It Is Finished

40 Days of Prayer 

It Is Finished

  
After nearly six hours suffering on the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." 
John 19:30 ESV

"Just as the only basis for the removal of our guilt is the finished work of Christ upon the cross in history, plus nothing, so the only instrument for accepting that finished work of Christ upon the cross is faith. This is not faith in the twentieth century or Kierkegaardian concept of faith as a jump in the dark -- not a solution on the basis of faith in faith. It is believing the specific promises of God; no longer turning our backs on them, no longer calling God a liar, but raising the empty hands of faith and accepting that finished work of Christ as it was fulfilled in history upon the cross."  Francis A. Schaefer, True Spirituality

What was finished when Christ died on the cross? A spiritual and physical healer that brought encouragement to many? The life of a Jewish teacher who was killed for heretical teaching? A movement led by a reformer who preached of the "Kingdom of God" as a means for personal and egalitarian social transformation (thank you Wikipedia)? Or was God himself crucified on behalf of guilty sinners in order to redeem them?

Shaeffer says we believe the promises of God. We recognize we add nothing to the work of Christ. We contribute nothing to our redemption. D.A. Carson says it is one of the ironies of the cross that the one who is all powerful would make himself powerless. A pivotal moment in history that forever changed the way we relate to God should never be reduced to something men can accomplish in good works. To attempt to add to the work of God as if it were not enough is the true abomination before The Lord.

Faith is not a jump in the dark with no basis. The words in Scripture are a true and sound foundation for our faith. As Shaeffer says, "Believe in the promises of God." We lean on these promises even now in the unknown future of Grace Redeemer. Praise the Lord because He is real and His finished work saves real people!

Empty Hands of Faith

40 Days of Prayer 

Empty Hands of Faith

  

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:35-37 NIV

 

Alone and at the end of his life Napoleon said, "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires.  But on what did we rest the creations of our genius?  Upon force.  Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love. And at this hour millions of men would die for him." (May 1821)

 

C. T. Studd gave up fame and fortune to serve God as a missionary on three continents in the wild days of mid-nineteenth century missions. What prompted him? He said, "If Christ be God and died for me, then there is nothing too great that I can do for Him."

 

Not many of us will be called to physically lay down our lives for Christ and yet Jesus says to us, "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39 NIV). Living sacrificially for Christ requires a death of ourselves as our own gods in order to make Him Lord. Its in this time of surrender that we see the real power of Christ's love shine; for Jesus has promised that we will do great things in His Name. How do we die to ourselves? Francis Shaeffer tells us that it is moment by moment decisions and choices to live surrendered to Christ while holding up empty hands of faith.

 

How will Grace Redeemer reflect Christ's love when it takes on this ministry at the new location? Will it be by the strength of ourselves, maybe accomplishing some good things with good intentions? Or will we instead continue to surrender ourselves to follow Christ with empty hands of faith accomplishing great impossible things that can only be attributed to God alone? 

Giving Up the 1%

40 Days of Prayer

Giving Up the 1%

  
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

"We do not believe Jesus when He says there is more blessedness, more joy, more lasting pleasure in a life devoted to helping others than there is in a life devoted to our material comfort. And therefore, the very longing for contentment that ought to drive us to simplicity of life and labors of love contents itself instead with the broken cisterns of prosperity and comfort." John Piper, Desiring God

As I prepared to preach at a funeral for a faithful Christian young woman, one of her friends made a comment, "I heard that heaven is eternal where just one day there is like 10,000 years here." Although you can't put any measure against eternity, but going with this concept, if I live 100 years then that is 1% of one day of my endless days in glory. Tim Keller quoted someone in his sermon saying, "A life filled with constant trial and struggle here on earth will find in glory that it seemed like one night at a bad hotel."

