Author: Brian

Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor

Prayer Quotes To Ponder

On By BrianIn Prayer Quotes

Prayerlessness is my declaration of independence from God.
– Daniel Henderson

A prayerless man is proud and independent, and any church that neglects corporate prayer is sadly no better. Only God’s humble and needy children take the time to pray. Everyone else is just going through the motions and naively trusting in their own strength!
– David Smithers

If we are not praying fervently in our churches, then we are relying on our own strength.
– Les Lofquist

The life, power, and glory of the church is prayer….  Without it, the church is lifeless and powerless.
– E. M. Bounds

Much prayer, much power.  Little prayer, little power.  No prayer, no power.
– Peter Deyneka, Sr.

We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power.  We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery, but few results.
– R.A. Torrey

 Beginning with the power of the Holy Spirit that came upon the followers of Jesus as they prayed with one accord (Acts 2:1) on the day of Pentecost, the most dynamic movements of reformation and revival God has sent to His church have exploded from united prayer.
– Donald Whitney

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

It has been a busy week, and I haven’t had much chance to write.  I am hoping next week for some good articles on the church praying together.  Until then, here are some good posts for your late weekend reading:

Chris Brauns reminds us of the proper place of obedience, and Ed Stetzer shares some good quotes from Jerry Bridges on sanctification.

In the family realm, Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson discuss the important place of the gospel in parenting.  Meanwhile Jared Wilson gives good thoughts to teens about living so no one despises your youth.

Before the work week begins, consider Josh Etter’s 12 ways to glorify God at work.

And finally, Tim Chester talks about the importance of meals for true community.  I am looking forward to reading this book this summer.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord with your local church!

Prayer Quotes To Ponder

On By BrianIn Prayer Quotes

In our culture of rugged individualism we have come to the conclusion that it is better to pray alone than with others.  Unfortunately, most of us never learn to do either one very well.  Like most disciplines of the Christian faith, we learn best to pray alone when we have been taught in community.
– Daniel Henderson

 Praying together provides an education in prayer for the entire church.
– Joel R. Beeke

 We shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.
– Charles Spurgeon

 If congregational or small group prayer isn’t part of your Christian life, there’s a problem.  Private-only prayer is not New Testament Christianity.  Prayer with others from the body of believers was one of the four marks of the church in Acts 2:42.  Some say they don’t pray with groups because they are too self-conscious when praying aloud with others.  This verse doesn’t say they all prayed aloud, but it does mean that they prayed together.  If you are unwilling to pray with others, you are too independent spiritually.
– Donald Whitney

 A congregation without a prayer meeting is essentially defective in its organization, and so must be limited in its efficiency.
– J. B. Johnston

 Praying regularly with others can be one of the most enriching adventures of your Christian life.  Most of the great movements of God can be traced to a small group of people He called together to begin praying.
– Donald Whitney

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

First, Dane Orlund gives us several reasons why we need to keep coming back to the gospel.

Second, Steve McCoy suggests an interesting way to reach out to your neighbors.  Might be a great idea for Memorial Day weekend.

Third, Jon Bloom questions the idea that will come up at many graduations this year (see my last post) that we should do whatever our hearts tell us to do.

Fourth, and perhaps related to number three, John Piper gives some wise words about so called gay marriage.

Finally, R.W. Glenn suggests that growth in Christ requires us to age backwards.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our Savior with your local church!

Bittersweet Graduation

On By BrianIn Idolatry1 Comment

I attended a high school graduation last night.  As a pastor, I usually attend at least one every year to watch our teens graduate.  I confess I find such ceremonies to be bittersweet.

They are sweet indeed as we celebrate their accomplishment.  They have learned and grown much over their years in school.  Many have achieved much in their pursuit of education.  Further, this ceremony marks the edge of adulthood in our culture.  A new stage in their life is beginning.  This is worth celebrating.  This is sweet indeed.

And yet I find it very bitter too.  In the midst of all the celebration, there is no mention of God.  There is no acknowledgement that God gave these graduates life, that he gave them the abilities, the brains, the gifts to achieve all that they have accomplished.  There is a gaping hole in the ceremony where God should be. 

