hope

We Wrestle Not

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I’ve been thinking a lot about what the late John MacArthur said. When it comes to those who are holding views that don’t align with the Bible, we must not view them as enemies but as our mission field.

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph, 6:12. NLT).

In other words, people are not the enemy. The real enemy is the spiritual deception behind the lies. The prince of the power of the air is the enemy. And he is a defeated foe.

The best way to deal with those who wish to undermine biblical principles is to pray for their salvation. Pray that God leads them to the truth — not my truth or their truth or anyone else’s truth but THE truth that is personified in Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the best example of someone being loved into truth is the Apostle Paul. He was an enemy of the Church. He persecuted and hated everything that the early believers stood for. Yet it was their prayers and an encounter with Jesus that led him to the light — in this case a literal blinding light on the road to Damascus. From there, this Paul became the most stout defender and proponent of the faith.

How cool would it be if some of the people who currently malign or twist Scripture eventually became the biggest apologists for the Bible? How amazing would it be if they were the ones pointing people to Jesus instead of to false doctrine or false worldviews?

Obviously, we should defend gospel truth. We should never stand by when people are being lied to and deceived. But we should also remember that those on the other side are just as much people that Christ died for as we were. They’re not the enemy. They’re the mission field, as we once were.

Getting Hold of God

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“Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

If I’m not careful, prayer can become like my childhood letterd to Santa. Those typically started off with me stating how I’d been good all year and thus was worthy of all the loot I had coming to me. The specifics of those letters escapes me, but I’m sure that I was like every other kid back in the day who mailed actual letters in envelopes to an address somewhere at the North Pole.

We do the same with God. It’s like, “God, thanks for being God. Here’s what I want from You” and then the list of wants and needs begins. Sometimes, we even have a list of people we’re praying for (which is by no means a bad thing to do).

But prayer isn’t as much getting things from God as it is getting to know God. The more you know God, the more your wants and needs change. By the end, I suspect we’re praying God’s prayers back to Him. That means we’re asking God for what God wants for us and in us. We want the same things He does.

In the mean time, it is perfectly acceptable to come to God in prayer without asking for anything but simply to adore Him and thank Him for who He is. I think the less we’re concerned about getting answers, the more we’ll see God at work because our focus won’t be so narrowly limited to His hand.

The good news is that even if you feel you’ve been doing it all wrong in prayer and treating Him as Cosmic Santa, you can always start over in a sense. You can spend at least part of your prayer time in adoration and thanksgiving before processing to petitions. You can look for opportunities throughout the day to thank God for what He’s doing, even if you can’t always see what that is.

Again, the point as always is to pray. The best way to get better at praying isn’t listening to more sermons or reading more books about prayer but praying — and being around people who pray often and pray well. That has helped me a lot. I still think reading books of prayers is good, like the Book of Common Prayer or The Valley of Vision. But mostly just pray.

Grieving a Pet

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“I will never laugh at anyone for grieving over a loved beast. I think God wants us to love Him more, not to love creatures (even animals) less. We love everything in one way too much (i.e., at the expense of our love for Him), but in another way we love everything too little.

No person, animal, flower, or even pebble has ever been loved too much—i.e., more than every one of God’s works deserves” (C. S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III),

Thankfully, I haven’t lost a pet in a while, but I remember how much I grieved. My first cat Lucy was such a steady little presence in my life, and it broke my heart when she wasn’t there anymore.

No, I don’t think there’s any shame in grieving the loss of a pet. Absolutely not. There’s not a scale of acceptability over what kinds of loss are okay to cry over. It’s loss. It hurts.

Yout pets are constants in your life. They love you without conditions and without reserve. Even when you accidentally step on a tail or knock them on the noggin, they still love you. Even when you’re gone for days, they’re still just as happy to see you the next time.

And there’s a noticeable absence when they’re gone — a kind of void. The best way to celebrate the life of aa pet you’ve lost is to find another to love, preferably from a shelter or a place that rescues animals. Those are the kinds that need your love the most and will love you back the most.

But it’s okay to cry for a cat or a dog . . . or even a hamster or a parakeet. It doesn’t matter as long as they brought joy into your life and made your world better.

Another New Favorite

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I ran across another great worship song that strikes me as being a bit of a lament. It’s telling God, “This is where I am, and this is how I feel, but this is what I’ve come to learn about You.”

I hope these words will speak to you, especially if you’re in the midst of a struggle or a low period in your life. I’ve also included a video in case you want to hear it:

“How long will I have to hear the stories
Of how you were able
How long will I have to celebrate
The miracle that’s not my own
How long will I lift my voice and sing again
That you are always good
When I’m feeling all this distance
I thought I never would
How long

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me miracle or not

How long will I give myself
Before I give up waiting
How long will I have to hide behind this smile
That says that I’m okay
How long will I hold on to the promises
I thought I heard you speak
When every passing day
Just leaves me broken down and weak

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me miracle or not

I will sing it ’til my broken heart believes it
I’ll declare it ’til I smell the smoke of faith
And with my hands held high
I’ll scream it to the darkness
‘Til hope is finally louder than the ache

I will sing it ’til my broken heart believes it
I’ll declare it ’til I smell the smoke of faith
And with my hands held high
I’ll scream it in the darkness
‘Til hope is finally louder than the ache

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me
I know that you love me
I know that you love me miracle or not
Miracle or not” (Michael Farren / Mark Alan Schoolmeesters / Lou Fellingham)

A Prayer for Sunday Services

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“May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers” (1 Thes. 3:11-13, The Message).

