Paul's Prayers #16 & 17

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col. 1:4-12)

Paul highlights two prayers for the church at Colossae - one of thankfulness and one of intercession. These two prayers are linked by a direct reference to missions. Together, the passage shows us the potential we have in any missiological opportunity.

First, Paul thanks God for the church's faith and love, grounded in hope. This is not a church Paul has visited. Instead, he has heard about them from his world Christian friend, Epaphras. Yet Paul's love for the church flows throughout the letter, and it's easy to forget that he wasn't the church planter. The unity of the body shines in Colossians! The foundation of their faith and love - the hope laid up in heaven - is the same as Paul's.

Before laying out how he prays for them, Paul highlights how they heard of this hope. Epaphras is one of those Biblical characters I long to know more about. All we know is that he took the Gospel to Colossae, prayed fervently for them (Col. 4:12), and was a prisoner with Paul (Philemon 23). Yet Paul calls him by name, something he doesn't even do for one of the most well-known Christians of his day (2 Cor. 8:18). He was a faithful minister and took word of Colossae back to Paul and his team. What a picture of a cross-cultural worker - sharing the Gospel and bringing word of this whole other world back to the church at home!

Finally Paul lays out his prayer for them. Not just his prayer - but the prayer of his team. Specifically, he prays that the church would be filled with the knowledge of His will - requiring spiritual wisdom and understanding. As a result they would:

• Walk in a way pleasing to God
• Bear fruit
• Know Him more

He concludes by asking that they would be strengthened with power for endurance, patience, johy, and thankfulness. Paul knows that to truly walk in His will requires an infusion of the Holy Spirit.

How does this relate to becoming a world Christian? If we are on the "going" end, we should do as good a job as Epaphras of relating something of the personality of the church on the other end to the church at home. We should help the church at home learn to love the body on the field as much as we do! If we are on the "sending" end, or even if we just encounter a cross-cultural worker, we should ask questions and get to know the people they serve. Every missionary I know loves it when people ask more than surface questions. They can give a five-minute summary, but they really love to pour out their heart. Learn to ask questions that give them open doors to share that heart. Some practical notes:

• Allow plenty of time for conversation - a 30 minute cup of coffee will barely scratch the surface.
• Ask the right questions. This will vary based on what your friend does, but here are some questions that have worked for me to get you started:
• * What is the most encouraging thing you've seen since your last furlough? The most discouraging?
• * What are the strengths/weaknesses of the church?
• * What is a worship service like?
• * What are their needs?
• * Are there solid leaders in the church?
• * What do you do when you go to their homes?
• * What is going on politically/culturally that can help me understand your life and the church better?
• Spend extended time in prayer after hearing about the church. Pray for your friend, but also for those he or she serves.
• Learn about the country and people group he or she serves. Read articles online and in the international section of newspapers and magazines.

Prayer: Lord, help us to be Epaphrases and Pauls. As we go, help us share our heart with those back home and be faithful to pray when we are away from those we serve. As we stay, help us understand better the culture and people who our friends serve. Help us love them as one body.

Paul's Prayers, #15

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Phil. 1:9-11)

Paul knew the "main thing" for believers. He had written about it in 1 Cor. 13: "...the greatest of these is love". And so it's not surprising that he makes a point of praying for the church to be filled with love.

Significantly, he doesn't just pray for warm fuzzies. He doesn't want love separated from truth. So he prays for abounding, overflowing love - with knowledge and discernment. To the Ephesians he warned to speak truth in love; for the Philippians he prays they will live love in truth. The motive is significant - to approve what is excellent, being pure, blameless, and fruitful for God's glory.

"Approving what is excellent" is a much harder thing to do, and a higher calling, than criticizing what is wrong. Anyone can see the problems; Paul wants their love and truth to lead them to exalt what is good and right - what is excellent. In this they will demonstrate purity, blamelessness, and fruitfulness.

I think Paul is basically telling them to keep "the main thing the main thing". If we focus on what God is doing - what is more excellent than that? - we will fill our hearts, minds, and calendars with the things of Him. This will greatly aid purity and blamelessness, as there will be no room for the things that promote unfruitfulness. Yet Paul draws it all back to love. This isn't about legalism or restrictions. It's about the overflow of love. When we truly love God and grasp His love for us we find that we long to focus on what pleases His heart.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? I don't know how we can focus on what is excellent from a kingdom perspective without focusing on what God is doing around the world. When we see, for example, the dreams and visions He is giving people groups to reveal Himself to them and prepare them for the message of the Gospel, we grasp the current world situation in a much more "excellent" light. When we bring love, knowledge, and discernment together we find a sensitivity to His purposes that we didn't know we had. And we find ourselves wanting to be on mission with Him.

Prayer: Lord, fill us to overflowing with love coupled with knowledge and discernment. Help us to see things with Your eyes and approve what You are doing excellently in the world. Teach us how to live in purity, blamelessly before You, filled with good fruit for Your glory.

Paul's Prayers, #14

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. (Phil. 1:3-7)

Paul didn't just have supporters - he had partners.

This is one of the key passages (along with 3 John 5-8) that guide my thinking about how churches should view relationships with missionaries. In Paul's mind the church at Philippi was a partner in his work.

We know from history and other passages that many churches in Asia Minor were persecuted or in great poverty during this time period. But God, in His grace, allowed some churches to flourish in freedom and prosperity - and guided the leadership to request and facilitate support for the churches that were suffering. 1 Cor. 8-9 speak to such a collection, delivered by Paul to Jerusalem prior to his arrest.

Paul's teaching to the churches indicates that those churches who weren't struggling should make an extra effort to support those who were. And similarly, Paul didn't hesitate to accept financial support from those churches who could afford it, even while not expecting support from churches in other areas. He was free to take income, and willingly laid that right down when it was best for the church involved.

Philippi was one of the more prosperous churches, and we see in this passages that they viewed their wealth from a kingdom perspective. They were partners with Paul. We know from other passages that this partnership was not just financial - Paul asked them to pray for his deliverance in 1:9, so they were prayer partners as well. But the key point is that there was a relationship - one that Paul treasured.

How does this relate to being world Christians? We need to develop relationships with those we support. We should never simply write a check. Prayer, birthday gifts, checking on their house, keeping them informed about what's going on here - all are part of being partners. We should be such a part of their lives that there is no "disconnect" because of the distance. It takes work - but modern technology has made that work much easier. Email, Facebook, Skype - all make staying in touch in even the remotest areas easier. Missionaries likewise should be open and communicative - newsletters with specific prayer requests help the church to develop world Christians. Most of all, we should truly view each other as partners. As I've said many times, the one traveling is the feet, but the entire body goes. We have to truly see ourselves in the "go".

Prayer: Father, please help us to see ourselves as partners in the Gospel. Guide us to understand and support our missionaries in a more significant manner. Teach us how to be good partners.

Paul's Prayers, #13

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. (Phil. 3:18b-26)

After a brief absence due to power outage and ice storm, I'm excited to resume our study of Paul's prayers. This one isn't so much a prayer Paul prayed, as one prayed for him. Yet it is very instructive in learning to become world Christians.

Paul, in prison, writes to Philippi that he knows he will be delivered because of their prayers and the help of the Holy Spirit. It's important to let it settle into us: They apparently had been praying for His deliverance. This isn't surprising, since Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. (2 Thess. 3:1-2). Paul wasn't averse to praying for deliverance.

That's important, because sometimes we tend to glorify the persecuted church or missionaries who are suffering. We focus so much on their eternal rewards that we convince ourselves we are doing them a disservice to pray for their earthly deliverance. We imagine their bloody, bruised bodies as somehow holy and above pain and the temptation that comes with it. We even convince ourselves that it is unspiritual to pray for deliverance.

We forget that we are at war.

When you hear of a soldier captured in a war zone, you want that POW returned. You want him delivered from 'wicked and evil men'. It's the same in our spiritual war. Though the enemy can't permanently capture soldiers of the cross, he can make life pretty miserable for them. One thing we fail to recognize when we glorify persecution is that extreme persecution throws the church into survival mode, causing the focus to be on living through the day rather than sharing the Gospel. It can even lead to destruction of the church in a region. The church in the Middle East faces this possibility even today.

