Tag Archives: Prayer Warrior

Knees Hit the Floor First

camel knees

Bill Hybels says that as he rolls out of bed in the morning, his knees hit the floor first.

I like that. What a great habit.

Prayer is as vital to us as oxygen and water. You cannot survive long without it. I fully believe in the power of prayer. So did James.

James devotes a lot time to prayer in his epistle. And James wasn’t all talk, no action either; Tradition tells us that because of his habit of kneeling in prayer, James’s knees became calloused like a camel’s. So much so, he became known as “The Man with Camel’s Knees.”

Whoa.

“pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” – James 5:16

How are your knees? Are they as smooth as silk or calloused from a lifetime of prayer?

Paul believed in prayer:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer & supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” – Phil. 4:6

Our ultimate example is Jesus. You might think, “The Savior of the universe surely didn’t need to pray, right? I mean, He is the Alpha & Omega; What’s He got to pray about?” Well, first of all: Yes, Jesus fully believed in prayer and secondly, don’t call me Shirley. (Ask your parents about that reference).

“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” – Luke 5:16

You see that, “often.” Jesus frequently slipped away to pray. It was Jesus’s custom was to go off early in the morning to pray. He prayed all night long before drawing the twelve (now, that’s a long prayer!). He prayed before His betrayal. You better believe, Jesus believed in prayer.

If Jesus needed prayer, how much more do we?

You may say, “Well, I don’t know what to pray for.” No big deal; none of us do. The Bible is explicit on this. But, don’t worry the Holy Spirit picks up the slack:

“For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” – Rom. 8:26

Isn’t that just like God? He doesn’t leave us without help!

Look, if you want to pray and are unsure of how to start, look up Matt. 6:5-15. If that is too church-y for you, try these:

  • Thank you, Lord.
  • Or Help me, Lord.
  • Or I love You, Lord.
  • Then let Him take over.

As you roll out of bed in the morning, see how your day is different if your knees hit the floor first.

If this blessed you, please Like & Share!

Ref:

  1. Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room, Session 4.
  2. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-061121-hybelsprofile-story.html
  3. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-men-bible/James
  4. https://www.openbible.info/topics/prayer

Chew Your G.U.M.

Use-me-hands

Here’s your prayer. Its not fancy. Its not long. Its only 3 words:

  • G-od
  • U-se 
  • M-e

Chew on it. Repeat that a few times. GodUseMe, GodUseMe…

Make yourself available for whatever He may have.

Find where He is at work & see how you can join Him (Blackaby).

Can we say, like Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20)?

GOD USE US!

How can we be of service to You? Help us to get ourselves out of the way. Help us to see Your will more clearly. Help us to remove things in our life that don’t resemble You. Help us to remove distractions & the sins that so easily ensnare.

For me, personally, “ensnare” may be too weak a word: Sin in my life is more like a roundhouse kick from Bruce Lee. Its more like a straightjacket from which not even Harry Houdini could escape. It lays me out and holds me hostage. That’s when Jesus really shines. He showers Grace down like Niagra Falls with the precious Blood of the Lamb. He took my sin on His shoulders on that Cross so that I wouldn’t be smothered to death by it. That’s the LORD I serve.

To cower away on a Cruise Ship (an inwardly-focused church) rather than on an Air Craft Carrier (an outwardly-focused church) sending planes off and out, would be a tragic injustice and poor stewardship of God’s blessings.

So…

Where can we be applied? Where can we operate best for your Kingdom? How can we encourage, strengthen, & minister? We are ready! We are willing! We are at Your beckon call.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, – Col. 3:2

We all have items in our house that are for “show” and not “use.” It may be special soap, fancy hand towels, or a whole room designated for “company.” Or, if you are a geek like me – there are certain (ahem!) toys, that are just to look at basically, and not “for play.” (Was that as embarrassing to read as it was for me to type?)

Anyhow, the point is – give Christ full access to your heart, life, and will. Be open to His Grace! Be open to being used by Him in a mighty way. Be open.

