Light-work

Cancel-Proof Your Faith: First Principle

A Recent Sermon

https://vimeo.com/541382048

Ready for a New Day?

What a year 2020 was! Everyone seems ready to “get back to normal.” So I have to ask, “Is 'normal' a truly attractive prospect?” The term can refer to what is typical or to be expected. So what can we expect in 2021 and beyond? Is it reasonable to anticipate the coming new day as an improvement?

Jesus (and the other New Testament writers) have perfect insight into what we can expect in the days ahead. Their descriptions are a bit sobering. For example, on the night in which Jesus was betrayed, He prayed for His disciples, including us! Here is one of His prayer requests for you and me: “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14). The world views Jesus folk just as they view Jesus. We are aliens, as in off-world aliens. (Remember the movie Independence Day?) We are a threat, not an asset. We are a problem to be dealt with. The Apostle John got Jesus’ point and later cautioned us to do a reality check: Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you (1 John 3:13).

Jesus and John want us to understand what normal looks like for those who follow Jesus. We will be hated by the world. Do not look so shocked! As our world trends toward this normal, we who are devoted to Jesus will increasingly be considered a roadblock to “progress.”

Jesus provided an extended teaching session about what this approaching normal looks like. His description concerns the season before things ramp up at the end. In other words, Jesus is not describing the end. He is describing what we should expect life to be like before things ramp up. Jesus is describing the now.

And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (Mark 13:5–13).

Wars and the threat of war, earthquakes, food shortages - these will be normal before we ever even come to the end. Daring to think or express what Jesus teaches will get you arrested, beaten, and condemned in court. You will not be safe at home, either. Fathers will turn in their children and children will turn in their parents and consign them to death. Doesn’t sound so good, does it? But this will be and even now is becoming the norm.

When Jesus talks about enduring to the end, He is not talking about physical survival. He is talking about staying true to Christ (enduring) right to the end of life. He is talking about losing your life in the name of staying true to Him.

I offer no comments on the recent election, economic developments, and the Covid crisis. These are but side-shows to a larger drama. Things are moving inexorably to “normal,” a normal in which naming the name of Jesus is costly. Persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ are already quite well acquainted with what we should expect. Get used to it - embrace it! We will be increasingly hated for our allegiance to Him.

You might object, "Yes, but I know a lot of folks who don't love Jesus but who don't hate me. Maybe Jesus and John are not talking about my normal?" Good question - stay tuned.

Sea-Quake Devo

 

We are not the first to feel like we are in over our head. Here are some two minute devotionals that explore a similar experience for thirteen men in a boat.  Click on a link to go to YouTube: Monday     Tuesday     Thursday     Friday

 

Standing in a Place of Blessing, Part 1 of 12

The next twelve posts are about how members of a church can best respond to each other when some from their membership are planning to leave to a new work. First let me outline a scenario, a realistic and relevant situation that cries out for some biblical guidance.

Scenario

Grace Church hired Lance as a Youth Pastor. Eventually, he was promoted to an Associate position, and Grace Church hired Dylan as the next Youth Pastor. While working together at Grace, Lance and Dylan enjoyed partnering in ministry. But Lance sensed God calling him in a new direction and left Grace to get training as a church planter. About a year later, Dylan also resigned and announced that he and Lance were planning to team up to start a new church in town.

In their time at Grace Church, Lance and Dylan developed friendships with a number of its members. Now it was easy for some of these friends to desire to join the new work. Lance and Dylan wanted to reach people who did not seem interested in Grace Church and planned accordingly. But it would take time, six months, before their first service. So their friends would have to wait.

Situation

So it was that Grace Church found itself occupying a somewhat awkward space. Some families from Grace were definitely planning to leave. Others were unsure about whether to stay or go. A third group was convinced God wanted them to remain at Grace. But for the next six months, all three groups would continue to worship together as one family.

Question

How should the people of Grace Church negotiate this transition period? How can this fellowship of believers demonstrate what it means to be the body of Christ when some are leaving, some are staying, and some are not sure?

Here is the first of twelve passages and principles that can help the people of Grace Church (and other churches in a similar situation) to negotiate precisely this kind of challenge. By using these principles, members who stay and members who go can stand in the place of God’s blessing.

Principle One - We Are Faith

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things (Romans 8:28–32)?

This is our constant, our true North: God will accomplish our good, the good of our fellowship, and the good of all who love Him regardless of future events and the actions of men. We can trust God, no matter what!

Even that of which God does not approve, He uses to work the good of His people. Here is an extreme example: Joseph’s brothers intended to work him harm, but Joseph was capable of looking past their evil deeds to see God at work. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:20–21).

If God could work through the ill-intentions of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish Joseph’s (and his extended family’s) good, then how much more can God work through others actions that are more nobly motivated to promote what is best for us. It doesn’t matter why someone leaves Grace Church, we know that God will make that person’s decision part of His plan to work our good, the good of our church, and the good of all who love God. We know that regardless of who stays and who goes, He will give us everything that matters.

Waiting for Dawn to Break

It was an honor and privilege to speak at Central Church last Sunday. This sermon was intended to minister encouragement to those who are facing difficulty and seemed to connnect for many. You can check it out by clicking here. Maybe you know someone who yearns to see dawn break as they walk in a dark place. This message explains how to (1) identify fear talking, (2) follow the twin tail lights, and (3) wait in trust for maximum effect.

The Benefit of Thinking Like an Atheist

Written by someone who simply styles himself “the preacher” (Ecclesiastes 12:8), Ecclesiastes presents numerous clues suggesting Solomon as its author. Liberal scholars stumble over this suggestion, because the language of Ecclesiastes doesn’t sound like other samples of Hebrew from Solomon’s time. However, its unusual language could quite simply arise from the uniqueness of the book itself – it covers ground untrodden anywhere else in the Bible. I regard Ecclesiastes as a remarkable and singular work written by King Solomon, the son of David.

The central phrase, “under the sun,” appears 29 times in Ecclesiastes and is shorthand for “life with God factored out of the equation.” The book proposes that the reader think like an atheist and evaluate the meaning and purpose of life accordingly. The pursuit of wealth, prestige, and pleasure are meaningless; seeking wisdom and righteousness are pointless endeavors; indeed, life itself is vain, if there is nothing more to life than what we see. Sounds pessimistic and feels depressing – which is precisely the preacher’s goal!

Solomon does not make these observations to advocate for atheism or skepticism. Indeed, his bottom line is decidedly “pro-God: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Solomon proposes something most conservative Christians would consider shocking: Immerse yourself in the thinking of the atheist in order to deepen your appreciation for what it means to live for God.

So, who is the audience to which the preacher targets this appeal? Certainly, anyone could benefit from the preacher’s final analysis in the last chapter. But a particular group is expressly identified. Here is the preacher’s conclusion accompanied by the verses that bookend it: “But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:12–14). The word translated, “son,” is used numerous times to refer to one’s male offspring. When in the plural, it is often translated “children.” (Genesis 3:16 is the first of hundreds of examples.) Clearly, the preacher conceived of his message as a father’s dialogue with his son or, by extension, his children. This same audience is also identified in Ecclesiastes 11:9-10; 12:1.

In which case, we have now identified a third book of the Bible that is of particular importance to parents as a child-training resource. Think of Ecclesiastes as an advanced course for those who have learned how to use the moral compass of the Law and to walk in the ways of wisdom. Ecclesiastes bolsters these endeavors by making a persuasive and reasonable case for fearing God (the centerpiece of wisdom in Proverbs) and keeping His commandments (the focus of the Book of Law). It is an immersive apologetic experience that explores the meaning of life without God and therein gives young people reason to do two things: "Fear God and keep His commandments" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Think of the Law and Proverbs as home-school for younger students and Ecclesiastes as the secular university for the older ones. The Preacher escorts his son onto campus to be exposed to everything under the sun, to understand the way the world thinks, and to see the pointlessness of life when God is factored out of the equation. Ecclesiastes is not the right place for parents to begin the training of the children, but it most definitely belongs in the toolkit for critical preparation before they leave home.

                                                                                ❖

Thanks to Steven Ethridge for proposing that Ecclesiastes belongs in our catalog of Bible books for parents. Good call!

 

Proclaiming Release From The Parental Prison of Merit

We are just about ready to begin the grand unveiling of the stupendous and colorful chart of parental unit effectiveness. Click here to better understand the verse in the Bible that this chart explains. Click here to see actual fruit produced by the process depicted in this chart. Did you notice I have already used the word, “chart,” four times? You have to wonder if I have a thing for charts. Maybe we should make a chart to chart my use of the word, “chart.”

It is no secret I am a fan of charts, diagrams, tables, and graphs. I am especially fond of to-do lists with little open boxes beside each task. There is nothing quite like the joy of completing a half–dozen projects and then marking them with bold red, felt-tip checkmarks. When the checks keep coming, life is good.

