Finishing 2010 with “Grace” and “AMEN”!!

The end of a year sounds a note of finality that sometimes is accompanied with feelings of relief that this one is finally over; other times with regret for things not finished as they should have been; while still others are ended on a note of joy and satisfaction.

Everything that has a beginning also has an end.  And it is appropriate to look at the ending of things to examine how they were finished.

This week I took a few minutes to read the end of each of the books in the New Testament.  Take a look at a sampling of these last words:

·        “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” (Romans)

·        “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen” (1 Corinthians)

·        “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians)

·        “Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” (Galatians)

·        “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” (Ephesians)

·        “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Philippians)

·        “The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.” (Colossians)

·        “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (1 Thessalonians)

·        “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (2 Thessalonians)

·        “Grace be with thee. Amen.” (1 Timothy)

·        “The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.” (2 Timothy)

·        “All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.” (Titus)

·        “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” (Philemon)

·        “Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen.” (Hebrews)

Two recurring things jumped out at me in these benedictions. The first is “grace” and the second is “Amen”.

In the words at the end of the Pauline Epistles I see some applicable truths for our lives to help us Finish Well in 2010. 

1.    Let us finish 2010 by ministering Grace.

a.    Is there someone in your life with whom you have a dispute, or toward whom you hold bitterness or anger?  You can finish well by offering God’s grace to them. (see Matthew 5:23-24; Mark 11:25-26)

b.    Is there someone in your life who is overwhelmed with the burdens of life, one for whom there is no joy at the ending of another year?  You can finish well by ministering the healing grace of God in their life. (see 2 Corinthians 4:15-17)

c.     Is there someone in your life who needs to know about the saving grace of God?  You can finish well by sharing God’s grace with them. (see Ephesians 2:8-9)  

2.    Let us finish 2010 with an “Amen”.

What does that mean?  Well, the word “Amen” simply means to confirm a truth, oath or covenant.  In our lives, this means to put an exclamation point on an ending, saying, “It is finished. I’ve ended right.”  It’s not to say that all in my life this past year was as it should have been, but that I am ending my year right with God and right with man. (see Acts 24:16)

Charles Spurgeon said it this way, “Amen is sometimes used in Scripture as an amen of resolution. It means, ‘I, in the name of God, solemnly pledge myself that, in His strength, I will seek to make it so; to Him be glory both now and for ever.’” (from A Psalm for the New Year)

By God’s Grace, let’s finish 2010 by ministering grace and finishing with an “Amen”!

“What is his son’s name?” – The Ancient Question Is Still Asked Today!

“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?”  (Proverbs 30:4)

Living in a day 2000+ years after the incarnation of Jesus Christ, it is somewhat difficult to fully comprehend prophecy.

But, even in ancient times prophecies were rare, as millions of people lived over thousands of years of history, and yet the number of true prophets of God were no more than a few hundred. And without modern communication and transportation methods, most people would have never seen or heard a prophet in their lifetimes.

And yet, there were times when the Spirit of God spoke directly to men, and revealed to them God's Word.

In this passage we find Solomon turning aside from his nuggets of wisdom for living to give a brief set of questions to us about the Son of God.

He opens by confirming that there is a Creator God, who can move between earth and heaven, who has the power to gather all the water of the earth in his garment and hold the wind in his hand.

He then asks the reader to confirm the name of this God. Remember, Solomon lived in a land surrounded by pagans, and only the Jews worshiped the Creator, and they knew his name: Jehovah!

But then, Solomon asked his students to answer one more thing: the name of God's Son. But wait a minute, how did Solomon know that God has a Son? And how could his readers know his name?  

In the Old Testament, there is only one other reference to the Son of God -- in Dan. 3:25, when Nebuchadnezzar watches in amazement as the three Hebrew children walk around unharmed in the fiery furnace, and with them is a fourth person -- the Son of God!  But, that reference is about 400 hundred years AFTER Solomon.  And yet, four centuries earlier, Solomon somehow knew that God had a son.

There are several "theophonies" in the Old Testament... that is, pre-incarnate appearances of Christ; but none identify Him as God's Son prior to the Daniel reference.  (eg. Abram and the King of Melchizedek, Gen 14:18; Joshua and the Man with the Sword, Joshua 5:13-15)

While I don't have the answers for it all, it is obvious that Solomon was hoping in the coming Messiah, who would be more than just a military ruler and king of Israel, and more than one of Solomon's descendants, he would be God's Son.

