Whatever You Ask

I live in a country where political unrest has not been a big deal in my lifetime. Yet in the last 40 years, I have watched polarization to the extremes grow and grow. For the first time in my awareness, we have an election still not declared weeks after the casting of votes. Usually, it is declared almost immediately. My heart and mind are now ready to read God’s Word in a different light. I have been shaken out of my comfort and ability to plod through life without much attention to the greater concerns. In the past, I would say, “Let the politicians handle that. I will concern myself with my immediate family and work and maybe my community from time to time.”

The word that is heavy in my mind this morning is “prayer”. Jerusalem was in ruins. Nehemiah, along with many others, was in captivity and he was serving as cup bearer to the king of the nation that was in control. When he heard news of the condition of his beloved Jerusalem, he was distraught. He didn’t just go to the king and tell him he would need to find another cup bearer because he, Nehemiah, was going to go back to Jerusalem to restore the gates and walls. His life could have been taken from him for even thinking such a thing. Long before the ask, Nehemiah began to pray and fast. He talked to God about the situation, but more than that, he talked to God about the condition of his heart and the heart of his people. He praised God for his awesome power and faithfulness. He confessed his sin and the sin of his people. He reminded God that the covenant between Him and His people declared that if they returned to Him, He would restore them to the land He had brought them to. He asked for favor from the king. This went on for several months and it effected his countenance. Apparently, he had a good relationship with the king because the king took notice that he wasn’t his usual happy self and inquired about it. In his journal, Nehemiah confesses he was terrified to answer the king. As he prayed and fasted, God had been giving him a strategy, but it was huge and unheard of to ask a king to help him rebuild the gates and walls of a city that had been conquered.

Yet, as we read Nehemiah’s journal, we see that he was not only released to go, provisions were made for him and for the rebuilding of the wall and the gates. In his prayers, he had asked God for the king’s favor and he was granted huge favor from the king!

But it was not easy. There was a lot of resistance. And the people were constantly being intimidated by the opposition. False prophets appeared to discourage them. How was Nehemiah able to discern the false prophets from the true ones? I don’t imagine he quit praying once the building was underway.

People came to him saying they were in need. They were having to sell their daughters as slaves to have enough food to eat. They had already mortgaged their houses and land and had nothing else to mortgage. Apparently, it was mortgaged to a few wealthy leaders in the community and Nehemiah was angry! That was not God’s way. They were not to be taxing the people, but rather helping them. He accused the leaders of selling their people into slavery after he had been doing all he could to redeem them from slavery to foreigners. To avoid being mocked by enemy nations, he asked the wealthy to restore the property and homes to the rightful owners and quit charging interest. Nehemiah knew that justice for the oppressed was very close to God’s heart. What is amazing is that the wealthy agreed and did restore property and homes to the people.

Nehemiah did not tax the people in order to provide for his own table that fed 150 Jewish officials and visitors to the land on a daily basis. He led by example and people followed.

He was successful in rebuilding the wall. His success came not through his own genius and wealth. It came through a humble spirit committed to prayer and fasting to the God who had the power to make it happen.

Many years later, Jesus would sit with his disciples and teach them the power of prayer through His own example and words. Jesus was in the habit of going up on the mountain to pray each morning. He taught the disciples that God would do anything they asked if they would “remain or abide in Him.” They were to love each other. And through that, they would glorify the Father and produce “lasting fruit.”

So I wonder, what does it mean to “remain or abide in Him?” And what is “lasting fruit?”

And I begin to imagine. If one man, Nehemiah, could pray and fast and receive the king’s favor for a big ask and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, what could I, one person, accomplish if I began to pray and fast about the injustices around me. First would God reveal to me the particular injustices (for there are many) that He would want me to address? Would He give me strategy to begin to address them? And what if several believers would meet together and pray and fast? What desires and strategies would God place in their hearts to do? And if His Church would be united in fasting and praying, what then might be accomplished that would be “unheard of” and would bring great glory to the Father? What if we stopped protecting our own interests and “loved each other” as Christ loved us – even being willing to give His life for us? What then might our nation and our world look like?

