start! (Colossians 2:1-8)
Understand God’s purpose on this fallen and broken world. Life is hard … very hard. Most try to escape the reality of it, but God must make us face hardness if we are to be trained in Christ’s likeness and become His warriors in spiritual combat!
Only Answer: You must learn to see everything … everything … from God’s point of view. Be eager and ready for problems and learn to process truth quickly! Christ will enable you if you start! (II Corinthians 5:13-21)
Understand that joy … indescribable joy … is possible on earth, but it is a gift of God and not experienced or achieved by anything we do. It is a gift only for those who please God. It is greater than happiness. Life is boring, meaningless, and sad without God’s kind of joy.
Only Answer: Finding God’s joy is the true source of overcoming-strength! Christ will enable you if you start! (John 10:7-10; 15:11; 16:33)
Thursday, July 06, 2006
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