Lord, I pray for all Your children who will be worshipping You around the world in various places and ways. I pray for all those who will come into Your presence with joy, and also for those come to You with deep grief. I know You meet each and every one of us where we are and at the deepest point of our need.

Help us to seek not what we can get out of the services or come to worship to be spectators seeking to be entertained but how we can outgive and outserve one another as we seek to please and glorify an audience of One.

Lord, I pray that in any case of division or strife within Your body, we will choose instead to leave our offering and go and be reconciled with our brothers and sisters wherever possible first before entering into true worship. I pray You will move to heal broken families and restore broken marriages. I pray You will deliver people from all sorts of addictions and bondages.

Above all, call out people in Your midst to the mission field and to the ministry. Call out those who don’t yet know You in faith to trust You for salvation by calling on Your Son Jesus Christ. May the worship we bring not cease at 11:00 or 12:15 or whatever time the service ends but carry on throughout our day and into the next week. May our worship not just be songs and music but lives surrendered and hearts laid down at Your altar.

Bless and multiply Your Church. Redeem and restore us. Rebuke us wherever necessary. Be mindful of our frailty and fallenness and come among us to make us more like You. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

One United Choir in Heaven

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“Blessed be God for this. Some of all sorts are saved, some of all colors, ranks, nations, and ages are saved; some of all conditions of education and morals, some of the poorest, and some of the richest are redeemed so that when we all assemble in heaven, though we make a motley throng on earth, we shall constitute a united choir, having all our voices tuned to this one note, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain'” (Charles Spurgeon).

I confess that I’m often distressed by the discord in this country. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like America has never been more divided than it is right now. We’re to the point where we can’t even have rational discussions with those on the opposing side. It’s all about name calling and inflammatory rhetoric.

But that’s now how it is with God’s people. At least that’s not how it should be. But if I read my Bible right, that’s not how it will be. One day, we will be one united choir, singing one song to one Lord and King over all. The older I get the more I long for that day.

There will be no more Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. There will only be those who have been redeemed and washed in the blood of the Lamb. There will only be those who were lost sinners far from God who have been brought near by God’s grace and are now new creations in Christ Jesus.

I believe there will be people in heaven representing every single people group, even those who are as yet unreached. I believe that every language will be represented in heaven. I’m not sure if we’ll all speak one language in heaven or if we’ll be able to understand each other’s different dialects.

I know it will be glorious not for the golden streets or jewel-encrusted gates or the presence of all the saints who have gone before but because Jesus will be there. The Lamb slain from the foundation will be there still bearing the scars in His hands, feet, and sides. Suddenly, our petty squabbles won’t mean anything anymore because we’ll all be focusing on the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.

Lord, I long for that day more and more. Even now, make us one in You as You are one within the Trinity. Help us to draw outsiders into faith by how we love each other well. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Revisiting Downton Abbey

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Recently, I’ve started rewatching the Downton Abbey series from Season 1, Episode 1 to the very end. This time around, I have a bit of a different perspective because I have seen the series through all the way to the last movie, so I know how the story ends. And for those who still haven’t seen it, there are spoilers ahead (although if you still haven’t seen any episodes, it’s really not my fault, is it?)

That makes a difference. While I can commensurate with Bates and his early struggles, I’m not quite as anxious about his future. I see the daughters acting a bit spoiled, but I remember that’s not how they turn out in the end. That helps when I lowkey want to slap one or two of them upside the head.

The same applies for life. I’ve read the last pages of my Bible, so I know how it all turns out. I know that while the current struggles may seem interminable, they aren’t the last part of my story. As a very famous writer once said, your story won’t end with ashes.

For the believer in Christ, it only gets better from here. I don’t mean that all your pain and suffering instantly ceases in this life, and the rest is sunshine and roses, but we know that this life isn’t all there is. In fact, every part of what seems like forever in this world will only be light and momentary troubles compared to the eternal weight of glory that’s coming.

Another bonus for rewatching a series is anticipating some of my favorite moments from the first time around. In life, we have those moments as well, although they’re not as easy to predict. There will be fleeting glimpses of heaven on earth in this life that will only serve to make us long even more for the real heaven and the new earth.

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I ran across this poem today and thought it was worth sharing. It’s a beautiful picture of the unfailing love of God toward His children. It’s written from God’s perspective, and feels very biblical in the way it describes God’s tender care toward those He has loved and redeemed. I pray these words will sink deep into your soul, and you will know beyond doubting the amazing love of God for you tonight.

“My beloved child,

I AM …Yahweh …
the One who is always with you,
the One who does not leave you.

I am not distant from you.
I have drawn near…
closer than your breath …
closer than your own thoughts.

And I am your Go’el …
your Kinsman-Redeemer.