Certainly, in the Philippians passage we are looking at, Paul recognizes that the deliverance might come in the form of death - and that would be gain. But he ends this section by reaffirming his belief that his life would be spared because his ministry wasn't finished. His deliverance would be worked out in an earthly fashion. Later, he will write, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come (2 Tim. 4:6). He will know when God is guiding him to a heavenly rather than earthly deliverance. But for now, he anticipates an earthly deliverance of a very practical nature.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? We have to recognize that God will give the missionaries on the ground discernment into their specific situations. We need to pray for that discernment for them, and not judge their response based on our limited information. We also need to recognize spiritual warfare and pray boldly for earthly intervention when called for. Finally, we need to pray outside crisis times for them to have such a relationship with Christ that to die will truly be gain. This will make discerning to continue to fight that much easier. John Bunyan put it very well:

Thou mayest do in this as it is in thy heart. If it is in thy heart to fly, fly: if it be in thy heart to stand, stand. Anything but a denial of the truth. He that flies, has warrant to do so; he that stands, has warrant to do so. Yea, the same man may both fly and stand, as the call and working of God with his heart may be. Moses fled (Ex. 2:15); Moses stood (Heb 11:27). David fled (1 Sam. 19:12); David stood (1 Sam. 24:8). Jeremiah fled (Jer. 37:11-12); Jeremiah stood (Jer. 38:17). Christ withdrew himself (Luke 19:10); Christ stood (John 18:1-8). Paul fled (2 Cor. 11:33); Paul stood (Acts 20:22-23). . . . There are few rules in this case. The man himself is best able to judge concerning his present strength, and what weight this or that argument has upon his heart to stand or fly. . . Do not fly out of a slavish fear, but rather because flying is an ordinance of God, opening a door for the escape of some, which door is opened by God's providence, and the escape countenanced by God's Word (Matt. 10:23).

Prayer: Father, we ask You to give supernatural insight to our friends on the field about how to respond in each situation. Provide for them the discernment to respond to situations. Give us the boldness to pray for both heavenly and earthly deliverance from their struggles. As we pray for the persecuted church, help us not to glorify them but only You, and to pray for them to have only the measure of difficulty that will purify the body and promote the Gospel, not a measure that will hinder their productivity for You.

When a little means a lot

We have just emerged from the worst ice storm in our region's history. We were without power for 53 hours, then again for 8 1/2. There is a lot of cleanup to be done, but thankfully not a lot of structural damage (comparatively) and very little loss of life (though any is sad). I learned going through this that a little can mean a lot.

A little ice - less than an inch on our property, just over an inch in most of our town - wreaked havoc. An inch isn't that much. But it was a lot.

A little light made a big difference too. Just one candle after the sun went down made all the different in the world in a room. Sure, more candles were better - but the darkness couldn't extniguish even one candle.

A little electricity matters too! When our power came back on, and went off again, I started thinking of the stories many of you have shared about power that is sporadic, maybe every few days for a few hours. Yet what you can get done in those hours! In the 17 hours our power was on before going off the second time, I did dishes and laundry, took a much-needed hot shower, vacuumed, caught up on news and email, and in general felt "normal". From now on I will be praying for those of you in those situations, to be able to maximize your times with power!

Jesus gave us the principle a long time ago that a little means a lot. One boy with five loaves and two fish was all He needed to feed a multitude. What mattered wasn't the offering, but the offer. The willingness. The heart. And it's like that for you. Whatever you're doing that doesn't feel like enough, please remember that a little means a lot. It matters. All He wants is for you to put it in His hands and let Him multiply it.

Paul's Prayers, #12

...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Eph. 6:17b-20)

Prayer is a battleground.

After teaching believers to take up the defensive parts of the armor of God, Paul gives them an offensive weapon - God's Word - and then takes them to the battleground to fight.

Truth. Righteousness. Readiness given by the Gospel of peace. Faith. Salvation. These are the things that protect. God's Word is the only sword we need. But the battle is very, very real. And the battleground itself - prayer - doubles as a second offensive weapon. That's why Paul tells us to pray "in the Spirit" - which simply means "in the control of" the Spirit. Paul knows that we don't know how to pray as we should, which is why the Spirit prays for us (see Rom. 8).

We've been looking at Paul's prayers - at their meaning and their significance for becoming world Christians. As those involved in missions (either as go-ers or senders) we have to be aware of the profound lesson Paul is teaching here. He's teaching them how to pray warfare prayers - and gives them two assignments right away:

* Pray for the saints with perserverance.
* Pray for Paul to proclaim the Gospel boldly.

Paul knew the utter necessity of prayer for the advance of the kingdom. He also knew that the kingdom advance was countered at each step by the enemy. Prayer doesn't just make things easier - it makes things possible. It isn't a convenience, but a necessity. As a testimony, Paul asks prayer for himself, for the one thing that the Ephesians would likely think Paul had in abundance - boldness. We don't think of Paul as timid, yet his willingness to ask for holy boldness lets us see that indeed he recognized that only reliance on God's Spirit could accomplish the kingdom advance.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? First, the obvious - prayer is essential. We need to pray warfare prayers over our missionary prayer list. If you're on the field, you need to fight battles on your knees, and involve the folks back home with specific requests. Second, less obvious is that we don't need to assume that the perceived "strengths" in ourselves or others will not be areas of attack. Instead, pray for that person's boldness, or faith, or purity, or whatever you think comes "naturally". Pray for weak areas, and strong ones. Each are subject to attack from the enemy. Finally, pray "for all the saints". Realize, as Paul did, that missions isn't a job for professionals. It's a task for all of us. We're all on mission with God and we all need to realize that. Pray kingdom prayers for the believers in your house and church and school and workplace. Use all the weapons Paul taught in the battleground of prayer. And then walk through the doors He opens in the halls of life!

Prayer: Lord, help us to grasp the battle. Help us to understand that You have given us tools to fight for kingdom advance, not merely the comforts of home life. Then guide us as we learn to fight on the battleground of prayer.

Paul's Prayers, #11

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:14-21)

Paul's prayers in Ephesians are some of the most eloquent and theologically rich passages in all of Scripture. Each one is a gold mine just waiting to be discovered, and I encourage you to explore the depths and find many jewels!

This passage gets to the heart of our walk. In Ephesians, Paul addresses three basic topics: Sit (our position in Christ); Walk (live out our faith); Stand (stay firm in our faith). This prayer is in the "walk" section of the book - so Paul is asking God for things that will help with their walk.

Paul asks that God will give them strength with power through His Spirit - but for some very specific reasons:
* So Christ will dwell in their hearts through faith
* So they would have strength to comprehend the love of Christ so they will be filled with the fullness of God

Paul then reminds them that God is able to do more than we think because of His power at work within us - the power, as he outlined in ch. 1, that raised Jesus from the grave. Again, resurrection power at work in our walk!

What Paul is getting at is not knowledge for knowledge' sake ... it is knowledge for the sake of effective ministry. Knowledge for their walk. Knowledge for the glory of God. They have to know His love, His fullness, His amazing power, in order to walk the way he is going to outline that they should walk, and in order to minister the way he charged them to minister.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? We need to pray for our missionaries, our churches, and ourselves to be strengthened and know more of His love, His fullness, His power. We need constant reminders of His greatness, because our human default is always to self-absorption and self-promotion. Without the focus this prayer gives, we are prone to either despair (when things go poorly) or pride (when they go well). Additionally, we need to be filled with His power - and so we need the strength to handle that. We need to be overwhelmed with His love - and that, too, takes strength.

Prayer: Father, please give us the strength to bear as much of Your love as You want to reveal. Give us Your power through Your Spirit, and help us comprehend more of You. Then use us, our churches, and our missionaries, in ways beyond we can ask or think.

Paul's Prayers, #s 9-10

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Eph. 1:15-23)

This passage, one of Paul's most eloquent, has been the subject of many sermons and entire book chapters! I encourage you to delve deeply here; there is far more than I can cover in a blog post.

