The Mark

"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35

The best definition of a disciple I know, I owe to Dr. Oscar Thompson. Now in Heaven, Dr. Thompson bravely battled cancer while serving as Professor of Evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas. He was a good friend and mentor. He said...

A disciple is someone who...
1. Has a personal relationship with the teacher.
2. Allows the teacher to exercise authority and jurisdiction over his life.
3. Is willing to face persecution for what they believe.

See what I mean? More than a learner of lessons, accumulator of facts, or a sporadic attender, a disciple is made of sterner stuff. Beginning with a relationship, disciples follow the leader, courageously trusting in Jesus, come what may.

The Greeks were poetic people with a powerful grasp of man's potential for greatness and tragedy. They coined words that remain with us today. Two of them still describe the nature of man and the greatness of God.

"Hubris" was used to describe over-weening pride in an average man who dared to rise to greatness. The Greeks recognized that as men rose above their humble roots, they had a way of thinking more highly of themselves than they ought to think. When a man's estimation of himself rose to such an offensive level that the stench reached the nostrils of the gods, the gods knocked a prideful man down to size. Sounds like the voice of experience.

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn." - C. S. Lewis

"Agape" was one of at least four words the Greek philosophers used to describe love. They didn't have any examples of it, but they knew the world needed it. Long before Hallmark cards and jewelry store commercials, they promoted something that people longed for, but had never seen, selfless love. It has been defined as "unconquerable benevolence, and undefeatable goodwill. It praised the capacity to willingly express an "in spite of" love, rather than a "because of" kind of love. Rare indeed. Sound familiar?

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

Love is not something God believes. Love is who God is. It is His nature to love. His love is offered to man, through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. Those who are drawn to the benefits of God's love, often try to race past Jesus, and ignore the cross. All that blood and gore seem so messy and unnecessary to the pride of man.

Prideful people are willing to admit, "I misspoke." They may even confess, "Mistakes were made." Groveling for a second chance from one's peers is not the same thing as crying out to God for forgiveness.

The mission statement of the contemporary church should be, "After all, we all make mistakes." Pride keeps people from admitting that they are a sinner, and in need of forgiveness. Getting a do over and being forgiven are two different things. The first ignores the sin. The second restores the sinner.

Prideful people won't let a person get up when they have been knocked down. It would cost them a false sense of superiority. They won't let a person forget they made a mistake in the past, because their lives are driven by The Accuser, in the present tense. Just ask Paula Deen. Ever say the N-word? Ever think about it? Yeah, I thought so.

The family of God is birthed by The Forgiver. It is the last safe haven for forgiveness, and it also the where God's greatest expression of love can be found. It is not a place of do-overs or make-overs, coverup artists or makeup tips. God's family is made up of people who have had a life-changing encounter with His Son, Jesus. God's love cost Jesus His life. It ought to cost His disciples at least a bit of inconvenience.

"God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way." Leighton Ford

Reciprocal relationships are best described by "the one another" passages of The Bible. They are not a form of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Those self-serving, suffocating expressions lead to cronyism in the church and Congress in D.C. Don't trust either one.

"Love one another" isn't erotic emotionalism, nor is it triggered by some robotic mechanism. It is the capacity of one forgiven person to accept another forgiven person in the climate of God's love. Neither person makes excuses for the sin they see in themselves or they see in another.

People in need of forgiveness run to God's love and meet "one another" at the foot of the cross. At the cross there is little room for an air of superiority. A person who has just recently been confronted by their own sin, and had it placed under the blood of Jesus, is not in a position to lord it over a person in the same condition.

Humiliation comes from facing our own sin, not by pointing out another's sin. Confessed sin should lead to humility. Rationalization leads to pride. The forgiven feed one and starve the other.

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."
Actor, Ryan O'Neill's quote from the 1970's Hollywood film "Love Story"

What hogwash! Poor theology leads to pathetic parenting and prideful progeny. The church culture of permissiveness is not too much different from the world's culture of "live and let live." People who are in the wrong are often the first to say, "Can't we all just get along?" The answer is, "No!" Prideful people are so full of themselves, there is no room for concern about anyone else.

"Love one another." The mark of a Christian is love. It is not expressed by permissiveness, but forgiveness. Love confronts sin, not with an air of superiority, but with a sense of destiny. This love is alarmed over seeing a person stumbling blindly over a cliff, and lovingly throws themselves into their path to block them from disaster. This can be done in many different ways, but there is no better way to impede a person's fall than to intercede for them that they never trip. If prevention is a pound of cure, then intercession does a ton of good. Try it.

