James 5:16b–The Power Of A Righteous Prayer

James 5:16b–"The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

Prayer is powerful.  It transforms lives and invokes the power of God.  Even more so, prayer is communication.  It is our line to God.  But as this line is available to all humans through Christ, it is also severed by unrighteousness and sin.  However, while the transaction of prayer is a real ordeal the necessity for the sincerity of our hearts and the value of our devotion is not unweighted in this.  What I mean to say, and what I think James is saying, is that, quite frankly, the righteous person, because of the process of attaining righteousness (devotion to Christ over time) the prayers of the righteous possess a depth and power otherwise inaccessible.

This is to say that righteousness is what strengthens our line of communication with God.  Let us strive for and pursue righteousness so that our prayer would not be merely noise but would be empowered by the Lord!

James 1:2-4–"Count it All Joy in Meeting Trials"

James 1:2-4–"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Many times have I read this verse with a level of incredulity.  I mean, doesn't James have this wrong? Joy, really?  We are called to have joy? But over the years and with the presence of the Holy Spirit, I have come to accept that James is saying something incredibly profound and, quite frankly, amazing. To be sure, James, and the witness of the Holy Spirit, are exhorting believers to have right perspective when we are faced with tribulation.  However, we should not merely think of this passage as only a commandment; it is also a promise.  The promise is that trials are a source of joy for believers.  This is not to assert that they are joyful to be in but, rather, that trials impart a sincerity and depth of character that we would never receive otherwise.

Therefore, we should strive to have this attitude among ourselves to face trials with joy, understanding that it is through trials that we would grow to be more Christ-like.

Romans 12:3–A Statement About Humility

Romans 12:3–"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself any higher than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the faith that God has assigned."

This statement is, in many ways, presenting the very essence of biblical humility.  In it we can see that Paul and the Holy Spirit are exhorting us to keep our views of ourselves in proper perspective, always recognizing with honesty the reality of our disposition, particularly in regards to our own self-love.  But Christ compels us to see others as equal and sacred before Christ just as we are the same, thus preventing us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought for we will continually keep the our focus upward first.

In the end, we should never allow our vision to shift from God, which is precisely the change that occurs when we begin to exalt ourselves. This is at the very heart of the Christian message and we should never forget its necessity in the life of the believer.

The Exclusivity of Christ

One of the central tenets of Christianity is that salvation is received only through believing in Christ. Moreover, this doctrine caries itself into all of the other facets of Christianity.  For instance, apart from Christ there can be no peace, no mercy, no hope, and no eternal life.  These are doctrines that point to Christianity being a very exclusive institution, in that admission is only made possible through believing in the death, resurrection, and testimony of Christ Jesus.

To be certain, it is true to say that Christianity is an exclusive religion, in that there is but one gate of entrance into the community, and that it is through the torn flesh and broken body of Christ.  However, we should not mistake the exclusivity of redemption with its conjoined and purposed inclusivity.  What I mean to propose is that, while being exclusive by way of admittance, Christianity is also inclusive in its availability.  In other words, although one is only made new in Christ, all people who seek after that rebirth are given opportunity for it.

Additionally, the Christianity must be exclusive because, in the end, it claims ultimate truth, and truth is, by definition, an exclusive ordeal.  This is to say that for Jesus to actually be the ultimate truth that He claims to be, the content of His testimony is exclusive.  Therefore, Christianity must be exclusive.  To attempt to modify Christianity in order to make it more inclusive is tantamount to calling Christ a liar, for it is, in the end, making His message something other than true.  God forbid!

Let us never give in to the criticisms that Christianity is too exclusive to be relevant, for if it were made any more inclusive for the sake of whimsical trends of culture, we are diminishing the value of Christ and the reality of His great sacrifice.

A Prayer Request

I want to be vulnerable for a second.  I need prayer.  The last two days have been a veritable deluge of spiritual attack for my youth group kids.  My heart is more than heavy; it is breaking.  Add to that the reality that I start a new class on Tuesday (after almost 8 months off), and my sister is getting married this upcoming Saturday.

In other words, I am overwhelmed.

Because of all of this, and some more, I am asking, imploring, for prayer today and this week.

I am grateful to all my brothers and sisters who would do this.

Thanks.