This prayer is really two prayers:

1) Gratitude to God for the faith and love of the Ephesians (v. 16)
2) Supplication for God to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (v. 17), and open their hearts to know (vv. 18-19):

• The hope to which He calls them
• The riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints
• The immesasurable greatness of His power toward believers - the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

First, Paul has seen the faith and love of Ephesus. He spent over 1 1/2 years there (Acts 18) and had a special audience with their elders on his journey to Jerusalem and arrest (Acts 20). This is a church he knows and loves, and is thankful for.

Their existing faith and love is, I believe, the foundation for the depth of revelation Paul requests God give them. Jesus taught that our response to the truth He reveals will determine whether we are enabled to understand more truth (Matt. 13:12). Ephesus had a strong foundation, and Paul wanted to see them go even deeper.

Paul's request, then, assumes that God wants to reveal Himself to them. He wants them to know more about Jesus, and He will give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation to grasp hold of that knowledge. In the process, their spiritual eyes will be opened to know three specific truths:

* The hope to which He calls them. People want hope. Tomorrow in my country we will inaugurate a president who made that word one of two key words in his campaign. Yet ultimately those who hope in Barack Obama - or any other politician - will be disappointed. They are looking for a hope that only God can give ... the hope He calls us to in Christ. Paul wants the Ephesian church to grasp hold of that understanding.

* The riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. We have no way, apart from divine revelation, to truly grasp what it means to be "joint-heirs" with Jesus. Unlike the false prosperity Gospel teaching that this applies to earthly wealth, the reality is that what awaits us is the true inheritance. Yet this verse speaks to more than our part of the inheritance. It also - in fact, primarily - speaks to His. Note that it is HIS inheritance "in the saints". What is His inheritance? Psalm 2:7b-8 (NASB) tells us specifically: "The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, and the ends of the earth your possession." The nations are Christ's inheritance! And on what glorious day were they given? A study throughout Scripture of "Begotten" as it applies to Christ, and a study of the uses of the Greek word, reveals that the plainest understanding is "brought forth" - in other words, when God "brought forth" Christ from the grave, the nations became His inheritance! And it is an inheritance "in the saints" - which has profound implications for missions. The close context of this passage to the next one about Christ's inheritance only underscores to me that we are talking about His inheritance of the nations.

* The immeasurable greatness of His power toward believers - the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. God's power raised Christ from the dead, and Paul wants the believers to wrap their minds around the fact that the same power is available to them! The implications of this are staggering. At the very least, as my pastor said yesterday while teaching on 1 Cor. 15, the resurrection means "Our past no longer paralyzes our present". Our sins are truly forgiven and we can truly move on as recipients of grace. But further, we should be encouraged that nothing can be harder than raising the dead - and God's already proven He can do that one!

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? First, we have to grasp that Paul is operating from a missiological context here. He is wanting the Ephesians to know Christ more, but he is also wanting to see their faith and love expand to others. As they "go" or "send" they will need that deep relationship with Christ. They will need to know that there is a hope - that they don't go and send in vain. They will need to know that the nations they are reaching have already been given to Christ as an inheritance - as Abraham Kuyper said, "There is no square inch of earth over which the Lord Jesus does not cry, 'Mine.'" And they will need to know that His power is available to them - the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

Second, we have to grasp that all those things are true for our churches as well. We need to prioritize knowing Him. We need to recognize the hope in dark situations. We need to know that the nations belong to Him. And we need to know that He will give power to fulfill the Commission.

Prayer: Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord, that we may know You more. Reveal to us the hope you've called us to; the reality that the nations are yours; and the beauty of the resurrection power available to us. And give us hearts to go and send radically.

Paul's Prayers, #8

8. Now we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong, not so that we may appear to have passed the test, but so that you may do what is right even if we may appear to have failed the test. (2 Cor. 13:7)

At first glance this seems to be a pastoral prayer, not a missions one. And in many ways it does come from Paul's pastor's heart. But just as Paul was ever the pastor, he also never stopped being a missionary.

His heart is this prayer was for them to do right - no matter how Paul and the other apostles looked. A church that knows the right thing and does it will be successful for the kingdom. First, just doing what's right will avoid the distractions that come when an individual or group sins. It will give more time to focus on ministry. Next, doing what's right will include the admonitions from Scripture to care for widows and orphans (James 1:27) and fulfill the Great Commission. So a church that does what is right will be a ministering church. Finally, a church that does what is right will follow John's admonition in 3 John to send out missionaries in a manner "worthy of God". So praying that the church would do right, not wrong, fits into Paul's larger missionary worldview.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? It's so easy to overlook the obvious. If we want a missions-oriented church, we should be praying, among other things, for our churches to do no wrong and to do what is right. We should pray for our leaders to make wise decisions and avoid sin and temptations, and we should pray for hearts to do what is right. We should pray for our missionaries in the same manner. And we should do what's right ourselves and avoid what is wrong.

Prayer: Father, please help our churches do what is right. Give our leaders ears to hear and hearts to understand Your Word and how to apply it in the circumstances they face daily. Guide us to do what is right and obey the fullness of Your Word, and avoid the sins that would distract us from that mission.

Paul's Prayers, #7

7. He delivered us from so great a risk of death, and he will deliver us. We have set our hope on him that he will deliver us yet again, as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many. (2 Cor. 1:10-11)

This is one of my favorite Scriptures on prayer. Paul doesn't so much ask Corinth for prayer as assume that they are praying. This is a significant change from his corrective attitude toward them in 1 Corinthians! This church has been transformed in many ways and is now one of the churches Paul can count on to be praying for him.

This passage is also precious in that we learn one of the reasons that God wants us to share prayer requests and unite in prayer together - because He gets more glory! Paul observes that the more people who are praying, the more thanks goes up to God when prayers are answered. That gratitude glorifies God and points others to Him!

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? None of us - missionaries included - should face challenging situations on our own. We should have the body of Christ behind us, at least in prayer and if possible in practical ways of helping. We should know when we pray for our missionaries, or they pray for us, that we are part of the same team for the same purpose. We need to realize that our prayers for deliverance will be answered "yet again" - in whatever way God knows is best. We need to realize that God wants us to pray united prayers for and with each other. And here is the power of united prayer: The more people who pray, the more glory God gets. So we should be praying united prayers for the nations and our missionaries and our churches and our kids. And we shouldn't hesitate to allow missionaries that same privilege for our needs!

Prayer: Lord, please make us people of prayer. Help us to grasp the significance and power of united prayer. Help us to focus on kingdom-oriented prayers so that all distractions are dealt with and we are free to prioritize your mission through the church to the world.

Paul's Prayers, #6

6. I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge – just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you – so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 1:4-7)

Corinth has gone down in history as a messed up church. In fact, they could be the poster child for how NOT to grow a church! And that is what makes Paul's prayer of thankfulness for them even more precious. He starts his book by talking about what is good and right - God's grace poured out upon them. The richness He gave them in their speech, the confirmation of the message of Christ, the fullness of the experience of spiritual gifts. Paul goes on to address some hard issues and at times speak quite sternly to Corinth. But the beauty of Paul's heart is that he never forgets that he is talking to believers who have experienced God's grace. He never writes off Corinth, because He knows what God has done in their lives.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? It can be hard to be a world Christian. A lot of our churches don't "get it". A lot of our missionaries' churches don't "get it" either. Churches find it a lot easier to be like Corinth - selfish and immature - than like Smyrna or Philadelphia. If we sit around and wait for our churches to be perfect we will never focus on the kingdom. We have to start where we are, and acknowledge every indication of God's work in our churches. They have experienced God's grace and however imperfectly they reflect it now, they have within them what is needed to fulfill God's mission.

We need to pray for our churches and for the churches of the missionaries we support. If your church isn't as supportive of missions as you'd like, thank God for what you see and pray for ways to raise awareness and become a catalyst! While you're at it, pray for missionaries who face struggles with churches who expect certain types of results and tie funding to numbers. Pray for missionaries whose home churches don't support them. Pray for missionaries who never hear from their home churches. Whatever you do, don't become critical and judgmental, throwing out everything about your church or a missionary's church. Just thank God for what He has done, and pray for Him to do more.