"Discernment if given for intercession, never fault-finding." Oswald Chambers

In the heart of man, there is a God-shaped vacuum that can only be filled with Jesus. (Homage to mathematician and philosopher Blaise Paschal) Love has the capacity to focus on what God has in mind for a person, not what they have done. It doesn't ignore the sin, but love intercedes for the sinner. Love does not mean diluting God's judgement of sin, but it does discard a judgmental attitude toward the sinner. Praying for people who are in need of forgiveness, leaves little time for criticizing them.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Purpose

"Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me." John 11:41-42

Do you pray by accident or on purpose? Jesus prayed with one purpose in mind; that the people standing around would believe God sent Him to save them.. Even raising the dead took second stage to raising the level of belief in the people who heard Jesus pray.

When people hear you pray, they may walk away saying, "What a great prayer!" When some heard Jesus pray, they believed in a great God. Others sought to kill Him. Great praying leads to great believing or great opposition. Weak praying inspires no belief, nor does it alarm the opposition.

"Many of the Jews who saw what He had done, believed in Him...But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done." John 11: 45-46

The biggest fear of The Pharisees was about maintaining their place in the sun, not embracing The Son. When Jesus raised the dead, they made plans to bury Him. Prayerless people worship at their own altar, and won't allow any outside interference by God to alter their plans.

"If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." John 11:48

Prayer is not about building consensus or making peace, with those standing around you. It is about glorifying God, and generating belief in Him, by those standing around you.

Glorifying God and believing in Jesus are life-changing steps of repentance. They require a change of direction and a disruption in our personal plans.

You haven't begun to pray, until you encounter resistance from your friends and opposition from your enemies. Every step along the way to the tomb, Jesus encountered people who loved Him, but couldn't understand why He hadn't been there, when they needed Him most.

Disappointment in Jesus is often a result of thinking He missed an appointment you made for Him. When He didn't keep it, and failed to arrive on your schedule, you lost confidence in Him. His past "failure" didn't lead Mary and Martha to hate Jesus. Their past pain clouded their eyes until they couldn't see how Jesus could be of any significant help to them in the present. This happens A LOT!

Prayer brings Jesus into the pain of your present tense. When Jesus shows up, the past is simply the prologue to the impact He can make in the present. Mary and Martha had no expectation of Jesus raising their brother from the dead. The very thought of smelling a dead man nauseated them. Jesus did it, anyway.

When Jesus prayed, He not only raised the dead, but He raised the level of belief in those people standing around. WARNING: Just because people believe more in what God can do, doesn't mean they want more of God. In the case of Lazarus, answered prayer generated belief in some, and rebellion in others. It usually does.

The slightest sign of awakening in the life of a family member or in the life of a church often brings opposition. A wayward husband, who turns back to God, often robs a selfish woman of her lime-light at the local prayer and tear session at her church. Now that he has changed from death to life, her need for sympathy hugs, and mantle of spiritual superiority are gone. She comes to resent the loss. Sad but true.

When God visits a local church or a nation with a Great Awakening, there will always be those who may tolerate it, but they will never embrace it. They bide their time and wait for things to, "Get back to normal." Since most churches are not life-giving, but simply death-defying, this usually means more rouge on the corpse. God offers a wake up call, not a make up session.

Others will do their best to pour cold water on Awakening, by offering up faint praise, indeed. There will also be those who try to snuff it out, by generating open opposition to it. These selfish efforts are led by prayerless people who don't want their plans disrupted or their place of power challenged. Ignore them and pray for the next Great Awakening, anyway. Raise the dead.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Sheep

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John 10:27

The Swahili language is a trade language in East Africa. It is a conglomeration of hundreds of tribal dialects, Arabic, Portuguese, English and a host of other linguistic influences. As a result, it is not as poetic as Greek, or as descriptive as Hebrew, but it has a pragmatic, versatility that still communicates the big picture.

The word used for pastor in Swahili is the same word used for cowboy or shepherd boy. Herding unruly sheep and serving as a pastor of a church have at least one thing in common. Both require the constant use of a voice that the sheep can hear, identify with and follow. In a land of free grazing and no branding irons, a shepherd's voice and his sheep's response to it are the signs of ownership.

In East Africa, claiming sheep that don't respond to his voice can get a shepherd in hot water. When pastors claim sheep that don't respond to The Shepherd's voice, their church will be in hot water too.

Dr. Oscar Thompson was my Professor of Evangelism at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1978 he gave me a great definition of a Christ follower or disciple of Jesus, It was the finest I had ever heard. It hasn't been improved upon since the first day I heard it.

A disciple is at the very heart of the meaning of the word, a follower. Therefore...

1. A Disciple is someone who has a personal relationship with their teacher.

2. A Disciple is someone who allows their teacher to exercise authority or jurisdiction over their life.

3. A Disciple is someone who is willing to face persecution for what they believe.

Thanks Dr. Thompson. Before you went to Heaven, you did a lot of good. May those who heard your voice be faithful to repeat what you said. The church needs disciples that reflect this kind of relationship with Jesus.