2 Timothy 3:16-17–All Scripture is God-Breathed

2 Timothy 3:16-17–"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

God's Word, His written testimony about HImself for mankind, is a purposed work.  In other words, Scripture is not whimsical or haphazard but it is highly and directly intentional.  Every bit of Holy Writ, from Genesis to Revelation, was written at specific times and for a particular purpose.  In the very least, the purpose of Scripture is about conveying certain historical information.  However, this is just the basic.  Every bit of Scripture also serves to impart specific theological information as well.  It is this theological information that Paul is referring to in 2 Timothy.  This is why it is so vital that we would commit to reading Scripture and making it a foundational part of our lives.

Words About Conviction

Conviction.  It is a simple word with rather particular meanings.  In the legal sense, conviction is the charge and declaration of guilt.  However, in another sense, conviction refers to the strength, the certainty, and the power of belief.  Needless to say, in regards to Christianity this belief is in the Gospel and its truth.

We could speak of conviction in reference to an actor playing a role or an athlete making a play.  On the other hand, we can also speak of conviction when it comes to moral fortitude.  Either way, the unequivocal response is that conviction is a necessary component to greatness, whatever the task may be.

It is with this understanding that I convey a simple and very personal prayer:

Lord, help me to commit with utter conviction to lay myself with abandon upon Your grace, Your mercy, and Your Holy Word.

This is my prayer for myself, my family, and my church.  I long to see a church and a people of God that is strong and right in its convictions to Christ from moment to moment in every facet of life.  This is our call and this is our task.  Let us strive for it!

Proverbs 9:10–Wisdom and Insight

Proverbs 9:10–"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."

This is one of the recurring themes in Proverbs.  In many ways, it is the primary theme of the entire book.  I have spent a significant period of time on previous blogs dealing specifically with the concept of fear of the Lord, so for this blog I want to speak of the knowledge of the Holy One and the insight that this knowledge affords.

The insight that knowing God brings is insight of the wisest order; it is the insight to live, the ability to live wisely.  In other words, by knowing God we are blessed with something profoundly practical: the insight to live.  This is one of those sweet and beautiful components of the Christian worldview and we should never forget the joy of its reality in our lives.

Let us, then, not cease to fear the Lord and to seek to know Him more!

Galatians 6:2–Bearing One Another's Burdens

Galatians 6:2–"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

It is one of the definitive marks of Christian fellowship that we would bear one another's burdens.  In many ways, this is one of the most natural extensions of our Christianity; however, at other times, this can seem like an immensely difficult undertaking, particularly when people don't often or easily share their burdens with others.  Coincidentally, this is precisely why we should be willing to share with our brethren the struggles we may be facing.  Only if we are willing to reveal our burdens will those we entrust them to be able to bear them with us.  It is, in the end, a matter of give and take, but also of honesty and fellowship.  In this way we can be sure to fulfill the law of Christ.

Proverbs 15:23–A Good Word in Season

Proverbs 15:23–"To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!"

There have been many times have I been in a conversation in which a well-chosen, timely word can come to mind that is exactly the word that the other person needs to hear.  This is often, I have learned, the presence of the Holy Spirit whispering in my mind, utilizing me as a vessel to speak to another. The point is that a good response or a kind word can be like salve to the soul of the hearer.  Wisdom is all about doing and saying the right things at the right times.

Let us then take this step towards wisdom, striving to offer an apt answer and a timely word when it's right!

1 Corinthians 15:56-57–A Matter of Victory

1 Corinthians 15:56-57–"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ."

As a competitive person, victory has a certain and specific connotation.  It means, among many things, decisively besting an opponent.  In reference to our victory in Christ, the opponent is sin and its result death.  But in this, we can be sure that our triumph is conclusive.  Part and parcel to our salvation is, in fact, this reality that sin has be conquered and death no longer has any power.

This is a great and liberating truth.  No longer must we fear death as we are no longer held under the power of sin as it has been eradicated through Christ's death and resurrection.

Praise be to God for this glory!

AMEN!

A Matter of Consistency

At the Sunday night service, the subject of consistency came up.  We were discussing 1 John 3, and the practice of righteousness.  As a musician, I have learned the distinct and certain value of consistency in practicing.  But consistency does not mean repetition without focus.  Instead, consistency that serves the purpose of growth is focus, intent on repetition for the purpose of improvement.  In relation to the practice of righteousness, we must say that consistency serves the purpose of increasing in dependence upon the Word of God and reliance upon His grace to sustain us from moment to moment.  Let us then strive to become consistent in obedience to the Lord.

