missions

A Prayer for Sunday

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“Lord, look with great grace, we pray, upon the slaves of sin that are present here this morning; break their chains. Save this people. We know there are some in this congregation who are currently “poisoned by bitterness and bound by wickedness” (Acts 8:23). Move, divine Spirit, over this audience, and fetch out from among us those who do not know God, that they may know themselves and their God this day. Make this to be a profitable, soul-winning Sunday, one of the high days on which heaven’s bells shall ring out more sweetly than ever, because many and many a prodigal child has come back to the Father’s house to make the Father glad.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

I usually try to pray every Sunday for my church. I typically pray that God would make our hearts good soil for God’s word to go deep and produce a harvest. I also pray that if there’s anyone sitting in the rows during the service that doesn’t have a saving faith in Jesus that they would come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord.

I’m not typing all that to humble brag. I’m simply being obedient. Who knows? Maybe God would have saved someone anyway, but I know the Bible says that we have not because we ask not (to put it in super King James English).

Are you praying for your church? Are you praying for God to move in your services? With all the talent in most churches, it can be so easy to preplan and program every service down to the second and leave no room for the Holy Spirit to move. We can run an entire Sunday off of our own agendas and abilities and charisma and not even be aware that God was not present because we never invited Him in.

It’s always a good idea to pray for lost people to come to Christ in your church services. It’s never wrong to pray for reconciliation of families and marriages, for the calling of people to the ministry and missions, for God to bring revival to your church, your city, and the world.

Lord, move in every place where we assemble to worship. Don’t let us get by on our strength alone but bring us to the place where we’re dependent on You for anything good that happens this Sunday. Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening.

On the Second Day of Christmas

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For some of us, we’re already counting down the days until Christmas 2026. it’s 364 days, FYI.

But for a select few, we’re prepping for those two turtle doves because it’s the second day of Christmas, culminating on the epic finale on January 6, also known as Day of the Epiphany. Also, it’s socially acceptable these days to leave your Christmas decorations up through the month of January.

But for me, my plan is to continue to listen to Christmas records and watch Christmas movies for as long as the spirit allows. I will probably run out of records before the movie stash runs out, so then I may switch over to ye olden CD player for a bit.

I love the idea of stretching Christmas out over 12 days. Back then, people opened one present a day and made the feasting last for almost two weeks. I’m not sure my waistline could handle all that, but I’m willing to try if anyone else is.

Above all, celebrating the arrival of Emmanuel should be delegated to one 24-hour period. It should be a year round event (so I’m really not going to be upset if you leave your outside Christmas lights up all year). That one single event changed the course of human history forever.

Now we have a hope. Now we have a future. Now whoever believes in Jesus doesn’t have to be lost forever but can have everlasting eternal life. And it all began when God so loved the world that He gave.

One day, I’d love to have a house where I have a room dedicated solely to Christmas 24/7/365. I’d push the Christmas tree into my Christmas room with all the other decorations. Whenever I needed a little Christmas fix, I could just go into that room. Or I’d even be happy with a Christmas closet.

But in the meantime, I can rejoice and celebrate that because of Jesus, we can be forgiven and set free. We can know the One who made us and loves us and died for us. We can have the full and abundant life not just in the heavenly hereafter but here and now. Jesus is here.

Christmas Day

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Already, I feel a bit sad that as of 14 minutes ago, Christmas Day is over. I can freely admit that when I was younger, I couldn’t wait to get to Christmas Day, but once it got here and I got all my loot, my usual response that I never spoke out loud but thought in my head was “Ok, what next?” or “What else have you got for me?”

The novelty of new gifts never fails to wear off and the good nostalgic feeling of the holiday doesn’t ever last. I wish I could tell you honestly that I loved and cherished every single gift that I ever received until they all fell apart, but some I quickly tired of and moved on to wanting the next big gadget or game or whatever.

But today, Jesus is here. That’s not something that gets old. That will always be good news that never becomes old news. That’s the gift that I never grow tired of or grow out of. That’s the one gift that the longer I have it, the better and sweeter it grows and the more I come to understand and benefit from it.

Today we celebrate that Jesus came into the world to save sinners — including me. One of my favorite sayings is that Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good but to make dead people alive. And being alive with the hope of heaven and the presence of Jesus is the best gift ever.

I’m learning what it means to celebrate Christmas from the perspective of eternity. I want to be like the saints in the olden days who made Christmas into a feast that lasted for 12 days instead of 24 hours that we relegate it to. I want to be like that old Scrooge who learned how to keep Christmas well and live the lessons of the Spirits not just one day of the year but all 365. I don’t ever want to take grace for granted or forget what Jesus has done for me and is doing in me.

So to one and all, merry Christmas! And to echo the words of that Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone!”