And yet all our struggles are focused on that 1%. Our desire for prosperity and comfort war against our desire for eternal things. Solomon said it best:

I said to myself, "Let's go for it - experiment with pleasure, have a good time!" But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke...Then I took a good look at everything I'd done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing. ... And I hated everything I'd accomplished and accumulated on this earth. I can't take it with me - no, I have to leave it to whoever comes after me. Whether they're worthy or worthless - and who's to tell? - they'll take over the earthly results of my intense thinking and hard work. Smoke. That's when I called it quits, gave up on anything that could be hoped for on this earth.  Ecclesiastes 2:1,11,18-20 MSG

Jesus, who left immortality to enter our world of time, knows better than anyone the brilliance and never fading glory of eternal heaven. Our future with Grace Redeemer will call us to sacrifice prosperity and comfort in pursuit of eternal things. We as flawed sinful people can never accomplish this on our own. It is only the power of our eternal and mighty God working within us that accomplishes any good work. Earnestly pray that He will work in and through the people of Grace Redeemer to accomplish His good work in the here and now of today in Crestview that results in eternal benefits to many. 

40 Days of Prayer

Do I Really Love God?

  
"We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19 NKJV

"But without disputing any longer, do we not all admit that our love to God is the sweet offspring of God's love to us? Ah! beloved, cold admiration every man may have; but the warmth of love can only be kindled by the fires of God's Spirit. Let each Christian speak for himself, we shall all hold this great and cardinal truth, that the reason of our love to God is, the sweet influence of his grace."  Charles Haddon Spurgeon, December 19, 1858

When we think about love and our Christian life journey, we have the tendency to self reflect and ask ourselves, 'Do I love?' This is not a bad question to ask and quite frankly, we should constantly examine ourselves for this answer. However, as good a practice this is, it can breed within us a legalistic measuring stick about love. 'I should love because God loves me, so how much love do I display in helping others? How much my gift actually measures giving in love?' It can be like our attitude  after eating a meal at a restaurant and calculating our server's tip. 'Let's see, 15% of $13.40 is $2.01. Does anyone have a penny?' A tip is a cold and calculated (and expected) gift to a complete stranger. Is my love in response to God's love so measured?

Before we go down that road, let's look at this verse once more. "We love Him because He first loved us." The New King James Version is the only version that has the word 'Him' within the text. All other translations say, "We love because He first loved us." The original Greek does not have a specific object of our love designated, but personally, I think the intended meaning is quite accurate, 'We love Him because He first loved us.' So, the better question to ask ourselves is not 'Do I love?' But rather, 'Do I really love God?'

We can't examine how we love others until we truly know that we actually do love Him. I know this sounds obvious, but sitting at the core of our 'life loving others in Christ's Name' is a heart that beats with an adoring love of God. Why? Because God is love (1 John 4:16). Love comes from God (4:7). Without God we cannot love. Without God's love living in us, we cannot love others. So, if the answer is "Yes! I really do love God!" then celebrate in the grace of the gift that you actually do love, for John states in 4:7, "Anyone who loves has been born of God." And when our heart opens itself to this grace, then His redemptive gift of love overwhelms our soul with joy; for love is 'not that we loved God, but that He first loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.' (4:10)

Let us pray for God's love to shine through us, but may we never forget that simple praise, "Thank you, God, that I love at all. For my own love is proof that You live in me." Praising God and loving others then become united in Christ; never calculated and immeasurable.

40 Days of Prayer 

The Desert of Waiting

  
"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you." Psalm 63:1-5 NIV

"There is so often a great disparity between how we feel about faith and how we are meant to feel. Why do so few people genuinely find joy and pleasure in their relationship with God? Why do most people feel they have to either pay God back for all He's done (buy His love) or somehow keep making up for all their inadequacies and failures (prove their love)? Why are the words of Psalm 63:1-5 not an honest reflection of our lives on most days?" Francis Chan, Crazy Love

Mediocre, lukewarm faith. If there is one thing you do not get from David, it is lukewarm faith. He is either failing colossally or triumphing gloriously. David is on the run, hiding in the desert having found out that Saul wants to kill him. He cries out to God who's "love is better than life." The passionate words he writes in Psalm 63 testify to his great love and faith in God despite his circumstances. Chan says that lukewarm living while claiming the name of Christ disgusts God. "So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:16 NIV)

The circumstances of life can place us like David in the desert and waiting. Much like we are right now with Grace Redeemer....waiting....waiting. What happens to our love and passion in the desert of waiting? Does it wane along with our enthusiasm? Nothing is ever wasted by God including dwelling in the desert. God will use this time to sharpen our focus, define our vision, and strengthen our body for the ministry ahead. In the desert we seek and pray. We immerse ourselves in the word of God and praise Him for the now and the future. And we watch our faith grow as God's love becomes "better than life."

