by Caleb Moore | Jun 20, 2016
For the last few months, I have been preaching from the Gospel of Mark. After the first 10 chapters, I am amazed that anyone is a Christian. The disciples, for the most part, just don’t show many signs of competence. They constantly role model what not to do. But let’s cut them some slack; many of them are in their teens. Although classic paintings make them look like men in their 40’s, most of them were under the age of 20. I have worked with a lot of young adults, and there are few people more certain of themselves than a young man fresh out of college. These are men with little or no experience, but miraculously know how to do everything.
One of my favorite stories in Mark is when Jesus tells the disciples He is going to Jerusalem to die. Soon after foretelling his own death, James and John come to him with a selfish request that highlights their immaturity. What do they want? Well, they demand that Jesus make both of them vice presidents of Jesus town. They want to sit in the best chairs in his Kingdom. What might be even worse is the way they begin the conversation. These two “Sons of Thunder” walk right up to the Creator of the universe and say, “Do for us whatever we ask!”
Somewhere in their minds they thought this was a good idea. They thought this would show their faith and make Jesus happy. Perhaps they thought they would be praised for being so bold. We love to look at these men and shake our heads. Had we been there we would never have done something so childish. Or would we? Why do we always read ourselves as the heroes in the Bible? We are more likely to be Goliath than we are David. Given the chance, we would have voted to free Barabbas and crucify Jesus with the rest of the angry crowd. So I have some sympathy for the disciples in this moment of poor decision making.
Let’s give them some credit; they did leave everything behind to follow Jesus. They quit their jobs for a life of ministry and travel. That’s already living more of a faith-based life than most people I know. So why all these poor decisions? If you have ever given young men adult responsibility, then you know exactly why they acted the way they did. At first, they get puffed up with pride, then they get jealous, then they make demands, then they tell Jesus what He is doing wrong. This pattern is something I have seen in myself and many others. But eventually, most of these bad traits are slowly broken down and beaten out of them. They are on the path of Christian maturity.
As I read of their journey, I can’t help but think of the maturity level of church in America. The explosion of the health and prosperity gospel that has found its way into so many evangelical houses of worship are a sure sign of our own immaturity. Christians have only repeated the idiotic demands of the early disciples, “Give us whatever we want.” When we see the disciples on the path to becoming mature, Christian leaders, we should not pity them for being so naïve, we should look for those red flags in our own lives. It’s painful to grow, but it is even more painful to be ignorant and immature.
The Gospel of Mark contrasts their ignorance with a blind man who simply cries out, “Have mercy on me.” The ultimate mark of maturity is submission to the One, True God.
by Amy Spear | Jun 13, 2016
Mom! Rosie spilled something!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”… “OK, where were we?”
“MOM! Owen hit me!”
“Ugh. I’ll be right back”… “So, like I was saying.”
“MOM!”
Playdates are so much fun, but if you are planning on having any kind of adult conversation, you are only fooling yourself! I don’t know how many conversations I have started, then restarted, then realized hours later, I never finished the conversation!
As I did my quiet time one morning, I had to laugh because even my time with God can be like this!
You wake up early, thinking you will be all alone, in the quiet and stillness of a new day, then one of the kids wakes up.
Man! Now you have to stop, get them a sippy cup, start their cartoon, and find their blanket. Once they are situated you can get back to your QT again.
Then, the next kid wakes up. You get them a drink, find their show, make sure they will be content for 10 minutes, and rush back to your QT only to discover your 30 minutes has now dwindled down to about 5!
But this time, instead of getting upset about it (because it happens quite often), God and I just smiled about it. He showed me that “this too shall pass”. There will be plenty of “quiet” times to come. God whispered a sweet word in my heart this morning about my stage of life. He called Himself my friend, and we laughed!
All my friends know that my house is crazy! You have to roll with the punches when you’re around the Spear clan! (In fact, I have a little one on my lap right now!)
God knows that too, probably more than anybody else! And He loves me anyways!
What craziness do you have going on in your life? Can you and God find something to laugh about it? You know how you do with that close girlfriend, when life gets crazy, and there is just nothing to do but laugh or cry!? God is with you to be that friend!
Sometimes a good cry is what we need. But after you get it all out, ask God to sit and laugh with you!
