Living Hope

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." I Peter 1:3

J. C. Matlock and I teamed up for the first time at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth. . We have known each other for over 35 years. We served (survived?) as camp sponsors of the ninth grade boys cabin at Camp Sagamore in Latham Springs in the summer of 1975. It was over 100 degrees every day and there was no air conditioning. These kind of experiences bond you for a life time. When I became pastor of the church in the 1990's, he was my chairman of deacons. I credit him with influencing me to close out any message I deliver from the pulpit to the people with an emphasis upon hope. He often reminded me that people need hope. How right he was then and how true his words remain today. Hope was not J.C.'s idea. It began with God. However, I remain grateful to a man for helping me see how the hand of God could be inserted into the glove of my life go give people a soft touch from Heaven when all hell is breaking out around them. Thanks J.C.!

Peter referred to a "LIVING HOPE." The Greek word for hope is rooted in the concept of pleasurable anticipation. It has come to be understood within the Christian community as joyful, confident expectation of eternal salvation. This salvation is not a moving target that ebbs within our reach and then flows away from our grasp. It is described as an inheritance that is impervious to the whims of economic fluctuations. It is death defying and life giving. It is preserved and reserved so it cannot be polluted, penetrated or tainted by any outside force that would try to devalue it or degrade it. This kind of hope is not merely an intellectual assertion of a historical fact or a theological pronouncement of a doctrinal position. It is the breath of life that one receives when they are born again by the mercy of God. It energizes a person with a new sense of direction. They no longer have a focus and a fear of entering the grave. They have a joyful and confident expectation of keeping an appointment with God that has been reserved for them in heaven.

Peter emphasized that this living hope in an imperishable inheritance was not purchased by man's means, but through God's mercy and Christ's blood on the cross. "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but he has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead, and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." (I Peter 1:18-21)

In this sense, H.O.P.E. is Having Our Perspective Elevated. When we become overwhelmed with the residue of this "futile way of life" that still surrounds us here on earth, it is possible to regain our confidence and joyful expectation. No matter how great life can be on earth, it still leaves a hole in the heart that only Christ can fill. Regardless of the depths of the darkness of this world, the light of Christ can still penetrate it when we take a glimpse through the window of heaven.

Small minds talk about people. Good minds talk about events. Great minds talk to God. It is the willingness to lift our eyes from the foibles and failures of others and the futile way of this life to the finished work of Christ that holds the key to our living hope. There is no life without breath. The greatest use of our breath is prayer. It can be used to complain about or explain about our condition to others, or it can be used to place our condition before the Risen Christ. This lifts our burden from our shoulders that weighs us down. Unreleased burdens bend our backs and force our eyes down to the darkness of the pit. When the same amount of breath that is used to complain is invested in prayer, a transformation takes place. Living hope replaces the impact of intimidating circumstances.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne, 19th Century pastor and prayer warrior, sensed his need to lift his eyes from the intimidation of the immediate and refocus on the ministry of the Risen Christ. "If I could hear Jesus praying for me, I would not fear a million enemies. The distance makes no difference. He is praying for me."

Living hope is a matter of having our perspective elevated on a regular basis. This hope is a gift of mercy that is received when we are born again. For this hope to be strengthened, it must be exercised. I recently reactivated a work out regimen. This involved a change in diet and exercise that resulted in a significant loss of weight. Fortunately, I have experienced a release and relief of an unnecessary burden that I no longer have to carry around every where I go. However, I have discovered that my cardio vascular workouts need to be taken up to another level. There is still a shortness of breath that will only be improved by continuing to walk. It will take time, but experience has taught me that until I walk until I am breathless, I will never improve my breathing.

Praying is the breathing regimen that improves our grasp on our living hope through the resurrection. Reading about it, talking about it, singing about it, or even studying about it often fall short of providing the insight we need. The intimidation of immeditate circumstances can bring a believer to a breathless condition of panic in the middle of chaos and confusion. This the best time for us to take a deep breath and focus on the Risen Christ seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. The living hope through the resurrection is maintained by regularly releasing the burden to Jesus and gaining this perspective of Jesus through prayer.

For years song writers have bemoaned the frailty and futility of the human condition. For one generation it may have been the old Peggy Lee torch song, "Is that all there is." For another it may have been, "Looking for love in all the wrong places." No matter who, when or where the ending of the song is always the same. There has just got to be more than this. God knows people need hope for the future even more than they need relief in the present.

Today, I am more and more comforted by the gentle reminder of a phrase from an old camp song, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue." The living hope never grows old and it is only a breath away. Pray for Jesus to take the weight of this life and replace it with the worth of the next life. There is no reason to settle for the futile way of life when the living hope of the resurrection is only a prayer away. Thank you Jesus for praying for me today and for preparing a place for me to be with you in heaven...forever.

Resurrection Power

"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering." Phillipians 3:10

I remember where I was when this verse was brought to my attention for the very first time. It was January 1975, and I was on Christmas break in Kings Park, New York. I was seated at the kitchen table with my father, Don Miller, and he shared this passage of scripture with me as his verse for the year. I didn't give it a great deal of thought. This was something that he did every year. I have to admit that I always enjoyed finding out his sense of direction for the year, but it was not a priority to me that morning.

I was making final prep for my return drive from Long Island to Fort Worth, Texas. I had just completed my first semester in seminary and was excited about beginning my new ministry as Minister of Outreach at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church. I had a lot on my mind and the future looked bright even if the road ahead was long. I couldn't wait to get back to Texas. Long story short, Dana was there. I was not going to be able to convince her I was the right man for her, if I had to do it over the phone. No texting available in those days. A guy had to just man up and go get to know a gal face to face. It is still the best way to build a relationship, just in case any metro-sexuals ever happen to read this.

Dad's choice of this verse came to be more important to me after I returned to seminary. One evening I received a call from the Chairman of Deacons of North Shore Baptist Church. He told me that Dad had been taken into the local hospital for emergency surgery to repair a ruptured colon. He assured me that all was well, and he was resting comfortably. The crisis had passed. Less than 72 hours later he called, and informed me that Dad was in the emergency room and was not given much hope to pull through. Severe and intense infection had set in due to a leak in the connections that had been quickly made in the colon. In the swift efforts to save Dad's life from all the blood loss, there had been a mistake. Now they had to go back in and remove the infection and leave him with three colostomies in order to drain the poison from his body. The Chairman told me to wait by the phone, and he would keep me posted.