Prayer: Father, thank You that Your grace is evident in my church. Thank You that even though you are still working on us in many ways, we know that we have the starting point of grace. Please grow us into a kingdom-oriented fellowship. While You're at it God, please minister to those missionaries whose churches aren't supportive. Help them to see the work You are doing and make them catalysts for change in those churches.

Paul's Prayers, #5

5. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:13)

Hope ... it's ingrained in us to want to have hope. The power of the concept is reflected in the U.S. President-elect - who ran on the words "hope" and "change". People not only want to hope - they MUST.

That's why Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3 that we should always be willing to give an answer for the hope that is within us. Our hope, reflected in our attitude despite challenges and suffering, is the harbinger of what's inside. It tells the world that there is something different - and should provide and open door for us to tell them about Jesus.

Paul's prayer hits the other side of the "hope" issue. He prayed that the "God of hope" - what a blessed name - will fill us with joy and peace so we can abound in hope. This is part of the perfect unity of Scripture. Peter tells us that we should be willing to answer for the hope we have - and Paul teaches us to pray that God will fill us with what we need to abound in hope! As always in Scripture, the point starts and ends with God. He provides the hope - we live out lives of hope - and then we tell others about the source of our hope.

The trigger, of course, is that we must believe in Him. That doesn't just refer to saving faith - it refers to living faith. It's the day-by-day, "believing God" type of faith. When we believe God, day by day, He fills us with joy and peace. If you struggle with believing God, take a lesson from Romans 10 - focus on His Word, which is the agent of faith. As we hear - really hear, with our spiritual ears - the word of God, our faith grows. And then we walk it out. I love the acronym taught by John Piper about how to walk in faith:

Acknowledge your inability to do it on your own.
Pray for God's help and specific guidance.
Trust God's promises.
Act on His Word, even if you don't feel it or know that you can do it.
Thank Him for His victory.

As we walk in faith, He pours out His joy and peace. When God pours His joy and peace into us, hope is a natural consequence. We should "abound" in hope - it should overflow. Christians should be the most hopeful people in the world! Notice I didn't say positive. "Positive thinking" is a counterfeit for true Biblical hope. Biblical hope is based on who God is, on His sure Word, on His promises. It starts with the God of hope pouring joy and peace into our hearts, and suddenly we find ourselves hopeful in the most challenging of situations. We find that we just can't give up on that broken relationship or that wayward child. We find that the bleak economic forecasts don't keep us awake at night. We find that the critical and negative, doomsday spirits expressed by some Christians trouble us as much as the sins and problems they are attacking. We find that the mountains that are literally in the way of that tribe we're praying for don't seem quite so big and the valleys don't seem quite as deep. We find that we can look things in the face and see them as they really are - and hope anyway.

And as Peter says, the world takes notice.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? To have that natural testimony of hope, we must first be truly hopeful! We can't work it up in our flesh - that becomes artificial or counterfeit "positive thinking". Instead, we have true hope when God gives us joy and peace. And then we have a message that is powerful and authentic - and the world takes notice. In fact, they start asking questions!

Prayer: Lord, You are the God of hope. Please fill us with joy and peace as we believe You, and cause us to abound in hope so that we will have a message of hope when people ask!

Paul's Prayers, #4

#4. I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

Paul asked the church at Rome to pray for his deliverance from "unbelievers" and that his service would be "acceptable to the saints". His desire in these prayers was that he could come to them with joy and be refreshed. That's not necessarily a connection that we understand, but from the perspective of a missionary it makes sense.

Paul knew going into Jerusalem that prison awaited him (Acts 20:23). Yet he also knew that God's sovereignty did not negate the need for prayer - in fact, that God could deliver him through the prayers of the saints (Phil. 1:19). He had earlier requested prayer for deliverence from "evil and perverse men" (2 Thess. 3:2). So his prayer for deliverance is not inconsistent with his trust in God's sovereignty - he just knows that God uses the prayers of the saints as one of His means for deliverance. When God's purpose for Paul in prison was complete, the prayers of the saints would be one of the tools God would use to deliver him.

Paul also wanted his service to the saints at Jerusalem - delivering the offering collected on his missionary journey - to be acceptable to the saints. We know from Scripture Paul wasn't a "people pleaser" - in fact he confronted Peter over that very issue. However, he had a heart of love for the saints and genuinely wanted them to be blessed by the offering. This is the offering that Paul wrote to Corinth about and included donations from the impoverished churches of Macedonia (2 Cor. 8). A lot of people had poured into this offering, and he wanted it to be worthwhile.

It's important to note that Paul doesn't link the successful delivery of the offering with his coming to Rome. He merely asks that it be acceptable so that, if God wills, he could come with "joy". He wanted the task in Jerusalem to be completed and then he could truly enjoy the rest and fellowship in Rome, if God willed. As we know, God did will Paul to go to Rome - in chains. He was delivered from unbelievers - Acts 23 records the conversation overheard by Paul's nephew and the resulting midnight transfer to Caesarea. Paul's request was answered and when he came to Rome, his task in Jerusalem complete, he ministered unhindered despite his chains. We have at least 4 letters to show for his time there.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? The work our missionaries are doing "over there" is very dear to their hearts. They won't truly enjoy times of rest unless they feel their work was done satisfactorily. So pray for the work! Too often we just pray for their personal needs and their protection - when they want us to pray that their project will be acceptable and their ministry fruitful!

They also need our prayers for deliverance - even if we don't know until after the fact what happened. We have to learn to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's guidance! Here's a good rule of thumb I learned from a former small group leader: If someone is on your mind and heart, just assume that God wants you to pray for them! Even if you don't know what's going on or how to pray, just start praying - trust God to either give you wisdom or take your prayers and do what He needs to with them (Rom. 8:26-27). Another trick I try to use - when I read an article or see a news report from a country where I know someone, I pray for them. It's a fairly easy habit to form and then you will have prayers popping into your head at the oddest times.

Prayer: Lord, help us develop a sensitivity to Your Spirit about times our missionaries need deliverance! Likewise, help them have wisdom about how open to be when requesting prayers. Lord, we also need Your help to pray for the projects dear to their hearts. We pray for success and acceptance of the projects, so that the missionaries can truly enjoy their home visits and rest in the glow of a job well done.

Paul's Prayers, #3

#3. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 15:5-6)

Paul wanted the church at Rome - the church he had not established but had grown to love - to live in harmony with each other. He knew that unity is a gift of God - a gift we must work to sustain, but a gift nonetheless. Thus he turns his desire into a prayer.

We need the God of "endurance and encouragement" if we are going to live in harmony. As Romans 14 highlights, there are many issues that can divide a church. Bottom line, we have a mission that is more important than any of those issues. We have a message that surpasses our preferences. And Paul wants the church at Rome to be in unity in glorifying God - the best starting point for missions!

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? There's a reason that Paul - ever the pastor, ever the missionary - prayed for unity. If the enemy can distract us with petty divisions, minor disagreements, "disputable matters" - then he can get us off mission. It's not always major sin that tempts us away from fulfilling His plan. Sometimes it's just distractions. Sometimes it's selfishness. And sometimes it's internal divisions in the church. If we truly are a harmonious congregation, we will be more effective in supporting our missionaries.

Prayer: God, please grant us the gift of harmony. Help us to maintain the unity of the Spirit and keep our focus on the "main thing" - glorifying You in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Bless those missionaries reading this with strong, unified churches to support them and strong, unified churches to attend on the field.

Paul's Prayers, #2

#2. For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I continually remember you and I always ask in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. (Rom. 1:9-10)

Paul had never been to Rome. He didn't found this church, yet he "adopted" them. One of the desires that he expresses in his letter is the desire to finally visit them - something he asks God about. In God's will and timing, he wanted to spend time with them for mutual edification.

He would eventually go to Rome, in chains. The book of Acts ends with Paul in Rome under house arrest, being visited by the church members (who had read this letter by that time). He is proclaiming the word of God "unhindered" as Acts 28 closes.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? Your missionaries want to visit you. They crave fellowship with you. But they are foremost submitted to the will of God. If they don't get to your church or home on this furlough, don't take it personally. Assume that they are praying for the opportunity, and join them in that prayer for fellowship in the will and timing of God.