Of course, there is a down side. I am well known among family members for underestimating the time required to complete a project. When I say, “Yea, I can probably have that done in a couple hours,” Rochelle knows to multiply by a factor of three. And when I hit a major snag, then the time table can go totally out the window. I have often arrived at the end of such days with zero checks in my boxes. On those days and despite my considerable labors, my list suggests I did nothing. No checks, no joy.

The chart that we will begin to unveil in the next post can be a source of great encouragement. It helps parents visualize the sequence and steps involved in the child-training challenge. Like a good road map that shows where you’ve been and where you’re going, this map outlines a parent’s journey. When things are progressing nicely, there is nothing like the joy of watching your children make measurable progress as they grow in wisdom.

But I want to prepare you for another possibility. We parents can wrestle with feelings of inadequacy. It goes with the territory. We want our children to turn out right. We want to do it right. But as we grow in our walk with God and in our understanding of what a good parent should do, we inevitably look back and see ways we could have done better. When our children are grown and make foolish choices with serious consequences, we blame ourselves for their decisions. We might not express it to anyone else, but a voice inside us accuses, “You have been a failure as a parent.”

So let me alert you to a looming vulnerability: The chart about to be unveiled can become an instrument of self-recrimination. It can be used (misused, really) to quantify our sense of failure. This parents’ roadmap objectifies how to be faithful, but parental faithfulness is not the sole, or even the most important, variable affecting how our children turn out. In moments when we are disappointed by our children’s actions and tempted to labor under the sense of parental inadequacy, it is time to meditate on a powerful principle: God’s grace overcomes my limitations and failures.

Paul asked God to remove a hindrance to greater effectiveness in ministry. God replied with a “no” and an explanation that changed Paul’s outlook: “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). The power of grace to do good is greater than the limitations imposed by personal weaknesses, criticism, challenging circumstances, and even personal attacks. In fact, these hindrances actually provoke grace into a more active state. Paul is okay with his inadequacy since it actually draws out a greater work of grace which results in a more powerful ministry.

You might look at the list in the passage above and raise an objection: “Sure, grace can cover limitations. But what about when I am clearly at fault, when I have truly blown it with my kids? This verse says grace overcomes a lot of stuff but it says nothing about offsetting my failings as a parent!”

Fair enough - so let’s look at a passage where the interaction between grace and sin is specifically addressed: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20–21). J. A. Witmer comments, “No matter how great human sin becomes, God’s grace overflows beyond it and abundantly exceeds it” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ad. loc.). Even as it pertains to our sins and failings as parents, God’s grace can produce results that transcend “what we deserve.” God’s grace does not guaranty that kids will turn out fine despite the failings of parents. But grace makes it possible for kids to turn out well in spite of the failings of their parents.

There are two ways to live, the grace plan and the merit plan. According to the merit plan, you receive your wages, exactly what you deserve. According to the grace plan, you receive gifts, blessings you don’t deserve. Everyone alive reaps what they sow, but the outcomes are profoundly different based on whether they sow to merit or sow to grace.

When parents sow to grace, they seek to be faithful to what God asks of them as parents. But they do so under no delusion that their faithfulness is the key to how their children will turn out. God’s grace is that key. So they trust in grace. They come boldly to the throne of grace and plead in Jesus’ name for sustaining graces of wisdom, strength, and guidance. They ask the Spirit of grace to give them breakthroughs and produce conviction in the hearts of their children. Although they seek to walk in obedience to God’s principles, they trust in God’s grace, not the merits of their actions, to make the difference.

Do not allow the chart to fall into the employ of the merit plan. Yes, allow it to show you how to be faithful as a parent. But be faithful in the knowledge that God’s grace is what will ultimately make the difference in your children.

In moments when you are discouraged as a parent, express your trust in God’s grace in words like these: “God, You are not limited by my shortcomings as a parent to accomplish Your good purposes for my son or daughter. You are not wringing Your hands in heaven, saying, ‘Whatever will I do now, given how much Jim (substitute your name) has blown it?’ I am choosing to believe that, by Your grace, You will take whatever scraps of faithfulness I have presented to You in my role as a parent, and make them part of a plan that shouts of Your goodness. You will give my children every opportunity to become Your choice servants. I confess my abiding faith that Your grace is greater than my failures as a parent. In the name of Jesus, Amen!”

Is Proverbs 22:6 Just Pie in the Sky?

I tried, I really did, to break this story into two or three smaller installments. But I just couldn’t without detracting from the telling. So, get a fresh cup of coffee, sit back, and let me tell you the untold story of the most amazing parents we never knew. Ready? Let’s begin . . .

Taken

There was no way to put a good face on this. One minute he was a favored son from a prominent family, a young man with bright prospects. The next moment he was a prisoner captured by an invading army. Forcibly separated from family and transported over 500 miles from his homeland, he was scheduled to be “de-programmed” at an institution where every connection to his former life would be stripped away.

The majority of people from his homeland had defied God for years, and their recent defeat against the invaders (now his captors) was the beginning of God’s judgment of them. A good boy being jerked around for others’ mistakes, no one would have blamed him if he wondered, “Why weren’t they taken captive? Why me, God?”

The young man was marshaled to the formidable capital city, Babylon, through one of nine gates named after local deities: Ishtar, Marduk (also known as Bel), Sin, Enlil, Urash, Shamash, Adad, Zababa, and Lugalgirra. The point could not have been more obvious to all who entered Babylon – This city was the center of idolatry, paganism, and the worship of all things fashioned by the hands of men. The training center in which the young man was forcibly enrolled for “re-education” was steeped in philosophies hostile to his faith.

It didn’t take long for it to get personal. The young man, whose given name of Daniel meant “God is my judge,” was renamed “Belteshazzar,” which is derived from the name of a local god (Daniel 4:8), perhaps Bel or his consort, Belet. “Belte” + “shazzar” means something like, “Belet, protect the king.” So every time Daniel was called by someone using his newly assigned name, Belteshazzar, the one who summoned him was invoking a false god for the king’s protection. How humiliating for Daniel who feared the one true God to have his name turned into a prayer to an idol.

So here was a second reason for young Daniel to struggle. Before being captured, he enjoyed all the spiritual benefits of being raised as a follower of the one true God. Now he was thrust into the center of a world that opposed Yahweh and enrolled at an institution bent on crushing his faith. For one who affirmed God’s control over all things, it would be easy to wonder, “Why has God consigned me to forces compelling me to forget Him? How does this make any sense?”

These are the provocative circumstances in which we are first introduced to this remarkable young man named Daniel. He does not question God’s fairness, sovereignty, or wisdom, even though his circumstances might sponsor such doubts. Instead, we see a young man whose bold trust in God rises above his circumstances, indeed whose faith rouses him to challenge a core tenet of the very institution charged with his “re-education.” Probably in his teens at the time, Daniel proved himself a spiritual force to be reckoned with in Babylon.

Daniel’s Dilemma

The King of Babylon was interested in grooming future diplomats and ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to screen the group of captives of which Daniel was a part. Daniel (as well as three friends) was among those who excelled and was enrolled in the king’s college. Hardly had he begun his training before drawing a line in the sand, but not in a place we might expect. He did not protest being named after a god who was no god. He did not refuse to master the language and literature of the Chaldeans, literature that was riddled with praise for the pantheon of Babylonian gods. His allegiance to God was not threatened by these impositions.

But in a matter that would seem benign, Daniel dug in his heels. The biblical account reads: “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8). Popular explanations for Daniel’s conviction propose that the “king’s choice food” did not conform to dietary requirements of the Mosaic Law or that this food had been sacrificed and offered to pagan gods. These seem reasonable explanations but cannot be regarded as anything more than plausible speculations since the text makes no mention of them to explain Daniel’s response.

There is another possibility with a stronger biblical basis. In order to understand why eating “the king’s choice food” was a problem for Daniel, we should look at other passages where “choice food” is found. Outside of Daniel 1, this term is only found in one other place in the entire Bible, namely, in Daniel 11:26.

Let’s get a little background on Daniel 11 before looking at “choice food” in verse 26. Daniel 11 is a remarkable, extended prophecy which precisely predicts events that will occur in the Middle East in the centuries to follow the time of Daniel. This prophecy traces events in Medo-Persia, the rise of Alexander the Great, and the division of his empire into four kingdoms. Then it predicts the conflicts between two of these kingdoms, named the North (the Seleucids) and the South (the Ptolemies), in the years after Alexander the Great. They are called the North and South, respectively, because of their relation to Israel.

Daniel 11:26 foretells exactly what will happen to a particular king from the South who will be betrayed by members of his inner circle. This prophesy was fulfilled when Ptolemy VI was fooled by two of his counselors, Eulaeus and Lenaeus, who purposely gave him bad advice. Despite having a superior military force, the false counsel of Eulaeus and Lenaeus led to Ptolemy’s sound defeat by a king from the north in 170 BC.

Here is Daniel’s prophecy concerning these events: “Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain” (Daniel 11:26). Eulaeus and Lenaeus are described as “those who eat his choice food,” which is an idiom used by Daniel to denote the inner circle of the king, individuals who should be devoted to the King. Ptolemy met disaster because Eulaeus and Lenaeus subverted him even though they should have been loyal to him as befits those who eat his choice food.