Take time to lift up your hands and praise the Lord for what He has done and what He is doing.

40 Days of Prayer

The New Commandment

  
"A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35 NIV

Three concepts to absorb here. First, the word commandment. Jesus uses the same word He had previously used in reference to the ten commandments. But, He also used this word in reference to instruction from His heavenly Father, "I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from my Father." (John 10:18)

Second is the word new. Jesus had already stated in Mark 12:30-31 that the most important commandment was this, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."' So, what is new about Jesus commanding 'love one another?'

What's new is the type of love Jesus commands: we are to love as Jesus loved us. Jesus' love is aboundingly new. His love is eternally constant and divinely pure. It is marked by His loving service and amazing self-sacrifice. As Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, "There is no light in the planet but that which cometh from the sun; there is no light in the moon but that which is borrowed, and there is no true love in the heart but that which cometh from God." This is why Jesus adds, "all men (mankind) will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Pray for Jesus' love to not only overwhelm you today, but for it to be brilliantly reflected before all whom you meet today. Pray that the Lord will flood His love upon Grace Redeemer that when people of Crestview are asked to describe her, that they may say, "That church loves!"

40 Days of Prayer

Bearing in Love

  
"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load." Galatians 6:1-5 ESV

"Thus the law of Christ is a law of bearing. Bearing means forbearing and sustaining. The brother is a burden to the Christian, precisely because he is a Christian. For the pagan the other person never becomes a burden at all. He simply sidesteps every burden that others may impose upon him. The Christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated. The burden of men was so heavy for God Himself that He had to endure the Cross." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

The church is divided. There are those who want to zealously keep the law of Moses burdening others with their own devotion and those who have neither the willingness or desire to keep such laws. Paul is describing for us how to bring unity and community to the divided and diverse people within any Christian fellowship. It is our responsibility and more importantly the mark of Christian maturity to do so.

The word bear is used twice in the first five verses of Galatians; once in describing our actions toward others and next in describing our actions toward ourselves. Bonhoeffer uses the word forbear which is defined as being patient when subject to annoyance. He goes on to use the words "suffer" and "endure" when describing our actions toward one another. These are not the words I normally associate with loving my brother. But that is the point. It is not the "easy to love" people - the ones who think like us, have the same interests, the same sense of humor or the same worldview that burden us. It is the "hard to love" people that burden us. In other words, if you are not annoyed by that person, then you really don't have to bear or forbear anything about them. It is interesting that the very next verse cautions us about our pride because at the root of our conflict and frictions with others is the thought that we are better than them.

Paul goes on to say that each of us bear our own load. This burden is different from the burden of others that we are called to bear. Here Paul is referring to our work, ministry, gifts, or opportunities within the Christian fellowship. How do we love our brothers - with a gentle compassionate humility or with a harsh impatient eye-rolling tolerance? Bonhoeffer challenges us to move beyond tolerance to find joy in our brothers, especially those who are hard to love.

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2 ESV

Pray that Grace Redeemer will strive to be a body as diverse as the people God has created and that within that diversity there is great love for one another.

