The Finish

"It is finished!" Jesus - John 19:30

My athletic career reads like a Greek tragedy. In my youth, I was a sprinter in high school and college. "I can't put in what God left out," so said the old coach, in the movie, "Chariots of Fire." Sad, but so true. Still, I did learn that no race lasts forever. There is always a finish line. Good to know.

As I have aged, my races have moved from dashes to marathons. The swift completion of a race is rarely my goal. My mission is to finish. In my mature years, I have traded fast and furious for alive and well.

Don't get me wrong. I have only run one marathon. Well, in a way, I ran two in one day. It was my first and my last. Sorry, runners joke. Since that time I have limited myself to half-marathons, and turned my idea of running into a form of power walking. Somewhere around five miles, I am looking for a finish line. What I once could run in one day, I walk in a week. BUT I finish. Remember? My mission is to finish, alive and well.

Most of us remember the two racers in Aesop's fable, the turtle and the rabbit. The rabbit was considered a safe bet to win the race between the two. He was obviously faster, and the turtle was obviously outmatched. The turtle crosses the finish line first, by just pacing himself and staying in the race to the very end. The point of the story? Great potential, ability or time can be squandered and wasted. Those who make the best use of their talents and time will finish ahead of those who don't. This only happens...EVERY TIME.

Still, the words of Jesus say so much more. His statement, though profound in a spiritual sense, was not an unusual one in the Greek influenced culture of his day. This very same phrase was found on a piece of parchment, in the desert sands of that region. Across the face of a scrap of paper that had once been a bill handed to a an ancient customer, was the Greek phrase, "tetelstai", or "PAID IN FULL."

Jesus was saying the debt had been paid. There is nothing left to be done. Nothing more is owed. He has finished His work, and completed the transaction He was sent to accomplish on earth.

Years ago there was a simple chorus that put it in word and song for a generation of young believers. It never gets old to me.

"He paid a debt, He did not owe.
I owed a debt, I could not pay.
I needed Someone, to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song,
Amazing Grace, all day long,
Christ Jesus paid a debt
That I could never pay."

What Jesus did on Calvary has been debated in schools of theology, placed on greeting cards, and paraded in pageants across the stages of churches and movie screens every year, between Christmas and Easter. Many times Christ's message and His mission get lost in all the theological minutiae, and the pancake makeup and imagery. He died on a cross for you and your sins.

Sin separated you from God. There is really nothing original about sin. It is really, well, just stupid. There isn't much originality in it. Every generation thinks they invented it, just because they discovered their love for it.

God sent Jesus into this world, to die on a cross, before there was a threat of same-sex marriage amendments, SCOTUS dismissals of DOMA, and a host of other culturally corrosive expressions of sin. There is nothing new under the sun, and certainly, there has never been anything done in the dark that God hasn't seen. Dim light doesn't dim His vision.

Faced with the unbridled license of a morally unrestrained culture, prayerless people run around with their shock face in freeze position, breathlessly shouting, "I can't believe it!" Prayer enables you to see the face of God, through the eyes of Jesus. God isn't shocked. He's angry, but He isn't surprised. Prayerless people are always surprised at what they are capable of doing. God isn't. He knows you better than you know yourself, and He loves you anyway. Don't stay away from that kind of love. Pray your way towards it.

God isn't some benevolent, benign dispenser of blessings to wayward nations being run into the ground by wandering sheep. In our culture, "God Bless America" usually follows, a stirring rendition of "I'm Proud to Be an American." If you listen carefully you can almost hear angels gagging in Heaven, as they say to each other, "You have got to be kidding."

God takes sin seriously. Take another look at this passage in John. If it doesn't give you a picture of God's view of the depravity and the consequences of sin, not many things ever will.

For visual imagery, you might try watching Mel Gibson's movie portrayal of the crucifixion of Jesus, "The Passion of the Christ." Even then, you can't catch the aroma of death. Idea. Take your I-Pad to a slaughter house and watch it there, or to one of Planned Parenthood's abortion mills. Dr. Gosnell's "House of Horrors" has been closed, but others like it are still open for business, and running at top speed. Oops. There's that shock face again.

