Christian

Not My Will

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“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. Send me where Thou wilt. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever. Amen” (Betty Scott Stam).

This is another good prayer to pray. I mean, I have nothing against prayers about God blessing us and giving us the desires of our hearts, but the prayer that God will always honor is one that says, “God, Your will be done.”

I’ve learned over the years that I’m not the best at choosing what’s good for me. Sometimes, I feel what’s best instead of thinking it. Sometimes, I want something because I see that someone else has it. My motives are a mixed bag at best.

But when I leave the choice with God, I can rest assured that God will always choose the best. He will pick what brings Him the most glory, which in turn is what is always for my greatest good.

If God gives me something other than what I asked for, He is still good. If God doesn’t give me what I ask for, He is still good. If God gave me nothing else from this point on, He would still be good. No matter what, through feast or famine, through garden or desert, He is still good.

Lord, have Your way in me. I lay down every one of my desires at Your feet to do with as You will. Whether or not You ever give me any of them or not, You are and will always be good. Amen.

A New Take on Isaiah 40

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“Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me.
He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind” (Isaiah 40:27-31, The Message)

Again, I don’t always love The Message. Sometimes it gets a little loose with the paraphrase. But sometimes, it really gets the nuances of the text in a way that traditional translations don’t.

If you’ve read the same verses in the same way, it can almost lose its meaning. It’s like with a familiar song. Your brain goes into autopilot and you’re singing the words without really thinking about them or what they mean. Sometimes, you need to read a familiar passage in an unfamiliar rendering to see it with new eyes, like when an old hymn gets a new arrangement and suddenly the lyrics stand out in a way they didn’t before.

If you trust in God, He will be your strength. He will be the fuel to get you where you’re going. He isn’t like anybody else because we’re hit or miss on most days. Some days, we’re trustworthy. Some days, not so much. But God is the same every day. He’s always good, always gracious, always ready to help. always strong to save, and always a safe place to land.

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

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I recently heard the story of how the hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus originated. I don’t think I’ll ever hear those words the same way again. I know so many hymns have amazing backstories, but this one might just be my new favorite.

A man from the Garo tribe in Assam, India (modern day Meghalaya) during the 19th century converted to Christianity. He then led his family to follow Jesus as well. Eventually, he was confronted by the tribal leader along with the rest of the community. They wanted him not only to stop evangelizing but to recant his faith. He refused.

He said in essence, “I have decide to follow Jesus. No turning back.”

Then they proceeded to murder his children in front of him and his wife, followed by killing his wife. He still refused to recant.

He said, “Though none go with me, still I will follow.”

Even after they threatened him with his own death, he would not and could not deny the Christ who had miraculously delivered him and saved him.

He said, “The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back, no turning back.”

After witnessing how the man was able to endure the loss of his own family and even his own life for the sake of the gospel, the tribal leader eventually placed his faith in Christ, along with many others from the village. That village became a sending place for missionaries.

These days, it’s becoming more and more dangerous to follow Jesus, especially in certain parts of Africa and the Middle East. In places, professing Christ can be tantamount to a death sentence. Even in America, we’re frowned upon for holding to our biblical convictions and for preaching Jesus as the only way to salvation. Perhaps one day soon we’ll see Christians forced to deny Christ or lose their lives even in this country.

So I think we have to decide if following Christ is worth it. My prayer is that everyone reading these words will be able to sing the old hymn with complete conviction and sincerity: “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back.”

More About Humility

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“Humility is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing done to us, to feel nothing against us. It is to be at rest when nobody praises us and when we are blamed and despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where we can go in and shut the door and kneel to our Father in secret, and be at peace when all around is trouble” (Andrew Murray).

I still think a lot about a book I read a couple of years ago called Unoffendable by Brant Hansen. It completely blew me away and forever changed my perspective on believers and anger. Basically, we should be the least offendable people on the planet because we know what grace looks like and what we were without it. We know that apart from grace, there is nothing too base for us to fall into.

Again, humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but thinking about yourself less. It’s to take all the frustration and anger to the Lord in secet and leave it there, knowing that ultimate vengeance is in God’s hands not mine. It’s to be at peace and not get caught up in the perpetual turmoil and anxiety that marks the waking life of most of the world’s population.

Humility is to see ourselves the way God sees us through the lens of seeing God as He is. Once we understand that the world does not in fact revolve around us, we see that God’s plans are so much bigger than us as individuals. We can then gladly serve wherever God calls us out of the overflow of His love to the multitudes on stages or to the few in secret. Either way, the joy of the Lord will be our strength.

