SATURDAY November 27, 2010

Wisdom = Holiness dressed in work clothes

Proverbs is a great read.  In poetically memorable words and phrases, God uses Solomon to challenge us to walk in wisdom. 

Verses 10 and eleven of chapter 2 clearly describe the fact that finding wisdom involves the heart…it is not something that resides on the surface…wisdom is more than skin-deep.  Wisdom must find its place in the heart.  The heart is that spot within humans that houses emotion, passion, and love, especially love for God.  

In the same breath, Solomon states that knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  The soul represents the basic personality…the essence of a person.  The final result of growing in knowledge and understanding is Godly wisdom.  When God has helped us to obtain His wisdom, the practical result is discretion.  Solomon said it best, “Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.”

Wisdom and holiness go hand in hand.  If we gain Godly wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discretion, holiness becomes the end result.  By holiness, I mean ethical living born out of a heart to please God and to walk in His ways.

Wisdom equals holiness dressed up in everyday works clothes.  Living out Godly wisdom in the marketplace of life requires intentional, hands on work.  Living righteous, holy, and God-pleasing lives involves strenuous labor because we live in a world that despises and rejects our Lord and all that He stands for. 

I remember working out in the fields during my teen years.  I pulled weeds, de-tassled corn, “trained” hops (a good topic for another blog), changed sprinkler lines in wheat fields, and many more dirty, muddy, hot, and sweaty tasks.  Sure, I probably complained a bit here and there, but I still remember that feeling of satisfaction, knowing that my hard work would pay off on pay day.  But the financial gain paled in comparison to the feeling of working hard and accomplishing something on my own. 

As followers of Christ, we possess a giant tool-box containing everything we need for life and Godliness.  However, we will accomplish nothing, we will gain no true satisfaction, until we put on the work clothes of wisdom, roll up our sleeves, and walk in the holy, obedient life to which God has called us. 

Tuesday November 23, 2010 – Prayer Apprentice

Teaching a class on the Theology of Prayer is causing me some discomfort.  I knew that it would, for one simple reason:  I am not a huge intercessor.  To make matters worse, I struggle with consistency in my prayer life.  That does not mean that I never pray…but boy oh boy do I leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion.  I do talk to God quite a bit…but the way I do it just doesn’t seem good enough to me.  On the other hand, I am thankful that I do sense God’s presence when I direct my attention to Him, either verbally or merely via my unspoken prayers that seem to be part of the fabric of my life. 

In class I have challenged the students to “engage” God.  In other words, rather than get bogged down in the where, why, and how of prayer, they need to make sure that they “engage” God is some way every day…I think the appropriate term is “without ceasing”.   However, to bring balance to the picture, prayer does require some intentionality on our part.  This intentionality simply involves some basic elements that enhance our time with God and thus our relationship with God.  One obvious element that we must be intentional about is time…Jesus set aside time to spend with God.  If He did it, how much more should we.  Time alone with God always yields good things in our lives.

The main take away for me today?  I cannot afford to settle for mediocrity in my relationship with Jesus.  The only way to avoid that malady is through building my relationship with Him, which does not happen by accident.  I must “engage” Him, “without ceasing”. 

“Jesus, I need to know you more…I want to know you better.  Help me to be desperate for you every single day.  My challenges and problems have no real solutions without you.  I give them to you today…my children, my finances, my career, and most of all my heart that is in constant need of what you have to give me…which may or may not be what I think I need.“ 

How can we hope to be Holy?

1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (NIV)

This passage really shows how God calls us to holiness and how each member of the Trinity has a vital role in that calling.  First off, we have been chosen by God the Father.  In His great love for us, before the foundation of the world, His heart was for us…to choose us and to have relationship with us.  Our status, worth, and destiny are not at all determined by what people say about us, nor by our social status, wealth, talents, gifts, or education.  We are not part of God’s family by accident…He knew us while we were still in our mother’s womb.  Because of this calling, we are bound up with the Father and the Father requires holiness.

Verse 16  for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  (Leviticus 11:45 and 19:2)

Regardless of the challenges we face, we are bound together with God the Father, who has called us to Him

Second, we are able to have this relationship with the Father because of the “sanctifying work of the Spirit”.  The Spirit works in harmony with the Father and Son to set His servants apart…to sanctify us and make us worthy of the high calling He has placed upon us.  Paul makes the same basic point in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 where he says they were chosen “as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” The Spirit is the agent that changes our ways, our perspectives, our language, our outlook, our habits, etc.

Finally, the Spirit sets us apart and sanctifies us so that we will be able to obey Christ, through the sprinkling of His blood…His cleansing power. 

We have to exercise obedience when we accept Christ, but obedience does not stop there.  We are called to a life of obedience and servant-hood…a life-long way of living…until that day we are perfected when we see Him face to face.