William Barclay was once asked if a particular person was one of his students. The professor responded, "No, he only attends my classes."

These two professors did not share much in common theologically, but they both give a clear picture of discipleship as something more than a pursuit of education or the passion for accumulation. Discipleship is marked by application.

Association with the teacher is more than attending a lecture. It is about applying what the teacher says. Sheep respond to the shepherd's voice and students receive what their teacher says. They take what they hear into the hearts, and not just into their heads. The former changes the way they live. The latter only changes their grade.

Ongoing wars between theological camps exist because of the pride people place in themselves, as the final authority. One camp prides themselves in knowing more. The other camp prides themselves in believing more. The argument goes something like this, "If you knew what I know, you wouldn't believe as much as you think you believe." The other camp responds with, "If you believed what I believe, then you wouldn't be so impressed with what you think you know."

One camp mocks what the other camp believes about how a person can come to Jesus and be made right with God. One leans on an exact point in time and a specific prayer. The other is not too clear when it happens, except that it is undeniable when it does. There is little agreement between them.

The simple picture of obedient sheep, as presented by Jesus, is a great help. His sheep follow Him. Those who say they are His sheep, but don't obey His voice are not His sheep. Pretty clear.

One camp needs to admit that after praying there must be obeying. Praying for Jesus to come into a person's heart should reveal a change of heart. Thompson's Rule describes a new sheriff is in town. Sheep once prone to wander should be primed to obey. They need to stop making excuses for deaf and blind sheep who make a mockery of The Shepherd's voice.

The other camp needs to stop slaying the praying. Mocking a person who prays to ask Jesus into their heart is a poor substitute for intercession. Praying for a person to make a genuine connection with Jesus is a much better response to their search for Him. Stow the sarcasm, and start the intercession. Where there is genuine passion for Jesus, there is a passion to pray like Him.

Jesus said His sheep hear Him and obey Him. Those who don't hear and obey Him are not His. The sheep in His flock will look and act like Him. Jesus prayed...A LOT! Have you prayed too much for the sheep lately? Yeah. Me neither.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Messenger

"Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks." John 7:46

From his earliest days of ministry, the message Jesus delivered didn't build a consensus, it split the house. When He arrived in Jerusalem, the people who heard Him speak were divided by what they heard Him say. He said it anyway.

"So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him." John 7:43

Given the task of seizing Jesus, by the religious leaders of the day, the officers of the court were mesmerized by what they heard. They returned to their rulers empty handed. When they showed up without Jesus, they were accused of having become converts to His message.

"You have not also been led astray, have you?" John 7:47

False accusation and intimidation are at one and the same time the twin towers of refuge and siege weapons of tyrants. These men were the religious elite who claimed right standing before God, and paraded their righteousness before men. They were not about to give up their turf to a vagabond prophet from the sticks of Galilee.

"Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee." John 7:52

These religious leaders were appearing to be honest brokers in the search of the Scriptures. They were not suggesting a thorough search of the Scriptures be made to find out if The Messiah had any roots in Galilee. They were making an ominous prophecy that Jesus was not going to be allowed to build a following on their watch. Jesus knew they meant to kill Him.

"He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him." John 7:1

These religious leaders would be true to their word, regardless of what The Word said. Jesus would have to go, if they were going to stay. Man-made religion must always snuff out any spark of a God-given relationship, if it is to survive.

The preacher is not a communicator who seeks to build a crowd or a consensus. Catering to the audience, searching for applause and approval of his speech is the motivation of a communicator, not a messenger. The preacher is a messenger of The Gospel, The Good News, delivering a God-sent message. He resists every temptation to water it down to make it easier to swallow.

The preacher, as the herald of the king, was one of the earliest pictures I was given of preaching. Dr. Harold Freeman, Professor of Preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, made it clear that preaching was not a matter of putting together a sermon or a speech, but it was all about delivering a message. Thanks Dr. Freeman.

The herald of the king would be handed a document, a horse, and a trumpet. He was to ride the horse into the town squares of the cities surrounding the palace, blow the trumpet and read what the king had given him. The messenger was not to vary from the script, ad lib or embellish the message. He was to deliver it.

Dr. Freeman's training included the question: "What do you intend for people to do as a result of what they hear you say?" Great question. Preaching today seems to have lost the intensity of intentionality. It is more about glorifying the personality of the communicator than it is about delivering a message from The King. When the fog of the personality of the messenger dims the view of The King, the messenger has been unfaithful to his commission.

Preaching must not deteriorate to the level of a communicator trying to connect with his audience. When it does, a preacher becomes an embarrassment. Posing as a mouse that roared is a poor substitute for the messenger of The Lion of Judah.