Lord, I know this is a dangerous prayer, but make us humble. Keep us from the pride of thinking we can achieve Your will and Your ways through our own means instead of us relying 100% on You for everything at every moment of every single day. Amen.

A Perfect Track Record

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Yes, I do. I worry way too much for someone whose God has a perfect track record. He has never failed once. He has never done less than the very best for any of His children even once. He has never not kept a promise.

So why do I worry? Why do I find myself in a state of anxiety over and over again, living like all the answers are up to me to figure out. Why do I try to carry the weight of the world’s problems on my shoulders?

It’s almost as if worry is my default setting. I don’t have to try to worry when life gets hard. I just automatically switch to worry mode the way my radio tunes to the last station I was listening to the day before. Anxiety comes way too natural for me.

But I find the more I spend time with Jesus, the more I sit at the feet of the Prince of Peace, the more I find myself at peace instead of overwrought with anxiety. The more I find that there’s a calmness at the center of my inner storms and turmoil.

I can’t remember if it was Dwight Moody or Charles Spurgeon who first said it, but I’m casting my anchor on the Prince of Peace tonight. I am deliberately and intentionally choosing trust over fear, hope over anxiety by the power of the indwelling Spirit within me.

Lord, give peace to Your children in the midst of a chaotic and ever-changing world that seems to drift from storm to storm. You alone are the port of peace, and I’d rather be dashed up against the Rock of Ages and know the peace that passes understanding than remain afraid in the harbor because I’m too afraid to risk anything or venture out of my comfort zone. Lord, give Your people joy to do Your will, boldness to set out on the journey You have laid out for us, and the steady assurance that You will be with us every step of the way until we reach our final destination of peace. Amen.

I’m So Proud of My Humility

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“Humility is not a character trait to develop, it’s the natural by-product of being with Jesus” (Louie Giglio).

Humility is an odd character trait to me. It seems that inevitable it’s the one thing that once you’re aware of having it, you lose it. At least for me. I almost always become prideful of how humble I am. It never fails.

But true humility is one of those things you don’t notice about yourself. It’s something you notice about others and hopefully they can see it in you. After all, it’s generally never wise to go around bragging about how humble you are.

But what Louie Giglio said makes sense. If you spend time with Jesus, His life starts to flow into you. The next thing, you’re exhibiting Christlike characteristics without even being aware of it. I remember an old married couple who had been together for so long that they even started to look alike. They’d even finish each others’ sentences because they knew the other so well as to know what that person would most likely say next.

Jesus is the only truly humble person ever. The rest of us show humility from time to time, but the vast majority of us still struggle with pride in one form or another. We either think too highly of ourselves or we go around with a false modesty that shames anyone who tries to give us compliments.

But the more I attune my ear to the voice of Jesus and set aside time for Him to speak to me, the more I find that I will live like He lived and be more and more like Him. At the same time, I may or may not be aware of all these changes. Hopefully, I will be too focused on Jesus to notice.

Lord, instead of me asking for humility, I’m asking that you’d draw me nearer to You. Let Your life so seep into mine that Your words flow out of my mouth and Your actions proceed from my hands and feet. As I wander, gently lead me back to my first love and keep my eyes fixed on You so that I can learn Your ways and Your heart. Amen.

The Joy of the Lord

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“The stronghold of the Christian faith is the joy of God, not my joy in God. . . . God reigns and rules and rejoices, and His joy is our strength” (Oswald Chambers, Run Today’s Race).

i think too often we read that and take it to mean our joy in the Lord. Or at least I do. I somehow managed to go through most of my life reading the verse about the joy of the Lord being our strength and came away thinking that I had to conjure up or manufacture joy in the Lord to be strong. Anybody else? Just me? Cool.

I think we forget that the Lord has joy in His children, not for anything we are or anything we bring to the communal table, but simply because we are His. He has joy in what He has made. He has greater joy in what He has bought and paid for and redeemed.

To go through life in my own strength is like pushing my car from place to place instead of driving it. God’s strength is the fuel that helps me to become what He created me to be and to go where He’s called me to go. If I decide I don’t need that strength, I’m getting as far in life as I can push my car — not very far.

If you’re feeling spiritually weak, maybe the best thing for you and I do to is to rediscover God’s joy. I’m thankful that holiness isn’t something I work up in my own power. Sure, I strive for holiness, but not in my own strength. If only we could remember that God’s joy is endless and never runs out, we could always find our strength to live in the center of His will.

Lord, overwhelm us with Your joy today. Help us to lean on Your strength as we seek to please You and to do Your will in every area of our lives. Make us a people who are known for their contagious and overwhelming joy that can only come from You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Every Time

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“In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents” (Luke 15:10, NLT).

The Message says that there’s a party in heaven every time even one sinner gets saved. I get that.