What took place in 1975 was a long ordeal of physical, spiritual and emotional suffering for Dad, and Mom, their church, and the four of us children. Dad survived the second surgery, but it was a mess. He was left with three bags on his abdomen, and forced to carry around an open sewer for the better part of a year. He dropped in weight to less than 100 pounds. He was unable to preach for almost a year. I made plans to leave my new position at Sagamore and drop out of seminary to go home and help. Dad was too weak to talk to me, but he told Mom to tell me to stay in school and come home for Easter and preach for him.

I will never forget Gene Brooks, a layman at Sagamore, paid for my flight to New York. Dad's church did not have the money to get me there for Easter, and I didn't make enough at the church to afford the cost of the ticket. Gene and Dad became great friends over the years that followed. Gene went home to Heaven recently, and when I think of him my heart is warmed. God bless Gene Brooks.

When I saw Dad for the first time in four months, he was seated in a chair in the living room of his home in New York. I was stunned. The smell and the scene was overwhelming. He was a shell of the man I had seen in early January. His color was ashen, and his robe sagged over his emaciated frame. This vibrant, active 53 year old man looked like he was over 90 and near death. Words cannot describe the shock. Physically, it was a jolt because it was like seeing it all happen to him over night. Spiritually it was a struggle because I could not believe God would allow this to happen to someone who just wanted to know Him better. I swore then and there that I would never claim that portion of scripture as a sense of direction for my life. This became a bone in my throat and a rock in my shoe for some time. I can see now that this was just fear at work trying to rob me of my faith in God's capacity to give us grace when we need it, but never ahead of time.

Easter 1975 I preached for Dad at North Shore Baptist Church. He surprised everyone and came to church in his wheelchair for the first time in four months. When he was rolled down the aisle to take a place near the front row, there was not a dry eye in the house. It was the first time many of the people had seen him in this condition. I struggled through the message, and couldn't tell you what I said. I do remember the look on Dad's face. He was serene. His countenance was placid, peaceful, and almost other worldly. He was there, and he was engaged in what I was saying, but he was in the presence of Someone else. He was with us, but not of us. When the invitation was given, Dad struggled out of his wheel chair and walked with a cane towards me to thank me for preaching and to ask me to pray for him. I was done in by that time. I can't recall how we ended the service. I think we all must have just melted in tears and flowed out the door into the parking lot. Unforgettable!

Mom and Dad came to Texas for surgery at Baylor Hospital in Dallas in December of 1975. He stayed in the home of Gene Brooks until the day of surgery. We spent Christmas Day in the ICU Waiting Room of the hospital and waited for Dad as he underwent 12 hours of surgery to repair the work done in New York. Throughout the day, I couldn't stop thinking about his verse for the year. "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering." When I saw him for the first time in ICU, he was bloated and his head was twice the normal size. They had been filling his body with fluids because of the nature of the surgery. He was weak, but able to reach out his hand and hold mine. Again, he was at peace in the middle of the chaos. I remember the look on his face more than any words that we exchanged. There was pain, but there was no panic. Again, there was the unmistakable sense of Someone else in the room.

Over the years, I have heard a lot a my colleagues claim this verse of scripture. I have to admit that instinctively, I step back a ways just in case I get hit with what is coming their way. I have grown in my understanding of God in the past 35 years, but I still recall the price Dad paid to be introduced to a new level of intimacy with the Jesus he already loved. To know Jesus more intimately means to have a more personal fellowship with Him. There is a path that must be shared with Jesus if His fellowship with us is going to be more authentic than our casual once a week greeting given to Him on Sunday morning.

I have learned that the path of this fellowship is different for everyone. Paul went to prison. Dad went to surgery. Others experience the loss of a child, a mate, a job, or experience any number of life threatening encounters. It is not the way of suffering, but it is the destination of the journey that remains the same. "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering" leads to "being conformed to His death that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead." Phil. 3:10

Dead men have no rights. A corpse can be mocked, but it cannot take offense. It has no power to do so. There is no life left in it to make a reaction. "Being conformed to His death" was something that Paul said that he did daily. It was not enough for him to know that Jesus died on the cross. Paul needed to be reminded every day that the old Paul died there too. His rights, pride, plans, purposes, pedigree, and perspective were nailed to the cross. When Paul placed his hands upon Jesus to identify with His death for him, he learned that he too was a dead man in Christ. Paul would learn to say, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ." Gal. 2:20

Personal offenses and intimidating circumstances have a way of resurrecting a dead man's rights in the heart of a Christ follower. "The power of His resurrection and fellowship of His suffering" go hand in hand with preparing a believer to be "conformed to His death." Taking offense, living in fear, reacting in the flesh, responding in kind give evidence that there is a level of fellowship with Jesus that has yet to be reached in the life of the believer. Paul saw his relationship with Jesus as permanent, but his intimacy with Jesus as a process. The more time he spent cultivating the his fellowship with the Risen Christ, the more power of the Resurrection was released through him.

The conforming of our lives to the life of Jesus begins by being close enough to Him to see and hear how he responds to crisis, chaos, criticism, or confusion. We should always just follow His lead. If Christ panics, then it is time to panic. When He is praying, it is time to pray. The last word we have from Jesus is that He is praying. Take a guess at what a person who wants to have fellowship with Him should be doing. You guessed it. Pray! The power of the resurrection is found by learning to lean into the yoke of the Risen Christ. He is not on the cross suffering for our sins, but we are His companion on a journey that will involve suffering through the death of self. There is no power of His resurrection without the fellowship of His suffering and being conformed to His death.

This not a short trip, but a long journey. You never really know someone until you take a trip with them. The longer the trip, the better you are able to see the real person. It is hard to hide who you really are for very long. "To know the power of His resurrection" Jesus invites us to bring our suffering to Him, and He will make sense out of it. The fellowship of the resurrection begins at the foot of the cross, but this initial encounter continues as we "die daily." (I Cor. 15:31) Look into the face of the Risen Christ. He walks right beside us. He invites us to lean on Him and He will give us His power to overcome suffering, and be conformed to His death. On the cross, Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." His death preceded the power of His resurrection. Our death to self must precede the power of His resurrection in us.

