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That’s Quite A Prayer Team You’ve Got

When You Pray The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Get Involved

SYNOPSIS: There is a lot of prayer going up for you! I hope that comforts you, because whether you realize it or not, you’ve got quite a prayer team. Think about this: When you pray, it’s not just you praying. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit get engaged the moment a prayer leaves your lips—if not sooner.

Every time you pray...

Moments With God // Luke 22:31-32

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.

There is a lot of prayer going up for you! I hope that comforts you, because whether you realize it or not, you’ve got quite a prayer team. Think about this: When you pray, it’s not just you praying. Romans 8:26-27: 26 says,

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

That is tremendous news! Paul says the Holy Spirit is actively engaged, at this moment, interceding within you and through you, lifting your life, taking your case, speaking your name before the throne of the Heavenly Father and praying the Father’s perfect will for your life. As the great theologian C.H. Dodd so appropriately noted, “Prayer is the divine in us appealing to the Divine above us.”

Even when you don’t know what to pray for, or how to pray, or stumble through prayer, or even shortsightedly pray things that would be to your harm, the Holy Spirit comes alongside you to translate your prayer into the world’s greatest prayer, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Through the Spirit, “our prayers,” as C.S. Lewis said, “are really His prayers; He speaks to himself through us.”

As frustrated and inept as you might be, when you pray, you unleash a divine dialogue between Father and Spirit. When you pray, Father and Spirit are strategizing how to turn the circumstances of your life, both good and bad, into that which will produce the greatest good in you. That’s why there’s no such thing for a child of God as ineffective prayer.

Now as amazing as that is, there’s more. Not only are Father and Spirit in a constant conversation about you, the Son is in on the discussion as well. Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Compare that to Hebrews 7:24-25, “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”

Jesus’ job description as resurrected Lord is to be your personal intercessor. We saw that with Peter here in Luke 22, but it didn’t stop with Peter. Now Jesus stands night and day before Father representing your case, too. And he intends not just to help you get through whatever you’re going through, his mission is to save you completely!

What all of this means is that Father, Son, and Spirit are actively engaged on your behalf at this very moment, and they won’t stop until they see that the Father’s perfect plan is fully worked out in you both in time and for all eternity.

And when you join them, that’s quite a prayer team you’ve got, isn’t it?

Take A Moment: No matter how confident you are with your prayers, offer them up to God. After all, you’ve got quite a prayer team praying with you!

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Counterintuitive Blessing

Give A Beatdown, Lose Your Blessing

Synopsis: We live in a culture where we are taught to stand up for our rights, defend ourselves, never let anyone intimidate us, if necessary (and it’s always necessary) destroy our opponent — and getting nasty to do it is now our weapon of choice. On “the street” you are tagged as weak if you let someone get away with any kind of personal offense without throwing a few nasty bombs back at your antagonist. But is it really weakness or is it wisdom to overlook an insult? King Solomon wrote that it’s to our honor to avoid strife. He also pointed out that only “a fool gives full vent to his anger, but wise people keep themselves under control.” If however, you tend toward anger and are quick to retaliate when you have been offended, you might as well hang a sign around your neck that reads, “I’m a fool.” But if you have developed the ability to control your emotions when irritated, Solomon would call you prudent, wise, honorable, and yes, even bless-able.

Moments With God // Proverbs 20:3 (NLT)

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.

It’s everywhere—on talk radio, the street corner, the classroom, the ball field, in the home. People are throwing bombs, verbal bombs, that is. Rather than winning arguments through respectful persuasion, which is what wise, intelligent, mature people do, they are resorting to name-calling.

We live in a culture where we are taught to stand up for our rights, defend ourselves, never let anyone intimidate us, if necessary (and it’s always necessary) destroy your opponent — and getting nasty to do it is now our weapon of choice. On “the street,” you are tagged as weak if you let someone get away with any kind of personal offense without throwing a few nasty bombs back at your antagonist.