40 Days of Prayer 

Idolatry and Coveting

  
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:2-3 NIV

"...the Ten Commandments begin with a commandment against idolatry. Why does this come first? Because, he argued, the fundamental motivation behind law-breaking is idolatry. We never break the other commandments without breaking the first one." Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods

Yesterday Shaeffer argued that the commandments ended with 'thou shalt not covet' because coveting is the sinful root that motivates all law-breaking. Today Keller argues that the law against idolatry begins the Ten Commandments because it tells us why we break all the other laws. The prophet Jeremiah says it like this, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Our hearts are beyond cure. Our hearts are idol factories where coveting grows. Jeremiah precedes with these verses: "This is what the Lord says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land." Jeremiah 17:5-6 NIV

Idolatry begins our death slide -- 'move over God, I decide what rules me.' Coveting then empowers all sin -- 'I want what I want.' What a horrible pair! No wonder Paul despaired in Romans 7:24-25, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Since the dawn of time this has been our constant battle. Idolatry begins our death slide and coveting prospers upon that soil and breeds deep roots into our hearts. Left to ourselves we would surely run headlong into destruction. But, there is hope, one solution - the Living God redeemed us from this death slide by dying on the cross in our place and through His resurrection now fills us with the powerful presence of His Spirit.

600 years before the birth of our Savior, Jeremiah went on to say: "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV

Pray that the Spirit within us will reveal our idols, teach us to trust in Christ alone and enable His fruit to be produced within our hearts. 

40 Days of Prayer

True Spirituality

  

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."  Exodus 20:17 ESV

(Taken from Francis A. Shaeffer, The Law and the Law of Love)

We do not find true spirituality by keeping a list of dos and don'ts which has as its purpose to make us appear holy. Nor is it found in rejecting that same list in order to live a life we want reasoning that we are above such things. True Spirituality comes face to face with the whole Ten Commandments and all that is included in them. I am also face to face with the Law of Love, the fact that I am to love God and I am to love my fellow men. The climax of the Ten Commandments is in the tenth commandment, "You shall not covet."  The commandment not to covet is an entirely inward thing. It is an intriguing factor that this is the last command God gives us in the Ten Commandments and thus the hub of the whole matter. We break this last commandment, not to covet, before we break any of the others. Any time that we break one of the other commandments of God, it means that we have already broken this commandment. Paul expresses this in Romans 7:

"What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died." Romans 7:7-9 ESV

He does not mean that he was perfect before. What he is saying is, "I did not know I was a sinner; I thought I would come out all right because I was keeping these outward things and getting along all right in comparison with other people." But when he opened the Ten Commandments and read that the last commandment was not to covet, he saw he was a sinner. Coveting is the negative side of the positive command, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ...and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37, 39). Love is internal. It might have external manifestations but love itself will always be internal. Coveting is always internal. It also has external manifestations. To love God will all our heart, mind and soul is to not covet against God; and to love our neighbor as ourselves is to not covet against them. 

True spirituality desires the deeper life of the positive command. True Spirituality is even more: it is a positive inward reality that "Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20) with a positive outward result in the fruit of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22).

May Grace Redeemer always be about seeking the deeper life, to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

40 Days of Prayer

I Do What I Want To Do

  
"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Luke 9:23-27

"...we have reached a time when a powerful internal, moral imperative is not easily understood. Small wonder, then that the moral imperative under which Jesus himself operated has to be explained and justified. Moreover, Christians today will understand that biblically authentic Christianity is never merely a matter of rules and regulations, of public liturgy and private morality. Biblical Christianity results in transformed men and women - men and women who, because of the power of the Spirit of God, enjoy regenerated natures. We want to please God, we want to be holy, we want to confess Jesus is Lord." D.A. Carson, Scandalous

Denying self is something we hear about often in the church. In part the concept is what creates such a negative view from the outside for the church. Denying oneself comes with the idea that it is something we don't want to do so being a Christian is all about doing things you don't want to do. Can't wait to join, right?! Christians know and understand that this is not the truth. False religion focuses on rules and regulation that make us appear right and righteous on the outside - "See how much I love God." Men and women transformed by the power of God understand that to deny yourself is to find yourself, to die is to live, and in giving, we receive (Carson). It is one of the unfathomable truths of Christianity that we want to do this - it is powerful; it is internal and it is imperative - and despite how often we fail, God continues to move and work within us - "See how much God loves me."

Pray that our love and actions as a church reflect this want and the joy we find in serving Christ.