The message of Jesus in the face of a culture riding a fast horse to hell is, "I died for you. Now. Dismount." There is no Plan B. There is no more compassionate alternative available to rid your life of the debt of sin that separates you from right standing with God. Ignoring your debt doesn't make it go away. It only increases the distance between you and God.

Don't get me wrong. The greatness of the distance is not the issue. The slightest separation from the perfection of Holy God is calamitous to a person's right standing with Him. To be forgiven a debt must be based upon a willingness to admit one is owed. Confession of sin, as small as it may be, is the act of a repentant person that opens the doors to Heaven, through the blood of Jesus Christ.

These last words of Jesus on the cross, opened up a new life for those who believed. Don't take my word for it. Read what John said,

"These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." John 20:31

Prayer is the key that opens up the door of Heaven, by accepting Christ's finished work on the cross. Prayer was an essential part of the life of Jesus, and it should hold similar significance in the lives of those who say they believe in Him. It was the indelible mark of His intimacy with His Father.

By praying, Jesus never let anything come between Him and His Father's will for His life. Prayer empowered Jesus to transform MY will into THY will. It will do the same for you. The work of Jesus is finished on the cross, but He isn't finished with you yet. Are you so close to God that prayer couldn't get you any closer? Yeah. Me neither.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Truth

"Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Jesus - John 18:37

When Jesus completed His prayer of intercession, He led His disciples to a garden where He often spent time in prayer. There He was arrested by a party of Roman soldiers and Jewish officers, accompanied by Judas. They took Him to the home of the Jewish high priest for questioning. It was there that Peter denied Him. After the rooster crowed, they dragged Jesus before the Roman governor for sentencing.

Pilate, the Roman governor, posed one of the most profound question ever asked, "What is truth?" With The Answer to his question standing right in front of him, Pilate was unable to see and hear The Truth. He was so close, and yet so far away from "The Way, The Truth and The Life." (John 14:6)

Pilate offered to release a prisoner to the people, and they chose a notorious bandit named Barabbas. He was in prison for leading a riot in the city, and the people called for him to be freed. Jesus was not surprised by the decision of either, Pilate or the people. He was the only one who truly knew what was going on, then. He is still the only one who knows what is going on, now.

Prayer is how we allow the voice of Jesus to guide us through the crisis. This is powerfully important to remember. When chaos, confusion, and calamity are the ruling forces of the current crisis in your life, Jesus is still the only one who knows what is truly going on around you. The truth remains. "Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." (John 18:17)

Our tendency, in reading this passage of Scripture is to judge Pilate and the people harshly for not listening to the voice of Jesus, when He stood face to face with them. Hindsight is 20/20 especially when we are pointing out where someone else missed the mark.

In spite of the promises Jesus made to send us The Helper, and His promise to never leaves us or forsake us, we often sound more like Thelma and Louise flying off a cliff, than Paul and Silas praying in prison. Sad, but true.

The over-riding demeanor of Jesus in John 18 is calm in the midst of the storm. Jesus is never surprised by what people do or the events that unfold around them. He has never had to pull out His shock-face, and make a made dash in a panic search for truth. He is the truth, and He always knows how the crisis is going to end.

Those who hear His voice, do not always follow Him. Jesus said, "Follow Me!" Some did. Some didn't. Some will. Some won't. The problem is not with His voice. He still speaks. Some people just never listen.

Those of of who claim to be followers of "The Way, The Truth and The Life" should make a practice of listening to the voice of Jesus, during the calm and in the crises of life. The more we talk, the more cliffs we find, and the louder we squeal. The more we pray, the clearer the path becomes, and calmer we become.

The crises of life do not overwhelm us because Jesus has stopped speaking to us. They throw us into confusion because we have stopped listening to Him, and taken refuge in our own advice. This never ends well. What is our choice? Remember...

"Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Jesus

Prayer is how we take take our crisis and put it in the hands of Jesus. Only He can make sense out of all the lies and deception thrown in our faces, by the enemy. When you are intimidated by the immediate crisis, bullied by the chaos around you, and deafened by the accusations of the enemy, listen to the voice of Jesus.

When Roman generals returned from a great victory, The Senate would vote to give them a Triumph. It was a parade of honor through the streets of Rome. The troops would march in front of the conquering general, as adoring crowds would shower the victor's chariot with flowers and gifts. Walking along side of the general, a slave would repeat over and over again in the ear of the hero, "This too shall pass." It was an eery reminder that flame was fleeting.