“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24b
As the famous words by Joseph M. Scriven say,
“What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer
Can we find a friend so faithful?
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden?
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.”
I pray you find solace in your friend today.
by Jordan Bright | Jun 6, 2016
When I say “heart”, what do you think of? Do you think of the actual beating heart inside your chest? Or do you think of the center of your whole spiritual being?
Both are important, but I want to focus on the spiritual heart. This is where your entire spiritual being is located. You’ve heard the sayings, “Follow your heart,” and “Bless your heart,” but have you ever thought of guarding your heart?
There is much opposition to living a godly life in this world today. The media throws inappropriate things into commercials and television shows all the time! It can be hard to avoid, on television, on the internet, and even on billboards! Even music can have an ulterior motive to get us to fall.
We have so many things to fight against; it seems impossible. But I know the armor we need…. Jesus is the answer! His Word is the ultimate way for us to remain pure in heart. The word “heart” appears many times in the Bible, and I believe it is because God is truly trying to get a point across to us. Protect your heart, and keep your spiritual being pure!
Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV) says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it springs the issues of life.” This verse explains that all we do stems from our heart.
For example, we listen to secular music with bad language or images. Then, we begin to use that language or think on those images without realizing what is happening. By that time, we have let Satan get a foothold for us to do more things that we know are not right. I am not saying that all secular music is bad, but I am saying that we need to watch out for what the song is actually saying. This example could be used with a number of other things, like television, and websites.
Do I want you to stop listening to the songs you grew up with? No! I simply want to warn you to be careful. If you are unsure about a song, look up the lyrics and see what they really say. Many people give the excuse that they only listen to the beat, but the words seep into your mind and heart whether you know it or not.
Psalm 19:14 (NIV) says, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
This is what I want to leave you with…Are you truly guarding your heart to things that are pleasing to the Lord? Or are you letting the world take over your heart? It’s hard to live for Him, I know! He will give you the strength to live according to His will, I know that for sure.
by admin | May 23, 2016
I’m sure you, like me, have experienced those convicting moments where while praying you either say the same thing several times, or your mind wanders and you must reign in your thoughts. There are a multitude of means by which Satan affects our prayer lives, but we must be prepared to combat him.
For me, my prayers often seemed stale and shallow. I rarely remembered the issues or people about which or whom I had interceded, and that was convicting. This past fall I purchased Praying the Bible by Don Whitney, professor of Biblical Spirituality at Southern Seminary at a conference and shelved it when I returned home. As I was packing several weeks later for a month-long international trip, I stuffed the book in my carry-on and kept packing.
The elusive “quiet time” has been a downfall for many, and the material we use with the intention of guiding us through studying Scripture often ends up supplementing or replacing our Bibles and can be incredibly dangerous, even heretical (I’m looking at you, Jesus Calling).
As I began to read Praying the Bible, I immediately understood that this was not a study guide that would help my quiet time but a method of approaching prayer and Scripture reading that would transform my prayer life.
I finished the book in one week (it is short!) and began the journey of praying the Bible beginning with Galatians (Whitney presents a model for Psalms). In addition to the method Whitney teaches, my pastor had also recently suggested journaling prayers, a great way to see in timeline view God’s faithful answers to our petitions.
Armed with my Bible, journal and a pen, I started this journey of a renewed prayer life and have been forever changed.
I urge you not to let your prayer life go stale like I did, and if (when?) you do, return to the Scriptures (Heb. 4:12), pray for forgiveness (1 John 1:9), daily approach the throne of God (Rom. 12:12), and trust him to be near you (Psalm 145:18).
Praying the Bible is a short, inexpensive book that has completely changed my prayer life, and I cannot recommend it enough.
by Karen Kinnaird | May 20, 2016
Our teens are in desperate need of prayer. What a crazy world they live in. Conflicting messages, over exposure and temptations abound.
What’s the best way to help them navigate through these turbulent years? Prayer. More specifically, prayer by you, their parents. Here is help.