When people heard Jesus speak, it was life-changing, not heart-warming. Jesus spoke with power, authority and passion drawn from having His will forged into The King's will, in the furnace of prayer. Jesus never wavered from His mission, because He never wandered away from intimacy with His Father. Prayer was the arena in which His heart was melted and then pounded into The Father's heart, until the two could not be distinguished, one from the other.

The practice of prayer never allows for script changes to The Message. It creates heart changes in the life of the messenger. Jesus prayed, and God released His power through Him, as He delivered the message of The Father.

When Jesus delivered the Sermon on The Mount, The Constitution of The Kingdom, he used a unique phrase that set Him apart from the other rabbis of His day. He would say, "You have heard it said...BUT, I say to you." No one had ever spoken like this before. He was not shoring up His argument or message with quotes from other rabbis. He was placing more emphasis on connecting with The King, than making connection with His audience or key men. Big difference.

No wonder Jesus made such an impression on these officers sent to seize Him. Hearing Jesus speak must have been like a breath of fresh air, after having served as deputies in the court of The Sanhedrin. They were used to the kind of arrogance that can only be generated by great learning.

A keen mind with a cold heart can be a vicious instrument. On the other hand, a hot heart with an empty head is no bargain. Jesus had a keen mind, filled with understanding of The Word of God and a hot heart stirred by The Will of God, His message was fanned into flame by His intimacy with the Father. through prayer. His fire brought heat and light. The messengers of Jesus should always bring both.

No man had ever spoken like Jesus before. It was not a result of eloquence or education that gave Him connection with the hearts of those who heard Him. It was His connection with The Father who sent Him to deliver His message to them. The messengers of Jesus would do well to remember His source of power.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Will pt. 3

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40

Reports coming out of Houston indicate that baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention are at their lowest level in 65 years. This means that in my life-time, the SBC has drifted from a passionate pursuit of The Father's will. The stats from the states indicate they have embraced a self-serving form of Christianity that has elevated pride in their system, but has produced fewer converts to the Savior.

Why is that? It is hard to pin point the exact moment when this denomination got off course, since it is made up of autonomous churches responsible for making their own decisions, and setting their own priorities. Their loose association with a denominational structure has always been tempered by a spirit of independence that refuses to be dictated to by a top down form of leadership.

In the past 65 years Southern Baptist Churches have increased in number, wealth and membership, but not in fruit. That is disturbing. The solution requires a course correction that cannot be made by a new curriculum, a name change or the election of a consensus building President of the convention. Apparently, believing in the inerrancy of The Word of God is a poor substitute for applying the Word of God. Unfortunately, knowing what God said, and doing what God said are two different things. Some religionists have turned it into an art form that fails to reflect the image of Christ.

Jesus did not come down from heaven to do His own will, but the will of His Father who sent Him. (John 6:38) Prayer was the tool He used to keep Himself under the umbrella of God's authority and to maintain His Father's sense of direction for His life. His followers must not fail to do the same.

The redemptive plan of God was kept on course by The Redeemer keeping the lines of communication open with His Father. It is unlikely that those who are called to carry out The Father's mission and The Redeemer's commission will be able to flourish by the omission of prayer.

Prayerless people are rebellious people. By this act of omission, more than by any other act of commission, they magnify their mission, but they miss God. Prayerless people have a tendency to build up their system, while burning their bridges to The Savior. Without seeking His Father's face, Jesus would have become enamored with His mission, more than His Master. This only happens to prayerless people...EVERY TIME.

"Prayer is the intimate communication between the Heavenly Father and His child." Don Miller

This remains one of the classic definitions of prayer, and enforces the kind of emphasis prayer had on the life of Jesus. It was not a daily devotional exercise that freed Him to then launch into His own agenda. Prayer was a life-giving conversation with His Father. Prayer provided Him with direction and protection. As a result of prayer Jesus never needed His Father's correction. He obeyed Him the first time His Father spoke to Him. It is time for Southern Baptists to do the same, before it is too late.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Water

"Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4: 14

Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. His request led to a conversation between them and to her encounter with the living water that only Jesus can give. She went back to the city a changed woman and told her story.

"From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all the things I have done.' " John 4:39

The Samaritans were so intrigued by what they heard the woman say about Jesus, and what they saw in her life, that it peaked in them a thirst for more. The living water that poured out of her gave them a craving for a personal taste of what Jesus had offered to her. They called on Jesus to stay with them, and He spent two more days pouring into their lives what they needed to quench their thirst, living water.

"Many more believed because of His word, and they were saying to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."

The New Testament reveals that Jesus stays where He is welcome. He simply moves on when He is not. The Samaritans asked Him to stay. When Jesus acted as if He would go farther, the discouraged couple on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) urged Him to, "Stay with us." In both cases, Jesus honored their sense of urgency for his Presence. He always will.