On the other hand, when we pray, we turn defeat into a triumph. The Spirit of Jesus Christ, who dwells within us, brings His comfort, and courage, at the point of our greatest defeat or deepest shame. When what we fear the most is staring us in the face, The Spirit says to us, "This too shall pass." Stop chasing fame, and fearing shame.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Hour

"Father, the hour has come; glorify You Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life." John 17:1-2

Magnifying requires focusing one's passion upon something or someone, with an intensity that goes beyond a passing interest. Focusing a powerful telephoto lens on an object must be done with a steady hand and a willingness to discard widening the focus to include anything or anyone else. For the object of the photographer to be magnified, some things must be excluded from the frame of the picture. The more powerful the lens, the steadier the hand must be. The tighter the focus, the clearer the picture will be.

Glorifying, on the other hands, is what happens to a person, cause or object when it comes into the circle of influence of a greater person, cause or object. Glory comes from a close association, with someone or something greater, and gives off a reflection that leaves a mark or an afterglow on those who are touched by it. Glory seekers are driven by a passion to be well known. They desire to shine brighter, by turning the light of glory, that belongs to someone else, on their own name.

"Stolen valor" is a term applied to those who claim medals that don't belong to them, in order to be thought more highly of than they deserve. It is against the law, and it is pathetic. Seeking glory and stealing glory are not same thing as reflecting glory.

Reflecting glory and seeking glory are two different things. Reflectors on a bicycle give off an appearance of light, but it is an illusion. They are not the source of light. They just reflect in the dark, the light that comes from another source. This is the mission of a reflector, and it provides a life-saving service.

Jesus was a reflector of God's light to a dark world. He asserted He was The Light, but He held no delusions that He was The Source. Satan robbed glory from God and was expelled from Heaven, and remains on mission to send people to hell. Jesus gave glory to God, and He was sent to earth to draw people to Heaven. Glory seekers eventually get confused about the true source of The Light. By stealing glory from The Source, they end up reflecting very little glory on God, and taking credit for what little bit He has done through them.

Celebrity stalkers seek to have their picture taken with someone whose popular image is more highly regarded than their own. Their expectation is that close association with popular people will raise their popularity in the eyes of others. This is like drinking salt water to quench a raging thirst.

A person who climbs a great mountain has their picture taken on the pinnacle of the highest peak. There is no value added to their life, by having a snapshot taken of them making camp at the base of the mountain.

A person who has no sense of direction in life often ties themselves to a cause that gives their life meaning and purpose. What they do not find within themselves, they seek to have provided by joining in on something that will add value to their lives or notoriety to their name.

Jesus reflected the love of God to those who were living in the dark and in need of a way out of it. When He said He was The Light, He knew His Father was The Source of The Light of The Gospel, and He was The Reflector. Jesus didn't invent God's love. He reflected God's love. God is love, and those who fall under the influence of His love will reflect The Source, not a pale version of what they have to offer in and of themselves.

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ that you have sent." v. 3

Eternal life is in knowing God, not as a doctrinal concept, but as a constant companion. Jesus is the point of connection with The Source. Praying is how Jesus maintained his position as a reflector of God's glory and avoided the trap of becoming merely a glory seeker. Reflecting the glory of God was His mission. Those who follow Him are wise to do the same.

Prayerless people reflect very little glory on God. Prayerlessness feeds the gnawing hunger for self-glorification that hounds those who are called to be on mission for God's glory. They get close enough to Him to make a name for themselves, but they fail to get close enough to Him make a difference in the world. Jesus knew the difference. His followers should follow His lead.

"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." v. 4

How did He do that? There were so many things left undone, and so many places He had never been. How could Jesus make such a statement? The answer is found in His understanding of His mission. With every breath He took and every step He made, Jesus reflected God's glory. He never sought to take credit for what God did through Him.