Based on how the phrase is used in Daniel 11:26, refusing “to eat the choice food” of the king (in Daniel 1:7) constitutes a refusal to pledge unstinting loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, along with his three friends, discerned that their allegiance to God would be compromised by eating food from Nebuchadnezzar’s table. They were willing to attend the king’s college, serve in the king’s court, and cooperate with the king’s staff. But Daniel and his three friends would not eat the king's choice food and therein broadcast a denial of their loyalty to God alone.

If this smacks of treason, you will find the response of Daniel’s headmaster perfectly understandable: “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king” (Daniel 1:10). The man was not closed to hearing Daniel’s objections, but was more than aware of the implications. If Daniel’s refusal was discovered, his own life was at risk. Make no mistake, Daniel’s objections to “eating the king’s choice food” could make heads roll!

When Daniel “resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food,” he was most definitely NOT messing around. You know how the story proceeds. Daniel suggested a creative alternative that was granted a trial run. The plan was a stunning success and the crisis averted.

More Loyalty Tests

Events to follow kept the question –  “Whom do you serve?” – on the front burner. In chapter two, Daniel and his three friends are sentenced to die, along with all the members of Nebuchadnezzar’s brain trust. But Daniel and company get before God in prayer Who gives them what they need and what eventually leads Nebuchadnezzar to declare: “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Daniel 2:47).

In chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar grills Daniel’s three friends over the question, “Whom do you serve?” Their reply takes my breath away for its audacious boldness: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17–18). Once again, you know how the story ends. Don’t let that knowledge diminish your appreciation for this profound moment and their poignant declaration. They did not know how things would turn out even as they made their bold declaration. Daniel’s three friends, kindred spirits in the “God alone” club, stare at the mega pizza oven that will claim them and unflinchingly declare, “We trust God alone. We will trust Him to the death. Any questions?”

Living Examples of Proverbs 22:6

Who are these guys! And how is it possible for men so young and so deprived of the spiritual support structure of home and country to display such incredible strength of commitment to God? From their first days as foreign students enrolled at the king’s college to the earliest days of service in the king’s court, they show themselves not as king’s men, but God’s men who serve God in the court of the king. (Remember the hat trick post!)

I believe that Daniel (as well as any one of his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) is a poster child for Proverbs 22:6. The spiritual conviction and boldness of the four friends most naturally displays the fruit of efforts informed by this verse: “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). The most reasonable explanation for the faith of Daniel is that he was trained in the way of wisdom prior to being taken to Babylon. I realize that the ultimate explanation was that God had His hand on this young man. But I also think there is clear evidence in the book of Daniel of a "Proverbs 22:6-driven process" through which God worked to raise up a Daniel.

Evidence That Daniel was Trained

We know virtually nothing about Daniel’s parents. But we do know two things: (1) They gave their son a name that probably means, “My judge is God.” Every time someone called Daniel, they declared great theology, that God is the only one to whom Daniel was ultimately accountable and that God’s is the only opinion that matters.

(2) The second piece of background on Daniel’s years in Jerusalem is embedded in the description of Daniel’s entrance exam for the king’s college. Ashpenaz was on the lookout for men who met specific criteria, including “skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning” (Daniel 1:4, ESV). Note the three core qualities, wisdom, knowledge and learning. Don’t miss this: When Ashpenaz declared that Daniel already possessed the requisite wisdom, knowledge, and learning to be enrolled in the king’s college, he was telling us that Daniel received wisdom training before coming to Babylon. Daniel was fully trained during his formative years among family.

The Curriculum for Daniel’s Training

In the preface to the Book of Proverbs, the author explains the book’s purpose: “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:1–4). Proverbs is the young man’s course (It works equally well for young women, by the way!) for walking in the way of wisdom. Did you notice the highlighted terms? Wisdom and knowledge are the same words in both the preface to Proverbs and Ashpenaz’s list of search criteria.

It seems more than coincidence that the Book of Proverbs represents curriculum for the development of the precise characteristics that Daniel effectively demonstrated in his interview. Ashpenaz was looking for the very thing that training in the way of wisdom produces. He was looking for young men who have been on the receiving end of a Proverbs 22:6 ministry!

Identity of Daniel’s Trainers

The most reasonable explanation for what Ashpenaz saw is that someone made a Proverbs 22:6 investment in young Daniel. And the most reasonable identification of who made that investment would be the same parents who named him “My judge is God.” I suspect that some of the most amazing parents we have never known are the fathers and mothers of Daniel and his three friends. I must allow for the possibility that others trained Daniel besides his parents. But whether directly, or indirectly, Daniel was “trained up in the way he should go” and his parents cannot have been anything other than supportive of the process.

Living Proof of Proverbs 22:6

Although we cannot say with certainty who did the actual work, it is obvious from the evaluation of Ashpenaz that someone trained up Daniel in the way he should go before he was taken to Babylon. Remember the second half of Proverbs 22:6? “And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Daniel was forcibly taken from the support structure of home and country. Despite the absence of these spiritual benefits, he never departed from the way of wisdom all his days. Proverbs 22:6 tells us that if parents will impart to their children a personal devotion to God’s way before they become adults, they give their children maximum opportunity to stay faithful to God for all of their days.

The story of Daniel and his friends shows us that Proverbs 22:6 is not just some pie-in-the-sky idealism disconnected from the real world of parental challenges. Proverbs 22:6 is about something that actually works. It is doable, it bears fruit, it can set our children up for spiritual success even when the odds are against them. It can lay a foundation for wisdom living for a lifetime. Daniel is the proof!

So, what does this story have to do with “An Amazing and Colorful Chart That Affects Everything Parents Do!” I believe this chart can help us unpack what is involved in “training up a child” the way Daniel was trained.  I believe it shows us what parents can do to raise up Daniels (and Danielles) who have a bold, audacious faith, a faith that they make their own. Daniel shows us it can be done. Now, we need to better understand how it can be done.

Like Watchmen Waiting for Sunrise

Imagine serving on guard duty for the walled city of Jerusalem at the time of King David. Also imagine you have been assigned to keep watch from sunset to sunrise. You walk the wall, peering outward into the darkness. No electricity, no flashlights, just the cold night sky to illumine your steps. As evening turns to the dead of night, life in the city goes quiet. Now you discharge your duties in complete silence with little to interrupt your own thoughts. With no wristwatch to mark the hours, time slows, crawling forward. Your mind is fixed on one consummate hope – to see the sunrise. This will change everything. This is what your heart longs for, what you ache to see even as you traverse the wee hours of the morning.

This image of the watchmen waiting for the sunrise illumines the Psalmist’s understanding of what it is like to wait on the Lord:  “I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning” (Psalm 130:5–6). To wait on the Lord is to long for breakthrough even more than the watchman longs for the sunrise.

I am reasonably confident that EVERY person reading this right now has at least one area in his or her life that requires waiting on God. Are you facing an impossible challenge and in need of a breakthrough? Are your eyes red from crying for God to bring your prodigal home? Have you been crushed by a steady stream of disappointments that make you wonder if God will ever come through? Are your days defined by a medical crisis without resolution, a daunting project that looks like it will never be completed, a great wall of uncertainty that fills your heart with fear, or the persistent denial of a blessing from God for which your heart has ached for years? Then you know what it means to wait on God.

I have collected below a series of recent articles from Light-Work that speak to the art of waiting. If you want to know more about a particular principle, click on the corresponding link and it will take you directly to the relevant article.

Waiting on God can be better accomplished with the support of others with a heart for God. Why not find a friend or loved one who is in God’s waiting room? Think of this article as the table of contents to a study guide for you to use together. Pick a principle from those listed below, and then talk through how it relates to each of your experiences. Perhaps you can use these principles to minister life and encouragement to each other. The very last link is a short testimony of how God concluded a season of waiting at “Fleming Central” that we call “Four Years to Daylight.”

Deprivation Principle: God sometimes withholds the very good He intends for us, for a season, precisely because He is using deprivation to prepare us to receive His gifts.

Perfect Moments Principle: Because He loves us, God chooses the perfect moments in which to give His gifts.

Good Gifts Principle: If even despicable men give their children good gifts, how much more will our Father give perfectly appropriate gifts to His children who are asking?

Receptivity Principle: As we wait on God, our hearts are opened to learn things from God that cannot be otherwise grasped.

High Risk Principle: When waiting on God in an escalating crisis, the longer the period of waiting the stronger the pull toward the fiction that God doesn’t care.

Faith Principle: When waiting on God in an escalating crisis, I can neutralize fear by fixing my faith on these twin truths, God loves me like His son (John 17:23) and God is with me always (Matthew 28:20).

Praise & Safety Principles:  When Jesus is our Master and Teacher and we are waiting for His rescue in a dire situation, (1) God might take things from bad to worse in order to prepare us for greater worship and (2) we do not need to be afraid of the situation.