Mark Gregston has hit the nail on the head with yet another valuable resource for parents of teens. Published in 2015 by Heartlight Ministries Foundation, Prayers For My Teen is a short, easy-to-read resource for parents seeking to raise their teens in an out-of-control confusing culture. Gleaning from decades of ministry to teens and parents, Gregston masterfully takes the thoughts and emotions of parents and weaves them into words and prayers.
Gregston, who has Oklahoma roots, enjoys referring to himself as the Oklahoma Bible Quiz Champ of 1969. But more importantly, Gregston has become an authority on today’s culture and the issues facing adolescents. As founder of Heartlight Ministries, he and his wife have served families and counseled youth for more than 40 years. Gregston runs one of the finest residential counseling services for struggling teens and has a gift for communication. He has written 12 books and ministers weekly on the nationally acclaimed radio program, “Parenting Today’s Teens.”
Prayers For My Teen offers one-page prayers based on various topics related to parenting and teen issues. A Scripture verse is offered at the beginning for reflection, followed by a short personalized prayer. Topics include the tongue, boundaries, smothering, understanding behavior, offering encouragement and forgiveness.
He writes, “Prayer brings hope to my hopelessness and calms my anxiety when I need a reminder that I am not alone. Prayer reassures me that my confusion does not deter His plan. It calls me to look for the bigger picture, to embrace a larger view of what’s happening, and to search for deeper meaning in the struggles and for purpose in the pleasures.”
The book is valuable to any parent, but those struggling within the framework of crisis will benefit most. Easy-to-skim topics are listed in the contents, making the book a handy resource to grab in times of need. Gregston’s wisdom and compassion show through the prayers and put words to the hearts of parents who cannot grasp their own.
Don’t let a crisis or lack of a plan immobilize your prayer-life for your teen. If your prayer life needs structure, if you are desperate for God’s intervention, or if you need help expressing yourself, Prayers For My Teen is the book for you.
by Amy Spear | May 9, 2016
The word “Martyr” in Greek means “witnesses.” In the early church, a person’s ultimate witness, to the Gospel, was death.*
The book of Acts is a historical account of how the Gospel spread like a wildfire, after Jesus’ death and resurrection. It spread after, “he (Jesus) opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).
Up until this point, the disciples thought Jesus would restore an “earthly” kingdom. That’s exactly what they wanted! To be in charge! Establish a new Roman Government. To set all the rules. You see, up until this point, an earthly kingdom is all they understood.
Until, Jesus opened the truth. Ah…Revelation.
Then you see the boldness each of the disciples demonstrate while preaching the “good news” about Jesus. Boldness yes, easy task … no. Let’s remember the times and who they preached to.
This culture, people and government put Jesus on trial and crucified him on a cross, even when they had no proof of any wrong doing! This was a time, for the Jewish people, when religious leaders had as much control as those wearing Roman armor. If the religious leaders didn’t like what someone was saying, they had the power determine your fate – as they did with Jesus, death!
Regardless of imminent threat, we see the Gospel prevail! Every time they tried to silence the Gospel and those preaching, the Gospel message spread even more!
Because of their bravery, and the Holy Spirit, the church grew by the thousands, and people came to believe in this man who was crucified and rose again.
As I read Acts, I kept asking myself, “Why? Why were so many people convinced now? Why didn’t they believe Jesus when he spoke? You know Jesus was the best preacher/teacher there was, He lived a completely sinless life. He walked the walk as no one else did! What made it spread like fire now, after he was gone?”
I think the reason the Gospel spread like fire was because their hearts were on fire! Down to their very souls! They knew, that they knew, that they knew, Jesus was alive, and nothing anyone said would lead them to believe otherwise!
Each one of these men had a choice to make. Were they going to follow Jesus no matter what? Were they going to continue to do what He had called them to do, even if it meant a different outcome than they first thought? Were they willing to be a martyr?
Yes!
Each one of them answered “Yes!” to the call on their lives because God “opened their minds” to truth, which stirred up a deep wrenching, soul piercing conviction!
I want conviction like that!
I want to believe it to the very core of my soul! That no matter what challenges I face before me, I will stand in complete confidence because my God has conquered death, even death on a cross!
Oh that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes to understand, and to see the truth in the Scriptures. See the truth in our lives – and that we would have the “boldness” to answer with a resounding “YES!”
*NIV First Century Study Bible, Kent Dobson