Prayer: Father, guard us from self-centered, petty feelings when those we support don't visit us on this trip. Help us to not take it personally. We ask You to bring them to us for fellowship and love in Your timing and within Your will.

Paul's Prayers, #1

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. (3 John 5-8, ESV)

I love to pray Scripture. I love it even more when Scripture tells us what to pray!

One of the passions of my life is to become like Gaius - a good sender. I want to learn how to send out kingdom workers "in a manner worthy of God". Part of that is learning how to pray for you, and how to pray for the churches that support you.

Thankfully, we have the perfect teacher. The Apostle Paul - groundbreaking missionary that he was - recorded many of his prayers for the churches and requests he made for the churches to pray for him and his team. Over the next few days, as God wills, I plan to post here some thoughts on Paul's prayers for the churches and his requests from the churches - and how they relate to being good "senders".

1. "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world." (Rom. 1:8)

There is probably no ingredient more important for a church that wishes to be missions-minded than this one. Faith is the starting point for missions involvement - a firm conviction that the message is true and must be shared. Paul's thankfulness for the church at Rome goes beyond their personal faith - he is thankful that they extend that faith to proclamation through "all the world". They were convinced that the message was not just for those in Rome. They didn't focus just on attracting people to come to their church. They went into all the world - and Paul was grateful.

There's another type of faith wrapped up in Paul's comments here. The word used for faith, pistis, can equally mean "faithfulness". The church at Rome was faithful - and word gets around. Really, faithfulness cannot be separated from evangelism. A church with a message, but no faithfulness, will ultimately have no message. Because the church was faithful to God, they were faithful to Paul. His love for the church permeates his letter. He longed to visit them - a church he had not established - and seems to know he can count on them to pray for his specific requests.

How does this relate to becoming world Christians? Our churches need to first and foremost be filled with faith in the message of the Gospel and the need to proclaim it to the world. Then, we need to develop deep faithfulness to God - faithfulness that extends to His servants. When we are faithful - when faith in Him permeates our existence - we will dig deep and rethink priorities. Our budgets will reflect commitment to missions and our people will learn to make hard choices - a well in Africa over a new pipe organ; a new work in Southeast Asia over a new building. People will take care of practical needs for those on the field and those preparing to go. Sunday School classes and individuals will write letters and send boxes and remind them they are loved. Emails will be circulated and maps will display pictures. Pastors will teach the word from the perspective of God's worldwide purposes - and people will open their hearts and homes to the missionaries that come through the church's doors. Eventually, missionaries will go out from the church. But the new works won't be exalted over the old ones. Faithfulness will continue to characterize the church's interactions. All decisions will be prayed over and discernment will be important, of course. But in general, the church will see itself as part of a team along with missionaries that it supports.

Prayer: Lord, help our churches develop a faith that is proclaimed in the world. Help us to be churches that our missionaries can be thankful for. Increase our faith in You and our faithfulness to You and to Your servants. For those kingdom workers reading this, please bless them with at least one supporting church that is faithful to them as the church in Rome was to Paul.

Controlled by the Spirit

The Lord’s spirit took control of Gideon. (Judges 6:33a)

I just love the story of Gideon.

Here is the "mighty warrior" hiding in the winepress. There he is, begging God for reassurance that he has heard His call. And again, we see him jumping at the chance to go overheard the camp of the enemy when God gives him permission to do so "if you are afraid" (Jud. 7). I always get the impression that if he hadn't been the one calling out to the troops that they could leave if they were "shaking in their boots" that he would have been running away himself!

And yet - he was God's chosen vessel. His successes were tremendous and encourage us even today. Why? What is the key to Gideon's victory? I believe Judges 6:33 provides the answer: God's Spirit took control.

Gideon is a reminder that faith isn't about the lack of fear. It isn't about the right words or a prayer formula. It's about yielding to the control of the Spirit. Getting out of the way so He can get something done - that is real faith. It's pressing on, even when fear encroaches every side.

Paul exhorts us to be controlled by the Spirit as well. In Gal. 5 he calls it "walking in the Spirit." Ephesians references being "filled with the Spirit." Basically it all means the same thing - letting God's Spirit so control us that our flesh is suppressed and His fruit is revealed.

Whatever you are facing today in your ministry or walk with God, press on in faith. Don't worry about getting rid of the fear - just yield to His Spirit's control in the midst of it. As you move forward into that new land, studying that language, researching that people group, or just walking across the street to the neighbor's house, seek to be controlled by the Spirit.

And then watch what He does!

The Glorious Church

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. (Eph. 5:25-27)

This is just one of those neat tidbits too good not to share.

Last night at the worship service at the Hispanic church I attend with my husband on Friday nights, the pastor referenced Eph. 5:25-27. Since I was struggling to understand the message (in Spanish), I looked at my textual notes in the NET Bible that I use. I saw this incredible tidbit for verse 27:

"The use of the pronoun autos is intensive and focuses attention on Christ as the one who has made the church glorious."

Wow! In the midst of a passage that we in our man-centeredness like to think is about us (at least us as the church), we see the language pointing all back to Jesus. I immediately thought of Jude 24: "Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence".

HE is able to keep us from falling and cause us to stand blameless before Him, without blemish. When the church is presented as gloriously pure before Him, it will be because of His work, His purity, His righteousness, His sanctification. In other words, even in a moment that looks like it might be about us - it's really about Him. We'll all be in total unity about the fact that all that is clean and pure within us is His work.

And that can be a great encouragement - in life and in ministry. Sure, we must do the hard work of the obedience of faith. But as I posted recently, He enables the fulfillment of our good resolves. To paraphrase Paul - we work hard - not us, but Him in us. And in ministry it is the same. We seek to advance the kingdom of God and we make our plans and have our visions and work as hard as possible. But the church that HE will cause to be pure before Him is the church we are working to build ... and so HE is the one who ultimately is going to bring about our success. We never know if it is this person or the next - but we do know that HE has taken the responsibility for the success of the church upon His shoulders.

In the great partnership that is ministry, we have our part. It is important and challenging and difficult and rewarding. But it's not ultimately on our shoulders. He is building His church. We are merely instruments in His very capable hands.

Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this. (1 Thess. 5:23-24)

Ready to love them too?

I just heard an awesome song. In it, Steve Camp exhorts us, "Don't tell them about Jesus unless you're ready to love them too."

How true. It's really the message of the book of James - practical Christianity matters, a lot. And that's where it gets really hard ... and messy. Because sometimes we want the easy way out. We want to tell them about Jesus and get out of town. We want the job of the traveling evangelist, not the boots-on-the-ground shepherd.

And yet study after study confirms that most people come to Christ as a result of 1 to 1 evangelism. Someone takes the time to build a relationship, pours into a person over days, weeks, months, and years, demonstrating love and authenticity - living the message, and praying fervantly, and waiting for the opportunity to verbalize the Gospel.

Verbalizing the Gospel is crucial! We don't want them to think we're just good people. Romans 10 makes clear that verbal proclamation of the Word is God's means of creating faith. But Camp reminds us that preaching, sharing, teaching all are pointless without people who are willing to be "Jesus with skin on". Where the rubber meets the road love MUST go hand-in-hand with preaching and teaching and verbal proclamation of the Gospel.

Many of you are wondering if your efforts matter. You are having lunch with the same lady every Tuesday, going out of your way to get coffee at that shop where the owner lingers just a bit to see what book you're reading, wearing yourself out making sandwiches for the homeless, organizing a donation for the family who lost their home to a Christmas Eve fire. Or maybe you're changing diapers and teaching kids how to spell 2 syllable words and singing Jesus Loves Me while you do the dishes. All are manifestations of love. All are ways to be Jesus with skin on. Hang in there, beloved. If you're loving them too, then you have authenticity to tell them about Jesus.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Gal. 6:9-10)

Seeing Dust

I've been off work the past two weeks, and trying to catch up on a lot of things around the house. One of my goals has been deeper cleaning than I usually do, and today I noticed something I'm not sure I'm excited about:

I am seeing dust.

Not that it isn't there all along - but as all my friends and family know, I just don't "see" it. I forget to dust (really - it's on my list because otherwise I would never think about it). I don't see cobwebs and I can pass by the TV for weeks without realizing it has this nasty layer on top of it.