Testimony: Here is our personal story of a season of waiting on God.

The Mega-Splash: A Galilean “Sea-Quake” Experience

In previous posts, we learned two principles pertinent to waiting on God in an escalating crisis. One, when waiting into the deep end, we are more prone to question whether God cares. Two, we are also at great risk of coming to the Lord out of fear, despite having every reason to seek Him in faith. Today, let’s pull back for a big picture view of what happened when Jesus stilled the storm. Doing so will arm us with another key principle on “The Art of Waiting on God.”

This incident on the Sea of Galilee occurs during a time of transition in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Opposition is growing and the fact that Jesus will be rejected is already baked into the cake. The need for the mobilization and training of harvest workers is now acute. So, Jesus is conducting an advanced course for the twelve that is designed to yield a greater understanding and appreciation of who He is. This is vital to their future effectiveness once He has returned to Father.

A night class was scheduled as a demonstration lab while transiting the Sea of Galilee. Both Jesus and the Father would co-teach. The Father would set up the perfect conditions for the demonstration, then Jesus would follow by putting on a convincing display. The demo would prove to the disciples a profound truth. By the end of class, they would not look at Jesus the same way!

Many commentators rightly point to Psalm 107:28–29 as an important filter through which to understand what Jesus did. According to these verses, when Jesus silenced the wind and calmed the sea, He was exercising divine prerogatives. But to fully appreciate what was going on during the class demonstration, we need to read the larger section of which these two verses are a part:

“Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters; They have seen the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, so He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, and praise Him at the seat of the elders” (Psalm 107:23–32).

Based on Psalm 107:28-29, we rightly see Jesus’ action in stilling the storm as evidence that He is God. But, I have not yet encountered a commentator who cites Psalm 107 to affirm God’s role in setting up the demonstration. Did you note what verses 25-26 tell us about God: "For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths." God does not just still storms, He also causes them. With mere words, no less!

Some might want to ascribe this storm on the Sea of Galilee to Satanic opposition. There is some support for this view: When Jesus rebukes the storm, He speaks to it as if it is a person. But, there is nothing in the text that clearly identifies Satan or his forces as the agents behind the storm. Further, even if forces of darkness had a hand in this sea-quake, we do well to remember that Satan is never allowed to do anything unless God permits. Whether directly or indirectly, God was the one responsible for this perfect storm.

This storm had a superb purpose. It was specifically designed to take the twelve to a place beyond their considerable sailing abilities, to escort them to a “no way” moment. In that precise moment, Jesus did what only God can do, and used but words to control the weather.

The Father and Jesus were like the ultimate tag team. First the Father immersed the disciples in a situation where they were ready for the lesson. Then Jesus tapped in and delivered big time! If Father had not taken the disciples to the brink, the lesson would have had far less impact. But because they were “at their wit’s end,” the truth about Jesus was etched on their hearts.

Imagine for a moment, that this demonstration was conducted in a calm sea, or perhaps even a moderately rough sea. The lesson would not have had the same impact. But put these seasoned fisherman in the perfect storm, allow them to fear for their lives, then rescue them with a mere word from the Lord, and the lesson was breathtaking. Dire peril prepared them for awe! The disciples grew in their ability to see in Jesus someone far greater than most men’s messianic expectations of the time. They encountered “God among us” and it left them in stunned silence and profound awe.

During the course of this demonstration, the disciples perceived themselves to be at risk of perishing, but they were in no real danger. As if riding a water park flume-ride designed to “safely scare people,” they were strapped into “The Mega-Splash, a Galilean Sea-Quake Experience.” Just when they thought they were goners, Jesus spoke the way God does, and the ride was over. Only this was no mere ride. It was real – breathtakingly real. But it was also safe, because, as they could now see, God was with them.

These men were now equipped to declare something new about their Master. They joined the club (Bumper stickers and T-shirts available at the gift shop: “I survived the mega-splash!”) and could use the Psalmist’s lyrics to sing about Jesus: “O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them” (Psalm 89:8–9).

Now let’s connect the dots between the disciples’ experience and ours. There are times when we are waiting on God, desperate for Him to intervene. But things might not be bad enough, yet! God might need to turn up the heat even more, and take things from bad to worse. Do not Panic! Trust Him! You are safe! Jesus has promised “I am with you” even as the storm intensifies.

God wants you to come to Him, not in panic, but because you trust Him. So keep coming boldly in the name of Jesus to the throne of grace to make your request known. Trust God to come through precisely when His deliverance will have maximum beneficial effect on your heart.

Waiting Into the Deep End, Part 2 of 2

Hit by a “sea-quake,” the disciples’ small fishing vessel was about to go under. Understandably, the disciples woke up the Master with cries for help. In a crisis, seeking the Lord is always the smart play. (It is the smart play in the calm, too!) But the twelve also betrayed something awry in their hearts when they asked Jesus, “Do You not care that we are perishing?” This sentiment is not unfamiliar to anyone who waits on the Lord while hovering on the brink.

In response to the disciples’ plea, Jesus asks some probing questions. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have each provided only part of Jesus’ words. To get the whole picture, we need to hear all three:

Matthew:  “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm” (Matthew 8:26).

Mark:  “ . . . it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?’” (Mark 4:39-40).

Luke:  “. . . it became calm. And He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’” (Luke 8:24-25).

Matthew reports what Jesus said to the disciples before He calmed the sea. Mark and Luke report what Jesus said after doing so. Taken together, these accounts tell us that Jesus administered a double dose of discipleship. When roused from sleep, His first act was to pose a diagnostic question to the twelve. Then He performed an unbelievable miracle of deliverance by rebuking the wind and sea. In the perfect calm that followed, He returned to His lesson.

We can make several observations based on these “before and after” lessons. One, it is instructive that, for Jesus, dealing with the “faith-quake” of the disciples mattered more than addressing the “sea-quake.” The fierce storm is not enough to awaken Him. When finally roused, His first concern is not bodily peril but the disciples’ crisis of faith. He zeroes in on their hearts. After stilling the sea, He comes back to them. The text doesn’t explicitly say this: But it is as if the ruckus of the wind and waves is distracting His panicked students from their lesson, so He stands and commands the elements to pipe down! Then, in the resultant calm, He continues class.

Two, Jesus’ remarks clarify that fear and faith are polar opposites. When we trust God, we have no reason to fear! Yield to panic and faith will go out the window. The disciples were filled with dread and thus had no faith. Their fear was unjustified: Before they began their voyage, Jesus had said, “Let us go over to the other side of the Lake” (Luke 8:22). He did not say, “Let us go to the middle of the lake and drown.” The Master’s command declared His purpose and guaranteed its fulfillment, that He and His associates would complete transit to the other shore. Whatever might befall the twelve en route, Jesus had already given His word that they would make it to the other side.

Three, Jesus answers the disciples’ initial question with a matching question of His own. The implications of how Jesus responds are profound and will take a few paragraphs to sort out. The disciples had awakened Jesus by shouting, “Do You not care that we are perishing?” This complex question can be broken into a statement plus a question. Statement:  “We are perishing.” Question: “Do You not care?” By their statement, the disciples reveal what they consider a fact, they are perishing. The only thing about which they are in doubt – hence their question – concerns Jesus’ view on the matter. They ask “Do You not care” because they suspect He doesn’t.

Jesus’ immediate reply (the one recorded by Matthew) is also a complex question, that is, a statement joined to a question. Statement: “You are so afraid.” Question: “Why?”  He was not asking the disciples to state the obvious, that is, to say, “We are afraid because of the storm.” He was calling them to self-assessment. He was inviting them to discern in their fear the evidence of having lost their trust in Jesus. After stilling the storm, He asks again, “Why are you afraid?”

Think of a basketball coach who counsels a key player after he has blown a game. He asks, “Why did they beat you?” If the player says, “Because they scored more points,” the coach will chew him out for stating the obvious. The coach’s question invites the player to examine his own performance, to discern key mistakes that contributed to the loss. This is what Jesus is doing: He is calling the twelve to analyze exactly how they had arrived at the place where fear was crowding out trust.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not tell us what conclusions the twelve drew. But, we can identify solid evidence worthy of their consideration. First, there is Jesus’ statement of intention noted above - If Jesus says, “We are going to the other side,” you can KNOW that you are going to the other side. Second, based on the chronology in Mark, not too many days prior, Jesus had publicly declared His disciples to be His brothers (Mark 3:34). In this, Jesus had definitively answered the question – “Do You not care?” Third, the disciples allowed what is seen (a perfect storm) to overshadow their trust in the Lord’s sure promise and brotherly commitment. In short, they had allowed scary circumstances to drown out the truth.

The bottom line is this. The disciples did well to come to the Lord, but they should have come in faith, not fear. Their words should have reflected a confidence that the Lord loved them like brothers and that He would do what is necessary to fulfill His good purpose and to get them to the other side. Jesus did not challenge the disciples for coming to Him; He challenged them for coming to Him out of fear. I am grateful that He did not cite their fear as a reason to ignore their pleas. He most certainly stilled the storm in response to the disciples’ request. (Praise God for the many times He answers prayers, including yours and mine, that arise from fear!) But through His questions, He offered them insight into a better way.