When we see the depth of faith and knowledge the O.T. saints had without the full revelation of the Bible, we are without excuse. We know the name of God's Son - Jesus Christ - and we have the complete revelation of God in our hands.

Today, there are still those who ask the question, “Who is God’s Son?”  Well, for Bible-believers, there is no question as to that answer. 1 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

The incarnation (meaning “made into flesh”) revealed that God’s Son is none other than Jesus Christ!  John's Gospel says it this way, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

As we celebrate His birth this week, let’s take time to answer the question “and what is his son’s name?”

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

“We Have Seen His Star… but We Did Not Go!”

The biblical account of the birth of Christ includes the fascinating account of the wise men from the east who saw the star in the sky and followed it, seeking “he that is born King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2).  Somehow, these sages understood that the appearance of this star was of momentous importance, and they followed it, until it led them to Bethlehem’s manger.

Have you ever wondered, as have I, about where these wise men were from?  And how come they alone followed the star?  Were they the only star watchers in the east who understood that something significant was occurring with this appearance?

What if there had been some other wise men who also saw that natal star, and who even started on their journey to follow its light, but never made it all the way to Bethlehem?  What if they were side tracked by someone and never learned of the Lord’s Christ?  What might have happened in their country?

Hold on to your hat… it appears that really happened!  Read this account:

In the annals of the Celestial Empire, there is historical evidence of Ambassadors or "wise men" having been sent towards the West in search of the "Great Saint who was to appear." The following from the Annals narrates the circumstance: --

 "In the 24 th year of the Tchao-Wang, of the dynasty of the Tcheou, on the 8 th day of the 4 th moon, a light appeared in the south-west which illuminated the "king's palace. The monarch, struck by its splendour, interrogated the sages, who were skilled in foretelling future events. They then showed him hooks in which it was written that this prodigy signified the appearance of a great Saint in the West, whose religion was to be introduced into this country.

The king consulted the ancient books, and having found the passages corresponding with the time of Tchao-Wang, was filled with joy. Then he sent the officers Tsa-yu and Thsin-King, the learned Wang-Tsun, and fifteen other men to the West to obtain information." So sensible were these "wise men" of the time and place of the Saviour's birth, that they set forth to hail the expected Redeemer.

The envoy encountered in their way the missionaries of Buddhism coming from India announcing an incarnate god; these the Chinese took for the disciples of the true Christ, embraced their teaching, and introduced them to their fellow-country-men as the teachers of the true religion. Thus was Buddhism introduced into China in place of Christianity.

(from The Biblical Illustrator, Joseph Exell, editor. Published by Baker Publishing House, Copyright (c)1952)

Does the gravity of this story grab your heart the way it does mine?  If only those astronomers had continued all the way to Bethlehem, instead of being detoured by the Buddhist missionaries coming out of India, China and the Far East could have been a Christian continent.

This Christmas, let’s not pass by the opportunities the Lord gives us to point people to Jesus Christ.  If we don’t, Satan’s counterfeit missionaries surely will fill the vacuum to the eternal detriment of the sinner’s soul.

Forgetting “a date that will live in infamy”

This morning is December 7.  It was 69  years ago today that Americans first heard the news that Japan had launched a devastating attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.  That morning, in a surprise attack, Japanese airplanes bombarded the base with a barrage of fire power that left 2,403 dead, including the 1,177 who went down with the U.S.S. Arizona, and who are still entombed in her bowels.  This attacked launched America into the Pacific theater of the war.

And yet, today hardly a mention is given to that fateful day, of which President Franklin D. Roosevelt called “a date that will live in infamy.” 

This morning, I turned on the computer and on my internet home page, which happens to be www.yahoo.com, there is a revolving banner of 40 headlines which are updated throughout the day.  Here is a sampling of today’s “important” news:

* Most popular holiday gifts

* 25-year foreclosure fight

* Motley panel gets same-sex marriage case

* Wikileaks founder arrested

* Mascot’s huge pushup total

* NFL team to pay 3 head coaches

* Why you think you’re hungry

* Deal surfaces for tax cuts

* Busted lip trips up Obama

… and so on.  All the “important” news of the day, but not a single headline out of 40 even mentions Pearl Harbor Day. 