Every word of praise Jesus received, He reflected to God. Every word of criticism Jesus received, He directed to God. He took offense at what people said about God, not that it was said to Him. His heart was not worn on his sleeve. He refused to confuse His preferences with His mission. Remember how He prayed, "Not My will, but Thy will be done." His mission was not about Him. It was about God. Prayer kept Him in the right position with God, as a reflector. When the hour came, He was empowered Him to accomplish His mission for God. His disciples would be wise to do the same. The hour is late.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Joy

"If you ask The Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." John 16:26

Prayerless people miss out on the joy of the journey. Life is filled with many twists and turns, and ups and downs. The pace ranges from fast and furious to slow as molasses. The locations are at times exotic, and others times just plain exhausting. There is nothing like a mind-numbing delay in a waiting room to give you an appreciation for the thrill of being chased through a dimly lit tunnel, by forces of darkness.

The terror and the terrain come and go, but the one thing a praying person can count on, through it all, is the availability of the consistent companionship of The Spirit of Christ. The Spirit provides joy for the journey. This joy is the infusion of courage to hand on in the dark, and to walk towards The Light. Prayer breathes in fresh air for the courage to take the next step, and blows out the air of despair that leaves a believer gasping for life and grasping at straws.

Note to self: Come what may. Don't delay! PRAY!

Jesus told His disciples that God loves them so much, for loving His Son, that they were given the privilege of taking any request they had to The Father, in the name of His Son. Prayer, at its most profound and purest form, is access to God. Just because this amazing access can be abused by others, doesn't excuse a believer's from letting it go unused.

Believing prayer moves a person from face to face with their crisis, to face to face with God. Prayer takes the eyes of a believer off of the cause of the problem to The Source of the solution. Talking keeps a person preoccupied with, "What's the matter?" Praying seeks to occupy oneself with The One who matters. Big difference.

One of the most repeated, and promise filled challenges Jesus gave to His disciples was, "Ask anything in My name."
It sounds like an abuse waiting to happen. It seems to fall into the trap of Murphy's Law, "If anything can go wrong, it will."

What could possibly go wrong with this kind of open-ended promise from The Son of God? Said with serious sarcasm and sanctified shock face. Surely people would never try to use the name of Jesus to achieve selfish ambition or satisfy personal greed." OK. I know. That wasn't very convincing.

I don't have to point out the preponderance of evidence provided by TV preachers and radio gurus calling on people to ask God for a blessing, but to make their checks out to them. All I have to do is read my own prayer journals to see my tenacious tendency to minimize the majesty of this powerful promise. It's embarrassing. Let's move on.

Jesus offered prayer to His disciples, as fresh air for their lungs, when they found themselves suffocating in the midst of a crisis of faith. His disciples didn't have a clue what they were about to face. We don't either, but Jesus did then, and He knows now. He prepared His disciples, then and now, to pray. No one really knows what each day will bring. What is known is how to prepare for and process whatever the day brings. Jesus did it. Jesus said it. His disciples will obey Him and PRAY, in His name.

Asking God for His direction, protection and correction is not going to guarantee a life of health and wealth. It doesn't even keep a person from making the wrong decision or taking the wrong path. Prayer is not fool proof. Fools pray for what they want. In His wisdom, God often gives it to them.

Wisdom comes from learning that often what we want is not what we need. Wise people pray their way through the dark, and into the light, until they see that what they want still falls short of God's best for their lives. The wise learn to pray for what God knows is best for them, not what they think is good for them. Satan is not the enemy of the good as much as he is the enemy of the best.

A fool becomes wise by admitting to God what He already knows, and refusing to accept foolishness as the final verdict on his life. In short, a fool becomes a wise by choosing consistent companionship with God.

Prayer involves walking through life in constant conversation with God. This trip begins with and continues down the avenue of prayer. The joy comes from the change of heart that takes place from praying. Prayer produces courage that comes from knowing God is as close as the next breath. Courage is the breath for the soul that only prayer can provide. Remember, the joy is in the journey, and Jesus is walking with you. Come what may today...TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

"In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." - Jesus (John 16:33)

The Advantage

"It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." John 16:7

Three years ago, on Independence Day, Dana and I launched out on another step of faith, in our adventure of a lifetime. We have learned to find the joy in the journey of trusting God to make a way when there seems to be no way.
There is nothing like it.