Their fear was unwarranted! They thought they were perishing, but they were wrong. They were simply inserted into the perfect storm in order to receive a new level of insight into the identity of the Lord (more on that in the next post). They were not in any danger even though it looked like they were about to die. The Psalmist clearly spoke to their situation: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me” (Psalm 23:4).

Whenever I wait on God in an escalating crisis, I must resist the siren call of my senses. I must not allow my imagination of all that might befall me to take control. If I do, these fears will compromise my trust. Instead, I must fix my faith on these twin truths, God loves me like His son (John 17:23) and God is with me always (Matthew 28:20).

When we come to God in faith during a raging storm, it is good to express to God all the ways we desire Him to work. It is best when we do so from a place of trust, where we ask, knowing God loves us and will accomplish our good.

Waiting Into the Deep End, Part 1 of 2

Jesus had presented Himself to Israel. But, opposition from the religious leaders was now hardened, His crucifixion a fait accompli. So Jesus focused on the training of the twelve – so much to learn, so little time. More than once, Jesus used the Sea of Galilee as the classroom for His course on discipleship. Accounts of one such teaching session are provided by Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Matthew 8:18, 23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25). Let’s audit His class.

A crowd had gathered around the Lord near the Sea of Galilee. As evening neared, Jesus announced His intention to travel to the other side of the lake and gave orders for His disciples to depart. Some in His crew were master fishermen and more than competent to handle their vessel. The Master promptly settled into a sound sleep on a cushion in the stern.

Once in the deep, a “sea-quake” unleashed fierce winds and great angry waves that crashed over the gunwales. At first, the disciples might have taken measures to ride it out. But things quickly went from bad to worse. Experts are the ones who know when to panic. The experts on this boat knew it was time! Their vessel was rapidly taking on water. Without an immediate miracle, the ship and crew would most certainly be lost.

As a last resort, the disciples roused their Teacher, still fast asleep amidst the chaos. Unchecked fear drove them to shout above the storm. The accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke each capture a different fragment of what they yelled:

Matthew: “Save us, Lord, we are perishing!”

Mark: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?

Luke: “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

The common denominator in all three accounts is the declaration, “We are perishing.” Matthew adds the terse command, “Save us, Lord.” Mark addresses Jesus as “Teacher” and includes the question, “Do You not care?” Luke adds the double address, “Master, Master.”

It is easy for preachers dwelling in safety to berate the disciples for all manner of perceived failures as they braced for death. I find much to commend! First, they address Jesus as “Lord,” “Teacher” and “Master.” Obviously, they respect Him and are voicing their dependance on Him for guidance. Second, when someone has expertise in an area, like the fishermen, it is easy to keep thinking in a crisis, “I can fix this.” But the disciples prove capable of recognizing a situation in which they are in over their heads, despite their competence. They can admit they have a problem that is beyond them. Third, their pleas for help are deadly earnest, the very kind of asking, seeking, and knocking that Jesus elsewhere encourages His disciples to bring to Father. Fourth, their request, “save us,” possibly suggests a modicum of belief, if not at least hope, that Jesus can indeed do something about their plight. These are all commendable responses.

But in one particular, their words gives rise for concern. The question – “Do You not care?” – expresses doubt. The disciples are sure that they are perishing but unsure whether this matters to the Lord. Theirs is a crisis of trust in Jesus!

The disciples’ doubt is familiar to all who are waiting on the Lord in a crisis. In an impossible situation and desperate for a miracle, it is easy to wonder if the Lord cares. Our minds fixate on questions like these: Why don't You act? Where are You in this? Have I done something to disappoint You? Am I getting the silent treatment? God, does my plight even matter to You?

This incident on the Sea of Galilee presents a classic case of “waiting into the deep end.” Any acute and escalating crisis that threatens to deal us a crushing blow would qualify. When taking on water and at imminent risk of going under, asking God – “Do You not care?” – will seem a perfectly reasonable question. It is NOT, but it will seem so. Whoever waits into the deep must be prepared, indeed, he must anticipate the inexorable pull of the very reasonable lie embedded in these words, “Do You not care?”

Breakthrough!

My 29 year old son faced cancer, chemo and radiation treatment, an insurance debacle, and an uncertain future. But God supplied grace: A little over a year after first being diagnosed, God had sustained him through his treatment and recovery, released him from cancer and delivered him from a crushing financial burden. One last breakthrough remained, a job.

As Austin, Rochelle, and I waited, we trusted God that He was preparing our hearts to receive His good gift, sought to learn whatever He intended during our time in His waiting room, and prayed for breakthrough. Here is text from one of my prayer cards: “Do him good in a way that provides grist to make much of You, even to those who do not believe.” I asked God to provide Austin with a job but to do so in a way that deserved an exclamation point.

For years, Austin had done all the things one is supposed to do to find a job. His efforts yielded nothing. It was time to adopt a new strategy, to do something radical. Austin wrote a letter to the senior litigator of a firm where he most wanted to work. The letter explained why he wanted to work at the man’s firm and under his tutelage.

Two weeks later, Austin followed up by sitting in the firm’s lobby on a Thursday morning, hoping for a meeting. The man was out of the office the entire day. Austin did the same on Friday with the same result. But on Sunday afternoon, he received a phone message inviting him to an interview on Monday. That evening, a “polar vortex” – that’s what the weather folk called it –  dumped enough snow and ice on Memphis to shut down everything. Austin's appointment was cancelled. The vortex was still “vortexing” on Tuesday, so there was no meeting on that day either. On Tuesday night, the lawyer called and instructed Austin to come in for work the next day.

When he arrived for work on Wednesday morning, he was informed that he was being hired for a 30 day period, at the end of which a decision would be made. After 30 days, Austin was hired on a permanent basis.

Here is the exclamation point: Austin was hired for his dream job. The job opening was never posted. He had completed no application. He was granted no interview. He began his first day on the job never having met the man who hired him. Just like that, the door that had been sealed shut now swung wide in a way that shouted the goodness of God. Exclamation Point!

After earnestly pleading, “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper,” Father gave Austin, Rochelle, and me abundant reason to join the Psalmist in declaring, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever” (Psalm 30:10-12)!

God's Magazine Rack

Often, we must take a number and sit in God’s waiting room. We may be desperate for Him to break through; to put things to right; to rescue us; to perform miracles; to do it NOW! Instead, it feels like He is “off in the back somewhere” and not aware of, let alone particularly interested in, our problems. So we sit alone or with a friend or family member in His waiting room, sometimes for months, even years, listening to elevator music, marking time, and wondering when God will show up.

Waiting on God can seem like a penalty, perhaps even the consequence of having disappointed Him in some way. When in His waiting room, it helps to remember that sometimes God withholds the good He intends for us, for a season, in order to prepare us to receive His gifts. It also helps to remember His promises: If even despicable men give their children good gifts, how much more will our perfect Father give perfectly valuable gifts to His children who are asking? These two acts of remembering can go a long way toward fueling hope during an extended stay in God’s waiting room. Here is another vital strategy - check out what God has in His magazine rack.

Especially in the days before iPhones, I would sign in at the doctor or dentist’s office and then seek out some reading material. I might grab a magazine to which I would never subscribe, perhaps even something I would never choose to read outside the waiting room. But given the choice between boredom and reading a magazine about fishing, food, or forestry, I regularly chose the latter. I was often amazed by things I learned that I would have never otherwise known.

God often uses our time in the waiting room to show us things that cannot otherwise be discerned. In the previous post, I recounted how God kept us in His waiting room for years. Our son diligently applied for hundreds of jobs. Not once in the span of almost four years did a prospective employer say, “We want you!” Over and over, He was rejected.

As Austin’s father, it was excruciating to witness. This rejection was so profoundly out-of-step with my own assessment of my son. On our children’s birthdays, we give them their “birthday blessing.” My words to Austin during a birthday celebrated in God’s waiting room capture whom I knew him to be:

Here are some of the things I appreciate and admire in You:

• You have a robust conscience. You are strong in your desire to do whatever you are convinced is right.
• You have sought the Lord even as you have gone through deep waters.
• You love Scripture and love to discuss how it applies to our lives.
• You are willing to do hard things when God asks.
• You have sought to honor Mom and me by supporting us in the ministry at CBC.
• You are an amazing teacher - patient, gentle, and nurturing.
• You are a gifted musician - I marvel at your ability to sprinkle jewels on a song.
• You are passionate about the Lord and truth.
• You are teachable and responsive to our counsel. You are willing to receive from others who have something to contribute.
• You are a good friend - so many have been on the receiving end of your commitment to be true to them.
• You understand what confession and forgiveness are about!
• You are a disciplined individual who makes it a priority to do what is most important each day.
• You are my true friend.

What a joy and honor to call you my son and to celebrate a year of growth and a new year to come!

