Category: PASSION Reflections

Cultivating Your Prayer Life

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

CultivatePrayerIn How Can I Cultivate Private Prayer, Joel Beeke challenges us to take hold of ourselves in seven ways to cultivate private prayer. His first point for this week is to remember the value of prayer.  He lists five values to prayer (which I will let you read), before focusing on two: the value of finding God in prayer and the value of God answering prayer.

First, no matter what way God may choose to answer our prayers, there is great value in finding God.  Beeke writes:

God is always greater and more valuable than His answers.  The greatest mercy is to find God, not His mercies.

Our time in prayer draws us closer to the Lord as we seek him, cry out to him, and wait upon him.  What a wonderful opportunity we have to find God and commune with him!  What activity could be more valuable?

Second, what a wonderful thing it is to see how God answers prayers.  We have a powerful God who can do all things, and he chooses to work through our prayers.  Think of ways that God has answered prayer in your life, in your family, and in your church.  His answers to our cries make prayer of huge value as He is able to do what only He can do.

We must remember the value of prayer if we would commit to grow in prayer.  We must believe that it is valuable – of highest importance – if we would give greater time and energy toward it.

So let us remember the value of prayer.  And let us cultivate our private prayer accordingly.

Cultivating Your Prayer Life

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer1 Comment

CultivatePrayerFollowing the introduction, Joel Beeke’s booklet, How Can I Cultivate Private Prayer, has two main calls: “Take Hold of Yourself” and “Take Hold of God.”  Each call has seven principles.  But before we get to them, this week I want to focus on his introduction to the first call to take hold of yourself.  He writes:

I thus plead with you to seek a more fervent and faithful prayer life, with effort, urgency, and dependence on Christ and the Holy Spirit.

I must exert effort if I am going to cultivate my prayer life.  Prayer can be hard work, and pressing forward in this holy habit will require discipline and self-control.  I will not simply drift into a greater prayer life.

I must have a sense of urgency.  There are always other things to do that seem more urgent, that will crowd out this important habit of prayer.  There is always the temptation to put this off to another time when I have more time (whenever that will be).  The only way I will grow in this habit is if I sense an urgency today to make it happen today.

I must depend on God to help me grow in prayer.  I need his grace and his Spirit if I am going to have the self-control to exert the necessary effort (Titus 2:11-12, Galatians 5:22-23).  I must pray even to grow in prayer.  But here surely is a prayer that God delights to answer!

Effort.  Urgency.  Dependence.  May these be true of me – and of you too, as we seek to grow in prayer.

Cultivating Your Prayer Life

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

Today we continue our way through Joel Beeke’s little booklet, How Can I Cultivate Private Prayer?  On p5, Beeke writes:

Consider the tremendous potential of prayer.  It is nothing less than communion with the living God.

CultivatePrayerI am trying to keep this mind as I pray this week.  I don’t want to just work through a list of needs (though I do want to do that).  I want to commune with God.  I want to recognize who I am talking to, and enjoy being able to talk to my Creator and Sustainer and Savior and King.  I want to rest in the love of my Father as His beloved child as I come before Him.

Through Jesus, we can draw near to God Himself and commune with Him.  What a great blessing to remember and exercise.  May God help us to commune with God this week!

 

Cultivating Your Prayer Life

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

CultivatePrayerOur Sunday School class just finished two weeks reviewing the Biblical principles found in Joel Beeke’s booklet, How Can I Cultivate Private Prayer?  I can’t help but think that if I could just digest and apply these principles, that my prayer life, and so my walk with God, would grow in incredible ways.  To that end, I am going to take a section each week to reread, ponder, and seek to apply to my prayer life.

And I want to invite you to join me on this quest for growth.  First, you need the book, which you can order here, or if you have Kindle you can get it here.  Then read along with me each week.  I will have a blog related to the weekly section each Wednesday.  On p2, Joel Beeke writes:

Prayer is a crucial part of the Christian life and deserves our careful attention and cultivation. 

That being so, let’s strive to grow in this important habit.

Beloved

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.
– Ephesians 5:1

God calls us beloved children.  You are God’s beloved child – his dearly loved son or daughter.  You are dearly loved by God.

The Creator and Sustainer and Sovereign King of the entire universe dearly loves you.  Let that sink in.  God dearly loves you.  Oh that you might grasp this incredible truth that God loves you.  Who cares what others think of you, if God of universe loves you.

This word “beloved” occurs three times in Ephesians.  Once is here.  The first time was back in 1:6 where Paul referred to Jesus as the Father’s beloved.  At Jesus’ baptism, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.”  And here in our text, the Father says the same thing to you: “You are my beloved son.  You are my beloved daughter.  You are my beloved child.  I dearly love you.”

You are beloved by God.

May that truth sink into your heart, and may you live each day out of this glorious reality.

Four Ways to Participate in a Baptism Service

On By BrianIn Church Life

Our church baptized three of our young people yesterday.  What a glorious day it was!

Before we did the actual baptisms, I reminded everyone that we were all there to participate in the baptism service.  It was not just for the three being baptized, but we were to all participate in the baptism service.  So here are four ways to participate in your church’s next baptism service.

First, we are all there to celebrate God’s saving work in the lives of those being baptized.  By faith in Jesus Christ, their sins have been washed away.  They are now His disciples.  And they are standing before us to proclaim that reality in their lives.  That is worth celebrating!

Second, we are all there to witness their confession of faith and commitment to follow Christ.  As witnesses, we must then be committed as their church family to help them grow in their walk with the Lord.  We commit to teach, to encourage, to support, to pray for, to build up, to be the church family in which they can grow up in the Faith.