Save me, for I am yours. – Psa. 119:94

God use me.

Why Are Churches Dying?

closed-church

Churches are dying. Some are thriving, but the overwhelming majority are not. Attendance is dwindling. Most are hanging on by a thread. Many will have to shut their doors in as little as one generation.

A lot of this is because we live in a Post-Christian society that embraces the emerging postmodern worldview.

  • Millennials (born ’82-’04) aren’t being reached.
  • Generation X (born ’61-’81) & Y (born ’77-’95) are dropping out.
  • Baby Boomers (born ’46-’64) are ready to pass the torch.
  • The Builders (born ’25-’45) are going home.

Look, people: we are at a tipping point. It is the 4th quarter and we are trailing.

We must re-think, re-tool, and re-frame. We must shift, evolve, and adapt.

If not, we will be mourning church closing after church closing.

“Churches across this country are going out of business, closing their doors, because they’ve lost their relevancy. They chose not to change with the times. They chose to keep people over 60 happy and forget about reaching people under 30. They, like my granddaddy, measured faithfulness by doing things the same way year after year, regardless of the response or the results.” – Edward H. Hammett

Please read that quote again only slower this time.

(I can feel you nodding your head in agreement.)

Traditions are great. But if traditions are only servicing personal preferences, then we need to take a hard look at them.

  • Are we inwardly-focused or outward?
  • If we closed, would the community even notice?
  • Are we a museum for saints or a hospital for sinners?

I know these are tough questions, but they need to be asked and honestly answered.

I’m convinced that people love Jesus, but have lost their love for church. I’m not saying that is correct, I’m just saying that seems to be the trend. The next generation does not see the relevancy church.

How do we reach a new generation for Jesus Christ? How do we help them fall in love with church again?

Ref: Hammett, Edward H. Reaching People under 30 While Keeping People Over 60: Creating Community Across Generations (TCP the Columbia Partnership Leadership Series): TCP Books, 2015.

http://thomrainer.com/2017/08/dying-churches-die/

Please Take Jesus Personally

Lunatic liar lord

How many times have you been told, “now, don’t take this personally, but…”? Well, I want you to take this personally: Jesus is THE ONLY WAY to God.

The postmodern ear may bristle at that, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Jesus, Himself said that. Not me. Not anyone else. JESUS.

“No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

Either you believe that or you reject it. There is no riding the fence. John Duncan called this argument, “inexorable” (meaning unbending, unyielding, & unstoppable). It is black or white, one way or the other, but it can never be both or neither.

For a much more eloquent argument, look up C.S. Lewis’s “Lunatic, Liar, or Lord” trilemma in Mere Christianity.

Exclusive claim? Oh Yes. The claim is indeed, exclusive,but the invitation to accept it is 100% inclusive and universal (Gal. 3:28)!

So, please take this personally! In fact, it doesn’t get any more personal!

How do YOU answer the very same question that Jesus asked His disciples: Who do YOU say I am? (Matt. 16:15)

– If this post blessed you please like and share!

Ref:

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952; Harper Collins: 2001) 51-52.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis%27s_trilemma

http://merecslewis.blogspot.com/2010/11/deciding-about-jesus-liar-lunatic-or.html

Christians Are Like Tea Bags

teabag

I heard this saying attributed to either Chip Ingram or Greg Laurie:

“Christians are like TEA BAGS; you don’t know what they’re made of until you put them in hot water.”

Isn’t that about the truth!

Is the heat being turned up in your life?

This is where “the rubber meets the road,” right? Anyone can act nice when everything is going their way, but what seeps out when things aren’t? What comes out of that teabag?

  • Fruit or works (Gal 5)?
  • Fresh water or salt water,
  • Bitter or sweet (James 3:11)?
  • Or… are you like a box of chocolates?

Something you may never have thought of is the fact that teabags are useless without hot water, aren’t they? It’s actually IN the hot water that teabag finds their purpose and usefulness.

Try to remember this the next time you find yourself in proverbial hot water. Pray for me as I pray for you.

If this blessed you, please Like & Share!