The bottom line was that I knew my son to be a good man. Not a perfect man, to be sure, but a good man. Yet the consistent response from every possible employer was unequivocal rejection.

I remember crying out to God and protesting, “How much more can he take? I am so tired of my son being rejected.” I cannot explain this, but it was as if God answered, “Tell me about it!” I gasped at the thought. My experience was mirroring God’s. He was allowing me, in some small way, to experience something of what He Himself felt. To be sure, His Son was not just a good man; He was perfect. And the rejection of Jesus was not just about a job but a cross: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed” (Mark 8:31). In that moment, I caught a glimpse of the pain of the Father.

As I looked through my experience to the Father's, I connected the dots between His pain and His love. Unlike me, God had chosen this pain. God loved me (and you!) enough to knowingly and consciously commit His Son to the supreme rejection of men. The pain I was feeling was God’s pain, but a pain He chose for Himself, in order to claim me. The anguish of soul that I would wish away God elected for Himself, in the name of love. In the quietness of God's waiting room, this breathtaking picture filled me with awe. I saw something precious and encouraging I would never have seen otherwise.

Waiting for Breakthrough!

By God’s delay to solve man’s “alone” problem in the Garden of Eden, Adam’s heart was prepared to greet God’s gift of a “suitable helper” with supreme joy. The delay was not the product of God’s displeasure with Adam but of His love.

Think of a young man who intends to “pop the question” to his beloved. He has covertly determined her ring size, found creative ways to benignly discover what she would like, and secretly purchased the perfect engagement ring. Now he delays to give his gift until he can arrange for the perfect moment. Love compels this delay as he plans a special occasion that will climax in dramatically revealing a ring and placing it on the finger of his intended. He wants everything about this moment to shout, “I love you with all my heart.”

While the young man is engaged in his clandestine activity, his bride-to-be feels the pull of two opposing forces. She can wait patiently, trusting in her heart that she is loved. Or she can yield to fear, doubting by what she sees (or actually doesn’t see) that her yearning will ever be fulfilled. The longer her wait, the easier it becomes to trust her eyes more than her heart.

This same battle makes waiting on God a challenge: We must hold fast in our hearts what we know from God’s Word while denying our perceptions the power to shake our trust. The longer the wait, the more easily our eyes convince us that there is no good gift coming.

In the summer of 2010 and shortly after our oldest son graduated from law school, he was diagnosed with cancer.  Praise God for two gifts He provided in the year that followed: He healed our son and delivered him from an overwhelming financial burden. But there was another gift that God withheld. We prayed; we pled with God; we cried; we battled discouragement; yet, we saw no daylight.

From the time of his diagnosis till March of 2014, our son applied for hundreds of  jobs with judges, law firms, and legislatures. He was personally interviewed dozens of times. He was told “you’re our second choice” for several positions. (Jobs are not given to the second choice candidate.) But not once in the span of almost four years did someone say, “We want you!”

These were dark days and it was hard to hold ourselves in a place of trust. This excerpt from my journal (dated December 23, 2013) captures it: “Today, Austin should hear back from [a firm where he interviewed]. In every respect, as far as we can see, this is an ideal setup. I have been praying non-stop for months and this looks like a perfect and impossible miracle. If he is rejected, the pull of despair will be overwhelming. A ‘no’ will bring us close to breaking – I am afraid of this one. Despite my fear, I am thanking You God, in advance, for whatever You give because I am choosing to trust in Your goodness more than my perceptions.” A few days later, my son learned he was their second choice.

Part of what God used to sustain me were the lessons from Beauty of the Barren Land and Blessed Deprivation in Eden. I fixed my trust on these statements: There is no such thing as delay in God’s gift giving; He gives His gifts in the perfect moment; That moment will yet come.

In sadness from watching my good son be unceasingly rejected, I added my voice to the Psalmist: “I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning” (Psalm 130:5–6). Did you catch the phrase, “in His word do I hope?” A bold declaration from the lips of Jesus became the word anchor for my hope: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11). If even despicable men give their children good gifts, how much more will my perfect Father give perfectly appropriate gifts to His children who are asking? My mind retraced its steps on this promise a thousand times over. Choosing again and again to rest on His Word and His character, I waited for breakthrough.

Blessed Deprivation in Eden

True, there are times when God denies us good things as a consequence of our failures. Being cast from the Garden of Eden is a preeminent example. But not every unfulfilled longing signals God’s displeasure. Quite the opposite! Sometimes God withholds the good He intends for us, for a season, in order to prepare us to receive His gifts. This deprivation is not a penalty but a blessing, a gift God bestows on those in whom He delights. It is designed to help us see what life is like without God’s good gifts, so that when those gifts are delivered, our praise soars.

This form of blessed deprivation can be clearly seen in the Garden of Eden. Shall we take a stroll? Genesis 2 provides an expanded account in narrative form of the events that were summarized in Genesis 1:26-28. In Genesis 2, God functions as a father. He brings Adam into existence, assigns him a place in life, gives him vital guidance and counsel, and then provides him with a suitable wife. The genealogy of Jesus found in Luke affirms God’s fatherly role when it references Adam:  . . . Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:38). I find the process that God employs to provide a wife for his son singularly instructive.

God could have taken a very different path. He could have created the man and woman simultaneously or formed the woman from Adam’s rib mere moments after Adam’s creation. Instead, man was created first. Although everything God had created to this point was good, it was decidedly not good that Adam was alone. Then God arranged for the man to embark upon a search for a solution to his “alone” problem.

Please try to put yourself in Adam’s shoes. (Yea, yea, he wasn’t wearing shoes, much less anything else.) Adam had never laid eyes on a woman; she hadn’t been invented yet. So he is searching for something he has never seen. Maybe it was an “I’ll know it when I see it” kind of search. Was God chuckling to himself in anticipation of the moment when He would give Adam that for which his son’s heart ached? All Adam knew was that this exhaustive parade of animals had gone nowhere. Adam would have been justified in thinking, “There is nothing I can see to solve my ‘alone’ problem.”

Adam’s heart was now prepared to receive God’s gift. God tells Adam to take a nap, then creates woman, and finally wakes up Adam for the big reveal. When God presents Adam with his bride, Adam is beside himself (I couldn’t resist!) and exclaims: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23, ESV). Did you catch the terms translated “at last” by many English translations? (The Hebrew is ha pa-am.) Adam takes a deep breath and says, “Finally!” Adam is relieved and overjoyed. His bride is perfect and more than worth the wait.

By God’s delay to solve man’s “alone” problem, Adam’s heart was prepared to greet God’s gift with greater joy. Does God know how to give perfect gifts when the time is just right, or what?

Beauty of the Barren Land

Israel was about a month and a half into it’s journey from the Red Sea to Sinai when the grumbling broke out: “There was good grub aplenty in Goshen - but a big nothing here in the wilderness.” Instead of giving these whiners what they deserved, God served up a hearty helping of grace for the journey!

The miracle of manna was less flashy than the Egyptian plagues and Red Sea Victory, but it was a wonder, the original wonder-bread! Manna tasted like honey wafers and sustained the people of Israel for all of their wilderness camping adventure.

Near the end of his life, Moses reflected on the manna project and recalled, “And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). Notice the sequence – hunger first, then satisfaction.

God had a plan all along. He knew exactly what He intended – to take care of His people by supplying them with daily bread. And He could have easily provided manna from the very first day of Israel’s journey. But He did not: He dished out a hearty helping of deprivation. For 45 days, God required Israel to experience first hand what trying to live off the land was like when said land is a desert. Why did God do this? God wanted Israel to learn something profound: The presence or absence of resources (like bread) does not make the difference in how (and if) a man lives. Whatever God says does.

I am intrigued by something else. A period of going without was part of God’s preparation of Israel to receive what He intended to give them. Deprivation allowed them to appreciate manna for what it was, something unprecedented; something spoken into existence by God Himself; the precious gift of life. Manna was not just an improvement in wilderness life. It was life and Israel’s previous campaign of “45 days of hunger” proved it.

This incident provides a window into how God operates. He often withholds the good He intends for us, for a season, precisely because He is using deprivation to prepare us to receive His gifts. When we are ready, when we will receive His gift with the joy of a famished man given bread, He will speak into existence what we need. The beauty of the desert lies in how it readies the heart. Do not despise your sojourn in a barren land. It is preparing your heart to receive what can only come from the good hand of God.

Peace or Fire on Earth

When Jesus was born, the angel chorus sang, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” So it is a little surprising to hear Jesus say something that sounds quite different: “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division” (Luke 12:49-53).

In the latter passage, Jesus is declaring that He will someday bring judgment on the earth and that it can't happen soon enough. Before that fire falls, however, Jesus Himself must be immersed in God's judgment. Peace will not flow from this baptism, but "division;" Even the most basic of family connections will be upset with fathers taking sides against sons and daughters taking sides against mothers. Their disagreement has to do with fire and peace.