But is it really a weakness or is it wisdom to overlook an insult? King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived outside of Jesus Christ, wrote that it’s to our honor to avoid strife. He also pointed out that only “a fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” (Proverbs 29:11)

If you tend toward anger and are quick to retaliate when you have been offended, you might as well hang a sign around your neck that reads, “I’m a fool.” But if you have developed the ability to control your emotions when irritated, Solomon would call you prudent, wise, and honorable. He is describing a person who shows discretion, has tremendous foresight, exhibits great patience, and uses careful judgment. It is a person who takes control over their anger.

Proverbs 16:32 describes that person this way: “Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.” Proverbs 20:3 in the Message translation states, “It’s a mark of good character to avert quarrels, but fools love to pick fights.”

You will most likely have the opportunity for either foolishness or prudence this week, perhaps even today, because someone has insulted or irritated you. When that happens, just remember: you were not called to retaliation—nor to foolishness, but to blessing. That’s what the Apostle Peter, a man who preferred the sword to the cross until his transformative experience with baptism in the Holy Spirit, later wrote,

Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. (1 Peter 3:9)

At this point, I think you get the point: Be honorable, be wise, be patient, be self-controlled, and be a source of blessing, even to the people who don’t deserve it. Why? Because God will bless you for it.

Take A Moment: If you struggle with impatience, quarreling, and anger, then consider offering this prayer: Lord, increase my patience this week with those who would irritate or insult me. Remind me as many times as needed that I have been called to give out blessing to those who would curse me. Enable me through your indwelling Spirit to love them just as you love me even when I have offended you.

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What Will Jesus Do For An Encore?

Bite Size Chunks For Now—But The Best Comes In Eternity

SYNOPSIS: As you read through the four Gospels, it is hard to imagine that much more could be added to what Jesus did and said. I suppose the Holy Spirit limited the inspired thoughts and pens of these men in order to present to us only what our finite minds could absorb. But wait, there’s more! Day-by-day eternity will reveal the never-ending story of the magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ. So get ready to be continual and eternally surprised!

Only one thing remains

Moments With God // John 21:25

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

The Apostle John ends his gospel account of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus with this remarkable commentary: “What I’ve written here about Jesus, you don’t know the half of it. In fact, since I’ve been with him night and day for three and a half years, I’ve gotta tell you, this is just the tip of the iceberg!”

Wow! As you read through the four Gospels, it is hard to imagine that much more could be added to what Jesus did and said. I suppose the Holy Spirit limited the inspired thoughts and pens of these men in order to present to us only what our finite minds could absorb.

Even then, we have trouble getting our brains around Jesus, don’t we? I mean, how do you top the incarnation, the immaculate conception, and his miraculous birth at Bethlehem? Then there is his sinless life—what do you do after that? What more can be added to the Sermon on the Mount? Can anyone illustrate Christianity better than Jesus did with his parables? What about his miracles—how could you improve upon the feeding of the 5,000, the deliverance of the Gadarene demoniac, the healing of the blind man, the walking on water, or the raising of Lazarus? Is there any “wow factor” left after the crucifixion—and the empty tomb?

Even though we would love to know more, mercifully, we have been given Jesus in bite-sized chunks. And just with that, we will spend a lifetime in wonder, awe, and gratitude for the life, love, death, and resurrection of this marvelous Savior and Lord. Even if all we ever had of Jesus was John 3:16, you and I would have enough to keep us undone with love for all eternity—and then some.

So what do you do for an encore with Jesus? Only one thing remains, which John alluded to back in John 14:3,

When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

It is probably a good thing that we didn’t get any more details than that, because there is only so much the redeemed mind can absorb this side of heaven!

Take A Moment: S.D. Gordon wrote, “Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand.” To as much as our finite minds can handle, the incomprehensible God has made himself comprehensible in Jesus. Get to know Jesus and you will get to know God. Spend some time meditating on John 3:16 today—I think you will appreciate God a whole lot more.