Ref: https://www.facebook.com/moodyradio/posts/848812451813491

ttps://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1944-a-woman-is-like-a-tea-bag-you-never-know

Do & Teach; The Holy Knot

Knot on the ropeMy mom is a retired educator. My wife is an educator in a family of educators. So, I know firsthand the real life of teachers: the extra hours, the out of pocket expense, and the grading papers late at night. They have hilarious & heart-warming stories. Stories of triumph & defeat. Stories of devotion & sacrifice. Stories of life.

I also know firsthand the absolute LOVE they have for education and for the future of “their kids.” You see, they are like family.

I have had many wonderful teachers in my life. However, there is One that stands above them all; the greatest Teacher ever, the Master Teacher: Jesus.

“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.” – John 13:13

In Acts 1:1, Luke says that he is writing “of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” Calvin called to do and teach “a holy knot that cannot be untied.”

That’s a teacher, isn’t it? Do and teach. They not only give you the tools, but also show you how to use them! They get right in the trenches with you! They fight with and for you! Teachers get up every morning to inspire, encourage, and challenge.

Eternal wisdom is imparted from Jesus (John 7:16). Every word that falls from His lips instructs and improves. Abide in the teachings of Christ (2 John 1:9)!

Recently a co-worker was talking about how much his mom hated Latin. Yet Latin was never mentioned. The comments were all about the teacher. The teacher made it a bad experience. Ironically, my mother also took Latin… but loved it.

Same subject. Different teacher. You see, a good teacher can even make Latin come alive.

If you love a subject, thank the passion of a teacher. If you excel in a subject, thank the encouragement of a teacher. And in all things, thank the Teacher of us all, Jesus Christ.

Ref: http://biblehub.com/greek/1321.htm

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/acts-1.html

Shoes

no shoes

Take a second and look down at your feet. Do you have shoes on? I have prayed a lot of prayers, but never once have I prayed for God to give me a pair of shoes. Have you?

In fact, I have lots of shoes. I have more shoes than one person needs or should have.

Could it be that we are spoiled? God has so richly blessed us and now we are spoiled rotten? We are so incredibly blessed; just look in your closet and weep at God’s provisions.

“God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” – 2 Cor. 9:8

Rather than bickering and complaining like little kids about all the things God is not doing for us, let’s try to thank Him for the mountains and mountains of blessings He has already given us.

In your prayers this morning, did you ask God to please give you some shoes so that you could stop going barefoot? Yeah, me neither.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” – 1 Chronicles 16:34. 

Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you.

Ref: https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/pathway-to-victory/listen/the-cure-for-complaining-637445.html

How Can a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?

Snowball

How can a loving God send anyone to Hell? Why unlimited punishment for a limited behavior? Isn’t Hell cosmic overkill? Too harsh! Not fair!

I’ve heard this objection many times and it seems reasonable… at first.

John Bunyan said, “No sin against God can be little, because it is against the great God of heaven and earth.” Jonathan Edwards said, “The greatness of a sin is determined by the greatness of the being against whom it is committed.”

Erwin Lutzer gives the following scenario:

To throw a snowball at a mailman is one thing; to throw one at a policeman is another. And if you throw a snowball at the President of the United States, you will be arrested. Using that analogy, think of the infinite crime of sinning against an infinite God. Sin is much more serious to God than it is to us.

I’ve never had the opportunity to throw a snowball at the POTUS, but I’m sure if I tried – the Secret Service would tackle me faster than you can say Barry Allen. And that’s just the President! Imagine throwing a snowball at God? Unthinkable.

God doesn’t send anyone to Hell, they send themselves.

Heaven is God giving people want He wants. Hell is God giving people what they want. C.S. Lewis said that the doors of Hell are locked from the inside.

God wants ALL PEOPLE to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 32). He patiently wishes that NONE perish (2 Pet. 3:9).

Does a doctor enjoy telling her patient: Hey, you have asthma; smoking is not healthy. You should stop. Does she enjoy it year after year, telling the patient the same diagnosis? You should stop. Here is the medicine. Please take it! Of course not. Is God any different? But He won’t force the medicine on us. He loves us too much for that.