But since I've been spending more time in our humble abode lately - and more time focusing on cleaning - I realized today that I could see dust on the TV that I just dusted 10 days ago. Dusting twice in 10 days - what's the world coming to? :) Now I fear that I will never stop seeing dust. Forevermore, I will recognize its slow creep over all our furniture.

This got me thinking - isn't it the same in our relationship with God? We start spending more time with Him and in His Word - abiding with Him - we recognize the dust in our lives. The sin and pettiness and nastiness seem to require more frequent cleaning than we'd realized. First Easter and Christmas are no longer enough ... then the weekly church service is insufficient. We begin to recognize that only a daily "bath" with the washing of the water of the Word will get rid of our dirty hands and feet. It becomes harder and harder to go back to living with a layer of dust.

That's also how it is with recognizing God's heart for the nations. Once He gives us a kingdom perspective, a global view, it becomes hard to stop being world Christians. We begin to notice the unreached people groups. We learn the phrase "unengaged, unreached" and are haunted by the idea that no one is reaching out to this group. We can't hear of a war without wondering about the missionaries in the area. And so it goes. Once our eyes are opened - which seems to take a miracle on the scale of making me recognize dust - we are never the same.

As long as we respond.

If we crawl back into our corner of the world, retreating to the familiar, the enemy will be more than happy to help us forget the anguished look on that picture, the painful headline on the article we read last night. Just as we can quench the Spirit's conviction of sin by not spending time in God's Word, we can quench His awakening of us to His global purpose by avoiding anything but the familiar.

Or, we can nurture that awareness by reading and studying and learning and going and sending and praying and analyzing Scripture for a missions perspective. We can see what kind of relationship we can have with Him if we fully obey the Great Commission and discover the depth of "Lo, I am with you always". We can break out of our comfort zones and experience God.

Not much of consequence will happen if I go back to forgetting to dust and failing to see cobwebs. Failure to see the world as God sees it, however, would be tragic. In fact, it would be the quickest way to waste a lifetime.

Fulfilling our Resolves

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power (2 Thess. 1:11)

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thess. 2:16-17)

I blew it today.

I was too focused on myself, on the 12 hour sneezing fit I've been on, on the frustrating crowds at Wal-Mart, on feeling tired after not sleeping well last night. My self-centeredness set me up for a pity party which turned into a pizza party ... not good when I'm trying to lose weight and when food can be a spiritual battle for me. To make matters worse, I got mad at our cable/internet provider because of a series of their mistakes - mistakes which had us on the phone with them 3 times today. I tried not to take it out on the tech support guy the 3rd time, but I wasn't exactly walking in the Spirit either.

So much for my resolutions. Oh, I realize it's Dec. 31 and resolutions for 2009 start tomorrow. But today was just a great reminder of how far "my" resolutions will get me....a reminder of how much I need a Savior.

Which is why I am thrilled that these verses are in the Bible. In the past, my inabilities would lead me to think that I shouldn't resolve anything except to walk in the Spirit. Even now, I tend to have "goals" rather than resolutions.

But these verses encourage me that even my "resolves" or my desires for good work are meaningful ... when submitted to the power of God. It is He who ultimately can and will fulfill every resolve I make for good ... and who will by His power fulfill every work I undertake in faith. And it is He who will establish me in every good work I do and good word I speak.

So in my quiet time tomorrow, I'll make official some goals or resolutions of my heart - and submit them to Him for fulfillment, establishment, and power. Among other things, the cry of my heart is for:

* Intimacy with God - deeper quiet times and faithful prayer

* Relationship with others - more Mary, less Martha

* Self-Control

* A growing global perspective that keeps in mind what God is up to and what others are going through

* Quick obedience to His Word

* Lots and lots of love - even for cable companies :)

So, from my house to yours - Happy New Year. May He help you fulfill all your resolves for good in 2009.

Strength to Love

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

(Eph. 3:14-19, ESV)

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment

(Phil. 1:9, ESV)

Love is hard.

Usually, by the time we figure this out in ministry, we've learned that our love is insufficient. We know that what is needed is agape love - God's love flowing through us. We know that we are just vessels and that what is required is to abide in Him. However we get to that point, we tend to find it a relief to know we should relax and just let Him work through us.

Which is why it's a shock to find out that even being a vessel for agape love is hard.

I think that's why Paul's prayers for the churches included such significant prayers about love. He wanted them to know the breadth and depth and width and height of Christ's love for them ... but he prayed that they would have the strength to comprehend that love. Something about Christ's love is so mind-boggling that we need not only wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, but strength to comprehend it. In modern-day vernacular - if we truly got His love for us, we would be absolutely blown away. So praying for a deeper understanding of His love isn't enough ... we need strength to comprehend what He will reveal.

And then, we have to get our minds wrapped around the fact that this love is the love He wants to infuse into us and flow into others. And that's where it gets really hard. We're usually fine with His lavish, nonsensical, unmerited love toward us. It's when He asks us to pass it on to a poor waitress, a mocking co-worker, a thoughtless spouse, a people group bound by demonic spirits manifesting hate, that we struggle.

Which is why Paul also prayed that the church's love would abound - overflow - with knowledge and discernment. It takes knowledge of God's love, of His character and His Word, combined with discernment of the moment, to know what manifestation that love should take in a given situation. Should it be the love of grace and mercy, of unmerited favor? Or should it be the tough love of speaking truth and calling to repentence? Should we, as vessels, look more like Hosea or more like Amos? Will our heart's cry sound like the first half of Isaiah or the last?

Such things are hard to judge from the outside. But we can pray for each other, as Paul did, that we would have strength to comprehend God's love for us - and knowledge and discernment in exercising that love toward others. That was my prayer for you tonight - and I covet your prayers in this as well.

Yes, love is hard. But together we can "spur one another on to love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24). Thanks for praying!

Vignettes from a Christmas Trip

Every Christmas for the last several years I've asked the Lord to teach me new things from the old, old story. The past couple of years, I've also asked Him to give me vignettes that would be especially meaningful to those of you who don't get to celebrate Christmas at "home" - for the sake of the Kingdom. For you, I submit these vignettes from Christmas 2008:

What I loved and learned this Christmas

* Simplicity. Who cares that the economy is down! Less shopping means more time to focus on the Savior. And I personally find scouring resale shops to be a lot of fun ... and quite meaningful.

* Presence. This is really the heart of Christmas. The presence of God ... Immanuel, God with us. But not in a touchy-feely, warm fuzzy way - as one pastor put it, "There's a cross in the manger." We must never forget that aspect of Christmas.

* Humanity. Equally important is what my pastor pointed out - Christmas reminds us of Jesus' humanity. Without His humanity, we would never know that He identifies with our weaknesses. He took on human flesh, Hebrews tells us, to identify with us and the conquer death by dying.

* The Meaning of the Magi. What started out as an irritating column became a lesson for me (see previous post). The Magi traveled so far because Jesus was unique! In the nativity scenes so common at this time of year, we see that Jesus calls equally to shepherds and kings ... and we see that both worship Him because He is unique.

* Togetherness and tradition. I enjoyed just being around family. I loved the non-traditional meals; Bob's daughter-in-law's family scrapping their traditional Christmas Eve dinner out in favor of a potluck at David's house just to see us; my parents' reactions at their gifts; finding good music on the radio. I learned that I love the traditional versions of the songs and carols because we could sing along better. I found new songs I love, but they have a traditional feel to them. I also learned that I don't want entertainment, I want worship.

* Quiet streets and darkened stores. My favorite part about Christmas was the drive into Fayetteville after our travels ... Christmas night, the streets were quiet and most stores were darkened. I love that reminder that even though everyone doesn't believe or understand why, we still basically shut down one day a year for Jesus. Silent night, holy night.

O come, let us adore Him!

The Meaning of the Magi

So a local pastor tells us in his column today (12/22) that the Magi's own faith (he says it's Zoroastrianism) led them to the manger where nobody forced them to worship Jesus. He uses this to illustrate the ecumenical nature of all religions and the importance of recognizing the good in them all.