Psalm 37:4–Delight in the Lord

Psalm 37:4–"Delight yourselves in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

This is one of those verses that lends itself to misinterpretation.  I have often heard this passage used as a license for prosperity as if this verse actually said: if you delight in the Lord in any sense whatsoever, then you can get whatever you want from Him.  But, alas, that is not what this verse says.  In fact, there is a complexity to this passage that speaks to its content.  For one, this verse is saying that when we delight in the Lord we will receive the desires of our heart.  To be sure, however, the point is that delighting in the Lord means that He Himself is the desire of our heart.  In other words, if we truly desire the Lord, then we will receive Him!

This is a great and joyous truth.  The point is that God transforms our desires to conform to His likeness so that we might desire that which is pure, true, and eternal: Him.

Let us then strive to love God and to desire Him and His glory above all other things!

Psalm 27:14–Wait For the Lord

Psalm 27:14–"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"

This is a direct command, a command to wait for the Lord.  But it is not a passive waiting, as if we are to wait aimlessly.  No.  We are called to wait courageously and with strength.  This is to say that our waiting is sustained and supported His power and in His enduring strength.  The waiting is not just a wait without purpose or intent.  Instead, waiting serves several objectives, not the least of which being to propel our growth in faith.  There are so many times in our lives when waiting is the only action for us.  When this is the case, let us remember the great joy that waiting can be as it is a great opportunity to trust in Him.

Psalm 24:14-15–The Friendship of the Lord

Psalm 25:14-15–"The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.  My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet our of the net."

Throughout the Scripture, the fear of the Lord is a major topic.  The fear of the Lord forms the backbone for wisdom and the basis for all Christian life.  It is then no wonder that it is those who fear the Lord that are blessed with the knowledge of His covenant.  In truth, the fear of the Lord is the heart of the Gospel.  Because of this, it is a good thing for us to spend some time considering the fear of the Lord so that we would assess our own place but also that we would strive to fear Him in reverence and fear.  This is our call; this is our goal.

Psalm 19:14–A Simple Prayer

Psalm 19:14–"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

There are certain passages of Scripture that can speak to a person directly where they are at precisely the right time.  This is one of those passages.  It is my earnest prayer to bring glory to God; to please Him in all His wondrous majesty with every beat of my heart and breath in my lungs.  I find so much stability and comfort from a passage like this that speaks right into my soul.

Not much more needs to be said except to praise God for this wonderful statement of adulation and devotion.

Amen!

A Note About Internal Compulsion By The Holy Spirit

My wife wakes up at 4:15 am for work.  She does it without complaining and she does it with purpose. It really is admirable.  There is something inside of her, an internal thrust, that compels her to do what is right: to be a good and dependable employee despite the challenges of having to wake up so early.  I wish to use this as an analogy to understand the transformation that takes place when God takes root in our lives and the Holy Spirit has His way with us.

It is nearly impossible to transform one's self apart from an internal transformation that is caused by an external instigator.  True, one may, with great effort and time, change habits or preferences.  But it is another thing altogether to transform a person's very nature from one thing to another.  But this is precisely what God means to do to us.

He is not merely interested in 'better' versions of us: He is interested in new, perfect versions of us.  He does this not by changing our externals, like habits and appearances, but He goes about transforming us internally, dramatically changing our internal natures by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, God changes that which is propelling us internally in order to truly transform a person's nature, not merely modify one's appearance.

It is glorious and true to say that He changes a heart of stone to one of flesh, and eyes that are blind are given sight.  This is what salvation and giving one's self to Christ brings about.  Suddenly, the Holy Spirit become the internal One who compels us to bring God glory, to praise the name of Jesus, and to choose that which is good and righteous over our previous dead selves.

Amen and praise be to God for this wonderfully amazing thing!

Romans 12:2–Do Not Be Conformed To This World

Romans 12:2–"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Not much needs to be said about this verse.  It's fairly self explanatory, really.  The point is that by the renewal of your mind, that is, by reading the Scriptures and applying them by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to test and to discern what is the right will of God.  It is as a much a gift as it is a practice, our effort works in concert with His presence so that we would be transformed into the image and likeness of the Son, Jesus.  This is the goal and aim for every Christian.  Let us then pray that we would be diligent in the renewal of our mind, actively pursuing that which is righteous, holy, and right!

Amen.

James 3:13–The Wise Will Show Their Wisdom

James 3:13–"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom."

Wisdom never needs to show off.  Wisdom is content to be wise without having to tell everyone how wise she is.  It turns out that one of the true tests of wisdom is how meekly it reveals itself, how humbly it behaves in front of people.  In truth, the wisest people never have to tell anyone how wise they are: everyone will know.  Thus, perhaps the first step for becoming wise is to strive in humility to simply be wise and let our wisdom shine through the wise way that we would live.