Holy Father, you are an awesome God, full of power, mercy and grace. You have been faithful to us even when we have been less than faithful to you. We confess that we have not loved each other as you have asked us to do, but have trampled on each other trying to get more for ourselves. We repent and ask you to forgive us and restore us to being the children you have called us to be – children who seek your face and carry out your mission to reconcile the world to yourself. Give us strategy and favor Lord, that we might serve you by serving each other and bring glory and honor to your name, the name above every other name. It is in the powerful name of Jesus we ask these things. Amen.

Being Disciples So We Can Make Disciples

COVID-19. USA elections 2020. Just reading/hearing/typing those words brings all kinds of thoughts to the troubled minds of most of us trying to navigate the changes and havoc it has brought into our lives. Rather than keep asking God “Why?” and imploring Him to make it go away, what if we asked the questions, “What do you want to do with this, God?” and “What do you want me to do as a result of this, God?” Maybe it is time to let our minds run free and let God reposition us to fulfill His command to “Go and make disciples.”

I recently listened to Dr. Lucas Leys' talk about the learning and teaching process as it relates to our churches and teaching/discipling believers. He noted that church-going Christians average listening to 50 sermons a year in our churches. But research shows us that the daily life of Christians who attend church vs. people in general is very similar – only a couple percentage points difference. This would indicate that most of us are not absorbing/learning what is being taught in our churches – or what is being taught is not transformational. We accept the salvation through Jesus Christ, but don’t submit ourselves to His lordship in our lives. We refuse to be discipled and transformed by the Gospel that saves us!

James tells us, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” James 1:22-25 NLT (my emphasis).

This is not just a New Testament teaching. This morning, I found this nugget tucked in II Chronicles 24:20 NLT. “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!” I wondered about the full meaning of the word translated as “prospering.” It is a rich word as many Hebrew words are, and it takes many English words to translate the full meaning of it. Here is what Strong’s Definitions says about the word: “to push forward, in various senses (literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive):—break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable, (cause to, effect, make to, send) prosper(-ity, -ous, -ously).”

As I read that passage, I found myself weeping and mourning at the state of the nation of Judah. They had come through and era where the king listened to a priest and had brought the country into a time of peace and prosperity. But when the priest died, King Joash began to listen to other people and opened up the kingdom to worshiping other gods and in the end, stoned Zechariah for prophesying those words. I pondered the parallels of our nation as we have watched Christians go from making Jesus Lord to making politics lord in their lives. Christians who try to speak out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ are frequently “stoned” verbally even by other Christians. And I weep as I realize that few people are allowing the “Lord’s commands” to dwell deeply in us and transform us to be Christ-like in our attitudes, words, and behaviors.

I continue to ponder this and wonder if the problem is that we don’t read and respect the “owner’s manual” that came from the Creator of the world. It starts from a place of believing that God created the world and everything in it. If He created it, it would stand to reason that He knows best how it should operate and what makes it operate smoothly. He gave us annotated instructions and as Zechariah the priest said, when we disobey the Lord’s commands (instructions) we keep ourselves from prospering – moving forward, breaking out, coming mightily, being profitable, prospering!

Oh Lord! I confess that we do not read, learn from and follow your words of wisdom and instruction you have given us. And now we find ourselves in a huge mess! Lord, create in us a hunger for you that leads us to your Word. Change us! Remake us from the mess we have made with ourselves into the disciples you desire for us to be – so we can run smoothly, operate as we are designed to operate, and prosper in the world you created for us and in which you placed us. It is not just about our nation, but about our very souls. Meet with us and change us for your Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven! Amen.

 

Temptations Got You Down?

Temptations are real. We all struggle with them every day. But I wonder, why some people give in more quickly than others. Then there is Jesus. After 40 days of fasting, He still did not give into the temptation to make a rock into bread. Why? He did not give into the temptation for power over all nations. Why? He did not give into the temptation to jump from a high place and prove He was special. Why?

I have studied those temptations may times and from many angles. Today, I saw something different as I was reading the passage in Luke 4. I was hearing John 13:3-5 playing in the background of my mind. “Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.” (NLT)

As I read through the temptations one at a time, I began to understand more why Jesus was victorious over these temptations. The devil started the temptations with three words, “If you are….” And I begin to wonder, do all temptations begin there? At the core of every temptation is the question, “Who am I?”

First, Jesus was tempted to prove He was the Son of God by doing the miracle of turning the stone into bread. But Jesus knew that He was the ‘bread of life’ that came into the world to provide a way for us to repent and be saved. He did not need to make a stone into bread – did not need to prove anything. He knew who He was!