My Aunt Isabell had an unusual contraption on her kitchen counter, right next to the sink. I had never seen anything like it. I was seven years old, and on a vacation trip with my family from Dallas, Texas. When I asked what it was, she explained it was a vital part of her household. She and my Uncle Frank lived in a beautiful, old farmhouse, just outside of Bloomsburg, PA. The long-handled green pump provided cold, clear drinking water when it was properly primed. Who knew?

Right next to the pump was a pitcher of water. When I asked if I could have a drink, my aunt did something very unusual. She poured the pitcher of water down the pump neck and started cranking, up and down, the handle connected to the spout on the pump. It seemed to me to be a waste of water, and a lot of work, with very little result for the investment or the effort. Suddenly, I heard a groaning sound, and then water gushed out of the spout. She asked me to grab the pitcher and fill it up. I moved a chair close to the sink, and climbed up on it, and held the pitcher under the waterfall. IT WAS FREEZING COLD. I dropped the pitcher, picked it up, and before I knew it, the water was flowing over the top of my container and running down the sink. There was so much water coming out of the spout, that I couldn't catch it all. Even after she stopped cranking the handle, water kept coming out of the pump.

I had never seen anything like it. I had never felt anything like it, but the best was yet to come. My aunt poured a glass of water from the pitcher into a glass and handed it to me. It was SO cold. It hurt my teeth, when I tried to drink it, and it shot like iced lightning into my head and gave me a brain freeze. It was amazing. The thought of it today still gives me a shiver.

I had just been introduced to the principle of priming the pump. The results were very different from my previous experience with kitchen sinks. I learned it is possible for two sinks to offer two different things. Getting a glass full of lukewarm tap water from my sink in Texas never quenched my thirst, nor did it leave me thirsty for more. The water from both sinks was wet, but that is where the similarities ended. From one flowed tepid tap water, connected to shallow pipes under my house. They were part of a water line that was tapped into a man-made reservoir full of sunbaked, run off water. The other was connected to a deep, fresh water well far below a farmhouse. It had been sand filtered, sheltered from the sun, and hidden from view until my aunt tapped into it. One left me with wet lips, but the other left me refreshed, from my head to my toes.

Priming the pump requires an investment. The water contained in the pitcher, next to the pump, must be poured down the its neck. It looks like a total waste. It is not. It creates a vacuum that draws the water from the well, into the pipes, up the neck and out of the spout. Cranking the handle, without priming the pump, is a waste of energy. It looks productive, but it is merely activity without productivity. Sound like any churches you know? Yeah, me too.

The water Jesus offered the woman at the well was the gift of His Presence and an offer of forgiveness for her sin. The investment she made was a listening ear and an obedient response. The tepid tap water of her life was poured into the promise Jesus made to her. In a flash a new way of life rose up out of her and poured out on all those around her. She couldn't contain all that Jesus had given her. She had to share it with others. They heard what she said, and saw the change in her life, and it made them thirsty for more. Changed lives always do.

The living water Jesus offers is not an experience, or a feeling. It is a relationship and a life of obedience. His living water satisfies an immediate thirst, but it also creates a craving for more and more. The sources of life that once satisfied are rejected and replaced with The Source of life Who will never leave us thirsty again for substitute, man-made solutions.

When we pray, Jesus takes what we pour into Him, and pours into us His Spirit's Presence. His Spirit produces power to repent, and uncontainable, undeniable, and irresistible refreshing influence on those who encounter the overflow of our changed lives. Changed lives change the world, one splash at a time. Prayer will pump you up.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Believer

"Whoever believes will in Him have eternal life." John 3:15

OLD PREACHER JOKE ALERT: Consider yourself warned.

One of the perks of being raised in a parsonage, was having a front row seat at "The After The Show Show." Whenever Dad would have an itinerant evangelist, guest preacher or denominational dignitary preach at our church, we always had them in our home after the service. My favs were those who preached on Sunday night. After church they would follow us home, and linger around the dinner table, sharing a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. This was always great theatre, dinner and a show. It was even worthy of missing "Bonanza."

One such night visitor regaled us with stories of his travels, and had us laughing so hard it required a bathroom break. Baptism stories were always my favorites. In those days indoor baptistries were still a novelty to some of our more rural churches. Small, lily white, wood framed prairie chapels dotted the Texas landscape. They were the legacy of circuit riding preachers who had traveled by horseback or buggy to spread The Gospel in the wide open spaces of The Lone Star State.

Post war affluence following WW2 led to a call for indoor plumbing and eventually a real-life, big city baptistry. Country church carpenters and plumbers retro fitted space never designed with indoor plumbing in mind. In time, muddy cattle tanks were replaced with small indoor tubs. Most were barely large enough for both pastor and baptismal candidate. As they entered the water, it always brought a giggle from the kiddie section, if the water spilled over the top of the glass at the top of the tub. It had a way of lapping over the glass and running down the backs of any quartet sitting in the choir loft. Enough of the history lesson, now back to the story.