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It’s All The President’s Fault

Take Responsibility for Your Own Life

SYNOPSIS: Shifting blame for problems is humanity’s national pastime, going all the way back to  Eden when Adam blamed Eve, then Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on. But Proverbs 19:3 reminds us, “Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the Lord.” Listen up my friend, raging against God or blaming anybody other than yourself is risky business! It’s counter-productive to your personal growth. It reduces you to perpetual victimhood. It keeps you from exercising the one ability that makes you the highest order of God’s creation: personal responsibility. Instead, take ownership of your own flaws and failures and do something about them (cf. Gen 4:7). Whenever you do that, it’s a good thing.

Blaming is risky business.

Moments With God // Proverbs 19:3

A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.

I knew that title would get your attention, depending on which political party you subscribe to!

Now, just relax—I’m not making a political statement. If you were about to get all right wing—chill! If you’re a lefty—same to ya! My point is, whether you’re a conservative or liberal, you probably like to blame. If you’re a part of the human race, you’ve just got that blame gene coiled tight and ready to spring. It’s our national pastime as human beings, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent and the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on.

I like the way the Message translates Proverbs 19:3—it doesn’t get much plainer than this:

People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?

Have you ever known anyone to blame God when the mess they were in was the result of their own foolishness? No exaggeration—I meet people on a weekly basis who do that. Perhaps you would have to admit that even you have been guilty of pointing the finger at God?

  • Have you ever overspent, or exercised poor financial management, or purchased something you couldn’t afford then blamed God for a bank account that won’t pay the bills?
  • Have you neglected the spiritual disciplines—Bible reading, prayer, worship, regular church attendance—then wondered why God doesn’t seem to speak to you in times of distress?
  • Have you withheld your tithe and then blamed God for the loss of a job, or unhappiness in your vocation, or a rotten work environment?
  • Have you been undisciplined in eating, sleeping, and exercising, then been upset when God didn’t give you a physical healing?
  • Have you ever allowed a negative personality trait to go unchecked and then wondered why God doesn’t give you close friends or help you sustain a dating relationship or find a mate?

My guess is that some of you reading this right now are getting mad at me. But raging against me, or God, or blaming anybody other than yourself is risky business! It’s counter-productive to your personal growth. It reduces you to perpetual victimhood. It keeps you from exercising the one ability that makes you the highest order of God’s creation: personal responsibility.

You will notice two key words in that verse. The first one is the word “ruin.” In Hebrew, it’s salap, which means to distort, twist, or pervert. It means to twist the facts or distort reality, and it leads to clouding one’s ability to think clearly. If you are in the habit of casting blame against God, you will end up with twisted thinking and lose touch with what is truly going on.

The second one is the word “rages.” In the Hebrew, it is the word za’ep, which means to fume or to storm. It was used to describe breathing hard or blowing, like a storm blowing in and raging. If you are a blamer, your twisted thinking will cause you to rage unreasonably against the wrong object.

If that is the case with you, quit raging against God, or others, and get mad enough at your own foolish behavior that it leads you to take ownership of it and do something about it. That is taking personal responsibility.

And whenever you do that, it’s a good thing.

Notice how God says this very thing to Cain in the famous line from Genesis 4:7,

If you do what is right, will you will be smiling (TEV). But if you don’t do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.

So seriously consider what God says in terms of your own life. Then, go do the right thing!

Take A Moment: Do you have a trusted and honest friend? I hope so. Ask them if you have any character deficits for which you are not taking personal responsibility. And here is a rule of thumb for this kind of activity: Whatever they say—believe them.

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Holy Heartburn, Batman!

When You Find Your Heart Burning Within You

SYNOPSIS: The two disciples who were walking the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus after the crucifixion were in a deep funk—their hopes crushed, their dreams dashed—until the resurrected Jesus showed up and gave them a case of holy heartburn: “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he spoke to us?” they said to one another in retrospect. Maybe you are in that kind of funk today. Perhaps your hopes have been dashed, your dreams have died, your circumstances are not what you had expected, and the life you imagined life has not turned out as you had hoped. Let Jesus give you a little heartburn today. Take heart my friend, when the Great Resurrector resurrects your hope, you will catch a case of holy heartburn and you will never be the same.