Accumulative Error

"Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

My father, Don Miller was trained as navigator during World War II. I have often heard him refer to a principle of navigation called "accumulative error." This takes place when a pilot flies a plane off course. The longer the plane continues on the wrong path, the greater the error becomes. If the pilot ignores his instruments, compass, charts, stars, maps, landmarks, radio frequencies, he will continue to head in the wrong direction. Even the slightest degree of diversion from the original destination can bring great danger to the pilot and the crew. There comes a point in the flight when no course correction can be made. Fuel supplies become depleted, and there is no hope of getting back on track. The 'point of no return" has been passed.

There is another kind of accumulative error, and the cure is "Spring Cleaning." I am not real fan of hanging on to a lot of stuff, but I have lost this argument over the years. We have an "empty nest" and a full garage. In 2003 I was conned into moving cheer leading megaphones, bicycles, boxes of ceramics, baby dolls, elementary school stuff and stuffed animals, old furniture, and other assorted essentials into an over sized two car garage. The last words I heard were, "Dad can we leave it here while we are in college. We will come back soon, sort through this and get rid of everything we don't want." Seven years later the stuff still remains. The garage has flooded on more than one occasion, and I have had to go in and move everything out and then move it back in at least three times. Each time my walk with God has suffered from the reminder that this may be my garage, but this is not my stuff. During this time, there have been numerous hail snow, rain and ice storms that have swept through this area. All this stuff is protected under my roof, but my automobiles are exposed to the elements. There is something wrong with this picture.

Whew! I feel better getting that off my chest. Can you tell that this week I have started cleaning out my office, and the garage? Bags of trash, unessential papers, ancient correspondence, outdated files and other "accumulative error" have been placed in bags and kicked to the curb. We are getting ready for a city wide garage sale and we are hoping that our trash will look like lost treasure to someone else.

This process has been a bittersweet experience. As I approach the big 6-0 on April 30Th, I have been taking stock of what is really important. As I have been forced to comb through files, I have been amazed at all Dana and I have done. We have been very busy, and can even say in some cases and places, we have been effective. Still, a nagging doubt arises with the question, "Is this all there is?"

As we reevaluate our lives, and set our priorities for the next phase of life, and ministry, I have started to see with a little more clarity the things that are really important. The flashing lights on the dash board, and the calendar remind me that the tank is not as full as when I began ministry in 1972. There is still a lot to be done, and I have to make sure that I have used what I have left wisely.

The highest priority of our live remains,...glorify God. This requires more vigilance than ever. Any thoughts that I may have have had earlier in life that I would become holier, just by getting older have been dashed by ministering in a retirement community for the past seven years. WOW! What a mess! People who are full of themselves early in life, do not become wiser as they grow older. They just get meaner. God has used this experience to convince me to never retire. I don't want to ever be a member of the "over the hill" gang. I believe God wants us all to regroup and recharge the hill. There is much left to be done, but it begins with a clear focus on Him, and not the work that He has called us to do. The first priority for me is to spend more time with Him, and to talk less and pray more.

Dana is also very high on that priority list. She is recovering well from her battle with breast cancer. Two major surgeries and six month of chemo are in the rear view mirror, and 2010 is going to be a year of recovery for her, and a year of refocus for me. Life will always have some kind of stress, but we are moving into a period of our lives where we are less likely to put up with our own foolishness, much less someone else's. The rest of our lives we want to invest ourselves in reaching up to God in prayer, and reaching out to people who have come to the end of themselves and are looking for the difference only Jesus can make in their lives.

The Bible has a lot to say about cleaning out the junk that accumulates in our lives. David called out to God, "Create in me a clean heart..." He had allowed stinking thinking to create in him what is called today a spirit of entitlement. Bathsheba looked good to him, and he took her into his arms because he was rich and powerful enough to do what he wanted to do, whenever he wanted to do it. He was the King. He was entitled. "Tiger" Woods did not initiate this concept, and neither did David, but it was self-destructive to both of them. When "accumulative error" landed David in a faraway place, He went to God. "Tiger" went to rehab. Time will tell which course correction was the wisest choice.

Paul exhorted the church at Corinth, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 7:1) This gives us some personal responsibility in the matter of personal holiness. This is not a case for "God helps those who help themselves." It is a reminder that choices have consequences. Paul warned them about hooking up with people who were unbelievers. He wanted to keep the church focused on, "We are the temple of the living God." In a Christian world that is consumed with confronting the culture, and emerging in order to engage the culture around them, it is refreshing to hear Paul remind us, "Come out from their midst and separate says the Lord." I realize this may be quite un-contemporary, but I have made my choice. I will not be hosting any wine tasting parties, keggers or smokers to impact the people around me. The greatest guide out of the dark and into the light is still a holy life. I can't say that I understand all that this means, but I am going to focus the remaining years of my life on getting with Jesus, and I'll let Him reflect His light off of me. Something in me tells me that this is still the most reliable method to bring people out of the darkness and into the light.

John, The Beloved Disciple, has been a reference to me on this matter. This little book holds out for me one of the greatest passages of Scripture the Holy Spirit has ever inspired. He said, "But if we walk in the light, as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (I John 1:7) As I refocus for the final years of ministry, and regroup my resources for the next charge up the hill, I want to make sure that I am pointed in the right direction. I am not heading into the dark to find my way, but walking into the light. He is the source of hope for a lost generation. His church is the last great hope for this world. His blood is the only way a person can be cleansed from all sin. This week I was challenged by a young pastor to never say, "I am just a sinner saved by grace." He offered the substitutionary phrase that pointed out our righteousness in Christ. I believe what he said is true, and well meant, but I would add this word of caution. There is no shortcut that can be taken to get to the righteousness of Christ. This path takes us up a Calvary Road, and confronts us with the blood of Jesus, and our own death on the cross. It is not until a person has this low view of his sinful condition that they are ready to be elevated to the righteousness of Christ. There can be no sin blotted out from the ledger book of God until it is acknowledged that the debt is owed and it cannot be paid. There is no grace that can be received until there is an admission of the need of unmerited favor.