40 Days of Prayer

True Success

  
"Naaman,commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper." 2 Kings 5:1 ESV

"So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying,"Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage." 2 Kings 5:9-12 ESV

"Naaman's entire worldview was being challenged. He had just learned that this God is not an extension of culture, but a transformer of culture, not a controllable but sovereign Lord. Now he was being confronted with a God who in his dealings with human beings only operates on the basis of grace. These two go together. No one can control the true God because no one can earn, merit, or achieve their own blessing and salvation." Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods

Success or failure. What does the future hold and how do we view our role in it? Naaman was a "great man," a very successful man in battle yet he suffered with leprosy. Leprosy was not only a physically debilitating disease, it was a socially isolating one. For all his success, his disease made him the envy of no one. Matthew Henry says it like this - Naaman was as great as the world could make him, yet the lowest slave would not have traded places with him. What an ironic situation. Do we consider ourselves successful without the envy of our peers? Success then is measured not only in the achievement of goals but also by the amount of regard we receive from others.

Now a slave has told Naaman of a way to overcome this personal struggle. As a successful man he set about achieving one more victory - conquering his leprosy. He gathered all of resources and set out to win. When he arrives at Elisha's, the prophet does not come out to meet him or receive his gifts but instead gives him a simple instruction to wash in the river. Naaman's anger reveals his heart - What a waste of time! I wanted something a little more sophisticated and powerful, worthy of the man I am. But here was an opportunity to be wowed by God, the great God, not Naaman, the great man or even Elisha the great prophet. Naaman is challenged by the same slave to take the prophet at his word. Naaman surrenders and is healed. God as Keller says is not an extension of culture content to work within the means of men. He is a transformer of culture desiring to reveal his all surpassing power through our jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:7).

From the beginning of Grace Redeemer we have prayed that it would be known that through God alone this church was planted. May we be servants of that work like Naaman. Available servants that God works through to transform culture. May our success be found in honoring and glorifying Him through both the great and small tasks of that work.

40 Days of Prayer

Surrendering the Future

  
"We want you to know, Christian brothers, of the trouble we had in the countries of Asia. The load was so heavy we did not have the strength to keep going. At times we did not think we could live. We thought we would die. This happened so we would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead. Yes, God kept us from what looked like sure death and He is keeping us. As we trust Him, He will keep us in the future. You also help us by praying for us. Many people thank God for His favor to us. This is an answer to the prayers of many people." 2 Cor 1:8-11 NLT

"When it comes to real life struggles...I am coming to believe that I need something that is not of my flesh to save me..." Sharon Hersh, The Last Addiction

 In her book The Last Addiction, Sharon Hersh talks about the final addiction in our lives being control. Control over ourselves. Control over those around us. Control over God. As we look back on the many struggles in the last few weeks over our building/meeting place and the future of Grace Redeemer, we easily become frustrated at the inability to control the situation. How many times have we submitted those plans to the city? How many times have we asked the question, "Why Us?" Even in worship we are missing our friends who have moved away, deployed, or are absent. We finally come to the end of ourselves. It is there we find God moving and working - despite us, without us, because of us, within us. See how Paul says it in the passage,  "as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead..."  It is so easy in the midst of turmoil and the urgency of need in our circumstances to react and to respond and to do so in the strength of our own  resources.We lean on our limited, weak human strength instead of the far reaching, unquenchable power of God who raises the dead. It seems so simple and yet our actions can often testify to the fact that we resist this simple truth. 

As we face a very important milestone in Grace Redeemer's journey to be planted, may we all surrender the future and the outcome to the Lord. For He knows what we need before we ask him (Matthew 6:7) Pray that our actions will speak loudly of the name we profess and believe as sovereign Lord. As we trust Him, He will keep us in the future.