Today, the survivors of the Pearl Harbor Day attack are in their late 80’s and into their 90’s, and it certainly must grieve them to see how we as a nation have forgotten.  So, today, if you know a World War II era veteran, be sure to thank them for their service, and for helping keep America “the land of the free, and the home of the brave.”

“Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Romans 13:7)

God Bless America!

Lively Stones

Ye also, as lively stones , are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)




Today, Kelley and I toured Bob's Red Mill, where we learned about traditional milling processes of corns, grains and seeds.  (http://www.bobsredmill.com/)

Bob Moore, the founder and president, greeted us and talked with us about his passion for traditional, small batch milling of whole grain foods.

Bob's Red Mill still uses stone grinders, from mill stones quarried in the same French quarries that have produced these massive marble stones since the days of the Roman Empire.

As we were able to handle one if the old stones that has been retired, we learned that about once a year, the mill stones which have grooves over which the grains must pass to make into flours and meal, the friction wears (or "polishes") the stones, so they are taken out of service to have their grooves sharpened.

Do you know what this sharpening process is called? The sharpening of a mill stone is said to be "livened". A sharpened mill stone is called a "lively stone."

So, think about 1 Peter 2:5 in light of a milling term. Here believers are called "lively stones." The thought is that stones that have been quarried, or carried from a river bed, are first fashioned by the hammer and chisel of the mason to make a perfect fit. They are "sharpened" to serve the master's purpose.

So, when the trials of life come, remember that just as the mill stone is "livened" to grind more effectively, so too, our Lord, the Master Builder, uses the tests and trials of life to "sharpen" us for His service.

Oh, and the next time you are in the store and purchase some Bob's Red Mill stone ground products, I hope you will remember the thought of "lively stones."

And, if you are in the Portland area, take the mill tour, and then have lunch at the mill store and visitor's center. (I recommend the hot pastrami on their homemade rye, a bowl of vegetable beef with homemade 10 grain rolls, or their fabulous multi-grain pancakes with real maple syrup!)

Food, Family, Friends, Football and the Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I confess that much of what I enjoy about it revolves around Food, Family, Friends and Football! 

Food: A turkey and a pork roast smoked on the Traeger grill; mashed potatoes and gravy, corn casserole, homemade dinner rolls, cranberry sauce; the apple pie, pumpkin pie, mincemeat pie; and don’t forget SECONDS!

Family: Spending time with my family.  My folks, son and daughter-in-law, my brother and the two kids still at home, along with my brother will celebrate with us. (We will be missing Scott and Trina who will be eating with family friends in Lancaster, Ca.)

Friends: It always makes our day more enjoyable when we can share it with friends who do not have family nearby.  We almost always have a friend or two join us for dinner on Thanksgiving.

Football:  It doesn’t really matter who is playing, watching football is a lot more fun when you have company with which to watch it.

When we think about the Thanksgiving holiday, we understand that it hearkens back to the pilgrim settlers on America’s shores as they gave thanks for God bringing them through the first winter and giving them their first harvest.

Thanksgiving became an official holiday in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln signed a Presidential Proclamation. 

Before we eat our Thanksgiving dinner this year, we will take a few minutes to thank God for His goodness on our family and nation, and we will read President Lincoln’s proclamation.

I trust this will be a blessing to you and your family, too.

  By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. 

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. 

Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. 

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. 

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

  
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Prominence on Earth or Precious in the Eyes of the Lord

Do you enjoy being recognized for deeds well-done?  Does it feel good when you are commended for accomplishments and achievements in life?  If you had a choice to live in obscurity or popularity, which would you choose?

While most of us give lip service to humility, I believe the reality is that most of us enjoy being praised. We want to be like that old advertising campaign that said, “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen!”

This is not a new revelation.  In fact, the disciples of Jesus spent much of their time jockeying for position in the pecking order of His followers.  One time, the mother of James and John lobbied for her sons to be prominent in the kingdom of God.  She said to Jesus, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand , and the other on the left, in thy kingdom” (Matthew 20:21).

Jesus, in answering her, also began to teach a revolutionary principle to His disciples—that of servant leadership.  He taught the disciples that the way up is down, that the way to prominence in the kingdom of God is through service in the kingdom of man.  Listen to His words:

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.            Matthew 20:25-28

We are not so much different then they were, are we?  Perhaps you have always thought of the disciples as men of such spiritual greatness that your life could never compare to theirs.  And yet, there we see it… they too struggled with the pride of life and desire for prominence that so many of us (myself included) struggle with our entire lives.