It is not politically correct to say it, but the world stands under the shadow of God's wrath (Col. 3:6). Fire will fall! Here is some good news -- There is an escape plan! The Apostle Paul explained it to the Thessalonian church: For they themselves report . . . how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:9-10). When Jesus returns, He will save His own from the falling fire.

How can He do this? Remember that baptism Jesus underwent! When He died on the cross, He experienced the wrath of God as a substitute for men. The fire of judgment fell on Him so that it need not fall on us! He offers this supreme service as a gift for any who want it. Receive this gift and enjoy true peace. Or refuse it and fire will fall.

This notion of "targeted peace" aligns perfectly with what the angels promised: “And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Those with whom God is pleased will enjoy peace. Those who reject His Son and refuse the supremely costly gift for which He paid, will not.

When "Peace on Earth" is assumed to be a privilege enjoyed by all men simply because "it's Christmas," the very purpose for which Jesus came to earth is trivialized, men are dulled to the fact that the place is about to go up in flames, and the profound value of what Jesus accomplished is diminished.

The angel chorus understood it perfectly. A myriad of them came near Bethlehem to celebrate the first phase of a grand undertaking, a peace initiative that would make it possible for some to avoid the fire that would otherwise consume all. This is definitely something worth singing about!

God Comes Through!

I love it when God delivers! Last spring, I was so amazed, I had to write it all down. Here it is:

March 13, 2010
This was so amazing that when I was praying this morning, I was compelled to write it down.
I went to a Front Sight Two Day Defensive Handgun Course in Nevada last November. While there, I was overwhelmed by a realization of the challenges that policemen face. I wondered about showing appreciation to them by providing a way for some to come to Front Sight.

God went before me to set up the appointment, but yesterday I met with Larry Goodwin (Chief), William Hamric (Assistant Chief), and Jeff Abeln (Assistant Chief) to share my story and to ask if they would be interested in some training from Front Sight. I explained a little bit about the camp and my plan for how CBC could help. We would potentially provide a scholarship and airfare. The Collierville Police Department would have to come up with the funds for food, lodging, rental car, and incidentals while there. I explained that I did not want to pursue this unless they saw the value of it. They all indicated an interest in our offer.

I explained that my next two steps would be securing advantageous pricing for these scholarships and then approval of the program by the CBC Elder Board. Once we passed these two checkpoints, we would be ready to plan for a banquet in which four scholarships would be awarded. I left the meeting encouraged by their response but also sobered by the challenge of securing scholarships. The “normal” price for a two day camp is $1,000-1,200. My desire was to do something that is sustainable, so I wanted to secure 20+ such scholarships. But a price tag for the program of over $20,000 (not including the airfare component) seemed more than a little daunting.

I drove home from the meeting with a mixture of excitement, encouragement, and doubt. I stopped at the mailbox and found a post card from Dr. Ignatius Piazza, the founder of Front Sight. He was offering “a deal” that I had to read over and over to assure myself that it was the solution to my challenge. He was offering me anything that I had purchased in the past for half-off the price I paid. Here’s what made this offer so unbelievable. In early 2009, I had purchased certificates for myself and family members for $100 per course. So, if I read this right, he was offering to sell me a scholarship certificate for $50 that would normally cost $1,000 plus.

What is most amazing to me is the timing. God put this card (unlike anything I have ever seen) in my mailbox where I would receive it 30 minutes after meeting with the Collierville police chiefs. It answered PERFECTLY to what I wanted to do and overcame (what seemed to me to be) the greatest obstacle to the success of this outreach ministry. I had the funds for 20 certificates in our “God account” and Rock agreed, “Let’s do it!”

So, I immediately followed the instructions about how to secure 20 certificates by mail and made sure my letter and check went to the post office this morning. I am having trouble believing this has happened, so I am anxious to see the actual certificates. Won’t the police chiefs be shocked! I suspect they looked at me like I was dreaming but probably would never follow through. God came through!

Sionara Moriah!

What was it like for Abraham and Isaac on the return journey from Moriah? In a previous post, I speculated about the inbound leg to Mount Moriah and the associated faith test that Abraham passed with flying colors (see Genesis 22). So what mixture of relief and high fives propelled the journey back to Beersheba?

The biblical text is somewhat terse: So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba (Gen. 22:19). Alas, there are no details. But the return destination is named - Abraham established himself at Beersheba. It was here that Abraham had taken his faith to a new level before the whole Moriah challenge. Genesis 21 recalls, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God (Gen. 21:33). Abraham's choice of a tent site after Moriah affirmed that calling on the name of the Lord was a good idea in the first place.

And well it should be! After passing the Moriah Test, God made His intentions clear. Genesis 22:15-18 recounts, Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” What a promise! God vowed to profoundly bless Abraham because he had declared, "God matters more to me than even the life of my son."

I am grateful that God is allowing me and my son to return from Moriah. Although Austin had a large mass in his chest, and has been (and will continue) receiving treatment, his latest scan came back "completely normal." From over four inches across to nothing in two months seem miraculous to me. The Doctor has declared this a "textbook case" of how treatment should work. I consider it a textbook case of how the goodness of God works. We are grateful for treatment, but overwhelmed by God's goodness.

I have sought to emulate Abraham and hope that the God who reads hearts has seen in mine echoes of Abraham's faith. Should God find in what He sees a reason to bless me, I cannot say. But I am grateful that we are walking away from Moriah and that I am already so profoundly blessed. High fives all around!

Enroute to Moriah

What a trip! In Genesis 22, God asked Abraham to travel to a mountain He would designate and there offer up his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham arose early the next day to begin the three day trip.

There is no record of the conversation on days one and two, although I cannot imagine a lot of playful banter lightening the mood. Yet the brief interchanges that have been preserved from day three sound a note of hope. Abraham could envision how the situation might turn out differently. But no plan B was forthcoming. So Abraham kept his pace steady to fulfill God's original request. The altar and wood were arranged, the lad bound, the knife unsheathed, and Abraham's arm bared as he braced to plunge the blade into the heart of his son.

What would the journey to Mount Moriah have been like if I walked in the sandals of Abraham? Although my pace on foot would be labored, my mind would be racing in a tumble of questions like these, "How does this request square with God's previous promises? Isaac's birth was miraculous; his destiny was to become the first installment of God's covenant with me; he is poised to become a man who fears God and who is ready to serve Him. And now I am to extinguish all the hope and promise Isaac represents! God's request just doesn't make sense! And then there's the moral dilemma. How can the God of life advocate taking the life of the innocent? Surely this is the opposite of what I would expect of a holy God. Perhaps I have been confused. Perhaps, I have assumed that God is asking me to do this, when God couldn't possibly be the source of such a request! This is all a horrible mistake caused by  miscommunication."

Against the backdrop of such reasonable doubts, Abraham stuns us - he betrays no trace of flinching from God's request in the pregnant moment as the blade is raised. But then God interrupts: He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Gen. 22:12). Did you catch the connection God made? Fearing God and withholding a son are mutually exclusive. By his willingness to give God his son, Abraham proved the genuineness of his fear of God.

I would not presume to equate my experience with Abraham's. But I have recently joined the fellowship of those who journey to Mount Moriah and am striving to learn from Abraham's victory. Earlier this week, our son was diagnosed with cancer. That God would call our beloved son to Himself is among the range of possibilities. So I am asking God to grow in me the authentic fear of Him that is capable of releasing a son to his heavenly Father. I want to fear Him without doubt, without flinching, and without regret. I want to have the kind of regard for my God that considers it an honor to give Him such a precious gift.

God may choose to restore our son - we are fervently praying for precisely that. But even if God does not, we will still love Him and fear Him. Indeed our experience is only deepening our love. For in some small measure, we are experiencing something of what it was like for Father to journey to Mount Moriah and willingly consign His Son to death on a cross. The ghastly picture of what Abraham was about to do shows us what the Father actually did. God stopped Abraham but refused to excuse Himself. Through our tears and anguish of heart, we are seeing with even greater clarity the amazing love of our Father.

Can Bad News Come From Grace?

God had something to say and wanted Jeremiah to get His message through. When God revealed the contents of this message, it gave the prophet reason to pause. God was asking him to deliver the kind of bad news that makes people want to kill the messenger: "Amend your ways or Jerusalem is going to be turned into rubble." His previous experience with national leadership told him not to expect a warm reception.

The beauty of being a pessimist is you're either right or your expectations are exceeded. In this case, after talking straight with Israel, Jeremiah was the former: Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing” (Jer. 26:11).

Despite the accusations, Jeremiah did not flinch: Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard” (Jer. 26:12).

The skewed  reasoning of the religious bigwigs went like this: “We don’t agree with Jeremiah’s message, and that’s all we need to know. Jeremiah deserves death for the audacity of telling us we need to change.” It is remarkable that the priests and prophets did not debate the merits of Jeremiah’s case. They did not ask, “Could it be true that we must either change or be punished?” Had they done so, they might have seen that Jeremiah’s preaching was a benefit not a bane.