40 Days of Prayer

A Transformation of Character

  
"The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." Matthew 19:20-22 ESV

"The young man has come wanting fulfillment. He wants his life to be complete....He knows he is still "lacking" something, and he is looking for a goal, a completion. Jesus suggests that he needs turning inside out. His life is to become part of a larger outward-looking purpose: he is to put God's kingdom first, and put his neighbor (especially his poor neighbor) before his own fulfillment and prospects. Here is the real challenge: not just to add one or two more commandments, to set the moral bar a little higher, but to become a different sort of person altogether. Jesus is challenging the young man to a transformation of character." N.T. Wright, After You Believe

Why is change so hard? Why are we so resistant to it? Maybe it is because we become comfortable and this comfort allows us to rest from our striving. Change demands that we redo, reexamine, recreate, and/or re-energize. Just typing it sounds exhausting and overwhelming. The young man in Matthew's gospel sincerely wants to please God. He simply is asking Jesus how to do that. How many times have you prayed, "Lord, just show me your will"? Are we like the young man who does not really want the answer he received? Jesus' call to "Follow me" requires more than simply following the rules, looking good on the outside, and being comfortable. He wants our character to be transformed, our hearts sacrificed.

Being a part of the Grace Redeemer church plant has not afforded many of us comfort. It certainly has not come without lots of change that includes, redoing, reexamining, recreating, and re-energizing! As we work and strive to plant this church, may God be working within each one of us a transformed heart and may we listen and answer to the Spirit working within us. 

40 Days of Prayer

The Messiah is Here

  
"Jesus replied, "Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming -indeed it's here now - when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." The woman said, "I know the Messiah is coming - the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus told her, "I Am the Messiah!" John 4:21-26 NLT

Messiah is a rare word concept that had significant relevance to this woman. By definition, Messiah has its Hebrew roots in the action of being anointed. Meshah, to anoint, was done to priests to set them apart for service and to kings before they could ever rule. The OT believer was looking forward to the day of 'the anointed one,' the Messiah, who would be THE priest of priests and THE king of kings. The people of Israel had lost their vision of this hope, but, for this random woman of Samaria, she had a deep longing for a person to come who would be exactly that for her. "The Messiah is coming." In her many rejections as another's wife, she needed something for which she not only hoped, but for the one who would "explain everything." How awesome it must have been for her to hear the words from Jesus, "I am THE Messiah."

For what she had been searching, was found in Jesus. Her hope for her Messiah seemed far away, but He was standing right before her. Sometimes we look so far forward for hope, that we miss its answer right before our eyes. Bill Keane, author/cartoonist of the comic strip Family Circus, said, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today, however, is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present."

Prayer: Praise God for the present hope that we already have in Jesus Christ and ask Him to always remind us that Jesus is not just standing among us, but that He actually already lives within us.

40 Days of Prayer

Christ as Mediator

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." 1Timothy 2:3-6 ESV

"Reconciliation of the warring parties is needed, but this can occur only if God's wrath is somehow absorbed and quenched and man's anti-God heart, which motivates his anti-God life, is somehow changed. In mercy, God the angry Judge sent his Son into the world to bring about the needed reconciliation. It was not that the kindly Son acted to placate his harsh Father; the initiative was the Father's own." J.I. Packer, Concise Theology

Dictionary.com defines a mediator as a person who settles disputes between two parties at "variance." What a lame description of what Christ did for us. Variance makes is sound as if we simply hurt someone's feelings instead of killing the Son of God with our sin. We reject the strong language of this because it causes us to recognize the evil of our hearts and our hostility toward God. (Romans 8:7). I like the way J.I. Packer defines our need for a mediator because we are "at war with God." But through the mediating work of Christ we are at peace with God (Rom. 5). The war is over. Packer goes on to say that Jesus role as mediator is fulfilled in all three roles of prophet, priest, and king. "We who believe are called to understand this and to show ourselves his people by obeying him as our king, trusting him as our priest, and learning from him as our prophet and teacher. To center on Jesus Christ in this way is the hallmark of authentic Christianity" (Concise Theology).

Prayer: Praise God for the gift of His Son. Pray for God to use your story of reconciliation in the lives of others. 