Third, we are all there to remember our own baptisms.  As we watch these new believers be baptized, we remember our public proclamation of faith through the waters of baptism.  We remember our own salvation through Jesus Christ, and our own commitment to live for Him.  And as we remember, we affirm our faith and desire to follow Christ.

Finally, we are all there to pray for any who do not know Christ as their Savior who may be observing the baptisms.  We cry out silently that God might be at work in people’s hearts convicting them of sin and the real offer of salvation in Jesus Christ.  This assumes of course that we are in fact saved.  If not, then we ought to prayerfully consider our own need of salvation, of receiving what those who are being baptized have received.

Don’t just be a spectator at your next baptism service.  Be an active participant as you celebrate, witness, remember, and pray.

 

Not Offended

On By BrianIn Identity

Have you noticed that everyone seems to be offended?  Even outraged!  Several weeks ago a school decided not to have a Valentine’s party lest someone be offended.  But of course their decision offended other people.  Facebook is full of the rants and ravings of offended people.  What are we to make of this?  Here’s my theory.

Somehow we have come to base our identity on what others think and do.  So if someone thinks or does something that I like, it validates my thoughts and actions, and so validates my identity.  On the flip side, if someone disagrees with me about something or does something I don’t like, it opposes my thoughts and my actions, and so threatens my identity.  And I get offended, or even outraged.

And so suddenly having or not having a Valentine’s party threatens someone’s identity.  Opposing or supporting same-sex marriage, or gun-control, or abortion, or practically anything threatens someone’s identity.  We can no longer have a rational conversation about anything, because our identity is at stake.  And so we quickly get offended or even outraged.

Even many Christians, who should know better, seem to have based their identity on what the rest of world thinks and does.  The majority of our country used to agree with us on moral issues, but now it doesn’t, and so our identity is somehow threatened.  And so we act like the rest of the world – offended, outraged, ranting and raving.

But our identity as Christians is not based on the opinions or actions of others.  Our identity is found in Christ who loved us and died for us and made us children of God.  We are in Christ.  He is our identity.  And so we need not be so easily offended.  We need not be outraged at every little thing that happens.

Now let me be clear – we may not like what others think or do.  We may hate the sin that we see in our culture and the harm that it brings to people.  Sin should bother us.  Sin is offensive.  But we need not be offended or outraged by the thoughts and behaviors of others as if it somehow threatens our identity.  We ought not live in a constant state of offense and outrage.

Our identity is found in Christ and not in what others think or do.  So let’s live as Christians and not be so easily offended.

 

Father of Glory

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Habit of Prayer1 Comment

In Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:16-20, he approaches God as the Father of glory. God is our Father, and yet at the same time he is the God of all glory. In the Old Testament, God is often referred to as the God of glory or the King of glory. Now we can call him our Father, but he is still the Father of glory. Or as Jesus teaches us, he is our Father in heaven. Calling him our Father means we can come boldly into his presence through Jesus as his children. “In heaven” and “of glory” means we must approach him with reverence and humility.

Is this how we approach God when we come before him in prayer or to worship? Boldly before our Father? Reverently and humbly before our glorious God? Do we mindlessly come into his presence, or do we consider into whose presence we come? He is the Father of glory.

A Prayer

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

Father, you have opened our blinded eyes that we might see you and know you, but too often our eyes are sleepy when it comes to your spiritual blessings. So open our eyes that we might grasp the ramifications of your great salvation for us. Open our eyes that we might live out the blessings that we have in Christ. May your Spirit enlighten the eyes of our hearts with wisdom to understand and live out the revelation of the gospel that you have given to us.

Open our eyes to know you in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way. To grow in our personal relationship with you. To commune with you more and more – listening to you as you speak to us in your Word, and responding to you in prayer. Open our eyes to know you better.

Open our eyes to know in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way the hope of your calling to us. To grasp the incredible inheritance that you have for your children. To cling to the hope of our own resurrection that we might dwell with you forever and ever. And to live in response to this hope in the midst of the struggles of life. Open our eyes to this great hope.

Open our eyes to know in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way the riches of your inheritance in us. To grasp the wonder of being your own people, your own inheritance. To cling to the reality of your delight in us, desire for us, love for us, care for us – not because we are so great, but because of your incredible love. And to live each day in response to your amazing love for us no matter what others may think of us. Open our eyes to your great love.

Open our eyes to know in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way the greatness of your power toward us. To grasp the immeasurable greatness of your power, your great might working in us. To cling to this same power toward us that raised Jesus from the dead and placed him above every other power. And to live each day in response to your mighty power toward us which is greater than anything that can come against us. Open our eyes to your great power.

Open our eyes to know you, to know this hope, to know this love, to know this power in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way. Open our eyes, O God, open our eyes.

(Inspired by Ephesians 1:16-20)

You Were Chosen

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

You were chosen.

Before the foundation of the world. Before time and space existed. Before all of creation. You were on God’s mind. He was thinking about you.

You were chosen.

According to the purpose of his will. His purpose. His will. It was his purpose, his good pleasure, to choose you. It was his desire to choose you. It was his delight to choose you.

You were chosen.

To be holy and blameless before him. To have your sin and guilt and shame removed. To be declared righteous in his sight. To live as one set apart unto God. To live for Him. To one day stand before him holy and blameless forever.

You were chosen.

For adoption as sons. To be God’s beloved child. To be part of God’s family. To receive an inheritance forever.

You were chosen.

In Christ. Through Jesus Christ. All because of Christ. As we are united to Christ.

You were chosen.

To the praise of his glorious grace. That God might be praised, exalted, lifted up, worshiped, glorified. For his grace toward us, his underserved favor, his unearned blessing, his glorious gift of salvation for us.

You were chosen.