Category: Christian Living

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Christian Living

Our Nation Still Needs Prayer

The American Flag - symbolizing our need to spend more time in prayer for our nation
Today, I share with you a call to prayer for our nation, the United States of America. Can you guess how long ago it was written? The language will give away the age a bit, but you will have to admit that the message sounds like it could have been written yesterday:

“The truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history is that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

What was your guess?
The answer: One hundred and fifty years ago.
By President Abraham Lincoln.

He signed this proclamation to appoint April 30th, 1863 (a Thursday) as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. The proclamation also stated:
“I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite at their several places of public worship and their respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord…. All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope…that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.”photo of president Abraham Lincoln who reminded us that we needed to have prayer for our nation

It is amazing to read this proclamation 150 years after it was written and realize that we find ourselves in a similar place now. We have not been faithful to repent as a nation. We, the Christians in the nation, have failed to be prayerful for our nation. Our greatest act of service for our country is to fast and pray for it with humble hearts seeking that God would turn our nation’s hearts back to Him. One of our early presidents realized the important need for us to do so. I pray that we will realize our need to join together 151 years later and answer this clear call to serve our nation through prayer.

(These words are from Proclamation 97 – Appointing a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer – March 30, 1863 – Abraham Lincoln)

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Christian Living

In Light of the ISIS Genocide and Unmet Expectations

gold letter Nun in support of the Christians facing persecution by ISIS and who may be dealing with shaken faith thru unmet expectations
The tragic ISIS genocide we are reading about brings up additional questions regarding unmet expectations. When we see what our brothers and sisters are experiencing due to their faith in Jesus Christ – whether it be killing at the hands of Islamic terrorists or imprisonment such as what has happened with pastor Saeed Abedini – then it can make us wonder about the character and love of God. How can God be called good in the face of such evil atrocities taking place on this earth He created?

We aren’t the first ones to ask these questions. We find the same questions in Jesus’ day. Even John the Baptist had a season (or moment) of questioning. John had baptized Jesus. He had called Him “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He said about Jesus – He must become greater and I must become less. He had great expectations regarding his cousin who He had baptized as the Christ, as the Expected One, as the Lamb of God. He had seen the Holy Spirit descend onto Jesus. He knew who Jesus was and was expecting great things from Jesus. But where did he find himself? He was sitting in a jail cell awaiting possible execution. This was not what he expected!

How could the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world be Jesus if he (John) was sitting in a jail cell? Why is this happening? God, where are You?

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever questioned God about what life has thrown at you and wondered if God was still sitting on His throne? Wondered if God was still in control? Wondered if God even cared about you? John had these same concerns.

I’m so glad that Jesus didn’t chastise him for his questions. Instead, Jesus knew just what to say to John to comfort him and to help him realize that he had done exactly what God wanted him to do. “John, I am the Messiah. My works and the scriptures prove it. You were right in calling me the Lamb of God. You can be at peace that you lived out your calling to God just as He desired for you to do.”

That brings us back to us. When we are questioning our life circumstances, many of us get discouraged about the life we have versus the one we expected. I’m sure that some of the people in the midst of these on-going persecutions are experiencing the same thoughts, concerns, and doubts.

Jesus spoke words of comfort to John. But what can He say to us who are weary and discouraged by our circumstances? He doesn’t chastise us either – rather He simply says: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

God knew we would become weary, distressed, disappointed, frustrated, and unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel. He knew that many of our expectations for our lives would not be met and that these unmet expectations would put us into a tailspin. He never said this life would be easy – it is full of evil that we have invited into His perfect world. But instead of leaving us to deal with it on our own, He brings us into a relationship with Him so that He will walk with us in the midst of the messes we have made.

Jesus said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” He never said there wouldn’t be a yoke or burden. But He did leave us with the great news that if we will choose to have a relationship with Him, then even when life may not be as we expected, we can still learn peace and contentment with Him – no matter the circumstances.

And pray for those in the midst of real persecution to feel the comfort of His love as He walks with them through the evils of this world.

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Christian Living

My Unmet Expectations

There are times when we have “great expectations,” but when the expected event arrived, the reality was much different. For example,

Hands on Steering Wheel symbolizing Unmet Expectations drivingI remember the joy of getting my driver’s license – I had GREAT expectations. Expectations of freedom… of traveling all over town with my friends… of going wherever I wanted to whenever I wanted. And then reality smacked me in the face, as I heard such statements as:
“Go pick up your brother from soccer practice.”
“We are out of milk. Drive over to the grocery store and pick up a gallon… and while you are there, pick up some bread, and some cereal, and also a newspaper, and…

Instead of Mr. Independence, I found I’d become Errand Boy!

Or take marriage for example (don’t worry, I’m going to tread LIGHTLY here!)
But we often have an expectation of marriage that is quite different from reality.

I was told about marriage that: “You will find that you will never be as happy with another person, AND you’ll never be as angry at another person.” Most of us find this to be true. We find that our spouse can take us to both extremes easier than anyone else. Also in marriage – we have these romantic ideas, such as sleeping soundly snuggled up to our spouse. But the romantic expectation is not often the reality. In our house, we have at least two problems that prevent sleeping soundly in our bed like they show on the Sleep Number bed commercials:

#1. My wife, Paige… is a blanket stealer.
She does the grab & roll move, so that I wake up I at 4am in the morning and find myself shivering because I am having to use my pillow as a blanket.
#2. My wife, Paige… says that her husband is a snorer.
But I have never heard it, so I am not sure I believe it. Can you really trust the word of a blanket stealer?