Today, I was paging through one of my favorite books looking for a sermon illustration.  The book is called The Pilgrim Fathers by John Brown (first published in 1906, republished in 1970).  I came across this quote that I wanted to share with you.  This passage is from  The History of the Plymouth Plantation and is quoting a memoir by Governor Bradford.  Referring to the Pilgrims who came from Holland with their pastor, William Brewster, he wrote:

And that which was a crown unto them, they lived together in love and peace all their days without any considerable difference or any disturbance that grew thereby, but such as was easily healed in love; and so they continued until with mutual consent they removed into New England… Many worthy and able men there were among them who lived and died in obscurity in respect of the world, as private Christians, yet were they precious in the eyes of the Lord.     (Pilgrim Fathers, p.126)

So, if the history of my life, or of your life, were to be written, would it carry so wondrous an epitaph as Governor Bradford wrote of that congregation? 

I have a friend who is a missionary in France who recently wrote about this process requiring God to “deconstruct” our lives so we become what He wants us to be!  And, I agree with her that it is often a painful process.  I also think that “deconstruction” often reveals holes that have to be patched before the parts can be reconstructed!

Is this what is meant when Scripture says, “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”(Romans 12:2)?

“Dear Lord, help me to be more concerned about my life being precious in your eyes, than to be prominent in the eyes of this world.  Teach me to be the servant you have called me to be and be faithful in what You’ve called me to do.”

An Unplanned Conversation with the Lord

Note: This past week I taught on prayer in my Sunday School class.  I believe one of our greatest frustrations in prayer is wondering whether or not we are really reaching God's heart.  The following illustration of a conversation with God in prayer is a powerful reminder of what God wants and how we usually approach things. I don't know the original source or author, but it is a very stirring illustration.  

Take a couple minutes to read through this illustration, slow down enough to let it impact your heart, as it did mine.
 

 

Found on the internet, and sent to me by my mother….

THE LORDS PRAYER
Our Father Who Art In Heaven.
        YES?
Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.
         BUT -- YOU CALLED ME !!
Called you? No, I didn't call you. I'm praying.
Our Father who art in heaven.
         THERE -- YOU DID IT AGAIN
Did what?
         CALLED ME. YOU SAID, "OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN"
         WELL HERE I AM. WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?
But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like
fulfilling a duty.
          WELL, ALL RIGHT. GO ON. Okay, Hallowed be Thy name...
          HOLD IT RIGHT THERE.
          WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? By what?
          BY "HALLOWED BE THY NAME"? It means, it means… good grief, I don't know what it means. How in the world should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?
           IT MEANS HONORED, HOLY, WONDERFUL. Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before. Thanks. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
           DO YOU REALLY MEAN THAT? Sure, why not?
           WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT? Doing? Why, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there. We're kinda in a mess down here you know.
           YES, I KNOW; BUT, HAVE I GOT CONTROL OF YOU? Well, I go to church..
           THAT ISN'T WHAT I ASKED YOU. WHAT ABOUT
           YOUR BAD TEMPER?
           YOU'VE REALLY GOT A PROBLEM THERE,
           YOU KNOW. AND THEN THERE'S THE WAY YOU
           SPEND YOUR MONEY --ALL ON YOURSELF.
           AND WHAT ABOUT
           THE KIND OF BOOKS YOU READ? Now hold on just a minute! Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at church!  
            EXCUSE ME. I THOUGHT YOU WERE PRAYING FOR MY WILL TO  

           BE DONE.
           IF THAT IS TO HAPPEN, IT WILL HAVE TO START WITH THE ONES   

           WHO ARE PRAYING FOR IT. LIKE YOU -- FOR EXAMPLE. Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others.
           SO COULD I. I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free.
          GOOD. NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE. WE'LL WORK

          TOGETHER -- YOU AND ME. I'M PROUD OF YOU. Look, Lord, if you don't mind, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. Give us this day, our daily bread.
          YOU NEED TO CUT OUT THE BREAD.
          YOU'RE OVERWEIGHT AS IT IS.
Hey, wait a minute! What is this? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.
           PRAYING IS A DANGEROUS THING. YOU JUST MIGHT GET WHAT

