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

Communion With God

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

We have been considering the elements of prayer – recognizing God’s presence, confession of sins, recognizing God’s forgiveness, praise, and petition.  But prayer is more than these elements.  Prayer is communion with God.  It is possible to include all the elements of prayer and miss the main point – a relationship with God.

My children could recognize my presence in the house, apologize when they are naughty, recognize that I forgive them, thank me when I do something for them, and ask me for things without much more than an acquaintence level relationship.  In the same way we can include all the elements of prayer and miss a deep relationship with God.

Prayer in the Psalms is more than a mere conversation; it is communion with God.  They want God.  Consider the following verses:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
– Psalm 63:1

As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
– Psalm 42:1-2

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
– Psalm 27:4

This is more than mere conversation.  This is a desire to know God and spend time with him.  This is about relationship.  Prayer is communion with God. 

When you pray, are you just talking?  Or are you communing with your God?

Petition

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

This week we have been learning to pray from the Psalms.  We considered recognizing God’s presence as we begin to pray from Psalm 139.  We looked at confession of sins from Psalm 51.  We noted the importance of recognizing God’s forgiveness from Psalm 32.  And yesterday we discussed praising God from Psalms 29 and 117. 

Today we want to consider petition.  For most of us, petition probably makes up a large part of our prayers.    And this is okay, as long as we don’t neglect the other elements of prayer.  Indeed, much of the Psalms is also given to petition.  As we think about petition from the Psalms, I want to consider four principles.

1. Recognize Your Helplessness

David clearly recognizes his helplessness as he cries out to God in Psalm 61:1-2:

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

His heart is faint.  He needs someone higher than himself.  He needs help, and out of that recognition, he cries out to God.  As we recognize our helplessness, we too will pray.  What we need to grasp is that we need God’s help for everything.  Too often we think we can do it ourselves.  But we need God for our next breath.  And in the spiritual realm: apart from God we can do nothing (John 15).  We always need God’s help.  And the more we recognize this, the more we will pray.

2. Cry Out To God

In the verses above, that is exactly what David is doing.  He is crying out to God.  Psalm 62:8 tells you to “pour out your heart before him.”  Whatever is on our hearts is what we should pray about.  Nothing is too big or too small. 

3. Trust His Will

Psalm 62:8 starts by telling us to “Trust in him at all times, O people.”  Not only are we to pour out our hearts to God, but we are to trust in him – and that includes trusting his will, his plan in our current situation.  We need to trust his answer to our prayers.

We need to pour out our hearts and trust his will.  I think we tend to stray one way or the other.  We might cry out to God in a way that becomes demanding.  Or we may stoically resign ourselves to his will without ever expressing our hearts.  Jesus as always is our perfect example here:

And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.  And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.  Remove this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Notice that Jesus pours out his heart.  He wants the hour to pass.  He wants the cup removed.  He wants to be spared the agony of the cross and our sins.  He cries out to God.  What is particularly interesting is that he knows the answer to his cries is no.  He came to die.  He has been telling his disciples for days that he is going to Jerusalem to die.  He knows the answer, but he cries out anyway.  He isn’t fake with his Father; he expresses his true feelings – and so should we.

But Jesus also trusts the Father’s will.  He closes his prayer with submission to the Father’s will.  He will trust the Father even in the horror of the cross. 

Jesus is our perfect example.  Tell God how you feel, but then trust his will.

4. Trust His Power

Psalm 62:8 again:

Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.

We need to not only trust his will, but also his power.  Helpless, we cry out to the one who can help us.  He is our refuge.  He is bigger than any trial that can come against us.  Like David in Psalm 61, we cry out to the rock that is higher than we are.   I think of the example of Asa in II Chronicles 14:9-12.  A huge army is coming against Judah.  Humanly speaking, Asa’s puny army is about to be utterly defeated.  Helpless, Asa cries out to a God more powerful than any army.  And God defeats the larger army. 

Do you pray believing in God’s greater power?  Do you pray expectantly?  Regardless of the situation?  God is more powerful than anything that can come against us.  And he still answers prayers.  Trust his power.

Conclusion

Petition is an important part of our prayer.  Because we are helpless on our own, we must cry out to God for help.  We should share our hearts with him, even as we trust his answer.  And we should pray expectantly, remember that his power is greater than anything that can come against us.  So let us bring our petitions before him!

Praise

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

Psalm 29:1-2 calls us to celebrate God’s greatness:

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

To this psalm we could add many others that call us to praise God for who he is – a great and glorious God. 

Is this part of your prayer life?  Do you praise God for his greatness? 

The Psalms can help us learn to praise God for his greatness.  Many of the Psalms give us words to use to convey our praises.  Many hymns and choruses also give us words to use in praising God for who he is.  Indeed, when we sing praises to God we are merely setting our prayers to music. 

As we praise God for his greatness, we ought also to praise God for his many blessings.  Psalm 117 call us to:

Praise the Lord, all nations!  Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

By his love and faithfulness, God showers us with countless blessings, and we should praise him for them.

Is this part of your prayer life?  Do you praise God for his blessings?  When he answers a prayer or sends some good thing into your life, are you quick to praise him?

We have a great God who blesses us immensely.  As such, praise should be a big part of our prayers.