Second, Jesus was tempted to bow down and worship the devil in order to have authority over all the kingdoms of earth. But Jesus knew that He already had that authority not only over all kingdoms but over all creation. He knew that the devil’s days were numbered, and that true authority comes from God, not from the devil. He did not need a shortcut to be honored as king. He was the Lord of Lords and King of Kings!

Third, Jesus was tempted to jump from a high place to prove that God would rescue Him. But Jesus knew that He could call on God and 12 legions of angels would rescue Him. (Matthew 26:53) He did not need to prove anything to the devil. He did not need to test God’s ability to save Him. He came into the world to save us!

So how does that help me overcome temptations? Because I have repented of my sins and accepted Jesus as Lord of my life, I have a new identity in Him. I am His child. My Father is King of the universe! I can have confidence that He will provide for me. I don’t need to steal or connive to get things. I can even be generous with what He has already given me because I know He will provide all I need. I don’t need to try to gain power over others because He is Lord of my life and as I humble myself before Him and before others, He will put me in places of honor in His kingdom. I can even encourage others as I have been encouraged by Him to grow into my role as a child of the King. And I don’t need to constantly test Him to see if He is there. He will rescue me when I need to be rescued. I can trust Him to be there for me. And when I am done on this earth, I know where I am going – to an eternal home with my Father!

If I walk in that identity, temptations will not overtake me. It is when I forget who I am that I am most vulnerable.

Father, thank you for providing a way out for me when I am tempted. Thank you for saving me and for your promises that guide me as I put my trust in you. Help me to continue to grow into my position as your child so that I can become all that you call me to be without fear. You are awesome and I love you. Amen.

COVID-19 and Genesis 19

Usually, I blog based on my morning reading in the Bible. But this morning, I did not even get to the reading of the Bible and the Lord began speaking into me. You see, like many around me, in this day of COVID-19 terrorizing us, I find myself grieving. We are used to a few people here and there grieving loss, but this is different. Nearly every person on the planet is grieving – even if they don’t recognize it. How in the world do we deal with all the unwelcome changes, the isolation, the fear of the unknown, the fear of the virus itself, the fear for the economy, the fear for the safety of our families?

And of all things, the Lord brought Lot and his family to mind. In Genesis 19, we are told that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Lot and his family had been walked out by the angels and sent away from the destruction. They were living life as usual and were seemingly not bothered by the sin all around them. When they were told to leave, they resisted. The angels had to literally grasp their hands and lead them out of the city.

At that point, I am certain they were experiencing shock and instant grief. Everything they had worked for was left behind. They only had their lives. They were to not look back, but Lot’s wife did and became a pillar of salt. Lot begged to go to a nearby town rather than flee to the mountains as he had been instructed. But after he saw the total destruction of everything he loved, he and his daughters did flee to the mountains and lived in a cave.

Now why did this come to mind in light of COVID-19? As we are experiencing the grief of losing “life as normal” and having to adapt in our families and communities, some people are living in a state of panic, some are depressed, some are hoping to return to normal in a few weeks and disappointed every time the time for social isolation is extended. Some are working but fearing for their health and the health of their families. Some are out of work and income. If we keep looking back on what we have lost and are losing, we will be paralyzed like Lot’s wife. If we refuse to look ahead, we will “live in a cave” of fear and depression and go nowhere.

Times are changing. The Lord is rescuing us from the pace of life that is winding up faster and faster and killing us little by little and He is giving us opportunity to re-evaluate what is important. He is pouring out “new wine” for us to experience. Will we bring out “new wine skins” or will we try to put it into the “old wine skins” of previous habits and schedules?

I really don’t want to go where Lot went. I desire to be open to where God is telling me to go – what He is telling me to do. First, I have to trust Him completely to be in control and to take care of me. Then I need to set aside my fear and desire to look back and look ahead to what He is giving me instead. I believe He is resetting my compass and making sure I am going the right direction. As long as He gives me breath, He has things for me to do and I need to be focused on Him so I receive that direction and can obey it.

Yes, it is hard. But it seems that “hard” is what it takes for God to get our full attention instead of a polite nod in His direction once or twice a week. Let’s move with confidence into the next phase of this journey. God loves us. He is in control. He has a purpose for us. He will lead us. We can trust Him. Take His hand and let Him lead you to safety.