           YOU ASK FOR.
            REMEMBER, YOU CALLED ME -- AND HERE I AM.
            IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW. KEEP PRAYING. ..pause...
           WELL, GO ON. I'm scared to.
            SCARED? OF WHAT?
I know what you'll say.
            TRY ME. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
            WHAT ABOUT CAROL? See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up!
Why, Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories.
She never paid back the money she owes me.
I've sworn to get even with her!
            BUT -- YOUR PRAYER -- WHAT ABOUT YOUR PRAYER? I didn't -- mean it.
            WELL, AT LEAST YOU'RE HONEST.
            BUT, IT'S QUITE A LOAD CARRYING AROUND ALL THAT

            BITTERNESS AND
            RESENTMENT ISN'T IT? Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her.
Boy, have I got some plans for her. She'll wish she had never been born.
           NO, YOU WON'T FEEL ANY BETTER. YOU'LL FEEL
           WORSE. REVENGE ISN'T SWEET.
           YOU KNOW HOW UNHAPPY YOU ARE –

           WELL, I CAN CHANGE THAT. You can? How?
            FORGIVE CAROL. THEN, I'LL FORGIVE YOU;

            AND THE HATE AND SIN WILL BE CAROL'S PROBLEM –

            NOT YOURS.
            YOU WILL HAVE SETTLED THE PROBLEM AS FAR AS YOU ARE

            CONCERNED. Oh, you know, you're right. You always are.
And more than I want revenge, I want to be right with You..., (sigh).
All right...all right...I forgive her.
            THERE NOW! WONDERFUL! HOW DO YOU FEEL? Hmmmm. Well, not bad.. Not bad at all! In fact,
I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll Go to bed uptight tonight.
I haven't been getting much rest,  you know.
             YEAH, I KNOW. BUT, YOU'RE NOT THROUGH WITH YOUR

             PRAYER ARE YOU? GO ON. Oh, all right.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
             GOOD! GOOD! I'LL DO THAT. JUST DON'T PUT
             YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE TEMPTED. What do you mean by that?
             YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.. Yeah. I know.
             OKAY. GO AHEAD. FINISH YOUR PRAYER.
For Thine is the kingdom,  and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
             DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BRING ME GLORY -- 
             WHAT WOULD REALLY MAKE ME HAPPY? No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you now.
I've really made a mess of things. I want to truly follow you. I can see now
how great that would be. So, tell me. how do I make you happy?
             YOU JUST DID
HAVE YOU HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH GOD LATELY ???

Always Ready to Give an Answer

1 Peter 3:15 – “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

What does it mean to be always ready to give an answer?  Does this mean to know the answer to every argument someone may throw at you?  Is it to be a better debater than the other guy?  Am I to be a “walking Bible” that can beat down opposition by a flood of verses?

The text of this verse makes it clear that I need to be ready to give an answer to every man that asks about the “reason of the hope” that I possess!  What this simply means is to be ready at any time to tell someone why I have hope! It has been called “to be soul-conscious.”

I confess that this is a daily challenge in my life.  I begin my day meeting with God in His Word and in prayer, and ask God to guide and direct my steps through the day.  Then, in the busy-ness of the day, my mind focuses on the tasks at hand, and it is easy to miss those opportunities to speak the name of Christ… at the gas station, the coffee stand, the grocery store, or in a parking lot.  How many opportunities are there to “give an answer” if only I would slow down and focus on the people around me, rather than the tasks I’m trying to accomplish?

Dear Lord, help me to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh… a reason of the hope that is in” me!

“He Did Run Well!” – Steven Curington (1965-2010)

Steven Curington, founder of Reformers Unanimous, a Bible-based, local church addiction recovery program, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday afternoon of an apparent heart attack.  He was 46 years old.

I first met Brother Curington at the Spiritual Leadership Conference in Lancaster, California about seven years ago. And while I was blessed by his personal testimony and passion for the Lord, it was while he was talking about the curriculum men and women in his program go through that caught my ear. He talked about how the greatest thing needed in the lives of men and women to live victorious Christian lives was to have a personal, vibrant prayer life. 

Sadly, I confess that up to that point, my prayer life was not very meaningful.  Prayer was something I would do in spurts and starts, usually gaining momentum in time of crisis, or to grow into long cumbersome lists that sounded little like prayer, and more like reading names out of a phone book.  Through the years I have read many books on prayer, tried many systems of lists and chart making to help in prayer, but ultimately, I felt that while some of my prayers were answered, it was mostly ineffective.  My prayer life was primarily me telling God what I thought He should do on my behalf and for others, and in asking forgiveness for my failures.