The recently called seminary preacher was new to baptizing, and so was his baptismal candidate. The "christening" of the new baptistry tub was a first for both of them. This is rarely a good combination, but all went well until the filling of the baptistry. The small pipe used to bring the water to the church was tiny, and the perpetual Texas drought had lowered the pressure and the level of the water in the well. In short, the tub was taking hours to fill.

By the time church started for their highly promoted "PACK THE PEW" NGIHT, the pews were filled, but the baptistry wasn't. People had come from far and wide. They wore a "You're not going to believe this!" sense of expectation on their faces." The air in the room was electric.

Looking at the partially filled tub, and then the expectant crowd, the young preacher was inspired. He seized the day. He convinced his reluctant disciple to join him in the "water". and proceeded with the task at hand. His process was unique. He leaned the candidate backwards, onto the floor of the tub, and then rolled him around in the water, until his blue jeans and t-shirt were sufficiently damp. Then he held the poor guy's head under the water to work on his hair, nose and mouth. The candidate was gasping, coughing and snorting like a cat taking a bath. When the preacher stood him up, he asked him, "Do you believe?" The sputtering saint shouted, "I believe you're trying to drown me!" The crowd went crazy. They roared with laughter. This was as close to genuine revival, as they had been in years. They left that night with a story to tell to the nations and they spread it far and wide. They called him the "Dry Cleaning Preacher."

I warned you. Still the story contains a great question. "Do you believe?" In this day of "Easy Believism" and the equally dangerous efforts of those who cast doubt on the merits of authentic evangelism, it is a question that needs to be answered. People who do not believe will perish. Don't take my word for it. Jesus said so.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

The Greek words translated for believe and faith are very closely related. Believe is virtually the verb form of faith. Faith is not a concept to be held, but an act of the will. It involves placing trust or confidence in someone or something. To believe is not merely a one time decision, but a life of putting trust and confidence in God for His direction, protection and correction. To believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is one and the same thing. Believing involves practicing Christianity, not posing as a Christian.

"But he who practices the truth comes to The Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:21

Lawyers practice law. Doctors practice medicine. Musicians practice instruments. Athletes practice drills. In every sense of the word, they are not perfect at what they do, but they honor the label they bear. Christians who say they believe, but do not reveal what is on their label, are either guilty of fraud, or false advertising. Either they do not believe, or they do not practice what they say they believe. In both cases, they give evidence that they have "loved the darkness rather than The Light." (John 3:19).

Prayer sheds The Light on the crisis of faith. Unless people believe, they will perish. Lulling people into a false faith doesn't provide them with eternal security. Casting doubt on their salvation gives no assurance of it. Poor practice habits do not improve a person's proficiency at anything, but criticizing a person's practice of Christianity doesn't improve their fruit production. No doubt some "Christians" have chosen to offer imitation fruit. However, their condition will not be improved by self-appointed "Fruit Inspectors."

"Discernment is given for intercession, never fault-finding." Oswald Chambers

When you see a person's imitation fruit, pray for them. Stop inspecting them. Start interceding for them. Prayerless people sit in the dark. It doesn't matter if they are an IMITATOR or an INSPECTOR. Both hide from The Light, like a child who puts their hands over their face in an attempt to hide from their parents, after an act of disobedience.

Note to self: God sees you. He hears you. All the time. Stop inspecting. Start interceding. Your refusal to intercede for imitators doesn't improve their fruit. Your conceited inspection doesn't improve yours. Your prayerlessness only deepens the darkness surrounding both of you. The Light exposes their imitator's deceit, and your inspector's conceit. Get on your knees and turn to The Light.

"For everyone who does evil hates The Light and does not come to The Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." John 3:20

The Knowledge

"But Jesus on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man." John 2: 24-35

After Jesus performed His first miracle in The Galilee, He went up the mountain to Jerusalem and cleaned out The Temple for the first time. Once He drove out the animals and overturned the tables of the money changers, He said,

"Stop making My Father's house a place of business." John 2: 16

His disciples would never forget what they saw that day. Jesus was on fire with a zeal they had never witnessed before, and would never see again. They recalled an Old Testament prophecy, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." Jesus is The Light, because He is a flame of fire. Those who turn away from The Light will always feel the burn!

Jesus has a jealous streak for God's glory, and those who confuse their personal agenda or financial enrichment with His Father's redemptive plan, invite His righteous wrath. When Jesus was a 12 year old boy He reminded His parents, that He must be about His Father's business. That didn't include a model that allows people to ruin the family business, by merging their corrupt practices and bankrupt priorities, with God's portfolio. He isn't running a glorified Ponzi scheme.

"Stop making my Father's house a place of business."

Now that sounds pretty clear. How in the world have Baptist churches found the latitude to kick prayer meetings to the curb, and yet keep business meetings on the calendar? Does anyone else see a conflict of interest here?

