Filled Up

"that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:19)

The apostle Paul reaches across the span of almost 200o years to pray for us. He prays that God might work in our hearts in such a way that we may comprehend the love of Christ, how deep and wide it really is. He prays that we might be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our inner most being and that we might have deep roots in our faith.

I pray that for you and for me as well. I want to challenge you this morning to open a Bible to Ephesians 3, and read verses 14 through 21. Then be still and listen to God speak to your heart. Ask God to fulfill this prayer in your life today.

I encourage you to receive this word from the Bible. Let it become a part of you that you might be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Regenerate, or Lost?

"He saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior." (Titus 3:5)

We do not hear the word "regeneration" in our churches much anymore. But it speaks to the fact that when a person truly becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit "borns" them again.
I know that is not good English, and my spellcheck is having a fit on the computer right now. But it is good theology.

When we are born into this world, we are born with a sin nature that we inherited from Adam. We are born wrong. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus that no one would see the Kingdom of God without being 'born again". People throw that phrase around in reference to all kinds of things these days, but Jesus was talking about "regeneration". That the Holy Spirit would come to live in us when we trusted in Christ and transform our lives.

2 Cor. 5:17 promises that if anyone is truly in Christ they are changed. So when we look around at all of the people in churches today who have never been changed, it seems logical to conclude that they have not been regenerated by the Spirit of God. Too many people know the pastor, but have never met the Master. Many who have their names on the church rolls have never made sure that their names are on the Lord's roll.

I want to ask you to look at this scripture and ask God to speak to your heart. Have you been regenerated by the work of God's Spirit. It begins with an admission of sinfulness before a Holy God and then crying out to Him to save you. It requires full surrender to Him.

No Condemnation, No Fear, No Separation

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love." (Rom. 8:28, NLT)

This is an incredible ending to the marvelous 8th chapter of Romans. The God who chose to love us while we were still in the very act of rebellion, living in sin, (Rom. 5:8) and who is by His very essence Love, (I John 4:8), never stops loving us. It has absolutely nothing to do with who we are, or anything that we have done or ever will do. It is all about who He is and what He has done for us through Christ.

The 8th chapter of Romans begins with the promise that for those of us who have trusted in Christ there is absolutely no condemnation in our standing before God. When He sees us, He does not see our sins, but He sees Jesus in whom we are hidden. If we have no condemnation before God, who can honestly condemn us, and the answer is "No One."

Through the chapter we discover because of who God is we have no one or nothing to fear. Honestly, if God is on your side, who is greater than Him? No One. So who are you afraid of?

And we end with no separation. Not life or death;not angels, not demons. Absolutely no one or nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Hallelujah. Rejoice my friend. The God who created you is crazy in love with you. He desires you love Him back.

Manna in the Morning

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, I am about to rain breaad from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not." (Ex. 16:4)

You are probably familiar with the context of this passage. The people of God were in the wilderness because they had not had the faith to possess the land that God had led them to. A whole generation would die during their wanderings before God would bring them back to Canaan. But during this time, God daily provided them food in the form of manna from heaven.

It is an amazing thing. Every morning this bread from heaven would appear. Now the Israelites had some responsibility. They had to go out and collect it. God did not lay it on their tables. And they had to go out an collect it daily. Any that was left over at the end of the day rotted and got worms. So it was a daily requirement.

I would suppose we would say God did this so they would be fed and nurtured. But our text says that God did it this way to test them, whether they would walk with Him or not. Let me suggest one of the greatest tests of the reality of our relationship with God is our daily time alone with Him. It is not how much money we give, how often we attend church, or how many mission trips we take. It is our quality personal time in devotion with God.

God wants to provide you with spiritual manna everyday. He is not going to set it on your table. He is not going to eat it for you, or even gather it for you. You must daily find the quiet place to meet with Him and let Him speak from His Word to your heart. You must draw aside in prayer and talk to God, and listen to God. Yesterday's manna is not sufficient for today. It needs to be a daily habit.

Hearing From God

"And after the fire the sound of a low whisper." (I Kings 19:9-18)

This week in the blog I am trying to focus our attention on prayer. Prayer has two sides, talking to God, and listening to God. I believe that God typically speaks to our heart through His Word. The Holy Spirit who inspired men to write the scripture, also illuminates our understanding. But there are those moments when like Elijah, we desperately need to hear from God.