To quote Ebenezer Scrooge, Humbug! The logic of this argument falls apart when we wonder, if all religions are equal, why the magi would need to come to Jesus at all. If he is right and the magi's own belief system pointed them to Jesus, does this not underscore the supremacy of the Babe, rather than the similarities of all faiths? Simply put, if all religions are equal then there is no need for them to point to Jesus.

And yet we see, in many traditions around the world, in many cultures, traces of the Gospel. The villagers who believe that only by drawing a cross on the dirt can they ward off evil spirits. The "peace child" that must be offered to settle disputes between two parties. Don Richardson calls these the "keys" within cultures and religions that point people to Jesus. Often, when these people groups hear the message of the Gospel, they respond eagerly because of the preparation God has put within their cultures. (I'm sure some of you could tell far more stories than I could about this topic!)

The pastor is right about one thing - no one forced the magi to worship Jesus. But worship Him they did, as Matthew 2 makes clear. They didn't worship Him because He was equal to their traditions. They worshiped Him because He was supreme.

Jesus is unique. He draws shepherds and magi into the circle of His love and places them on equal footing. And because He is supreme, He can use people's own traditions to point them to truth, preparing them for the message of Scripture. But let's never confuse that preparation for the ultimate message. Always remember that Jesus is unique and supreme. The magi didn't travel 2 years to worship someone equal to their faith. They traveled 2 years to worship God Incarnate, Immanuel, God with us.

Merry Christmas.

Risky Business!

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Mt. 16:25)

I don't know anyone on the field who hasn't memorized and recited Jim Eliot's commentary on this verse:

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.

Jim Eliot would know more about loss than he ever dreamed, being murdered along with 4 other missionaries by Auca warriors. And yet today, the Auca are decidedly Christian. We know Jim would say it was worth it.

Risky business, this kingdom work. And that's why some quotes I read in an interview in this week's World magazine (www.worldmag.com) jumped out at me. The author, Gary Haugen, emphasizes involvement in worldwide justice -- but I think his perspective is most applicable if broadened to all work of kingdom advancement. Anyone on mission with God should find his words encouraging and appropriate. Thus, in some of the quotes below I have replaced the word justice with the bracketed [mission] to drive home the point. I hope you are as encouraged as I was to keep taking risks for the Kingdom!

• On why Christians are discontent: "They feel this way because they thought that the Christian life would offer them something that was somehow bigger, more glorious - but at the end fo the day, they find themselves wondering, Is this all there is? Christians seem to be yearning to be liberated from a life of accumulated triviality and small fears, and I see in Scripture a clear pathway to freedom - namely, in answering Christ's call to join Him in His struggle for [mission] in the world."
• On his use of the cul-de-sac as a metaphor for the search for safety: "When we began to build cul-de-sacs here in theUnited States, it was to address homeowner's fears about traffic in their streets. The thought was that these closed-off streets would eliminate the kind fo traffic that could be dangerous to children playing on the sidewalks. But now, studies reveal that cul-de-sacs are actually the most dangerous residential set-up for kids....So the safety we thought we were securing was just an illusion. In the same way, I find we've built spiritual cul-de-sacs for ourselves, believing that when we feel safe and secure, we can most experience the fullness of God; but in this illusory safety, we instead find ourselves restless, longing for a way out, and somehow missing that closeness to our Maker we thought we would find."
• On the importance of Christians pursuing something beyond our own strength: "When we choose to follow God beyond where our own strength can take us, He rescues us from our small prisons of triviality and fear - and this is a good and beautiful and freeing thing. When we walk with God to the jagged edges of our faith - the places beyond our own control, beyond what we may see the crowd around us doing or approving - God promises we will experience Him: His power, His wisdom, and His love."

"The jagged edges of our faith." That's risky business, all right. But as any investor will tell you, the biggest risk brings the greatest opportunity for reward. Ultimately the sovereignty of our God makes this risk no risk at all - because He has promised every tribe, tongue, and nation will be around His throne. The outcome is certain. The risk we are called to is simply to live on the jagged edges of our faith all the way to victory.

Stating the Obvious

God loves to speak to me by stating the obvious. I'm glad I'm not the only one - none less than Joshua heard God tell him the obvious as well.

When Joshua was very old, the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered."(Josh. 13:1-2)

When Joshua was old, God said, "You're old." I love that about Him! He doesn't let me get by with anything ... if I'm being selfish, that's what He calls it. If I'm tapdancing around sin, He goes straight to the core. He challenges me on my rationalizations and my realities. In short, He regularly states the obvious.

The problem is that I don't always want to hear it! I want the spiritualized version, the one with all the big words and turns of phrases that make me look better. I want a loophole - and He refuses to give me one. Teaching children's church and occasionally attending a Spanish worship service have taught me that boiling things down to the basics is an important lesson God wants me to learn - probably because He knows my tendency to make things more complex than they have to be.

So when He says, "Go into all the world..." I really don't have to look up the meaning of the words in three dictionaries. When He says "Go" He probably means ... "Go". When He says "all" He probably means ... "all." Being part of the "Go" is one of the most obvious things we can do to walk with Him. And if we aren't "going" then we should be involving in actively sending. That's what so many of you are doing - taking God up on His obvious word.

This Christmas season, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, please receive from me my heartfelt thanks for being such a great example of obedience to a command that God made incredibly obvious.

Inspiration

I was perusing some of my previous writings on this blog, looking for inspiration. I've been in a bit of a "dry spell" - probably due to the busy-ness of work and life in general, combined with a bit of oversleeping cutting into my quiet times where I receive from the Lord and get inspired with something to pour out for you.

I found a letter that I posted last Christmas - a letter "from Jesus" that reminds us of His perspective at this time of year. However, I found much more than that ... I found a reminder of what true inspiration is.

Inspiration isn't always something new. It's not about coming up with something or presenting something new and innovative. I've said before that when I try to be profound, nobody cares. When I can't even remember what I've said, people tell me they were blessed. A simple reminder that I am just a vessel and if I'm too aware of the significance of what I'm saying, it's probably really not that significant after all.

Because what really matters is hearing from Jesus. The fundamentals - His words in the Word - the basics of our faith - the habits of prayer and worship and study - don't always feel "inspired". But they are the tools He uses so we can hear from Him. Unlike other religions, our Scriptures aren't considered divine on their own. They are powerful because they are HIS words ... and Scripture points us to the Author.

I do want Him to inspire me with fresh words - words that I hope will continue to encourage you. And I ask you to pray for me in that. But more than anything, I want to encourage you to hear from HIM. I want to point you to the Author. The Inspirer. The one whose every word is profound - who wants to speak to YOU this Christmas season.

May this letter encourage you as you face the holiday "rush" this year. Blessings!

A Letter From Jesus (by Anonymous)
Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :
I LOVE YOU, JESUS

Prepare for Victory!

After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:

“Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! Cross the Jordan River! Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses....No one will be able to resist you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone. Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. Make sure you are very strong and brave! Carefully obey all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful in all you do. This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper and be successful. I repeat, be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” (Josh. 1:1-3, 5-9)

In the spiritual warfare that is called life, one principle has helped me dig in my heels to fight: we have to prepare for victory.

It's easy as a New Testament believer with the full counsel of Scripture to turn to the last page, see that we win, and sit back and wait for Jesus to return. But that's not what He's asked us to do. Instead, He lets us see the end so that we maintain courage in the battle - so that we know it will all be okay.

But we still have to prepare for victory.

That was God's primary word to Joshua after Moses' death. "Moses is gone - there's a war to win - get ready for it!" With a side helping of "Be strong and brave." It doesn't take much imagination to grasp that was a message Joshua desperately needed.

Know God's promises. Focus on Scripture. Obey what we know. Trust that He is with us. And keep moving forward.

Principles for Joshua - and for us. For as John Piper points out in Let the Nations Be Glad, life is warfare. We are left on this earth with a mission - to secure land that belongs to Jesus. Peoples that are His. There is warfare in the process - but the victory is certain. Only as we prepare for victory will we have the strength to move forward.