This gaping hole is particularly evident in the speeches given.  It is customary to give advice for life in these speeches, but without God, the advice misses the central aspect of what life is all about.  Yes, I heard good things like the need for sacrifice, the recognition that we are not perfect, and the call to respect each other and work hard.  And yet in at least two of the speeches there was the spoken assumption of a rugged individualism where each person is to walk to the beat of their own drum, and the main point of life is simply to do whatever makes the individual happy.  Jettison the truth that life is all about God, and all we are left with is the idolatry that life is all about me.  It becomes a pagan ceremony, celebrating the idol of self. 

Of course this godless ceremony is not necessarily the fault of the speakers.  While some speakers may endorse a worldview without God and encourage the idea that life is all about me, others may be Christians caught in a ceremony that seeks to exclude everything Christian.  Our community school has a Baccalaureate Service for anyone who wants to attend that addresses the Christian dimension, so that the Commencement Program can be completely secular.  But by splitting the two, it makes the latter hollow indeed.  And we are left with some good advice that misses the best advice, alongside the idea that life is all about me instead of God.  This is bitter indeed.

Blueprint for Maturity

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

Colossians 1:9-14 not only gives us a great prayer to prayer for one another’s maturity in Christ (see last post), but it also gives us a blueprint for maturity in Christ.

The Means of Maturity in Christ (v9)

How do we grow?  We grow through God’s Word that teaches us the knowledge of his will.  We grow through the Spirit as he gives us wisdom and understanding to apply the Word to our daily lives.  And we grow through the power of prayer – as we pray for ourselves and indeed as others pray for us, as Paul is praying for the Colossians.  These three – the Word, the Spirit, and prayer – are powerful means toward our maturity in Christ.

The Manner of Maturity of Christ (v10)

What does maturity in Christ look like?  What is the manner or path toward maturity?  Maturity is found as we are bearing fruit in every good work – as we turn from sin and live for righteousness.  Maturity is found as we are increasing in our knowledge of God – as we grow in a vibrant relationship with him.  These two – growing in good works and grow in our relationship with God – are the manner of maturity in Christ.  This is what maturity looks like.

The Might behind Maturity in Christ (v11)

What empowers us to mature?  Not our own strength, but God’s strength.  We have strength to endure and press on as we look to God for his mighty power.  His power is the might behind maturity in Christ.

The Motive for Maturity in Christ (v12-14)

What motivates us to mature in Christ?  Gratitude for God’s salvation.  Gratitude for our inheritance in Christ, our deliverance from darkness, or entrance into Christ’s kingdom, our freedom from bondage to sin, our receiving forgiveness for all our sins, and every other glorious blessing that is ours in Jesus Christ.  The more we grasp God’s salvation for us, the more we will give thanks; and the more grateful we are, the more we will desire to live for Christ.  Gratitude for God’s salvation motivates us to mature in Christ.

Here then is a blueprint for maturity in Christ.  While the rest of Scripture fills in some gaps, this prayer gives us the basic means, manner, might, and motive related to maturity in Christ.  May we follow Paul’s blueprint for our own growing maturity in Christ for the glory of our great God!

Praying for Maturity

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

In Colossians 1:9-14, Paul shares his prayer for the Colossian church.  Essentially he prays that they would mature in Christ.  His prayer is an excellent model for us to pray for each other in our local churches. 

Be Filled with the Knowledge of His Will (v9b)

Following Paul, we should pray that we would know more and more of God’s will.  And how will we learn God’s will?  In God’s Word.  Paul’s prayer applied today is that we would be in the Bible.  We should read it, meditate on it, study it, memorize it, learn it so that we might know God’s will.  And what is his will in the Bible?  It is tied up with the great salvation he offers to us, and how we should respond.  And yet it is not enough to merely know his will.  We need wisdom and understanding to apply God’s will to our daily lives.  And Paul calls this spiritual wisdom and understanding; that is, this wisdom and understanding comes from the Spirit.  The same Spirit that led men to write the Bible, leads us to understand how to apply it to our lives. 

So let’s consider our prayers.  Following Paul, we should pray for each other in our local churches that we would know God’s will by being in God’s Word, and that we would apply it with the help of the Spirit to our lives.  Is this part of your prayer life?