Elijah did not hear God in the strong wind, or in the earthquake, or in the fire. He heard a "still small voice." God rarely shouts. His voice comes to us in the quiet moments when we are still and focused on Him intently. And we have to be quiet and still, or we will not hear from Him.

Mark 1: 35 tells us that Jesus got up while it was still dark and went to a solitary place to pray. We are so busy, and our lives are so noisy. I want to encourage you to develop the habit of beginning your day in the early morning with God. Set aside a time and be faithful to it. If you are not meeting with God, start with 10 minutes or 7 minutes. Block it out. Find a quiet solitary place before the day begins. Read the scripture and pray. Very quickly you will discover that is not enough time. I need to hear from God daily, and I bet you do to0.

Prayer is Good

"And he said, 'O Lord , God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham." (Gen. 24:12)

Abraham has sent his most trusted servant to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham wanted his son to marry someone from their family, not a foreigner. As the servant faced this task, he prays to the God of Abraham for direction and for help. What I like about the prayer is that it is simple, clear, and specific.

The scripture says, "You have not because you ask not." Then he says, "You ask and do not receive because you ask wrong." God delights to answer the prayers of His children. Any prayer offered in Jesus' name, that is within God's will is answered as it is prayed. Why is it that we have such a difficult time praying?

Far too often for us prayer is our last resort. It really should become our first resolve. Prayer is simply a matter of talking to God, anywhere at anytime about anything, with the purpose of doing His will.

Daily Quiet Time

"But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray." (Luke 5:16)

What are we to make of the fact that Jesus on a regular basis, as a habit of His life, would withdraw from the public spotlight to spend private time with the Father in prayer? Isn't He God? Why does He need to pray?

I believe that while Jesus never ceased to be God, He voluntarily chose to do everything that He did in this world as a man enpowered by the Holy Spirit. As such, He needed the private times of communion with the Father to live the life God designed for every person. If Jesus needed that time alone in prayer, how much more do we?

One of the very first disciplines I was taught as a Christian was to set aside an appointment to meet with God. I was told to carry a Bible, a notebook, and a pen. As I opened the word of God, I sought to hear a message relevant to my life for this day. Then as I sought to understand what God was saying to me, I sought to make a decision of obedience to that word for that day and for my life.

I want to challenge you to examine your personal time with God. No Christian can effectively live a life pleasing to God without time of personal communion with God. Just like we need food physically each day, we need the spiritual 'manna in the morning' from time alone with God. Begin again today if you have lost the habit. Renew and revitalize your time with God if you are faithfully spending time with Him. God bless.

A Christian Nation

"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?" Mark 11:17

One day recently I received a request to send word to President Obama that our nation is a christian nation. I am not weighing in on the side of the comments that he is making, because I am not happy with most of them. But I want to raise the question, "Is our nation really a christian nation?"

Certainly our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian values. Our bill of rights was primarily written by a Baptist preacher. Without the foundation of the scripture we would likely not have ever become what we have. But today our nation is a mixture of all kinds of religious expression by all kinds of people groups. Most of our major cities are ethnic, not white anglo saxon protestants. Projections are that trend will continue. Some even suggest that muslim may become the predominant religion simply by birth rate in another 15 to 20 years.

What concerns me most, however, is that a majority of people in our country still claim to be born again christians. They say they believe in God, and that the Bible is still a source of authority. Yet studies and surveys by Gallup and Barna suggest that christians do not live by any different guidelines than non believers. On any given Sunday 80% or more of the population of our nation is not in church anywhere.

So by what standard are we a christian nation? By our roots of origination? By our claims to faith? Certainly we cannot claim to be a christian nation by the way we live. Isn't it time for God's people to pray for a spiritual awakening? Or is it too late?

How Much Do we Limit Jesus in our lives?

"Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.' Martha, the sister of the dead man said to him, 'Lord by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." (John 11:39)

This is a story that most of have heard at one time or another. It is the story of a man named Lasarus, a friend of Jesus who gets sick and dies. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He intentionally waits two more days before heading to Bethany. And yet the scripture says that He loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. Have you ever wondered, "Does God really care? If He loves me, why does He let these bad things happen?" I have to confess that I have wondered that.

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Martha greets him with these words, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." I think another way to say that is, "Lord, where were you when we really needed you? We sent word in time. Why did it take you so long to get here?" Again, it sound too closely familiar to my own thoughts at times, and I bet yours as well.

When Jesus promises she will see her brother again, she says, "Lord, I know one day we will all be together at the time of the Resurrection." ,And Jesus says, "I am the Resurrection." Have you come to a place where you realize that Jesus is exactly who you need?