"Christ is risen!" isn't just for Easter Sunday!

Moments With God // Luke 24:31-32

By this time the two disciples were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

Heartburn isn’t usually a good thing, but when God shows up and gives you heartburn, it’s a good thing.

Two disciples, perhaps a man and his wife, were walking the seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the devastating news of the past few hours. It was the very first Easter Sunday, but they didn’t know yet that Jesus had risen from the tomb. As far as they were concerned, he was dead and gone—and so were their hopes.

Then Jesus showed up, although his identity was hidden from them, and gave them an incurable case of holy heartburn. It was the heartburn of hope, and it was just the cure their broken hearts needed in those post-crucifixion moments.

That’s the beauty of the resurrection. No matter what you are going through, the empty tomb stands as a constant and certain reminder that there is always reason for hopefulness. That’s why the psalmist, David, said, “Why are you hopeless? Why are you in turmoil? Put your hope in God!” (Psalm 42:5) Resurrection hope is not just wishful thinking or a pie-in-the-sky kind of attitude that says, “Oh well, things will turn out okay someday.” It’s not the breezy kind of optimism that Mary Martin sang about in South Pacific when she said “I’m stuck like a dope with a thing called hope.”

The kind of hope Jesus will burn into your heart is first of all, a reliable hope. Marx said that hope is the opiate of the people, but Christian hope is built on the foundation of the Bible and supported by the reality of the empty tomb. Verse 27 says, “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Second, resurrection hope is a relational hope. The resurrection is not just a story from the pages of history. “Christ is risen” isn’t just a theological incantation that clerics pull out of their bag of tricks every Easter. It is hope that arises from an experience with Jesus himself, not just a dream or a fantasy or a phantom. Verse 29 says, “So he went home with them.” Jesus walked with these two disciples. He ate with them. He listened to them, inviting them to pour out their hearts. And he revealed himself to them. Resurrection hope is a real person—an intimate relationship with the living Lord.

And third, the kind of hope Jesus wants to give you is a radical hope. When you encounter the risen Lord and put your complete trust in him, it will be nothing short of life changing. Verse 31 says that after they had spent time with Jesus, “suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” These two disciples were headed back to Emmaus to pick up the pieces of their shattered dreams, if that were even possible. Instead, they encountered Jesus, and their plans were radically altered. Actually, it was their lives that were radically altered from that moment on.

Maybe you are in the kind of funk these two disciples were on that first Easter Sunday. Perhaps your dreams have been dashed, your circumstances are not what you had hoped for, and your life has not turned out as you expected. Get ready! If you start to get a little heartburn, it could be that the risen Lord is resurrecting your hopes.

By the way, when Jesus resurrects your hope, you will never be disappointed! (Romans 5:5, NLT)

Take A Moment: Surrendering to God’s total control means giving him your dashed hopes and broken dreams. Have you done that? If you have, perhaps you’ve taken them back out of his hands and are clinging in bitter disappointment to things that have not turned out as you had hoped. Surrender—or re-surrender—them to the One who specializes in resurrecting dead things!

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The Tragedy of a Vandalized Life

Offer All of Your Life To God—All of It!

SYNOPSIS: In light of all that Jesus did to pull your no-good carcass out of the HOV lane to eternal hell, it is only right and fitting that your 24/7 existence should be offered in such a way that it is a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. Obviously, this is the only appropriate, logical, and pleasing way to worship him. So, use it in such a way that God will receive your life as an offering of worship placed before his glorious throne.

The Tragedy of a Vandalized Life

Moments With God // Proverbs 18:19

Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism (The Message)

When you made the decision to follow Christ, you entered a binding contract with God Almighty that all of your life would be lived for his glory alone. All of your life! Not just some of it; not just your time in church; not just your early morning devotional time—you committed every split second of it to him! Soli Deo Gloria!