Over the past 62 years, I have logged a lot of time in churches in this country. If going to church provided frequent flyer miles, I would be a Platinum Member. From the vantage point of six decades of experience, allow me to sum up the weakness of the local church in two sentences. If I ever wanted to draw a crowd, I would call a business meeting. If I ever wanted to clear a room, I would call a prayer meeting. That is all.

I remember a Trustee making this comment to me in a church in Georgia. In the face of a movement of God that was leading grown men to Christ, baptizing hundreds of people, and causing the inconvenience in a church that only new growth can bring, he said, "These new people don't love this church like we do." He was right. They were coming to church to meet Jesus, and to turn control of their lives over to Him. He and his friends were only interested in staying in power and keeping control of the church for themselves. 13 years later, he has become an Elder of the church, run off the intruders, and wrestled the church down to a third of its size. They are as happy as clams. He thinks Jesus is proud of him. Go figure.

As a boy, I recall monthly business meetings in the church that had all the love of a drive by shooting. After each blood bath, the gangs would retire to their homes to lick their wounds and prepare to fight another day. In my first pastorate, our only hope of survival was holding these meetings once a quarter. It was not much of an improvement. Good times.

Jesus said to The Seven Churches in John's Revelation, "I know." You can lie to your friends, and I can lie to mine, but Jesus knows. Jesus knows people and He knows His Father's business. People who think they are doing business with Jesus, but have no heart for prayer, have no business being in leadership in the life of His church. They are spiritually bankrupt, and any investment of their own meager resources will bring no dividend. Any insight from their blind eyes will provide no sense of direction. As evidence of my remarks, I give you the landscape of the American culture, after 100 years of obsessive, progressive Christianity. Not very pretty.

Jesus would return to Jerusalem, three years later, and repeat His cleansing of The Temple. This second time He would state, "'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN." Matthew 21:13 (see also Luke 19:46 NASB) Prayer is the heart of a healthy church, and Jesus knows the life expectancy of prayerless people and prayerless churches is cut short by the lack of it.

Jesus is always about His Father's business, and He knows the hearts of men are always wandering away from it.

"He Himself knew what was in man." (John 2:25)

The Knowledge Jesus has of men, leads Him to intercede for the hearts of men. Seated at the right hand of The Father, Jesus continues carrying out the high priority of His Father's business, interceding, by name, for those who call themselves His followers, and The Father's children.

Jesus doesn't trust what people say. He knows what is in their heart. He doesn't need anyone to give Him insight into the nature of man, Without any spirit of cynicism, He is aware that if their lips are moving, they are lying. It is only when they come to The Father, in His name, that they have any chance of receiving His direction, protection, and correction. Anyone who claims to have Jesus in their heart, but is void of a heart for prayer is making a fraudulent claim of the worst kind. Sound harsh? Remember, Jesus knows. He has never trusted people who claim to be doing business with God, but have no real heart for prayer. Take heart. Jesus knows.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Whine

"Whatever He says to you, do it." John 2: 5

Jesus and His disciples were invited to attend a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. This becomes the first of seven signs affirming His Messianic mission, and it is the first public miracle performed by Jesus.

Also present at the wedding was Mary, the mother of Jesus. When the hosts ran out of wine, a social disaster, she turned to Jesus and said, "They have no wine." The exchange between mother and son appears to have been conducted on two different planets, or at least in two different languages. Most parents can relate.

Jesus responded by saying to his mother, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." This is not exactly a clear indication to us that Jesus understood what His mother had just said to Him. Again, most parents can relate. Whatever His meaning, apparently Mary seemed satisfied that she had said her piece and had been heard. She left the crisis in His hands.

With an air of, "My work is finished here," Mary tossed a little piece of advice towards the panicked servants. It is something every contemporary Christ-follower ought to have put in red ink next to their "Agape" tat.

"Whatever He says to you, do it.' " (John 2:5) They did, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Whatever." I still cringe every time I hear that word. I was privileged to usher my teenaged daughters through the "Valley Girl" phase. It was a 1990's fad imported from California. Most cultural crazes and phases have the life expectancy of a fruit fly, but this seemed to have the shelf-life of a "Twinkie." I thought it would never end. It used every second of its allotted moments of fame on the cultural stage.

For the uninitiated, this is how it went. Every time a question was asked of a disenchanted teen, the correct response from them was always, "Whatever." The question simply didn't matter. The response was always the same. It could be said with disdain, disinterest, disrespect, or "whatever" particular mood swing was being experienced. "Whatever" became the word of choice and appropriate for the angst of the moment.