Cheekwood 2025

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Apparently when I was little I had an obsession with lights. As in one of the first words I ever spoke was “light.” According to local sources, i.e. my mom, I used to go into peoples’ homes uninvited and turn on all their lights. I was a bit odd as a kid.

So you’d understand why I love my annual trek to Cheekwood Estate & Gardens earlier today. It had all the festive lights I could ever hope for. It was festive. You might even say that it was joyful AND triumphant.

I have a few Christmas traditions centered around lights. For some reason, I’m drawn to lights still. Maybe it’s because that the moment a light switches on, the darkness vanishes. Instantly. Darkness cannot abide where light is present.

Jesus called Himself the light of the world. That’s because with Jesus, suddenly you see where you’re going. You’re not wandering around in confusion and darkness anymore. He has come to be the beacon of hope and to show us the way home.

Christmas is all about how the light came into the world and the world didn’t understand or receive it. They rejected it because they preferred the dark because their deeds were evil. But to those who understood, who “got it,” He made them sons and daughters of the living God. No more hopelessly lost in the dark with no way out, we have a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.

I’m thankful every single day that Jesus helps me understand God, the world, others, and myself better. Every day, I’m growing and learning more about who God made me to be and how to fulfill His purposes for me. One day, I and all those who are sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ will be complete and mature.

In the meantime, we have that same light that first entered the world on Christmas morning. It’s our job to let that light shine through us so that others can find their way to God through the same Christ who is God made flesh.

Lord, help each and every one of Your children always be ready to give an answer for the hope and light that we have because of You. May we be disciples who make disciples, and may our legacy be those who will be in heaven because we shared the gift of Your light with others. Amen.

Be Generous

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“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!” (1 Peter 4:7-11)

That’s the key: generosity. Not everyone is in a position to be financially generous, but there are other ways. You can be generous with your time. You can be generous with your talents. Best of all, you can be generous in your commitment to pray for someone or something. And in my book, prayer is the most powerful weapon we have in the fight against the adversary known as satan and the systems of this world.

It boils down to loving others like Christ loved us. He loved us not in word only but in deed. His love took up a wooden cross and bore the nails and died for you and me. Our love should be just as tangible toward those in need, especially during this time of the year with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching.

Lord, help us to be as generous to others as You have been to us. May our love show itself not merely in words but in actions that meet the needs of those around us. May we remember that whatever we do in serving the least of these brothers and sisters, we are really serving You. Amen.

Go Into All the World

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“To ‘go’ simply means to live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. He takes upon himself the work of sending us. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings. That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

I remember from my seminary days how Acts 1:8 could be translated as “Going into all the world” or “As you go into all the world.” The focus isn’t on the going but on the making of disciples.

I remember at my old church there was a sign as you exited the parking lot that read “You are now entering the mission field.” In other words, the mission field isn’t across the sea or across the country. It could be across the street or down the road. It’s wherever you live, work, and play. Where God has planted you is your mission field and you are a missionary, whether you raise your own support or make a living in a 9 to 5 desk job.

I wonder how that would change how you and I viewed our jobs or our errands if instead of seeing an office or a grocery store or a fitness center, we saw a mission field. I wonder how it would change how we saw the people around us that cross our paths on a daily basis.

I can confess that I am not very good at sharing my faith. When the opportunity comes, it seems like I always chicken out and talk about sports or the weather or anything but my faith. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am a missionary and the place where God has me is my mission field. And I can pray for those God has put around me.

May we pray for eyes to see what God is doing around us and then have the courage and boldness to join Him in what He’s doing. May we shift our focus from being employees and consumers and citizens to being missionaries who have been called and sent out by the same God who sends people to the Middle East and Africa and Europe. We have a mission field. We’re living in it.

If It’s Good Enough for Paul . . .

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“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, The Message).

Sometimes I wish I knew what Paul’s affliction was. I’ve heard all the possibilities, like poor eyesight and epilepsy. But there’s nothing in Scripture that explicitly spells out what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was that He begged God to have removed. All we know is that God didn’t remove it for a reason.

My takeaway is that God sometimes uses what we think of as our biggest weakness to show forth His perfect strength best. The part about our story or the aspect of our bodies that we most prefer to keep hidden is the very thing God will use to demonstrate His ability to use even our flaws for His glory.

What keeps me humble is that God doesn’t always use what I think He should use in my life. Often, He goes past what I consider my greatest strengths and focuses on what I’m least good at. He magnifies Himself most through my efforts that come across often as the least successful. At least in my own mind.

A true disciple knows that it’s all about God getting the glory, not me. That means that I don’t choose how God uses me as the vehicle for His purposes. That means that I don’t get to be God’s PR man when it comes to how I want others to see me as a servant of Christ. I don’t get to put a spin on how God uses me.