Here is justice in its purest form: You reap what you sow.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. – Gal. 6:7-8

You wouldn’t let just anyone come into your home, would you? Would you let in a thief? A murderer? A rapist? No. You have a standard. So does God. Unfortunately we can never meet that standard. So He made it easy on us: we come in with His Son (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

It all comes down to how you respond to Jesus.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. – John 3:17

The real question is: Why would God send anyone to Heaven?

– If you were blessed by this please like & share!

Ref:

http://www.biblebb.com/files/bunyan/sayings.htm

https://www.monergism.com/jonathan-edwards-we-are-inclined-sin

https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/god-unfair/

God Can Use Traffic For Good

la traffic

One of the reasons I left Los Angeles was the traffic. It is unreal. I knew sitting in traffic like that was going to slowly drive me bonkers. So, it’s no surprise that a new study found that LA is the world’s most traffic-clogged city:

“Drivers in the region spent 104 hours each driving in congestion during peak travel periods last year. That topped second-place Moscow at 91 hours and third-place New York at 89, according to a traffic scorecard compiled by Inrix, a transportation analytics firm.”

While you may not find yourself spending 104 hours in traffic this year, it may feel like it. So, what are you going to do with all that wasted time?

Here are just a few ways to make that time count!

  • Pray: pray for the drivers around you, the cops enforcing the law, and that teenager who just passed you while texting. Prayer is the real deal. Pray more, worry less.
  • K-LOVE: listen to that Praise Music! Ain’t no reason you can’t be worshiping the Living God while stuck on I-79. (Dancing, of course,  is optional).
  • Podcasts/CD’s: There are a plethora (a word I honestly believe no one would ever know if it weren’t for ¡Three Amigos!) of resources available today. There are few reasons not to be listening to 1 sermon every single day. FEW! Start at oneplace.com (it has a lot of sermons, you guessed it: in one place).

I’m pretty sure this is not what the Holy Spirit had in mind, but man, does it seem appropriate: what was meant for evil, God can use for good (Gen.50:20). Am I calling traffic evil? Yes. Yes, I am. Use it for good!

Oh, and by the way – those who bemoan living in little ole West Virginia, here is another fun fact this study revealed:

“Of 240 U.S. cities studied by Inrix, drivers in Parkersburg, W.Va., spent the least about of time stuck in traffic during peak hours at three hours per year.”

So, there.

Ref:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-traffic-los-angeles-20170220-story.html

https://www.oneplace.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Amigos

Are You Getting Jesus or the CliffsNotes?

cliffs-notes

Remember CliffsNotes? I’m not sure if they still even have them now or not. Kids probably just use Google. But anyways for those too young (or for those who actually DID do their homework), CliffsNotes were the abbreviated version of literature classics. If you didn’t read the actual thing, you could buy the CliffsNotes and get the gist of it.

Are you getting Jesus or the CliffsNotes?

“The right understanding of Jesus Christ is essential to understanding many other vital truths, particularly the gospel and salvation. There’s no good news apart from Christ.” – John MacArthur

Let me give you just one verse. It is short and easy: “I and the Father are one.” – John 10:30.

I was at a restaurant once and they poured my Ginger Ale over a ton of ice. I could hardly taste it. It was gross, really. I have harsh words for anyone who waters down the Gospel to make it easier or more user-friendly.  Its gross, really.

MacArthur also admonishes those who make their faith a “private” matter: “If your faith is ‘a private thing,’ it’s not the Christian faith.” I have heard this defense as I’m sure you have too.

Nothing about the Great Commission sounded “private” to me.

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].” – Acts 4:12 (AMP)

Don’t make that private. Make it public!

Don’t settle for an abridged rendition of Jesus. Demand the full version!

Don’t read the CliffsNotes. Read the original!

Ref:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CliffsNotes

MacArthur, John. Good News: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Reformation Trust Publishing, 2018.