Now as serious as your responsibilities in that deal are, what you get out of it is still unbelievably grace-weighted in your favor, times infinity! You see, in light of all that Jesus did to pull your no-good carcass out of the HOV lane to eternal hell, it is only right and fitting that your 24/7 existence should be offered in such a way that it is a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. Obviously, this is the only appropriate, logical, and pleasing way to worship him.

Now in case you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m simply quoting what Paul said in Romans 12:1—just paraphrasing a little, since Paul didn’t know what an HOV lane was.

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for ( (Rom 12:1, The Message)

God created you, and through his death and resurrection, Jesus recreated you, so that you could take your everyday, ordinary, sleeping, eating, going-to-work, walking around life—that about covers it—and use it in such a way that God will receive it as an offering of worship placed before his glorious throne.

That is why even seemingly innocuous stuff like the private thoughts you entertain and the personal habits you tolerate and the unheard words you speak are extremely important—because God knows, God sees, and God hears. (If you think I am overstating it, go back and read Psalm 139.)

The simple fact is that God Almighty wants even your unguarded life to reflect his glory and grace. The Apostle Paul said it well in Colossians 3:23-24,

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Since, as Isaiah 49:16 says, our “walls are ever before him”, let’s keep off the graffiti. What a tragedy it is to offer him a vandalized life—either in our 24/7 life or on the day we stand before him. He deserves better—and we can do better!

Take A Moment: Read the entirety of Colossians 3 at some point today, and reflect on how well you are offering the various dimensions of your life “as unto the Lord.”

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Jesus is Risen—Nothing Else Matters

Hope Is Alive

SYNOPSIS: Jesus died on Good Friday, but rose again on Easter Sunday, so that you and I can live with hope on Monday—and every other day of the week, month after month, year after year, throughout the rest of life and for all eternity. That is what the Bible calls living hope. When you fully embrace this living hope, you will quit living like Jesus is still dead! That is our problem: We embrace Good Friday and rejoice in Resurrection Sunday but go back to work or school on Monday and live as if the Lord’s body is still in the tomb. He is not there, he is risen indeed!

Easter Monday

Moments With God // Matthew 27:50, 1 Peter 1:3

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit…. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Jesus died on Good Friday, but rose again on Easter Sunday, so that you and I can live with hope on Monday—and every other day of the week, month after month, year after year, throughout the rest of life and for all eternity. That is what Peter calls living hope:

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy, he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope. (1 Peter 1:3)

When you fully embrace this living hope, you will quit living like Jesus is still dead! That is our problem, I think: We embrace Good Friday and rejoice in Resurrection Sunday but go back to work or school on Monday and live as if the Lord’s body is still in the tomb.

The story is told of Martin Luther, who once spent three days in a deep depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife, Katie, came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. Luther asked, “Who’s dead?” She replied, “God!” Luther was offended, “What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die.” Kate replied, “Well, the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!”

Peter calls to us today, to snap out of perpetual post-Easter funk, because Jesus lives! We have a living hope that really matters beyond Easter!” I love how historian Jaroslav Pelikan said it, “If Christ is risen—nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

What difference does an Easter resurrection make on a back-to-work Monday?

  1. Christ’s death and resurrection are the foundation of your faith. The fact is, without the resurrection, your faith (and life) is meaningless. I Corinthians 15:14 says, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.”
  2. Christ’s death and resurrection are the basis of your hope. 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than anyone else in the world. But Christ has been raised to life! And this makes us certain that we will also be raised to life.” Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.” Romans 5:5 say this “hope does not disappoint us!
  3. Christ’s death and resurrection are the guarantee of your resurrection. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” If you do—believe, that is—the cross and the empty tomb become God’s signature on the Divine contract with you assuring you of eternal life after you die.

Yes, Christ is risen, and nothing else matters!

Take A Moment: When you wake up tomorrow, try singing, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” It just may fill you with hope, and that can’t hurt.