Excuse me, but the garage is calling me to complete an unfinished task. Something tells me that this is not the only place in my life where I have "accumulative error." Pray for me, and I will pray for you to have a clean heart that has had all the junk removed and kicked to the curb today.

Famous Last Words

"Father, 'INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT. ' " Luke 23:46

I have to admit I have always been fascinated by the study of the last words spoken by people just before they die. It is often inspiring, sometimes sad, and at times even a bit humorous. My top ten list includes a wide variety of patriots, preachers and personalities.

1. "Are you guys ready? Let' roll." Todd Beamer, 9/11/2001
2. "Now comes the mystery." Henry Ward Beecher, pastor, evangelist 3/8/1887
3. ""I'm going to Heaven." Bo Didley
4. "God take me." Dwight D. Eisenhower
5. "Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub." Conrad Hilton
6. "Texas, Margaret! Texas!" Sam Houston
7. "This is it...this really is it." Michael Jackson
8. "The best of all is God is with us." John Wesley
9. "Strike the tent!" Robert E. Lee
10. "Jesus I love you. Jesus I love you. " Mother Theresa 9/5/97

The last words spoken by a person can be extremely important. They often give us insight into the life of the person. At times their last breath is punctuated with words of tremendous significance.

When Jesus was on the cross, He called out to His Father and quoted this line from a beautiful passage of Scripture found in Psalm 31. The text is found within the context of a Psalm written by David that contains both complaint and praise. These few words are critical to understand what was going on in the life of Jesus moments before He died.

"In Thee, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be ashamed. In Thy righteousness deliver me. Incline Thine ear to me, rescue me quickly; be Thou to me a rock of strength, a stronghold to save me. For Thou art my rock and my fortress; for Thy name's sake Thou wilt lead me and guide me. Thou wilt pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me; for Thou art my strength. INTO THY HAND I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." Psalm 31:1-5

Jesus was calling out to God in prayer in the midst of His dilemma. His favorite word of God was Father. This intimacy in prayer was a huge part of the life of Jesus. He loved to spend time with His Father. The prayer life of Jesus encourages every prayer warrior to turn to God in crisis, but to be intimately involved, and consistently connected with God before, through, and after the crisis.

Although Jesus gasps out only a portion of the Psalm, He was more than familiar with this passage of Scripture. He had heard it the first time David sang it. The Psalmist called out for God to incline His ear to hear and to take quick action to deliver him from the net that had secretly been set to trap him. In the end, he released himself into God's hands to be ransomed from his enemies, and for the God of truth to set the record straight.

Jesus revealed a familiarity with one of my favorite pictures of the Father. When God is revealed as a loving parent who will incline His ear to hear the cry of a child, it warms my heart and gives me hope. This is not a picture of a distant monarch who has a benign interest in the welfare of His subjects. This is a clear indication that God is passionately interested in the needs of His children, and will reach down to them when they cannot reach up to Him.

Words like refuge, rescue, rock, strength, stronghold, save, fortress, lead, guide, pull are indication of the safety to be found in God's Presence, and the confidence that can be placed in Him to take action on behalf of those He loves.

As parents, Dana and I have known the joy and the responsibility of having two daughters being brought into our lives. When they were little they always wanted to know that they had our undivided attention when they were talking to us. I can remember more than once the constant call, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" If I did not look their way, they would climb up in my lap and place their little hands on my cheeks and turn my face to look directly into their eyes. It was not enough that I could hear their voices, they wanted to make sure that I had inclined my head or looked their way when they called my name. When they were injured, it was not enough for me to observe and acknowledge their pain. They wanted to be held in my arms and comforted until the pain went away and the tears were dry. The warrior poet, David sensed this need too. Jesus called out to God to find a similar affirmation.

During this Easter season and tumultuous time in the life of our nation, it is good for every prayer warrior to be reminded that we have a Father who is aware of our condition and inclines His ear to hear the cry of His children. He remains the rock, the refuge, and the rescuer. Jesus has been elevated from the cross to the seat at the right hand of the Father. From that close proximity to the Father, He interecedes on behalf of the children of God. Prayer warriors who are overwhelmed by the challenges and concerns of these days can take confidence in knowing that the Father still inclines His ear to hear. Their requests are delivered by the Son and interpreted by the Spirit to bring about the result that will bring the greatest honor and glory to God.

God may be about His greatest work when it looks like things are at their worst. Anything that brings us to the end of our false hope in ourselves and creates a fresh dependency upon God for deliverance is a blessing in disguise. Government power and economic securithy are no substitute for or barrier against what God can do. God's greatest blessings are sometimes delivered in very strange and frightening packages. It takes people who will talk less and pray more to discover what God is up to in their lives. Prayer warriors allow God to turn their complaints into praise and trust Him to do something only He can get credit for.

Talking inflates the problem like a balloon filled with hot air and blocks the vision of the one doing all the blowing. Praying allows the prayer warrior to let go of the problem in order to get hold of God. The problem deflates and if it remains, it is at least a limp representation of what it once was. Prayer gets rid of the thing that is blocking the view of Jesus intereceding on behalf of the person who released their intimidating problem into His capable hands. Remember, He has experience taking the worst thing that the world can dish out and letting God bring about His best in the middle of it. To get a better picture of what God is doing in your life and in your country...TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

First Love Awakening : Remove

Day 5

"...Or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place." Rev. 2:5

"Or else" are two of the most ominous words in the English language. When they are used to describe the warning Jesus has for His church, they take on a whole new intensity. These two words pack a two fisted wallop of favor and fear. On the one hand, they promise that Jesus is coming again, but on the other hand, they point to the dire consequences of ignoring His call to return to their "First Love."

The Church at Ephesus could not be accused of being a lifeless church, but Jesus diagnosed it as being a loveless church. "The church that loses its love will lose its light, no matter how doctrinally sound it may be." Warren Wiersbe

Jesus called on His church to remember, repent, and redo the things they did at first. He promised that He would return, and He would remove their lampstand from its place, if they had not taken His counsel. Ephesus had a great reputation for being an active, tireless defender of the faith. Jesus knew that they lacked the ability to light up their community with His love, if they failed to add fuel to their own love for Him. Jesus knew the danger of cold hearted orthodoxy. It had been one of the driving forces of the self-righteous men who called on the Romans to put Him to death.