Dana and I met in Fort Worth, Texas on September 9, 1974. For almost 40 years, we have prayed our way together through the stages of life, beginning with roller-coaster dating, an exciting engagement, an amazing marriage, and challenging ministry.

We have been blessed by two beautiful daughters, and one son-in-law. We knew enough about God to lead us in the baby steps that led us to our marriage, but in June of 1980 we took our marriage to another level. Agreeing to pray together, has proven to be the greatest decision we have ever made in our lives.

For some time, we had been praying and preparing for the final years of our ministry together. In July 2009, Dana began sensing an increased urgency to roll out a prayer ministry to encourage husbands and wives to pray together. This had done so much for us, we felt compelled to challenge others to do it. In January 2010, God began to open up doors for us to share what He had put on our hearts. Thank you, Pastor Don Andrews of Haven Baptist Church, Kansas City, Kansas, for being the first church to invite us to present our prayer emphasis, "TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!."

In his book, "Turnaround Churches," George Barna challenged the church (pastors and people- emphasis mine) to "utilize prayer as the world class weapon in the battle against evil." I share Barna's belief that God's chosen weapon of warfare, in the battle against an enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy, is prayer.

With all the armor available to us, we have precious little power to use the arsenal of faith until we "Pray at all times in The Spirit." (Ephesians 6: 18) This is the advantage of prayer. It calls for The Spirit of The Champion to come alongside an intimidated soldier in the ranks of God's army.

"Praying in The Spirit" is how we take up The Armor of God. To make a stand against the world forces of darkness, we must take our eyes off of the enemy and place them on The Champion. Jesus promised His disciples, and us, that it was to our advantage that He go, and He send The Helper. His very name means, called along side to help.

When any trutprayer partners, but especially husbands and wives, parents and children, pray together, they call out to God, in the name of Jesus, for The Spirit to come along side of them. The Spirit's Presence and power gives them an advantage over the enemy seeking to intimidate and annihilate them.

The truth is this. The enemy fears the return of The Champion. When God's people pray, they take their stand against the enemy, in the name of Jesus. Calling out for The Spirit of Christ, in the very name of Jesus, strikes fear in the enemy camp. Hearing His name weakens the knees of those forces of darkness standing in the ranks, shouting insults in the battle line.

Being well equipped and prayerless does not deter the enemy. Prayerless people put a welcome mat out for an enemy occupation that leaves nothing but scorched earth in its path. On this 4th of July, take a good hard look at a nation founded on Christian principles, and ask yourself if you feel like the church is gaining ground or giving it up.

This is not a tough call to make. Just listen to the voices gathered in Austin, Texas this week, supporting a bill to abort children who have spent 20+ weeks in their mother's womb. Did you hear them shouting, "Hail, Satan!" The response of Christians standing against them was a song, "Amazing Grace." Amazing indeed.

Anything that drives you to your knees to pray, God can use to your advantage. How? Prayer is an admission that you have come to the end of yourself, and in need of The Spirit of Christ to come alongside of you to help you. How does He help. First The Spirit confuses the enemy, and then He infuses you.

E.P. Hovey, a great Presbyterian preacher and pastor to the Northwest USA, during the first half of the 20th Century, described The Spirit of Christ as "a blood transfusion for courageous living." He does this in the present tense. He doesn't offer a nostalgic whiff of mothballed battle flags of days gone by. In the stench and clamor of battle, He blows away the fog of war with a blast of a trumpet and reveals the weakness of the enemy.

The forces of darkness don't fear us, but they fear Jesus. The old Gospel song hit the right note. "WE HAVE HEARD THE JOYFUL SOUND! JESUS SAVES! JESUS SAVES!" When the enemy hears the trumpet sound and the mention of His name, they take their eyes off of you. They look up to see if Jesus is on His way back. They believe Jesus is coming again, more than the contemporary church does. Use it against them.

Can you see it now? You are not alone. Jesus has given you a distinct advantage over your enemy by sending you The Spirit. After three years of walking through the roll out of a new ministry, Dana and I have never been more confident of this truth. Every time we have called on The Spirit to come alongside of us, in the name of Jesus, we have experienced the reality of God's direction, protection and correction. There is nothing like the confidence of knowing that praying in the name of Jesus confuses the enemy and infuses us. Join us on the journey.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

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!