This should be our prayer and our goal.

Let us pray for that!
Amen.

Col. 1:16–All Things Through and For Him

Colossians 1:16–"For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through Him and for Him."

This is one of those 'knot' statements in that it ties a whole host of Scripture passages and theological ideas together.  It can be condensed into a simple phrase: by Him through Him and for Him.  In other words, everything in existence has been created purposely, with specific intent.  That purpose is His, the intent is for Him.  All things, everything is meant for His glory, to His praise and to magnify His holy name.   Additionally, this is a tie that connects the creation of the universe to Christ, as it was always, before the foundations of the earth, for Him.  I find great peace and comfort in this truth.

Praise be to His name!
Amen.

Rest in God

Psalm 62:1–"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him."

As the weekend approaches I am reminded of the quest(s) for relaxation.  From entertainment to leisure, and inebriation to sleep, there are numerous possibilities in the world for us to find rest in.  And while many sources of rest or relaxation are amoral, lacking any moral content whatsoever, some forms of rest are less sources of rest than they are sources of vice.  Additionally, even those forms of relaxation that serve no hedonistic purposes are, by definition, fleeting: there is no lingering effect once the re-charge has worn off, so to speak.  Think of the best vacation you've ever had: how long did it take when you got back home before you were dog-tired and needed another reprieve for recovery?

But, as this verse asserts, God is to be our souls' rest, He is to be the true and eternal source of our restoration.  It is, thus, better for us to seek the rest that is eternal, which is found in God and God alone. Let us then strive to find our rest in God, understanding that His rest is best (pardon the rhyme but I just couldn't help myself!)

Thoughts on Life

It is an all-too easy thing to think of life in ever-expansive terms, making one's own being seem larger and loftier while also making it less rooted in reality.  In this celebrity culture one's life tends to be distilled into bullet points of achievement and ownership as the fullness of a person is fragmented into pieces to be parsed into categories of merit, one pile of value and another of uselessness.  But as this process begins to take a human and turn them into mere components of an individualized narrative, the product of this fermentation is a counterfeit inebriation of how we perceive life.

What I mean to say, in a roundabout way, is that it is all the more vital today that we would take a moment to step out of ourselves to view the big picture.  I have countless encounters with people who are so engrossed and enameled with particular elements of their lives that they are always stuck wearing tunnel-vision goggles, undoubtedly running into the same walls simply because they've not taken the time to recognize the forest though they be surrounded by trees.

And having so overvalued the personal experience that we've lost sight of the real, the Truth, and the valuable; that is, if we ever had the vision to see these things before of course.  The point of this blog is to exhort us to live a life that takes time to breath in the world around us and that we would slow down and smell the proverbial roses.  For today, then, let us take a moment or two to take in the world around us and to praise God for it all!

Deut. 13:4–Commands to Revere

Deuteronomy 13:4–"It is the Lord your God you must follow, and Him you must revere.  Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him."

Quite plainly, this is a direct command for us to follow, to revere, and to obey God.  It is unequivocal and clear; there is no ambiguity.  We are called, all of us, to a life of obedience and reverence, that we would live a life deferent and penitent to the Holy Lord is the goal for every believer.  Needless to say, this verse would be altogether impossible to accomplish if not for the indwelling, empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.  Because of this truth, we should be ever praying that God would empower us so that we could commit to loving the Lord completely and with reverence.

Romans 1:16–The Power of God

Romans 1:16–"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

This is one of those 'defining' verses for Christianity.  In reality, the gospel of Christ is the power of God for salvation, meaning that to receive the gospel of Christ through faith is, in effect, to receive God's salvific power in one's own life.  To be sure, this one of the most remarkable things about what believing in Christ affords the believer.  What a beautiful thought!

Praise be to our glorious God!
Amen!

For His Glory

For the glory of God.  It has taken me much of my life to recognize that this is more than just a nice tag line; it is to be our life's call, our passion, and our purpose.  We are meant, designed really, to live for His glory, to offer up every facet and cranny of ourselves to His name and for His glory.  Additionally, there is no greater joy, no higher call, and no more serious responsibility than to live life all for His glory.  This is life.  My earnest prayer for you and for myself is that we would dedicate our lives to the glory of God!