A life of holiness always involves daily repentance and cleansing…Jesus’ blood provides the means of cleansing. 

We have been chosen by God to belong to Him.  He requires holiness: the Spirit has sanctified us and set us apart as holy…as God’s special possessions (1 Pet 2:9).  This all came into motion when we chose to accept Christ as our Lord…to enter into a blood covenant with him…a covenant marked by obedience and daily renewal and cleansing by His love and power as we submit to Him (1 Pet 1:1-2)

Father, help me to remember I belong to you…your Spirit sets me apart…your Son’s sacrifice makes it possible…as I surrender all in obedience and out of a desire for relationship and salvation.

The Elusive Nature of Prayer

Elusive…that one word succinctly describes, for many, their experience regarding the attainment of an effective prayer life

Many legitimate theories explain the root cause behind weak prayer habits.  They run the gamut from spiritual warfare, with Satan throwing various roadblocks up, thus foiling the effects of prayer, to un-repented sin, to overly busy lifestyles…and on it goes.  All of these represent valid explanations concerning ineffective prayer.  However, I believe the answer to this problem can be refined down to one fundamental concept; RELATIONSHIP. 

            When relationship is the foundation of our prayer life, something that once seemed so elusive is suddenly within our grasp.   In a very real sense, prayer is more about being than about doing.  It is more about embracing Jesus than attempting to obtain the answers that we desire. 

            In balance, a Biblical discussion of prayer must include the concept of believers bringing their petitions before Christ.  But the Biblical pattern of gaining access to the voice of God always points back to relationship…it always favors those who humbly embrace their God and, in the act of embracing, bring their heart’s cry before Him.

            The book of Habakkuk begins with the prophet screaming out to God, “God, How long do I have to cry out for help before you listen (1:2)?”  The reason Habakkuk could speak to God with such abandon, such emotion, is simple: RELATIONSHIP.  Interestingly, Habakkuk’s name means “strong embrace”.  The text makes it clear that he is less than pleased with the answer that God provides, yet he acknowledges God as his Rock, who is “from everlasting” (1:12).  In the process of questioning God, he worships God.  Why?  RELATIONSHIP! A vital pointer we gain from Habakkuk is the importance of hanging in there.  Although he accepted God’s harsh answer in chapter 1, the prophet still wanted to hear more from his God.  In Chapter 2 Habakkuk makes it clear that he is willing to climb the tower, to watch and wait on God.  He was willing to do whatever it took to hear from God.  He watched, he waited, he continued to embrace, and God spoke. 

            You and I can do the same thing in our prayer life.  Cultivate your relationship with God…embrace Him…and be willing to go to the tower. 

           

Curtis Pryor lives in Wickenburg, AZ with his wife Linda.  He is the Associate Pastor at Mount Hope Assembly of God in Wickenburg, and adjunct professor at Western Bible College in Phoenix

Primal Review

 

Book review: “Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity”

A common phenomenon within the ranks of church folks lies in the fact that we often miss the forest for the trees.  We get caught up in a great deal of peripheral issues…to the point of losing sight of what true faith in Christ should produce in our lives

Mark Batterson’s latest offering, Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity, adeptly identifies and quantifies the “lost Soul” of the Christian faith.  One extremely effective aspect of his foray into this topic revolves around the simplicity of his message.  After all, what could prove more clearly stated than “The Greatest Commandment?”  You know the one… Jesus responds to some teachers of the law who ask Him to reveal the greatest commandment:
²⁹“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[e] 30}Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[f] 31}The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[g]There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31
In Primal, Batterson creatively leads his readers through the  “prime” focus of true Christianity…loving God.  Obviously, loving God should be a way of life for all true believers.  However, sometimes the most obvious, simple truths elude us in our real, everyday struggles to know God better.
The author creatively helps his readers by drilling down into the primal elements of The Greatest Command, defining and illustrating each method of loving God: heart, soul, mind, and strength.
One of the most powerful points this reviewer gleaned from Primal was Batterson’s focus upon the order of these ways we are commanded to love God.  It all begins with the heart…loving God with all one’s heart and internalizing the same passion and compassion that motivates the Father.  Next comes loving God with your soul…primal wonder at the works of God and His nature.   Loving God with all one’s mind is an amazing thing to consider and the author truly challenges his readers in the areas of holy curiosity and the importance of taking “God ideas” seriously, to the point of acting upon them.  Finally, primal energy deals with loving God with all your strength. This refers to the blood, sweat, and tears aspect of loving God.
Mark Batterson feels that if followers of Christ can powerfully grasp and begin living out these primal elements of loving God, a new reformation will occur in the Body of Christ.
I highly recommend this book.  More importantly, I encourage each of us to purposefully dive into our own quest for the lost soul of our walk with Christ

Check out Apologetics.com - The Power of Prayer: A User's Guide

Check out Apologetics.com - The Power of Prayer: A User's Guide