Personal love for Jesus keeps the heart of a church warm enough to receive people who come to their need of a Savior. Vance Havner used to say, "Some people are straight as a gun barrel theologically, and just as empty." Jesus wanted the first priority of His church to be a great love for Him, and this love would overflow to others.

When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus responded, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' (Deut. 6:5) "This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF (Lev. 19:18).' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)

In the mind of Jesus, love was to be focused first of all on God, and then there would be an overflow of His love to pour out onto others. This was a consistent theme in His teaching right up until His death on the cross. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35) Jesus knew the Church at Ephesus was in danger because their lack of love for Him. Eventually, their service for Him would weaken, and then they would become irrelevant. "Beware of anything that competes for loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service to Him." Oswald Chambers

The warning that He would not hesitate to remove their lampstand from its place is in keeping with the Scriptures teaching on the authority of Lordship.

• "Whom the Lord loves, He reproves." Prov. 3:12
• "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent." Rev. 3:19

Jesus is the "Light of the World" and His churches are called to be guiding lights that point people to the love of God. The threat of the removal of their lampstand from its place meant that there is a grave consequence to loving the work of the Lord, more than the Lord of the work...darkness and irrelevancy. At the very least the Church was losing their witness in the community because their light was not shining as it should, and as it could. The rekindling of their love for Jesus was key to having the light of His love restored in their church and in their community.

The personal application of this passage should cause every believer to check the level of their love for Jesus. The greater the love believers have for their Savior, the greater the light of His love will shine into a dark world. Any church that loses its love will soon lose its light. Any believer that focuses on service more than the Savior eventually burns out and leaves a world in darkness.

First Love Awakening is a call for the church to plug into a personal love relationship with Jesus. When His disciples love Him and love one another, people "see the light" and find their way out of the dark and into the light of God's love.

First Love Awakening : Redo

Day 4

"Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds that you did at first." Revelation 2:5

"I don't love her any more." Those simple words have been spoken to me by husbands, over and over again, during the past 38 years of ministry. I have heard similar words expressed by wives who have had enough and aren't going to take anymore. It seems there is an unwritten, but consistent script out there, and it keeps getting passed from one generation to another. Whenever a man or a woman wants to dissolve the union that God put together they will play what they believe to be their final trump card. They are always surprised and often irritated at my response.

"Start again!" When I tell a person that their loss of love for their mate is no "Get out of jail free" card for Christian marriage, it really puts a kink in their plans to escape "the old ball and chain." Open hostility is often easier to deal with in a marriage than cold hearted apathy. Dr. John Bisagno would often say, "It is impossible to hatch eggs in a refrigerator." He was right. The warmth of someones disdain is more conducive to the reheating a broken heart than the cold dead ashes of broken dreams that have no spark left in them.

It is not an easy road to recovery in a marriage or in a personal love relationship with Jesus. The hardest part is to admit that Jesus has not grown cold in his love for us, but we have drifted apart from Him. This personal, introspective admission is embarrassing. It is a kind of spiritual checkup that has been postponed too long and now the results of the diagnosis are feared. In its early stages, it is dreaded like a child's phobia of needles. The more delay that builds up between checkups, it leads to a false conviction that the cure is going to kill us. Satan is always lying to us about how little Jesus loves us.

An old Texas, preacher joke reminds us of our personal responsibility for any condition of lost love between us and Jesus. Rancher Jake and his wife Jane were riding into town on Saturday morning in their old pickup truck. Jane was hugging the passenger side door, and wistfully looking out the window, and said in a woeful voice, "Jake, we used to ride into town side by side, and squeezed up close together. Why don't we do that anymore." Jake responded, "I ain't moved!"

What does it take to get back to a first love relationship with Jesus? He told the Church at Ephesus that he expected them to do the things they did at first. The first step they took was going to have to be a recognition that He was not the source of the problem, but He was the source of the solution. They were going to have to move in His direction (repent) and do again (redo) the things that were once so vital to their love relationship.

When I met Dana, I couldn't believe what happened to me. I had never been a fan of love at first sight, but she changed all that in an instant. When she walked into my life, I was stunned into the harsh reality that my self-sufficient existence was woefully inadequate without her in it. I was faced with the real possibility that my life would not be complete unless she chose to share her life with me. That September, Monday night in 1974, we sat at a card table at Lowell and Shirley Thomas' home, and shared a potluck supper with other single adults from their single adult Sunday School class. I do not remember the food, the decor of the room, what was on TV or even the words that transpired between us that night. All I can remember about that evening is Dana. She stepped into my life and rocked my world. I found that when I was not with her, I missed her. I jumped whenever the phone rang, and answered it with the hope that the person on the other line might be Dana. I looked for her when I was at church. Not casually, or indifferently, but I sought her out. I followed the scent of her perfume, "Cachet," like a relentless, hound dog. When I found her, I spoke to her with words that were chosen to build her up, and build a bridge between us. During the week, I found time to call her, or to think about her. She was so much on my mind that I could squeeze her into any and every conversation that I had. If someone wanted to talk about the Cowboys, I would segue with, "You know that reminds me about Dana." Even if my fellow seminarians wanted to talk about church related matters, I would shift the conversation to Dana. Well, I have to stop this heart warming journey down memory lane or I will never finish this blog. I wonder if the warmth I feel for her in my heart right now is why Jesus encouraged His followers to remember.

How does someone remember, repent and redo the things that restore a relationship with Jesus that was once such a vital part of their life. After reflection on Dana for a few moments, some ideas have come to my mind that may warm our hearts for Jesus.

• Miss Him.
• Talk to Him.
• Write to Him.
• Look for Him.
• Listen to Him.
• Walk with Him.
• Talk about Him.
• Read about Him.
• Think about Him.
• Make time for Him.
• Spend time with Him.
• Don't rush away from Him.
• Say a good word about Him.
• Cast all your cares upon Him.

Can you see the curve that is made by the list above. It symbolically reflects a change of mind and a change of direction. Don't wait for the right feeling before you begin doing what is right. Obey your way into a new way of feeling. It is never too late to begin, and it is never to soon to start a restoration of first love. Remember Jake? Jesus ain't moved either. He is right where you left your first love.