Walk in a Manner Worthy of the Lord (v10)

This second request flows from the first.  As we know his will and apply it through the Spirit, we will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.  We will, as the verse goes on to say, live fully pleasing to him.  What would this look like?  Paul continues with two things:

First, we will bear fruit in every good work.  We will do what is good and right.  As we learn God’s will, we will obey it.  We will turn from sin, and be abundant in the good works he has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  Indeed I Peter 2:24 reminds us that Jesus died so we might die to sin and live for righteousness.  We live worthy of the Lord who died for us when we live out the salvation he purchased for us by doing what is good.

Second, we will increase in the knowledge of God.  Not the knowledge about God, but of God.  We will grow to know God more.  We will grow in our relationship with him.  In Colossians 1:21-22, we are reminded that Jesus died to reconcile us to God, to give us a relationship with him.  We live worthy of the Lord who died for us when we live out the salvation he purchased for us by growing in this relationship.

So let’s consider our prayers.  Following Paul, we should pray for each other in our local churches that we would grow in doing good and in our relationship with God.  Is this part of your prayer life?

Be Strengthened in His Power (v11)

On our own we can do nothing, so we need God’s power.  We need his glorious might.  Paul prays we would be strengthened by God’s power that created and sustains and reigns over this world.  Paul prays that we might share in the might that raised Jesus from the dead, and that will defeat the devil forever.  He prays that we might have this power so that we might have endurance and patience with joy.  We need endurance in difficult situations.  We need patience with difficult people.  And we need God’s strength to endure and be patient, especially if we are to endure and be patient with joy. 

So let’s consider our prayers.  Following Paul, we should pray for each other that we would be strengthened with God’s power to joyfully endure trials and be patient with people.  Is this part of your prayer life?

Give Thanks for God’s Great Salvation (v12-14)

As we know God’s will about salvation (from Paul’s first request), we should give thanks.  Paul shares three aspects of this great salvation here.

First, the Father qualifies us to share in a great inheritance.  We do not deserve it, but in Christ we can share in this great inheritance that includes our resurrection and a new world with God forever.  This is worth giving thanks for.

Second, the Father delivered us from the domain of darkness.  We are reminded here that the devil and his demons are real, but we have been delivered from their power.  This is worth giving thanks for.

Third, the Father transferred us into Christ’s kingdom.  Now we belong to Christ.  In him we have been purchased out of bondage to sin so that we might do what is good.  In him all of our sins are paid for, washed away, and forgiven.  This is worth giving thanks for.

So let’s consider our prayers.  Following Paul, we should pray for each other to grasp more and more God’s great salvation that we might give thanks to God for all he has done for us.  Is this part of your prayer life?

Conclusion

What if we prayed Paul’s prayer continually for each other in our churches?  In verse 9, Paul told the Colossians he did not cease to pray this prayer for them.  What if we followed Paul’s example?  How might we be changed?  How might our churches be changed?  Let’s not just ask the questions.  Let’s pray for each other to mature in Christ and see what God might do through it!

Weak as Worms

On By BrianIn Prayer Quotes

 In themselves as weak as worms,
How can poor believers stand,
When temptations, foes, and storms,
Press them close on every hand?

Weak, indeed, they feel they are,
But they know the Throne of Grace;
And the God who answers prayer,
Helps them when they seek His face.

Though the Lord awhile delay,
Succor they at length obtain;
He who taught their hearts to pray,
Will not let them cry in vain.

Wrestling prayer can wonders do;
Bring relief in deepest straits!
Prayer can force a passage through
Iron bars and brazen gates.

For the wonders He has wrought,
Let us now our praises give;
And, by sweet experience taught,
Call upon Him while we live.

– John Newton

Prayer Quotes To Ponder

On By BrianIn Prayer Quotes

The prayer of the feeblest saint on earth who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to Satan.  The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer…no wonder Satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we cannot think in prayer. 
 – Oswald Chambers

If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation.
– John Owen

Our prayer life is an indicator of our spiritual appetite.
– James W. Beeke and Joel R. Beeke

Do you understand that the success of your minister and missionaries is intimately bound up with your prayers?
– Joel R. Beeke

True prayer is the believer’s greatest weapon in the armory of God.  
– James W. Beeke and Joel R. Beeke