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. . . seek, and you will find . . . —Luke 11:9 All you have to do is watch a little television to begin to desire. The media is designed to cause us to want things. And it’s not just the commercials, but the television shows themselves portray people living lives that seem far above and beyond our daily grind. If we can but realize that this picture of life, limits and does not expand, our horizons. If we limit our reach to those things we see in the  media, we cheat ourselves. God intends so much more for us. Today I begin a Kairos weekend. I will go to the most unlikely of places to find God and His blessings. I know I will see him work in lives apparently “destroyed” by sin and death and He will put life into dry bones. I say this with confidence because I have seen it again and again. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . .” ( James 4:3  ). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment.  Our […]

Everyone who asks receives . . . —Luke 11:10 I hate to ask for directions. I think it is mostly a man thing. Women don’t seem to be afflicted with this malady. I don’t like to ask for directions because to ask is to admit I am lost. A man should never be lost. He should always know where he is. I think to some extent OC agrees: “There is nothing more difficult than asking. We will have yearnings and desires for certain things, and even suffer as a result of their going unfulfilled, but not until we are at the limit of desperation will we ask. “Everyone who asks receives . . . .” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (seeMatthew 5:45  ). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God. Heavenly Father, all good things come from you. I pray for this […]

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them —John 13:17 This week is another Kairos retreat week. It is especially exciting to watch the “new guys” get caught up in the excitement of the ministry. It is a scary thing to go into Angola, once the bloodiest prison in America, now transformed by the love of God into the country’s largest church behind bars. It is exciting to see the new ones, at first tentative, then excited as the prospect of seeing God at  work. One of the great times during the weekend occurs on Saturday night when the “new guys” are given a chance to share their thoughts and impressions. These reflections never fail to bring forth tears. Almost unanimously these people will tell you how they never envisioned themselves in prison ministry and that they fought mightily against the call if God. If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, […]

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . —John 14:13 Our lives should be affecting change in our world. Those around us should be different because we exist. The first question then, should be, is that change occurring? Is the world I live in any different because I am in it? That’s the easy question, because the answer certainly is “yes.” By our mere presence change occurs. Is that change for the better. Things are better if they are closer to the Kingdom of God. We are seeking those changes if our wills are aligned with the will of the Creator. If that is true, the final and key question is by what power is the changer occurring? Am I attempting to make things better by the act of my will, by the doing of good deeds? Or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him. Am […]

. . . work out your own salvation . . . for it is God who works in you . . . —Philippians 2:12-13 There is probably as much controversy over this verse as any in scripture. What does it mean to “work out your own salvation?”  We start with the understanding that there is nothing we can do on our own to earn salvation. No go “work” is good enough to earn us a ticket to paradise. Our salvation is based entirely upon the completed work of Jesus Christ. We access that salvation through faith in Him. So what’s this “work out” all about? A saved soul is no good to anyone else. When a saved soul begins to live in a new way, consistent with the will of God, others are attracted to God within and want the same for themselves. God created man with free will. Our best life is to align our will with that of the Creator. “. . . for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— […]

He Himself has said . . . . So we may boldly say . . . —Hebrews 13:5-6 Rosemary and I stepped out boldly last night. We went to the movies, a 9:40 feature. We are normally snug in our beds by that time. It’s a different crowd that goes to the late feature, younger, more energetic. The movie was about a spy who seeks the normal life and appears to have achieved it when, suddenly, there is a  20 million dollar bounty on his head and all of his “friends and neighbors” are trying to kill him and collect.. On our way home after the movie, at nearly midnight, we felt every slow moving vehicle contained potential assassins. Maybe we bit off more than we could chew with our late night adventure. Our six week session of Fearless comes back to mind in this series from OC. My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” ( Hebrews 13:5-6  ). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not […]

He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you’ —Hebrews 13:5   I don’t think I completely realize the significance of this verse: the promise of God that He will never leave or forsake me. Wow. There are times I would leave or forsake myself. He promises not to leave me for any reason; not my sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. So those times when I feel alone, when I feel forsaken, I need to realize that I can’t rely on my feelings. I have to trust His promise. He’s there; even if I can’t feel his presence. Those time of great testing or trial; He’s there. Actually, I can usually feel His presence in the really tough times. I can usually recognize that what is happening is a test and He’s there to pull me through. It’s the hum drum times of life that I need help recognizing He’s around. When I have to do things that aren’t particularly tough, but are also not particularly exciting. When the ordinary seems to scream boredom at me, then I need help recognizing His presence. Finally, if I recognize and believe He will never forsake me; it forces […]

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him . . . —Psalm 25:14 Many of us learned in the past 6 weeks, the power of the small group. We need an outlet to share our secret sorrows and joys. It is extremely beneficial to talk to and listen to other Christians. We learn that we are not alone with our struggles or our joys. We may have someone whose shoulder we can cry on; but the sign of a real friend is someone with who we can share our secret joys.  Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys? Or are we continually telling God our secrets, leaving Him no time to talk to us? What makes God so dear to us is not so much His big blessings to us, but the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us— He knows every detail of each of our individual lives. A great prayer and share group is a mirror of what our relationship with Our Lord should be growing to: knowledge and care of another in the big and small parts of our lives. If you haven’t known the benefits […]