The same is true in the daily victories of holiness and righteousness along the way. As we battle with the world, the flesh, and Satan, we are fighting on a different front in the same war - the war of the kingdom. And the tools for victory are still the same. His promises - His Word - Obedience - Faith - Perserverence.

But if we don't prepare for victory none of that will happen. One of my struggles is food. If I pray for help, but let the salad greens ruin in the fridge, I'm not really prepared for victory! If I overload my plate, my prayers for self-control will likely have little effect. But if I pray - then act as one prepared for victory - I will see victories that have been elusive.

The same is true in prayer. The father (or mother!) of the prodigal should be prepared for the victory of answered prayers. I'm not talking about a works-oriented "have enough faith" approach. I'm talking about a God-centered, Christ-exalted, Spirit-empowered faith to perservere in prayer and keep the child's favorite snack in the pantry - just in case.

These days, I'm working at preparing for victory in my personal struggles, in prayer, and in the advance of the kingdom. I pray you'll join me. Be prepared like Joshua to be strong and brave - and let's see what God does!

Veins to flow through

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, (Heb. 1:1-3a)

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Col. 2:9)

I love Christmas music - not the wannabe "holiday" stuff, but true, biblically solid, worship provoking, Christmas music. I fell in love with "Mary Did you Know?" because of the last line - "The sleeping child you're holding is the great I AM". At a time when people talk about Jesus, it's always good to clarify precisely who He is!

There's a false teaching out there that the God of the Old Testament had to change because of Jesus. No. People just didn't get what He was saying, so He sent Jesus to make the message clear. This song helps me wrap my mind around that - and hopefully will help you too. And when we understand it just a little better, we can take those opportunities that come up to talk to people about who Jesus REALLY is!

That's why I want to introduce you to my new favorite Christmas song. "Hope Has Hands" is part of a musical written by Phil Cross. I've posted a video and lyrics below. Please read them worshipfully - thinking of just how significant it is that all the things God is, were reflected in Jesus as He walked this earth. What He wanted us to know about Him, He lived out on this earth. That's why Adrian Rodgers used to say, "The cross didn't change God's heart, it revealed it."

Each year, I ask God to help me learn something new about the Christmas story. This year, a snippet of a song taught me to look at the dirty manger as reflective of my heart - He came in all His purity and perfection to a dirty manger, to let me know I could ask Him into my dirty heart. It's real - the most real thing you will ever know in your life. I am in awe today - realizing that Christmas is about the Advent of God. His coming. His giving hands to the hope He offered ... hands that would soon be pierced, with redemption's blood pouring out of real veins.



In search of a child, they traveled so far
Led by a star to a place of joy
The wise men told a beautiful story
Describing the glory of a baby boy

Hope has hands
Freedom has feet
Truth will stand
The word will speak
The holy and the lowly will finally embrace
For love has a heartbeat
And grace has a face

Compassion has a tear
Joy has laughter
And here everafter
Peace has a smile
Redemption's blood has veins to flow in
A temple to glow in
For light is a child

Hope has hands
Freedom has feet
Truth will stand
The word will speak
The holy and the lowly will finally embrace
For love has a heartbeat
And grace has a face

The holy and the lowly will finally embrace
For love has a heartbeat
Love has a heartbeat
And grace has a face

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Serve, Sacrifice, Depend

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:35-38)

I am in the midst of a season where He is asking me daily to serve, sacrifice, and depend - to daily do something of service, something that requires sacrifice, and something that couldn't be done apart from dependence on Him.

It's challenging because in the process I'm learning a lot about myself - things like how much I do in my own strength; how little I actually sacrifice; and how easy it is to rationalize things as service to God without getting my hands "dirty" in ministry to others. It's a blessing, though, because God is teaching me that real service, sacrifice, and dependence often begin where choices end.

Let me explain. It's easy to serve when we get to choose what we do. I've heard it said that the real test of servanthood is how you act when you are treated like one. So true - and yet that is when true servanthood can begin. When we choose to respond to someone who acts like we "owe it to" him or her, with love and service as until Christ, we truly enter into service. Developing an attitude of service - a habit of service - on a daily basis will make those times much easier, I hope.

Similarly, I've learned that I like to choose my sacrifices. Sure, I'll give up that dessert, that extra something for myself, that item that I hardly use anyway. But when we don't have a choice about the sacrifice - when God rearranges our day, or when we find ourselves with a child with special needs or a spouse with a stroke ... when circumstances force us out of a country we love and back to a "home" that feels foreign ... when we are packed and ready to go and a phone calls tells us we'll be staying ... those involuntary sacrifices seem to hurt the most. What God seems to be teaching me is that the voluntary sacrifices will prepare me to handle those that I don't get to pick.

And it seems like it requires me being in a place where I have no choice but to depend on God before I remember what it feels like. In the daily round, my good intentions to pray before every new work task or decision seem to be forgotten. But when the mail brings unwelcome news, or an email changes the course of my day, suddenly dependence becomes second nature. My lessons of late are teaching me that I can seek out things to do that require dependence on Him - step outside my comfort zone if you will - and not have to face those crises of faith before true dependence kicks in.

The Christmas season brings reminders of service, sacrifice, and dependence beyond anything I've ever been called to. At our women's tea this week the lesson was on Mary's Song. Mary really reflects the heart of someone who has learned these lessons well. She exemplifies the hard thing that we don't choose. God chose her and blessed her, but she still had to face the crowd with a swollen belly - a crowd that easily could have stoned her. Mary knew just a little of God's plan, but it was enough to cause her to praise God, holding on to what she understood until He would show her more.

God has graciously allowed me to choose the vast majority of my service, sacrifice, and areas of dependence on Him. But when harder service, sacrifice, and dependence comes, I can learn much from Mary. I can learn to praise God for what I do know and understand, trusting Him with my questions. Like Mary, I can submit to His plan, realizing that what He really wants is a soul that magnifies Him.

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
(Luke 1:46-47)

Looking for Lazarus

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

(John 11:1-6)

You never know when God is going to drop a lesson into your life.

Yesterday it was my turn for Children's Church. The lesson was a familiar one - Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. I had gained several new insights during the preparation, and the lesson went well. I was coasting down the home stretch when I was hit head-on with an amazing truth. As the kids worked their word find and the teachers waited for church to dismiss, my bright students were struggling with a word. They kept saying they were "looking for Lazarus". Jokes soon ensued about whether he was in the tomb or not. But my mind was hung up on that phrase.

Looking for Lazarus. Mary and Martha - and the disciples - knew Jesus. They had confessed Him as Messiah, expressed faith that He could heal, and embraced the truth of future resurrection. But they weren't aware that He would be revealing His glory in the remarkable here-and-now. They didn't realize that what they knew about Him was about to be taken deeper. Soon, anyone who would go looking for Lazarus wouldn't go to the tomb - they would go back to the home. They would find him in his favorite chair, or working in the woodshed. Lazarus would forever be a reminder that we will never have God "figured out". We may fully believe in who He is, trust His wonder-working power, and look gloriously to the future - and still get blown away. Because He reserves the right to choose how to reveal His glory.

Looking for Lazarus.What is the Lazarus in your life right now? Is it an illness, an unsaved loved one, a financial crisis? The Lazarus in your life is that point at which you have expected God's intervention in a certain way - and He hasn't shown up yet. That point at which you are waiting two more days. That point at which He shows up to your relief, and yet your heart cries, "If only You had been here...." The point where you have the opportunity to trust His heart when you don't see His hand.

Looking for Lazarus. God is always up to something. He is always at work around us, as Henry Blackaby points out. Our job is just to see what He is doing and join Him in it. That requires eyes to see beyond today's understanding of Him, into the supernatural revelation of who He is in a new, deeper way. To trust His sovereignty and His goodness and His heart of mercy and His supremacy. To know that He is for us, even if He doesn't show up in a manner that fits our preconceived ideas.

Looking for Lazarus. When you're in the role of Mary and Martha (or Lazarus himself), the key verse in the passage is verse 5: "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." He loves you. He loves your loved one. And He hasn't stopped being FOR you.

Keep looking for Lazarus. Because in the Lazaruses of your life, you will encounter Jesus in amazing ways ... ways that tear down the walls of every box you could possibly put Him in.