Another Unmet Expectation that I have not experienced personally, but which I know occurs often is in regard to parenting. The expectation that OUR children will be perfect angels – unlike the wild banshee children who live next door! Before you have your own children you say such things as: “I would never let my child act like that. I can’t believe that parent is letting their child do that. I would never be a parent that does that.”

Before you become a parent, you have all the answers of how parenting works… as if it is some simple formula like 2+2 always = 4. Your expectation is that: All you have to do to parent properly is follow the formula and everything will work out fine and your children will be perfect angels. We think all these other parents are just blockheads that have decided not to follow the formula.” But then that precious baby shows up on the scene… and all our expectations are thrown out the window!

The main problem seems to be that all parents fall under the curse that their own parents put on them during childhood by stating: “When you have a child, I hope he/she is JUST LIKE YOU!” And that curse ALWAYS comes true. At which point all parenting formulas go out the window.

As one man said: “When I had no children, I had six different methods for parenting. Now I have 6 children and no methods – I just try to get through each day.”

The problem with Unmet Expectations in these areas and many others is that when our expectations are not met, doubts set in. We might even begin having doubts if we were really cut out for driving, marriage, or parenting. Why aren’t things working out like I expected them to?

Sadly, many people have their faith in God shaken when their expectations are unmet. “I’m a good person. Why is this happening to me? God can’t be a good God if this is happening.” But our unmet expectations do not negate the goodness of God. We have to learn to trust God even when our expectations are not met. Our role in this world is not to have our expectations met as if we are the stars of the story, but rather to exalt the One who is the Center of it all – the true Star of all History.

How do you keep from doubting God when reality sets in and your expectations are not met?

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Christian Living

Becoming an Expert at Putting Others First

someone walking in dusty boots symbolizing us getting dirty at putting others firstIn my most recent post I indicated that we must get our hands “dirty” by working hard at this thing called discipleship – walking beside someone to help them grow in Christ-likeness. The reason we must do this is that:
     “The fundamental way that we are going to see Jesus save people across the globe is through discipleship…. the good old fashioned, life-on-life, person-to-person, dirty, messy process of teaching people to obey all that Jesus had commanded. Showing people with our words and our lives how to follow and magnify the Risen Savior” (Kevin Peck).

And if our calling is to make disciples who are obedient to Christ, then we must be models of obedience to Christ. Do you consider yourself a model in this area for others? You strive to be an expert in your field of business. You strive to be the most knowledgeable and capable person at what you are being paid to do. Yet the One who created you has called you to be an expert in discipleship and disciple-making. How well are you excelling in this area?

As disciples and disciple-makers, we must be willing to do God’s will even if it hurts. Putting others first – putting their interests above our own – is not something we are very good at. We think others should make us the center of the universe. But that is not the model that Jesus provided to us – this One who put my interests ahead of His own and left Heaven to come serve me. If He did that for me, then why do I have such a hard time putting your interests ahead of mine? Jesus tells us to serve like He did.

Let me give some practical example of what putting others first might look like.

That might mean rethinking your Marriage Contract as a Marriage Covenant … and instead of asking your spouse “what have you done for me today”, constantly having the attitude of “what can I do for you today?”

Becoming a discipleship expert might mean it is time for you to engage in Forgiveness – forgiving others as Jesus told Peter to do – always and completely. Who do you need to forgive? Your spouse, a family member, a coworker, a neighbor?

Or discipleship might mean Apologizing – How many of us have known people who, when they made mistakes, refused to apologize even when they knew they were wrong? How many of us are like that right now? Some of us need to throw away our pride and apologize to some people we know we have hurt.

Matthew Henry stated: “Those who are best prepared for the life to come are those that hold most loosely to this present life.”

Let us hold loosely to this life and hold on so desperately tight to Jesus, so much so that we are willing to be obedient to His command to serve others even if it hurts. Let us strive to be experts in discipleship – including putting others first.

I only named three discipleship areas we may be neglecting. What other discipleship qualities have we possible neglected and need to re-instill in our Christian walk?

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Christian Living

Freedom from Suffering

“Suffering affects each of us in three ways:
1. Suffering as the result of living in a fallen world (e.g., infertility, natural disasters, etc.);
2. Suffering as the result of my personal sin (e.g., addictions, anger, racism, etc.); and
3. Suffering as the result of someone else’s sin (e.g., victims of abuse, hate, anger, etc.).
Our churches are filled with people in every category.”

Because of this suffering, we want freedom – in fact, we need freedom. But how will we get this freedom? Jesus tells us that we can only receive complete liberty by becoming his disciples – and that occurs through faith in Him and obedience to His Word. Therefore, our task is to lead people out of suffering into the way of freedom by pointing them to the only One who can give freedom. After we choose to begin a relationship with Him, He will start pointing out areas in our life that need to be “cleaned up.” He will also give us the power to obey Him.

“In the end, therefore, the goal or aim of gospel-centered leadership is the formation of Christ in people who long to see the formation of Christ in other people. We are called to make disciples who make disciples. It should be clear from what we know about our own sanctification process that this is a slow, arduous calling requiring patience and perseverance…. Discipleship is long, slow, and messy. In short, it’s hard to measure.”

checklistThat is why it is not something that we can just “check off the list.” Instead, discipleship (and therefore complete freedom) is something that takes a life-time to accomplish – but it is so worth it! I continue to be amazed at how faithful God is at giving me freedom from suffering and freedom from worry as I turn more of my life over to Him. I hope you’ll join me in testing this promise of God to its full measure.

We will find Him faithful!

(Quotes from ‘Creature of the Word’ by Matt Chandler)