The interesting thing is the prayer outside the tomb, in vss. 41-42. To paraphrase the words of Jesus, God always answered Jesus' prayer. I mention that because in John 14:13-14, Jesus makes an incredible promise to those who are believers. He says that He will always do what we ask in His name. So what does it mean to pray "in Jesus' name." I believe that the short answer to that is that it means to pray exactly what Jesus would pray.

When Jesus told Martha to have them remove the stone from the tomb, she said, "Lord, He has been dead for 4 days. By now He stinks." How often do we limit Jesus in our response to Him? He tells us to pray in faith, and yet we say, "But, Lord..."

In Jesus' Name

Jesus said, "Whatever you ask in My name."

When we arrived in the village where we had been working for over a year to distribute grain to people who were eating grass, they said, "Please pray for us in Jesus' name." It was rainy season, but it had not been raining, and they desperately needed rain to grow the food necessary for the new year. We prayed for rain, "In Jesus name". And within hours there was an abundance of rain. Word went out for miles and people kept coming and saying, "You are the rainmakers."
We kept telling them, God sends the rain, and we prayed in Jesus' name.

Three months later a group of Muslim men came to our team at our hut in the village and said, "We asked the Imam to pray for rain, but he sent us to you. He told us that you are Christians, and God answers your prayers." What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?

There are many answers to that question, but two comments are sufficient for our thoughts this morning. First, to pray in Jesus' name is to pray on the basis of His pleasing work on Calvary's cross. His atoning work not only brings forgiveness for our sins, it is also purchased the answer to our prayers. God never answers on the basis of our own merit, but only on the basis of the shed blood of Calvary.

The other comment of significance is that to pray in Jesus' name means to pray what He would pray. It is not a self centered prayer, but a prayer that honors the Father's will. To pray in Jesus'' name is to pray consistenet with His nature and character. There is power in the name that is above every name.

God Hears Us

"But truly God has listened; He has attended to the voice of my prayer." (Ps. 66:19)

Have you ever come away from your prayer time with the absolute sense you had stood on holy ground in the very presence of God? It is a special and a blessed time, and certainly the psalmist knew that on the occaision that he penned these words. For the Christian, God always hears our prayers. Sometimes He answers ""Yes", to what we have requested. Other times He says, "No". Then there are times that God says "Wait a while."

The reality is that God always listens to His children. For a believer, however, prayer is not a means of manipulating God to do whatever we want. He is not a heavenly santa claus that blesses us with gifts because we have been good little boys and girls. He is the Sovereign Holy God of creation and providence. Prayer is aligning our lives with His purpose so that we can do His will.

The basis of our prayers being answered is the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. He purchased the answers to our prayers when He purchased our salvation. We do not receive answers because we deserve them and merit some bonus. It is because God loves us and delights in answering our prayers.

How Faith is Strengthened

"For Abraham, when hope was gone, hoped on in faith, His faith never quailed." (Rom. 4:18-19)

George Mueller, who ran the orphanage in Bristol and who is known as a man of great faith, once answered a man who asked him the best way to have strong faith. "The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings." When everything else fails in your life, trust God. When all source of worldly hope is gone, hope on in faith.

An unknown to me person once said, "Great faith must have great trials." If you are enduring great trials, rely on God, and He will strengthen your resolve, your hope, your trust, your faith. In the greatest difficultlies you will discover how great and how awesome God really is. Consider Abraham, an old man. When he relied on the flesh it produced Ishamael and a whole multitude of descendents that continue to this day to create problems. When he relied on God, he bore a son through Sarah even when she was too old by the world's standards to have a child. When all else fails, hope in God.

The Harvest is Past

"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." (Jeremiah 8:20)

This may not be the deepest theological interpretation of the significance of this passage, but as I read it I thought of the harvest being ended. The farmer has left the fields, and the barn doors are shut. But what if some of the crops were not gathered? Now, it is too late.

Noah labored for many years building an ark. Everyone laughed at this man for his foolishness. No one had ever seen rain, what was he ranting about? But the rains came, and God had shut the door of the ark. It was too late.

There are two applications of this text that come to my mind. If you have never trusted in Jesus, there will be a time when it is too late. Either when you die, or the Lord returns. What if the harvest is all gathered, and the barn doors are shut, but you are still outside?

The other application is for those of us who are followers of Christ. How many are still in the fields waiting to hear the Gospel? There will be a time when it is too late to tell them.