First Love Awakening : Repent

Day 3

"Therefore, remember from where you have fallen and repent." Rev. 2:5

Years ago as a student at Baylor, I was taught that whenever you come to the word "therefore" in the word of God, it was always wise to take a brief look at the previous statement and find out what it is there for. At first blush this perspective on Holy Scripture may appear to be a bit flippant, but it is still a reliable tool to use in personal discovery of the truth in the Word of God.

"Therefore" refers to the loss of love for Jesus. It described a fallen state, a decline in their spiritual condition. People are in a backslidden condition when their love for Jesus is more about the past tense than the present tense. In the case of the Church at Ephesus, they had lost their first love for Jesus. This was a serious situation, and Jesus expected them to see it the way He saw it.

In his letter to the pastor of the Church at Ephesus, Jesus commended the people for their meritorious service, but exhorted them to return to a focus on Him and not the work they were doing for Him. Jesus gave a wake up call for the church to restore to first priority their love for Him. They had become dangerously myopic. They were more passionate about the mission He gave them, than they were about Him. They had lost their way. They had wandered to the dark side, and were no longer reflecting the shining face of the Son. Being more in love with the work of the Lord than being in love with the Lord of the work always leads to the dark side of the moon. They needed a turn around in their lives. They needed to get back to a face to face encounter with Jesus.

It was not enough for the Church at Ephesus to know the difference between right and wrong. It was also necessary for them to do the right thing. That is why Jesus called them to repent. Too often people combine the words repent and penance and confuse them as synonyms. They are vastly different in meaning and mission. Penance is a punishment for failure, and meant to be a rebuke for wrong behavior. Repent is more of an encouragement to stop moving in the wrong direction, and return to right behavior. There are times the word repent is translated regret, and this may be part of the problem. Regret projects a picture of sorrow and shame over a decision or a condition.

A person may regret taking the wrong turn on a long road trip. They may express deep remorse over their lost condition. Saying "mea culpa" or "my bad" does not turn the car around. Without a change of mind, and a change of direction the trip is doomed to failure. Jesus does not call people to camp out in the rest area on the road of regret. He knows if they fail to turn in a fresh new direction they will choose defeat over deliverance.

Ancient Greeks believed repent was more about a change of thought and change of behavior. They formed this word from the words "change" and "to think." At the very least, repent meant to stop thinking the wrong thing, and start thinking the right thing. It was a change of one's point of view from, "I think." to the perspective of Jesus, "I know!" To repent a person must begin to look at life the way Jesus sees it, and humble themselves to His yoke to stay on the right path.

Zig Ziglar caught my attention one night while I was driving through the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. On a radio broadcast, he challenged the conventional new age thought that you become what you think about. He adamantly disagreed. He said, "If that was true, by the time I was sixteen, I would have been a woman." Great word Zig!

Repent is so much more than a passing interest in a new year's resolution. It is not a matter of self help or self motivation. It is not a matter of self at all. The idea that people can find what they need in themselves has been around a long time. I was in Barnes and Noble yesterday and found a book in Christian inspiration that looked interesting. I put it down when I noted that it equated the Word of God with other religious disciplines. It was written in 1902 by James Allen, a seeker of truth who blended Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism in a little book, "As a Man Thinketh." His contribution to New Thought of that era was really just another attempt to pass on an old lie. He was a forerunner of the more contemporary New Age gurus that tell people they can change their behavior by changing their thinking, and become the master of their own destiny.

Don't misunderstand me, the word of God does say, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) However, this was a not a call to think one's way to a new level of reality. It was a wise reminder not to be swayed by the disingenuous flattery and gratuitous generosity of a selfish person. Manipulative people may invite others to their table to eat, but they intend to turn their unsuspecting guests into the main course. Their outward signs of generosity are nothing more than a mirage of deceit or a sinister camouflage for their trap.

In his book "Repent or Else," Vance Havner pointed out that repent was the message of Jesus to five of the seven churches in Asia Minor. The modern country of Turkey is now the contemporary chasm where the faint echo of these once powerful churches is heard. They may have heard the word of Jesus and responded with a form of regret. They may have had a feeling of sorrow, but did not respond with an overwhelming inclination to reform or to replace the wrong choice with the right choice. The Greek word for repent is not an emphasis upon sorrow and penance but on a complete change of thought and behavior.

Life changing direction in life does not take place with a change of thought, but in an exchange of hearts. What does this change of heart or a change in attitude towards Jesus look like? It includes a reversal of lukewarm, lackluster lackadaisical love for Jesus into a flaming love for Him. It is a break out from the ice jam of apathy to the free flow of warm hearted appreciation. It is an about face. It is a reverse from a wrong direction to the right direction. It is a reevaluation of the worth of the relationship. It is a return to consistent companionship. It s a refocus away from the mission to the Master. His point of view leads to a change of mind, change of heart, change of direction, and a change of life.

When love dies it does not always generate a sense of outrage. It deteriorates into apathy. One of the most difficult levels of lost love to break out of is the numb, fatalistic, condition of apathy.This is the point in a love relationship between two people, when they both become so cold they are too numb to feel anything for each other. They don't call, confront, criticize, or communicate. They don't fight at all, but they don't talk at all. They have reached a point where they don't care at all. The coldest form of hate may be reached when people completely ignore each other because their hearts have grown cold.

Jesus reminds His Church that He knows how much He loves them, and He wants them to remember that He loved them before they first loved Him. Restored intimacy is a prayer away. It begins with an admission of a need for Jesus. It is established by returning to the yoke of Jesus. It continues with a daily leaning upon the Presence of Jesus through the practice of prayer. Satan wants to make you fear that a return to Jesus will result in punishment for not coming to Him sooner. Jesus knows your fear, and He waits with open arms to warm your heart with a fresh, first love for Him. Don't think your way to a new level of reality. Pray your way back home to your first love. He assumes full responsibility for the direction and correction of your life.

Remember, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us." (I John 4:18-19)

First Love Awakening : Remember

Day 2

"Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen..." Revelation 2:5

Jesus never commanded His followers to remember His birthday. This may come as a surprise to churches that can get overactive imaginations when it comes pageants, cantatas, camels, hay, and bathrobes. This is not to say His birthday was not a great day, but it was just the beginning of the greatest work that God was going to do.