What if someone could have provided rock-solid intelligence about what was planned for 9/11 (and how to prevent it) before it happened? Who wouldn’t find receipt of such information an incredible benefit?  That is precisely what Jeremiah did. But, the power trip the priests and prophets were on blinded them to the value of what they were receiving. The general populace did get it right, saying, “No death sentence of this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God” (Jer. 26:16).   

An unfavorable message, if it comes from God, is evidence of grace not grumpiness. God does not have to warn us. He could easily give us a taste of “shock and awe” without warning.  But that is not how our Father operates. Even when we are walking in disobedience, His love moves Him to tell us what we NEED to hear even when it is not what we WANT to hear. So if you want to receive the full benefits of God’s grace, ask Him to help you hear and take to heart whatever He wants to tell you, even when He has some bad news.

For Christians Pleading the Fifth

It was quite entertaining a few days ago to watch the White House Party Crashers "plead the fifth" (a lot!) during their testimony before the House. I have been tempted to do likewise when a critic suggests, "So, you think I'm going to hell if I don't believe in Jesus, right?" For Christians who take John 14:6 seriously, answering such a question seems a choice between betraying Jesus and incriminating oneself as a bigot. Reminds me of the question, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" There's no good answer. Or is there?

The critic's inquiry uses some terms that need to be defined: What is meant by "hell?" And, what does "believe in Jesus" mean? Is believing in Jesus a binary condition, you either do or you don't? Or is it a variable that must pass a certain threshold before it "saves?" Both thieves believed that Jesus was a real person and that he was crucified, but only one thief was promised entrance into Paradise. In their case, only one had a faith that rose to the level of saving faith. So when someone wants me to respond to his accusation, "You think I'm going to hell because I don't believe in Jesus," it's perfectly appropriate to ask, "What do you mean by 'hell' and 'believe in Jesus'?"

Note that the critic has not asked a simple question. He is asking me to affirm a logical construct. Here is the critic's logic: "A" - I do not believe in Jesus; "B" - I am going to Hell; and "A" is the cause of "B." In which case, it is entirely reasonable for me to remind my critic that I must examine all three elements in order to affirm what "I think" is true.

I would start with the first one by posing, "What do you believe (and not believe) about Jesus, and why? Have you always believed this or is this something you have recently come to?"

Isn't this nifty! You can use the critic's cold water question to open a lively discussion. If the critic gets all cranky and says, "Just answer my question," you can respond, "That's exactly what I'm trying to do, beginning with statement A!"

There is more, something implicit, in the critic's question. His inquiry has been phrased in a way that rings of threat language. God is depicted as the petulant despot who dispatches any detractor, who consigns good folks to a cosmic dungeon for daring to entertain an independent thought. If this is what the critic contends by His question, then the only right response is, "I couldn't disagree with you more!"

I understand "hell" to describe a realm of existence in which everything associated with God has been extracted. I also believe that Jesus gives men what they choose, even when what they want is a life wholly apart from Himself. In this life, God allows men the time to lock in their choice. He takes no pleasure in their foolish direction and is disappointed in their rejection of Himself. However, He shows them both continued patience and kindness to give them a reason to change their minds. But once a man has made his choice, Jesus will give that man what he has requested.

So I would pose these words to my critic: "Your question implies a threat. But if you understand 'hell' to be a term that describes existence wholly apart from God, aren't there some who would consider this a blessing? Don't some individuals think that life would be easier without the God of the Bible? So which are you? Would you consider living wholly apart from God a good thing or a bad thing?"

If my critic thinks living apart from God is bad (a conclusion the Bible would affirm), then I have some Really Good News we can talk about. If he thinks living apart from God sounds like a good idea, then his original question is both confusing and misleading. He is labeling what he desires as a penalty and blaming God for giving him what he wants. Makes me want to ask, "Have you stopped misrepresenting God, yet?"

The Art of Asking, Part 3 of 3

In a previous post, we acknowledged that Jesus repeatedly affirmed this simple formula. If we will ask, the Father will do. Don't confuse its simplicity with its "degree of difficulty," however. There is something inside us that will put forth a plethora of reasons NOT to ask. Here are three:

1. Asking Implies Accountability – When we ask God for something, our actions are an acknowledgment that He is in charge. By asking, the "asker" is admitting that he is not the master of his own destiny. Who doesn't feel the pull of saying, "I can do it myself?" To ask God is to pitch this self-delusion and declare, "God is the One upon whom I depend - I need what only He can give."
2. Asking Invites Refusal - When we pose a question to God - "Will You do this?" - it is a question that allows for at least two possibilities: "Yes" or "no!" Who likes being told "no?" So when we ask God for something that we really, REALLY want, we are allowing for the possibility that God could say, "not now," or "not ever." That risk can keep us from asking. But consider this: If God says "no," is that a bad thing? Not at all, if you understand God's love, wisdom, and power. God is committed to our best (love), knows what would serve our best interests (wisdom), and is perfectly capable of accomplishing it (all-powerful). So when God says "no," knowing His love, wisdom, and power allows me to respond by saying, "Thanks for your 'no.' You have refused this request, because love wouldn't grant such a thing. Thanks for watching out for me."
3. Asking Requires Waiting - When we ask, we have to wait for an answer. That's a challenge, especially in America where we want it NOW! So rather than ask and wait, we are tempted to rush after it on our own. Asking is a declaration of a profound preference: "I want what God chooses to give me, regardless of how long it takes, rather than what I can seize for myself right now."

The mere act of asking is by itself the first and foremost element of the art of asking. It is a form of worship wherein a man (or woman) declares his dependence on God, his trust in God for an answer that will be the product of love and wisdom, and his willingness to respect God's discernment of the right timing. Simply, to ask is to worship God.

But several of the qualifying phrases referenced by Jesus in our master chart add to our understanding of the art of asking. In Matthew 21:22, the asking is qualified by the phrase, "in prayer, believing." It will not do to make a request of God while entertaining doubt and uncertainty about God's ability to do what is asked. We may ask God for the impossible, but such prayers will be ineffective unless they arise from a confidence that nothing is impossible with God.

Several times, Jesus speaks of asking "in My name." This is often the basis for adding a formula at the end of a prayer, "In Jesus Name, Amen," sort of a magic charm that makes a prayer more powerful. (There is nothing intrinsically wrong with closing a prayer with these words, but this is not Jesus' point.) There are two principles captured by this phrase. In a passage like John 16:23-24, praying in Jesus' name means making requests on His authority. To pray in Jesus' name means to come before the Father and declare, "I am making this request of You because Jesus has given me the authority to do so." It's a bold and gutsy move, but one for which the death of Jesus has qualified us. Amazing!

The second idea behind "asking in Jesus' name" is given a more expansive treatment in John 15:7: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” Note two things: (1) The one who understands the art of asking is an abiding disciple. He maintains his vital connection with Jesus. (2) When Jesus' words abide in a disciple, his thoughts and actions are informed by and reflect Jesus' teachings; he is "in tune" with Jesus' desires. His requests are the kind of which Jesus would say, "Now that's exactly what I would ask for. Good request!"

The obvious implication is that growing in our skill to ask well will be accompanied by growth in our ability to use "Word-driven prayers." Before making a prayer request of God, locate Bible verses that speak to the issues. Figure out what Jesus would ask for if He was to bring the situation before God. Pray for that and you are praying "in Jesus' name."

One more element to the art of asking is addressed in Matthew 18:19. The clause, "if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask," underscores the importance of agreement. When two disciples are praying for opposite outcomes, their prayers are probably a prelude to disappointment, at least for one party. But when they agree, the prayer power meter jumps. To increase your effectiveness in prayer, work with one or two others to discern what Jesus would pray for. Then start praying with one voice. Then step back and see God work!

The Art of Asking, Part 2 of 3

When Jesus says it ONCE, that is enough. When He repeats it TWELVE TIMES, it should be more than enough to make things perfectly clear - "Asking" moves the hand of God. "Ask," the single word in the blue column above, is found in each of the dozen passages in the left column. This word constitutes the simple sum of our part of an equation. We do the asking (blue column), then God does the doing (lavender column). (By the way, you can download an expanded and printable copy of this nifty table by clicking here.) So when we want to see what can only be explained by the hand of God, our part is simple: Ask! James explains the flip side, "You do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:2).

Note three categories of information from this table that expand our understanding of "askology." (1) The One to whom our requests are directed is identified as the Father (3 times) or the Son (1 time). (2) The domain of what we can ask for is wide open, "anything," "whatever" or "whatever you wish," and "all things." Seems pretty simple, so far. (3) But HOW we ask is qualified by several phrases including "in My name," and "in prayer, believing." The clause, "if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you," appears in John 15:7 as a prerequisite for effective requests.

We are left with an inescapable conclusion: Not all requests are created equal. Those which meet the conditions in the "qualifier" column are answered by the Father's pleasure to act. No such guaranty is extended to requests that fail the "qualifier" test. Asking God matters, we can ask Him for anything, but how we ask makes all the difference between "do" and "not do." So what does such an art of asking look like, anyway?