The ultimate point is that God uses His people to point others to Jesus. God uses His people to draw people to Christ and bring more into the Kingdom where He can in turn use them to draw even more. That’s what matters in the end, after all.

A Good Prayer from Spurgeon

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“We long for a humble and sincere faith in our divine Lord. Lord, if it is necessary to break our hearts in order that we may have it, then let them be broken.If we have to unlearn a thousand things to learn the sweet secret of faith in him, let us become fools that we may be wise, only bring us surely and really to stand upon the Rock of Ages—so to stand there as never to fall, but to be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation.
As Christians, we should be humble. Lord take away our proud look; take away the spirit of ‘stand by, for I am holier than thou;‘ make us condescend to people of low morals. May we seek them out and seek their good. Give to the church of Christ an intense love for the souls of men. May it make our hearts break to think that they will perish in their sin. May we grieve every day because of the sin of this city. Set a mark upon our forehead and let us be known to you as people who sigh and cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst of the city.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

I had a couple of takeaways from reading this prayer earlier today. First, man this Charles Spurgeon could pray! Second, I wonder when was the last time my heart broke over someone who is lost without Jesus in this world. I wonder when was the last time I was grieved over the sinfulness of my city.

It’s easy sometimes to get into my holy huddle and stay in my sanctified circle and never see how lost the people around me really are. I can pray for them. That’s the best course of action. But then I could also pray for God to open up opportunities for gospel conversations in my daily life.

The world would be more open to the Church if they knew how the Church loved and wept for them. If they saw the Church crying out to God on their behalf instead of pointing fingers in their faces, might they not be more receptive to the gospel we preach?

Again, I go back to something my pastor said. The world hates the Church not because we’re too different from them but because we’re not different enough. There’s often no discernible difference in the lives people who profess Christ and those who don’t. When our words don’t match our walk, they don’t listen to what we say. They listen to what we do.

God, help our hearts to be broken over our lost city. Help us to weep for those around us who are dying without Christ. May we not just be people who talk about loving our neighbors but be people who actually love them in a real and tangible way. Amen.

Master and Teacher

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“Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. Jesus wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that all we know is that we are His to obey” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

We are all disciples of something or someone. You can tell who is discipling you by your calendar and your checkbook. Where do you spend the most time and who or what gets your money? It’s not a matter of if you’re being discipled, but by whom.

Too many are being discipled by social media and the news. They’re getting fed a worldview that is not of God nor does it promote God or a healthy view of life and morality. Some are discipled by celebrities or influencers. Some by sports or hobbies. Some by their peers.

I’d rather be discipled by Jesus. I’d rather turn off the TV and the social media and spend time in God’s Word. But often, I don’t. Often, I find myself turning to Facebook instead of Scripture. I end up doing what I don’t want to do and not doing what I should.

But a question my pastor asked still haunts me. All who are believers need to have people to disciple them and to have people to disciple. The question is this: Who are you discipling and who is discipling you?

That’s it. That’s the question. Who are you discipling and who is discipling you?

A Prayer for Sunday Worship

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“Oh Lord God, we earnestly seek your help in truly worshiping you. We thank you for this occasion and bless your name for setting apart this sacred season. Lord, would you please shut the door on the distractions of the world for us? Help us forget our worries and concerns. Enable us to rise above the worldly tendencies that weigh us down. May the allure of earthly things fade away, and may you draw us close to yourself. Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

Lord, help us to enter into Your gates with thanksgiving and into Your courts with praise. May we worship You in spirit and in truth and not just in singing and lifting hands. May our entire lives become offerings of worship as You commanded in Romans 12:2.

We enter Your presence with a myriad of distractions and a multitude of things coming at us from all sides. We who are programmed into anxiety by every other voice in our heads seek after Your peace that will calm our fears and give rest to our souls.

Help us not to be conformed any longer to the thought patterns and ways of the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through the reading and hearing of Your Word. Help us not only to retain new information but to put it into practice by obeying what we hear. May we truly be doers of Your Word and not hearers only.

Help us to be mindful of those who are struggling or hurting within our midst. Help us to see them through Your eyes of compassion and to invite them into the circle of our fellowship. May we be Your hands and feet to them just as others have been Your hands and feet to us in our time of need.

Above all, help us to remember that Your Church is not a location or a building but a community of flesh and blood believers gathered together for a unified purpose. Remind us that as we exit through the sanctuary doors that we are still as much the Church as we were inside. May we bear in mind that as we drive off the parking lot of the church building, we are truly entering the mission field where the harvest is ripe and ready but the workers are few. Make us Your workers tomorrow and every day. Amen.