Still, there it is, from the lips of Mary to the ears of the servants of the household, "Whatever." She gave a confident heads up to those who were going to have to come up with a solution to the crisis du jour. It seems Mary knew something the servants didn't know. Perhaps she had become familiar with the drill in her own home. For three decades she had experienced what Jesus could do, when called upon. Mary's response to the crisis of the hour reveals she knew when Jesus was in the house, anything could happen. Good to know.

Nike's "Just Do It" campaign has been highly effective at convincing millions of people to lace up their running shoes, and to stop whining. Long before they made it into a household term, Mary had seen the wisdom in it. In her experience, when it came to Jesus, every potential crisis was an opportunity to see Him at work. It still is. Thank's Mary.

Jesus turned the water into wine. "Whatever" you call it, wine or grape juice, Jesus transformed the water, and the result impressed everyone who tasted it. "Whatever" the crisis, put it in the hands of Jesus. He has a way of turning the worst into the best, at just the right time.

"This beginning of His signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him."
(John 2:11)

That is always the point of any great work of God. It should lead to great belief. Too often we treat Jesus like a traveling magician who has nothing better to do than to transform our "Whine List" into a "Wish List" for our self-gratification. Believing in Jesus should lead us to have a great passion for Him and His mission, not just a longing for what He can do for us.

Jesus turned the water into wine to reveal His transforming power, over the crisis at hand, but it was not a mere social grace to help an ill-prepared family save face in the community. When our "Whine List" becomes focused on our own personal needs, we miss the big picture. People obsessed with the lint their own navel, rarely weave it into a life-line for a lost world. Jesus turned the water into wine, but He can still turn a self-absorbed whine into selfless intercession for others. Now that's a miracle that will leave a good taste in the mouth's of a thirsty people. Save the best for last.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Skeptic

"You will see greater things than these." John 1:50

My friend, David Lane, has often shared a great piece of advice with me. He says, "There is no education in the second kick of a mule." For those who need an interpretation of this rural parable, it is very close in meaning to, "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." What's the take away? People are wise to avoid mules and jackasses, of all kinds.

People are naturally skeptical, but those who have been scorched by the relentless sun of a wilderness experience are less likely to believe their lives are about to become a walk in the park. Good news is often rejected along with any news that promises hope and change. Then when your trust in the one who promised you hope and change is betrayed, you feel foolish. Can I get a witness? But I digress.

News anchor, Water Cronkite spoke about a cat on an evening broadcast years ago. He was talking about the Vietnam War, and the need to learn the right lessons, not the wrong ones, from that national experience. He said he recalled a cat that used to come into his boyhood home and jump up onto the old wood burning stove in the kitchen to cool down. The stove hadn't been used for years, and it was always cool to the touch. One day there was a power outage and the electric stove proved useless, so the wooden stove was fired up again. The cat came in from its daily routine, walked across the kitchen floor and jumped up on the stove. In a flash of fur and fury, the cat vanished from the scene. He said the cat never jumped up on the stove again, cold or hot. Point of story: Don't learn the wrong lesson from a bad experience. Always learn the right one.

Nathanael is one of the least known disciples, but one of my personal favorites. He reminds me of a time in my life when everything I heard about Jesus was just too good to be true. See if you agree. After following Jesus, "Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him...Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (John 1:45)

Nathanael's response was classic skepticism, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Undeterred by this verbal wet blanket, Philip challenged "Disciple Downer" with, "Come and see."

Note to self: Jesus cannot be explained. He must be experienced. People who continually vet Him, have never met Him.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming down the road, and spoke to him first. He always does. The Skeptic in Nathanael was not impressed. He guardedly responded with, "How do you know me?" Jesus simply told him that he saw him standing under a fig tree, before Philip called him. Jesus revealed something to him that only He and Nathanael could know. It changed his life forever.

"The Skeptic" in Nathanael blew right past "The Seeker" in him, and transformed "Disciple Downer" into "The Speaker."

"Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."
John 1: 49

WOW! Where did that come from? Like a bolt out of the blue, or a lightening strike to the soul, the words of Jesus turned Nathanael's life around. Nathanael was once spiritually blind, but now he could see. I can remember a day when it was hard to believe that God was true to His word. It seemed every time I reached out for Him, my hope exceeded my grasp. It really is true what the Bible says,

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick. But desire fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

I too was tempted to believe the lie, that just accepting what I had was less traumatic than hoping there was something more. I have benefited from following in the example of Nathanael's faith and resiliency in spite of his discouragement. Thanks, Nathanael.

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.' " John 1:50

Note to self: Don't let past disappointments, present difficulties or future delays rob you of the immediacy or the intimacy of the Presence of Jesus. He sees you in every circumstance and crisis, and there is not a moment of your day when He does not know your spiritual condition. Whatever it is, and where ever you are, pray. One word from Jesus, can turn the impossible into the HIMpossible. If Jesus says it, never fear if it is too good to be true. He is "The Way, The Truth, and The Life." You can believe Him...EVERY TIME.