I know lately I find myself overjoyed when I read about any celebrity who comes to faith or someone who is coming out of a Muslim or LGBTQ or pagan background. I love that the gospel is for anyone and everyone, and there is no one who is beyond the reach of God’s grace.

I love hearing testimonies of being delivered by the power of Jesus. That never gets old for me (and I hope it never will). It always brings me ecstatic joy and reminds me of my own early days when I first experience the joy of my own salvation. It reminds me that God is still able to seek and to save the lost.

I do a lot more praying for people’s salvation than I used to. I think maybe it’s because I appreciate the gift of salvation way more than I did when I was younger. I also realize more and more that there are no political answers to what are ultimately spiritual problems.

At the root of every war and of every act of violence and every racial epithet is sin. We are all born into sin and we all need a Savior. We are not good people who need to be better or even bad people who need to be made good but dead people who need to be made alive.

That’s why I do what I do. If even one single person is in heave because of me posting these blogs every day for almost 16 years, then I can say it was worth it.

I hope you will join me in praying for lost people. If you want, you can comment on the people you are praying for or you can always text me at 615-556-5850. I’d love to pray for your loved ones as well. God is still good all the time, and all the time God is still good.

Things You Learn from Social Media

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I’m not advocating for increased social media usage. Is it addictive? Probably. Is it mostly a waste of time? Most of the time. Can you learn useful and edifying things from social media? Absolutely.

The medium itself isn’t good or bad. It all depends on the person using it and the people who are creating the content. One such person fairly blew my mind with this little nugget of truth.

He was speaking about how a tree grows. Honestly, I don’t give much thought to it since I am not an arborist (or whatever you call people who make a living studying trees).

He said that trees grow in two directions: upward and downward.

The tree grows downward into the deep richness of dark soil, developing a system of roots that can sustain the tree. The tree also grows upward toward the sky. That part wasn’t the mind blowing part.

The part I’d never thought about is the tree has to have the roots first before it can bear the fruit. If a tree has no root system, it won’t last. It will topple over at the first gust of wind or hard rain. A bit like those who hear the gospel but never go deeper with it to combine it with faith.

So many of us want instant success. We want immediate gratification. We don’t understand that for successful vertical growth we often need to go deep into the dark and the damp and the dirt to develop a foundation of roots that can sustain upward growth. We need to be grounded in the truth of God through His Word and His work in our lives to make us more like Him.

So much of what God does in us is something that is in secret. Not even we can see all that God does in us. I seem to remember posting about how God can do 10,000 things in us and we are sometimes only aware of 3 or 4 of them at any given time.

So much of what seems like God’s silences or inactivity might just be working underneath to nurture those roots and give us the foundation we need for upward spiritual growth. We are becoming the kind of people God can then use to bless multitudes when we in our own power could bless no one because we have nothing of worth to offer.

Remember God is always at work whether you can see it or feel it or not. God is always keeping His promises to finish what He started in you and in me. Trust the process even when you can’t see it or see the results right away. Know that He will be faithful to do what he says because He is a promise keeper.

The Great Paradox

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“The great paradox of life is that those who lose their lives will gain them. This paradox becomes visible in very ordinary situations. If we cling to our friends, we may lose them, but when we are nonpossessive in our relationships, we will make many friends. When fame is what we seek and desire, it often vanishes as soon as we acquire it, but when we have no need to be known, we might be remembered long after our deaths. When we want to be in the center, we easily end up on the margins, but when we are free enough to be wherever we must be, we find ourselves often in the center.

Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human arts. This will gain us our lives” (Henri Nouwen).

I think Jesus said something similar. He said those who seek to save their lives will lose them but those who lose their lives for His sake will find them. I do believe that when we die, we can only take with us that which we’ve given away. Primarily, we give away our faith when we share it with others so that they can also know Jesus and have eternal life.

It does seem like a paradox that if you seek after fame and fortune and wealth, you end up missing out on so much and not even getting what you were after. Or worse yet, you get all the fame and fortune and wealth and find out that it didn’t satisfy you like you thought it would.

But if you seek after God’s kingdom first, then everything you need is added in. When you deny yourself and take up your cross and put others first, you find utmost fulfillment and you discover your true self in the process. It’s almost the complete opposite of the way the world works.

It seems to me that life is more enjoyable when you’re less focused on yourself. The old saying goes that humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. I have found in those moments when I was absorbed completely in something other than me I made my best memories.

Lord, help us to live for You first, live for others second, and trust You to take care of our needs at every moment of our lives. Teach us that it’s better to give than to receive and that we are never more like You than when we are giving ourselves away for Your sake. Amen.