40 Days of Prayer

Lamb of God 

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." John 1:29-34 NIV

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,    stricken for the transgression of my people? Isaiah 53:7-8 ESV

In the gospel of John Jesus called himself the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. He is the good shepherd who became the lamb of God sacrificed for us. It was prophesied by Isaiah, proclaimed by John and fulfilled by Jesus. This matters because the gospel is not some random act of God "fixing" things man screwed up. God's work and plan in redemption from the beginning seeks to reconcile men to Him. Why? Because it pleased him to do so. Paul says in 1 Corinthians that men could not come to know God in their own wisdom and He chose what is foolish so men could not boast in themselves (1 Corinthians 1:18-31).

The gospel will always be foolishness to those who reject it. The idea of an all-powerful God becoming a man and dying to "save" men from themselves is crazy. But for those who believe it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:1). It is the testimony of a God who was pleased to reconcile men to Himself (Col. 1:19-20). It is a powerful statement of God's great love for his people.

Prayer: Paul Miller refers to Jesus as the "Love that Walked Among Us." He meets the deepest need within us. Pray for your own revival of understanding Jesus' love for you.  

40 Days of Prayer

The Alpha and Omega 

"And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" And then he said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true." And he also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega - the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children." Rev 21:5-7 NLT

"The beginning and the ending" refers to the eternity of the Son and His immutability. Concerning this, Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." When it says that He is the same, it does not mean that He is walking over yonder by the Sea of Galilee today. He is not. But it means that in His attributes He is the same. He has not changed. He is immutable. Since He is the beginning and the ending, He encompasses all time and eternity." Dr. J. Vernon McGee

The Alpha and the Omega. The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. God is Alpha (Creator) and Omega (the One who ushers in the new heaven and new earth). He is Lord of all - past, present, and future. His sovereignty in creation guarantees the fulfillment of His purposes in re-creation (from the Reformation Bible). He is eternal and He exists outside of time from the beginning and at the end. He is the God who never changes because He is the One Who Is. The "I Am." We find peace in the sovereign working and guaranteed fulfillment of God's plan and we find joy in being a part of that plan and work. We find comfort in a God who is ever present and never changing and we find our thirst satisfied by the springs of living water that well up within us to eternal life. "All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory."2 Corinthians 4:15 NLT

Prayer: Pray for the glory of the Lord to be revealed through our ministry at the new location. Pray for God to show us ways to be a part of that work.

40 Days of Prayer

Christ - The Healer of the Broken 

"On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:12-13 NIV

Jesus is being criticized by the Pharisees for eating with "tax-collectors and sinners." He has called Matthew as a disciple (a former tax-collector) who now introduces Jesus to all the tax-collectors and sinners in his life, the natural progression of sharing Jesus with others. The Pharisees object. Jesus' response - learn the difference between mercy and sacrifice. Mercy - an act of compassion toward an offender - undeserved. Sacrifice - an offering given to obtain mercy - deserved. Jesus follows that statement with his call to sinners not the righteous. We then understand that we will never deserve mercy, that we are not the healthy, we are not the righteous. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51: 17

"(King) David now declares that he needed to bring nothing whatever to God but a contrite and humbled heart. The man of broken spirit is one who has been emptied of all vain-glorious confidence, and brought to acknowledge that he is nothing. The contrite heart abjures the idea of merit, and has no dealings with God upon the principle of exchange." Heart Aflame, Daily Readings from John Calvin on the Psalms

Prayer: Pray for the broken within the new community God is calling us to surrounding the new location. Pray for your eyes to be open to those you can reach out to. 

40 Days of Prayer

The Way the Truth and the Life

"And you know the way to where I am going."  "No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. "We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:4-6 NLT

"The modern day gospel says, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Therefore, follow these steps, and you can be saved." Meanwhile, the biblical gospel says, "You are an enemy of God, dead in your sin, and in your present state of rebellion, you are not even able to see that you need life, much less to cause yourself to come to life. Therefore, you are radically dependent on God to do something in your life that you could never do." - David Platt, Radical

Thomas...Thomas...Thomas. You have to appreciate Thomas. He verbalizes what the rest of us are thinking, "I don't get it." Jesus declares himself to be three things - the way - the truth - and the life. He accomplishes the way. He declares the truth. He gives life. He is the path to the Father. We on the other hand want to be the gods of our own lives, our own way, our own truth. We live in a culture that promotes and applauds that. The statement by David Platt is such a clear reminder of the fact that we do not empower God. God empowers us. His way, His truth and His life empowers us to abandon self and surrender all to follow and grow in Him. May we never cease examining our small god ways and surrendering them to a much bigger, empowering God who surrendered all for us.