I am not a stranger who rescues from afar.
I have bound Myself to you as family.

You are not alone in your story.
You never were.

I have taken full responsibility for you.

When something was lost …
I saw it.

Every place where your heart was left unprotected …
every place where fear entered …
every place where love should have held you and did not …

I did not turn away.

I became your Family-Redeemer.
I say to you:
What was lost, I will restore.
Not only what can be seen…
but what was taken deep within you:
your sense of safety …
your tenderness …
your ability to rest in love.

I am restoring these …
gently… patiently … surely.

Where you have felt bound …
by fear,
by anxiety,
by striving.

I do not stand over you in disappointment.

I come close to you.

And I say to you …

I have paid for your freedom.
You do not have to carry this alone.

I am not asking you to free yourself.
For I … Yahweh …
am your Redeemer.

Where your heart has felt alone…
where you have wondered if anyone would truly stay …

Hear Me:

I, Yahweh … am your nearest One.

I do not withdraw from you.
I do not grow weary of your need.

I draw nearer … still.
I hold you … as My own.
I am the One … who restores your future.

Nothing in your story has disqualified you.

I am weaving beauty …
where there was sorrow …
fruitfulness …
where there was loss …
legacy …
where there was fear.

You will not end in lack.
You will end … in fullness.

And I stand for you.

What has wounded you …
matters to Me.

I am not indifferent to your pain.

I am your Defender …
not with harshness,
but with steady, faithful love.

You are safe with Me.
My dear child …
You do not have to strive to be redeemed.
You are not reaching for Me …
I have come for you.
I have always been the One who comes.

So rest …
in Me.

Let your body learn what your spirit is beginning to know:

You are not alone.
You are not unprotected.
You are not forgotten.

You … are Mine.

And I … am your Go’el …

the One who comes close …
the One who takes personal responsibility for you …
the One who restores all that was lost.

Stay with Me, My beloved.

I am here.

I will not leave you.

I never have.

I have loved you …
with an everlasting love …
and you …
are Mine.

Your loving Father,
Almighty God” (Kirk Dearman).

This Extraordinary Day

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“Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely” (2 Thes. 1:11-12, The Message).

The extraordinary day referred to is when Jesus comes back for His own. That’s what it all hinges on. That’s what we’re living for in these last days. Today was a good reminder as my church celebrated multiple baptisms across all nine campuses. We were celebrating new life from death and hope born from despair. Baptism is a symbol of an inward change that has already taken place, and a public declaration of faith.

I get excited whenever I heard of one more person who is bold enough to proclaim that they have chosen to follow Jesus. Every single one is a victory. Every single one is one less destined for hell. Every single time without fail heaven throws a party, from the celebrity getting saved to the former addict being transformed to the homeless person finding a home in Christ.

It only gets better from here. I’m not naive enough to think that the rest of this life will be sunshine and puppies and rainbows, but I do know that joy is just around the corner. Glory is waiting on the other side of the mountain we’re all climbing up. For those in Christ, the best is yet to come.

God is not looking for rockstars but for those who will be obedient and faithful even when no one is watching. He’s searching the whole world looking for those whose hearts are steadfast toward Him and Him only. I pray that you and I will be the ones who will choose to serve the least and the lowest as much as the most famous. May we never stop running toward the finish line of grace as long as He gives us breath.

The Difference

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I’ve been reading through 1 Corinthians in my yearly Bible reading plan. One takeaway is that the Church Paul is talking about looks a lot different than the Church I see most of the time. At least to me it does.

I remember when I was growing up and I would pass a church building and automatically assume that it was good. I assumed that everybody there loved Jesus and believed the Bible and tried to live godly lives. Now, it seems that whole denominations have gone off the rails into something that resembles the Christian faith in name only.

Even in most so-called evangelical churches, it seems there is very little emphasis on actual discipleship or evangelism. Most people sitting in the pews (or chairs) have no idea what they believe or why they believe it. And most of them are prey to being deconstructed by the world and social media because they have no solid foundation for their faith.

Maybe instead of trying to criticize lost people for acting lost, we should be more concerned that the Church doesn’t act like the Church must of the time. Most of us — including me — don’t act like Christ very much. He showed compassion and also spoke the uncomfortable truth. He loved sinners yet would not let them remain in their sin but instead called them to repentance.

I don’t want a return to the hell and brimstone sermons where everything fun was sinful. I do think we’d do well to bring back a measure of church discipline. We would do well to remind people that while hell and the devil aren’t everywhere and everything, hell is still real and not everyone goes to heaven.

Jim Elliott once said that he hoped God would make him a signpost in the road where people he met would be forced into a decision either for or against following Christ. He didn’t want to make people feel good or comfortable but to remind them of eternity and an incredible future for those who say yes to Jesus.

God, please revive Your Church and make her more like You. Help us stop trying to be relevant and trendy and to start being faithful and obedient. Remind us that peole all around the world are losing their lives for Your sake and for the sake of the gospel. Help us to be that bold and brave never to deny You even in the face of pain and suffering. Thank You that You will one day restore and redeem all that is broken, including Your Church. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.