Brother Curington and I ate lunch together that day, and I began asking him questions, not so much about his recovery program, but about his prayer life.  Out of that conversation, he gave to me a copy of his message, It’s Personal.  He challenged me to listen to it and to begin following the pattern of prayer that Jesus taught in Matthew 6.  As I listened to that message, I began to weep.  It resonated with my spirit like nothing I had ever heard on prayer.  And I began to pray, following the pattern he had taught based on Jesus’ teaching in what we call The Lord’s Prayer.

Prayer has changed my life.  Now, instead of being tied to a list (which for me becomes a dry recitation of names), or random thoughts in prayer that results in my mind wandering and not praying at all, I now pray regularly in praise, in lifting up of needs, in receiving forgiveness and seeking God’s protection, knowing that I am praying for what God wants for me to pray, and truly meeting with God in prayer.  It is humbling to see when prayers are answered, and comforting to know my time in prayer has truly been a time to meet with God.

As I began to apply the principles I was learning in my own life, I then began to teach them in my Sunday School class.  And, this coming Sunday, in the Connecting Pointe Sunday School class at Greater Portland Baptist Church, I plan again to teach the lesson  How to Pray Effectively. 

Thank you, Steve Curington, for your passion for the Lord, for your burden to help addicted men and women to find victory in Jesus Christ, and for helping me to learn how to pray.  As my friend, Evangelist Kurt LaBouve, wrote in song, “He did run well!”   

(If you would like to learn more about Reformers Unanimous or to get more information about the home-going of Steven Curington, go to http://www.reformu.com/ )

Welcome to GIVING HEART

Welcome to Giving Heart, the periodic thoughts from the pen of Brad McFeters.  Through the pages of this publication, hopefully you will learn a little more about what motivates and encourages me, as well as the little nuggets from life and Scripture that grip my attention.  Some of the things that are posted will have spiritual application (I am a preacher, after all), and some will just be observations and thoughts about life.  

What’s in the name?  Why did I choose the name Giving Heart for this blog? Well, several years ago, I found a book in a used book store that grabbed my attention, and has become a resource staple in my personal study. The book is called The Family Word Finder (published by Readers Digest, a thesaurus of synonyms and antonyms in dictionary form).  One day, while thumbing through the book (I know, I’m a word nerd who enjoys thumbing through books like this) I came across the word “courage.”  After the definition was given, there was a box called “Exploring the Word”.  Here is what is in that box:

Latin cors, heart, gives us courage, having heart; concord and accord, being of one heart, agreement; discord, with the hearts apart, hence, lack of agreement; cordial, from the heart, friendly, and also a liqueur that invigorates or stimulates the heart; and even record, which literally means to bring something back to the heart or mind, as does a written record, a photographic record, or a phonograph record. (Our word cardiac doesn’t come from Latin cors but from its Greek cognate kardia, heart.)

That little text box exploring the word “courage” grabbed my attention, and as I meditated and thought on that definition, I developed a message on courage that I preached in our church.  And, through the years, I have found myself meditating again on the Bible principles I discovered in that study, and the word “courage” has grown into a special place in my heart. 

So, now I launch into the blogosphere for the first time. And as I do, I think the meaning of the word “courage” defines my purpose.  It is my desire that these visits will be used by God to bless you and help give you heart (courage) for your life journey.

If you are visiting this page and do not have a personal relationship with my Savior, let me introduce Him to you.  His name is Jesus Christ, and I love him (1 John 4:19).  Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, who came from heaven to take on the form of human man (John 1:14; 11:27).  He lived a perfect life, and “went about doing good”, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and preaching the Kingdom of God to all who would listen (Acts 10:38).  Then, he laid down his life, taking on him the punishment of sin that I deserve, and died on Golgotha’s cross (2 Corinthians 5:21).  He was buried, and three days later he arose victorious from the dead and has ascended up into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 1:9).  And, he has promised to return someday to receive unto himself all those who have placed their faith and trust in him for the eternal salvation of their souls (Acts 1:10-11; 2 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  Jesus sent the promise of God’s Holy Spirit to indwell all those who trust in him, and it is that Spirit of God who gives to me the power, guidance and strength I need to live for God (John 14:26; Acts 1:8).  If you do not know my Jesus, I pray you will trust in him today.  Please send me a note or give me a call if I can help you with this decision that will impact your life and eternity.