40 Days of Prayer
Abundant Bread Crumbs for the Dogs 

Jesus said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This woman who came begging had no rights to be heard: she was a woman, gentile woman, and on top of that she had a demon possessed daughter. Even as she pleaded, Jesus did not answer her. His disciples urged him to send her away. She had no rights and was not getting any hearing. Then, in vs 26 we have Jesus' most shocking response, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." Jesus basically told her, "You don't deserve mercy because you are a dog." 

We struggle to relate to this person in this scene because we always stand on "our rights." We would say, "I deserve to be heard and I demand action now!" But this woman comes before Jesus "without any right" - and begs for Jesus' immediate mercy. She is not saying, "Lord give me what I deserve on the basis of my goodness." But rather she pleads, "Give me what I do not deserve on the basis of your goodness." (Tim Keller, Kings Cross, pg 88)

James Edwards in his commentary on Mark said, "This woman appears to understand the purpose of Israel's Messiah better than Israel does. Her pluck and persistence are a testimony to her trust in the sufficiency and surplus of Jesus: His provision for the disciples and Israel will be abundant enough to provide for one such as herself."

Thomas Cranmer wrote this prayer concerning our approach to Jesus: "We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy." (Book of Common Prayer on the occasion of communion)

40 Days of Prayer
Bread and Leftovers 

"Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." 
Matthew 15:32 ESV

"Augustine says we're doomed to restlessness apart from God; Pascal sees an infinite abyss inside us that only God can fill; and we're all hard-wired for a quest after God, Paul D Tripp echoes. And all of this is proven, C.S. Lewis argues, when our very own deepest desires go unfulfilled." Tullian Tchividjian, Jesus+Nothing= Everything

The people came to Jesus because of their great need. They brought their lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and laid them all at Jesus' feet. It was Jesus, however, who perceived their hunger. In this second major mass feeding, Jesus is not just revealing that He is the great sympathizer, but He also deeply desires that His disciples share in this great compassion. The disciples focused on what they did not have -- any bread. But Jesus was redirecting their heart to see what they did have - Jesus.

They rummaged around and found seven loaves and a few small fish - for four thousand. Jesus gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to give to the people. They all ate (disciples too), were all satisfied, and gathered seven baskets of leftovers - they ended with more food than they started. We have an abyss of need within our hearts, but as we serve others as directed by Jesus, we will have more than our fill in His name.

40 Days of Prayer
Bread and Flesh  

"I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:48-51 NIV

"And then let us look to Jesus. In death He glorified God; through death He was glorified with Him. It is by dying - being dead to self and living for God - that we can glorify Him. This death to self, this life to the glory of God, is what Jesus gives and lives in each on who can trust Him for it." Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer

How we live the Christian life is always an expression of how we think about God....Being amazed by God's grace is a sign of spiritual vitality. It is a litmus test of how firm and real is our grasp of the Christian gospel and how close is our walk with Jesus Christ. The growing Christian finds that the grace of God astonishes and amazes. Yet we frequently take the grace of God for granted. We think: "Of course God is gracious."... A chief reason for the weakness of the Christian church in the West, for the poverty of our witness and any lack of vitality in our worship, probably lies here: we sing about "amazing grace" and speak of "amazing grace," but far too often it has ceased to amaze us. Sadly, we might more truthfully sing of "accustomed grace." We have lost the joy and energy that are experienced when grace seems truly amazing.

         (Taken from Sinclair B. Ferguson's book By Grace Alone)

For the next 40 days as we shove back the world and listen to the other voice, take time to think through how personally God has worked the gospel in your own life - His flesh that was given for your life.  Be amazed once again by His grace.