When Jesus calls His disciples to remember, He is calling them to recall the day they first fell in love with Him. The love of Christ was not poured out on a lost world in a stable, but on hill far away from the little town of Bethlehem. Jesus purchased salvation on a cross, not a manger. That is something to remember.

Dr. Jack McGorman, my Greek professor, was dragging me verse through verse through the book of Galatians in 1976 when I heard him say, "Jesus did not die by fractions on the cross." He was "affectionately" and privately called "Cactus" Jack by his students. He had a way of piercing the thin skin of novice theologians with the sharp point of truth from The Word of God. His words stay with me every time I give an offering to the Lord's work. He reminded us that debating percentages when we are honoring the Savior was very poor form indeed. Something to remember.

Jesus gathered His disciples together on the night before His death and shared The Cup and The Bread with them, and commanded them to "Do this in remembrance of me!" Many people take the invitation to the Lord's Supper as optional. They see it as an occasion to skip out and do something else more important, because the service will not exactly be up to their standards that Sunday. Too quiet. Too contemplative. Not enough laughter. Such a downer. The Cup and The Bread of the Lord's Supper are certainly two very important things to remember.

What else could be remembered to restore a first love for Jesus? "The Passion of the Christ" a movie by a hardened, Hollywood mogul like Mel Gibson could be a tool for remembrance. The weakest part of his movie's message was the power and the reality of the resurrection. It certainly falls short of the whole story, but it gets the pain and the humiliation down with overwhelming accuracy. His death is something to remember.

First love is not matter of chronology, but a lesson in priority. The love that Jesus calls the Church at Ephesus to remember was the intense, and intimate communication that took place between them when they first discovered what Jesus had done for them. They had initially given Him their hearts, and had gradually substituted their time, talent, and treasure. He missed their love for Him more than He honored their work for Him. Remember. Jesus knows the difference.

Love is an act of the will and not a figment of the imagination. It is not a flight of fancy, or a deluded fantasy. It is more than an emotional feeling. William Barclay defines this "agape" love as"unconquerable benevolence and undefeatable goodwill."

Love is not given "because of" what is done by another. Love is something that is done in spite of what is done to another. It is an expression of the will to respond in kindness, instead of reacting in kind.

Awakening is part of an ongoing process of God's people being filled enough, long enough with the Person of the Holy Spirit for the character of Christ to spill out on those who do not believe. Jesus told His followers that unbelievers would recognize them as belonging to Him by the love they had for one another. Awakenings outside the church often happen when life hits people in the church hard enough to spill out on others what God has put in them. Remember. People need to see the love of Jesus.

"God's will for your life is to make you empty of you and full of Him. He uses people and circumstances to knock you out of you so He can fill you with Himself." Bill Stafford.

First Love Awakening : Revelation

Day 1

"But I have this one thing against you, that you have left your first love." (Rev. 2:2-5)

Tracking when I began to grasp the concept of a "First Love" relationship with Jesus has been aided by going back and looking my study bibles. The faded red ink underlining the verse, and the handwritten notes in the margin of my college New Testament are the trail markers of a young man on a journey of discovery.

Scribbled in "Bic Pen Blue" at the top of "The Revelation of John" are the words, "Continuously contemporary, this message applied then and it applies now." As I looked at my notes in chapter two, I found underlined in red, "that you have left your first love." Underneath written in the same faint color are the words, "No personal relationship with Jesus."

The first encounter I can document having with this powerful verse appears to have taken place while I was in a Bible Study at Baylor University. It was led by close friends, Bobby Livesay and Bob Bryant. Both men eventually completed their graduate studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, and became accomplished pastors. I cannot thank God enough for bringing these men into my life during my college years. They introduced me to serious, personal bible study and challenged me to apply ancient truth to contemporary life.

While serving at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth, we were privileged to host a singing and drama group called, "The Jeremiah People." They had a song in their program called "First Love." It contained a dramatic monologue that stirred my heart as much as their music. It pointed out the danger of allowing good things to crowd out the best thing in life. It warned that it was possible to be so engaged in the work of the Lord and still somehow lose the love for Jesus that was once such a vital part of the relationship. It was a call to a believer to return to Jesus and allow Him to restore what has been lost.

In January of 1976, David Walker and I presented a weekend of ministry to the students of Sagamore called, "First Love Awakening." Tony Dyer had sent us a brief outline of a program he had begun called "Disciple Now!" We implemented the concept under the "First Love" theme and saw God do a mighty work in the lives of our young people. Who knew that 34 years later this ministry would still be impacting the lives of students. Thanks, Tony!

By the summer of 1978, I was serving as an Associate Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. I led them to close out each summer with a Back To School Crusade and we called it "First Love Awakening." I would invite the camp preacher to return to our home base and spend four days challenging our students to apply on their campus what they had committed their lives to at camp. It was a timely reminder that it doesn't take much time for our love for Jesus to cool off, and become a faint memory rather than a flaming movement of God in our lives.

Recently, I have been asked to lead prayer conferences with three great pastors in three different states. These invitations give me hope of a movement of God that is focused on our need for prayer and for spiritual awakening. I have been priviledged to be with Don Andrews and Haven Baptist Church of Kansas City, Kansas, Keith Kurtz and The Vine Community Church of Thomson, Georgia, and Bobby Bressman and Pleasant Hill Baptist Church of Tyler, Texas.

Bobby Bressman was a sixth grader in my student ministry, when his mother, Melody Horn, was my Executive Assistant at Broken Arrow. God has used Bobby in a great way to call the people of Pleasant Hill to the priority of a first love relationship with Jesus. My prayer conference with him was spiritual preparation for a spring revival. He had remembered the "First Love Awakening" meetings we used to have in BA, and wanted to do something similar at his church with Jon Randle who was scheduled later in the year. I was so pleased that he remembered, and honored that he asked permission to use the idea. I assured him first love was an idea Jesus had first, and it belonged to Him, not me. Still it was nice to be asked. Thanks Bobby!

I have been a student of prayer and spiritual awakening for about 40 years. During the 33 years of our marriage, Dana and I have prayed for God to allow us to be part of something only He can get credit for. As I continue to grow in my understanding of this great work of God, I am learning that the greatest first love awakening that can take place is the one that happens in my own life. Thanks Dana!