Isaiah 26:4–Trust in the Lord

Isaiah 26:4–"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

This is as much a promise as it is a commandment.  We trust in the Lord because He is an everlasting rock.  In other words, we trust in the Lord because of who He is.  His is the Lord, the Creator of all the vastness of the universe and yet still personal enough to enter into His creation through His Son, Jesus. It is remarkable to recognize that we can rely upon God because He is, after all, God.  This is, it turns out, both amazingly liberating as well as formative to how we would do life.  Therefore, let us not forget the great truth of this verse as it strengthens and secures our every day.

Isaiah 55:6–Seek Him While He may Be Found

Isaiah 55:6–"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near."

I have often thought about this concept in my own life.  Perhaps you, like me, are like all humans in that we are prone to bouts of emotional whimsy and fickleness.  What I mean to say is: how often have we found ourselves full of conviction one night only to wake up in the morning indifferent towards the very same thing.

In regards to my own experience, I think of all the times I considered the validity of Christ before I accepted the truth of it all.  During those moments, God was near, yet I was unwilling or unable to call upon despite His closeness.  Thus, the path from death to life, fro mourning to joy, and from sin to salvation was withheld from me, kept out of my grasp because of my own blindness or, perhaps, my own aversion to commitment.

But in the end, for all of us, either we will accept the presence of God or we will reject it.  My earnest prayer for myself, my family, my friends, and for anybody else that I do not (yet) know is that we would always seek after the Lord in Christ and that we would call upon Him when we detect His presence near.

Genesis 1:27–Bearing His Image

Genesis 1:27–So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

This is one if not the most important verse in all of Scripture.  It is the very essence of humanity distilled.  It says everything we need to know about our origins, about life's meaning, and about who we are.  I have written essays about this passage of Scripture and its importance to our lives and to how we do Christianity.  But for now all I have to say is this:

Human life is precious.  We have been gifted the unique pleasure and undeniable joy of glorifying God in our very nature.  He made us as bearers of His image; as beings that glorify His name through our lives.  This is our design and our purpose.  This is the value of the human: that we actually bear His image!  There is no greater joy, no more wondrous a proposition than that.

Let us, then, strive to bear His image appropriately and with the dignity it deserves.

Amen.

1 John 2:23: The Father and The Son

1 John 2:23: "No one who denies the Son has the Father.  Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also."

There is, it would seem, an intimate relationship between Jesus and the Father God.  Taken at face value and without much consideration it could be misconstrued to say either they are different or they are the same; both being misunderstandings of the nature of a God, it turns out. But as John points out, one cannot claim to know God or to abide in Him except for through Christ, and it is our relationship with Christ that defines and determines our relationship to God.  This is one of those non-negotiables of Christianity that, if not understood, can lead to great theological deficiencies.

In truth, Christ forms the lynchpin, the cornerstone of all theology as He is the bridge between man and God, having condescended from heaven to take the form of man in order that He might take all sin upon His flesh so as to irradicate the severe barrier that obstructed man's relationship to the Father.  This the Son did as a fulfillment to the promises made to Adam and to Abraham and to David.  Thus whoever has the Son, because of who He is and what He did, also confesses the Father.  You cannot have the one without the other for they are, ultimately One (and though more could be said about this, as well as the presence of the Holy Spirit, I'll choose to leave it there for now).

In the end, this verse, which is echoed all over John's writing, says all we need to know about Jesus' theological primacy in terms of how vital it is that we would confess Christ.  Let us not forget this fundamental assertion of Christianity but let us form our lives around it!

Psalm 33:9–He Spoke and He Commanded

Psalm 33:9–"For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded and it stood firm."

This is, in many ways, one of the most profound truths that Scripture means to convey about who God is and His relationship to the creation.  He didn't create the universe and all therein with extra effort or as if He was going to try His best, NO!  He created it with the power of His Word, commanding it to stand firm and, because of who He is, all  creation obeyed.

I cannot think of another way of saying this: God is amazing.  It is verses like this, truth of this weight that continue to cause me to bow in awe at who He is.  Thank You, Lord!

Matthew 5:11-12–Blessed are Those Who Are Persecuted For Christ

Matthew 5:11-12–"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

This verse has an interesting affect on Christians, as if persecution validates the Christian experience. Because of this, Christians sometimes seek out opportunities to become reviled for controversial viewpoints that may or may not have anything at all to do with Christ.  The truth is, though, that the Gospel of Christ is offensive; we don't need to add to or amend this message at all in order for us to be reviled for it.  In truth, actually, this verse is about being persecuted because of Christ, not because of us but because of who He is.  It is about being lights that shine His glory and letting His grace affect the world through us.  This is what this verse is about.  And it is what Christ is asking of us.