My friend, Michael Catt is fond of quoting his mentor, Vance Havner. One of Dr. Havner's finest gems states, "The devil will let a preacher prepare for a sermon, if it will keep him from preparing himself." The first love relationship of a man of God for the Son of God often seems to be the prelude for a greater movement of God in the lives of others. Thanks Michael and Dr. Havner!

As I pray for "First Love Awakening" in my own life, I am challenged by four words.

• Remember: "Remember therefore from where you have fallen..."
• Repent: "...and repent."
• Redo: "...and do the deeds you did at first..."
• Remove: "...or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand."

Jesus gave great commendation to the work of the Lord that had been done by the Church at Ephesus. He saved His strongest condemnation for the one thing they could not live without, a first love relationship with Him. Jesus says seven times to the churches in Revelation, "I know." He always knows when a person is more in love with the work of the Lord than they are with the Lord of the work. He expects them to do something about it, when He tells them the truth. Thanks Jesus!

"First Love Awakening" is not so much an event to be planned as a flame to be fanned. My father, Don Miller, has often said, "Anything that cools your love for Jesus is sin." That is where this separation between the work of the Lord and the Lord of the work is so dangerous. Satan is the great counterfeitor, and he is always the enemy of the best. He will let a believer do what is good as long as it consumes all of his time and energy and leaves nothing for the first love of his life, Jesus. Thanks Dad!

For my prayers for "First Love Awakening" to have any integrity, they must lead to a personal renewal of my own love relationship with Jesus. It is this love of Jesus that becomes too real to be contained. It must absorb me first before there is enough in me to spill out on others.

My understanding of prayer and spiritual awakening leads me to believe that revival is something God does to the Church and in the Church. It is a saturation of the people of God with the Presence of God. On a wider scale, awakening is something God does in the lives of people outside the church. It is a community saturated by the Presence of God.

This widespread awakening seems to take place when revival of people in the Church lingers long enough for people outside the church to notice the change. Cold hearted people seldom warm others to a profound love for God. A revival movement of God cannot be ignored by people in the Church. On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit takes over in the lives of God's people they leave the four walls of the Church and saturate the streets, shops, alleys, homes, work stations, factories, shops and every place they go with an overflowing expression of praise to God. When revival of the Church becomes an awakening, it cannot be ignored by people outside of the Church. This awakening will either create a hunger for this kind of love in their own lives, or it will generate a hate for it in their hearts.

If you can remember a day or a time in your life when you loved Jesus more than you love Him today, you are in need of a "First Love Awakening." Taking a walk down memory lane is meant to be an about face. Prayer is the only hope for a turn around experience in your life. Focus on spending time with the Lord of the work before you take off to do your work for the Lord.

Jesus is the Light of the World. Pastors, people and churches who fail to reflect the light of His Presence become accustomed to the dark, and invite Jesus to remove them from being a lighthouse to people in peril. Sing it loud! Sing it proud! This little light of mine. I'm gonna let it shine! Thanks Sunbeams!

The Prayer Principle of Glorification

"And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried into Heaven." Luke 24:50

Principle: Prayer is the greatest preparation for heaven and the greatest reflection of the Glory of God.

The physical Presence of Jesus had to be removed from the presence of the disciples, before they could be blessed with the Person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus guided them to the understanding that prayer was going to be the language of Heaven, and would be the means by which God would respond to their need for help. When Jesus went away, He would intercede for His followers and ask the Father to send them a Helper who would be with them forever.

"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you may know Him because He abides with you and will be in you." John 14:14-17

Prior to His death, Jesus told His disciples that it was to their advantage that He go away. Jesus knew His disciples must come to the end of themselves before they would come to the beginning of God. They need to have sense of their own weakness before God would trust the power of His Spirit to do a great work in and through them.

"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you." John 16:7

The blessing of Jesus upon the disciples ushered in a whole new dimension in the relationship between Master and disciple. The disciples would sense a great loss when Jesus ascended into Heaven. He would not leave them without a Helper. The Holy Spirit would would always give glory to Jesus. The greatest glory of Jesus would be the changed lives of the people who would be a part of His church.

"He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you." John 16:14

Following His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days on earth teaching His disciples about the Kingdom of Heaven, and their mission on earth. His Ascension to Heaven was a culmination of this important work. It was preceded by a blessing of His disciples. His prayer was a prelude to the fulfillment of the Promise they were to receive at Pentecost.

The blessing of the disciples led them to ask for a blessing themselves. Jesus could pray for them, but Jesus would not do all their praying for them. They must go to God in prayer and ask in the name of Jesus for the Promise to be delivered to them.

Prior to Pentecost, the disciples gathered in an Upper Room and prayed for ten days. In answer to their prayers and in accordance with God's will the Holy Spirit was given to them. The Holy Spirit was not "created" at Pentecost, but His work would be expanded. No longer would His Presence be limited to a specific person, for a specific task, for a specific period of time. He would take up permanent and personal residence in the lives of Christ followers.

Without glorification of the Risen Christ there would be no gift of the Spirit provided at Pentecost. The purpose of the Holy Spirit was to glorify Jesus on earth. This glorification is a reflection of the Presence of God. Jesus ascended into the Presence of His Father, and reflected the light of His face onto the lives of His followers. This blessing from Jesus reflected His special relationship with His Father. The disciples needed this same kind of intimacy to reflect the face of a loving Father into the lives of people in need of His love.

The Presence of the Holy Spirit does His greatest work in the life of the Christ follower by encouraging the practice of prayer. The character of Christ is unleashed in the life of the believer through the power of prayer. When the disciples came to a sense of their own weakness, they came into the Presence of God through prayer. They would take the blessing of Jesus, and turn it into a prayer meeting calling out for the Promise of God. The Holy Spirit changed their lives forever. What may have begun as prayers for a change of their circumstances transformed them. These changed people changed the world by reflecting the love of God and the character of Christ in a hostile world. The Holy Spirit still does the same work through the power of prayer.

The Practice of Prayer: Set aside a time each day to make yourself available to God in prayer. Ask Him to take control of your life through the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Thought for the Day: You have the same person of the Holy Spirit and all of His power available to you that was given to the first century Christians. You do not need more of Him. He needs more of you.

"God's people have always in their worst condition found out the best of their God. He is good at all times; but He seemeth to be at His best when they are at their worst. They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls." Charles Haddon Spurgeon