If you ask nearly anyone how they feel about prayer, they will likely answer you that it works. Many people who don’t even claim to be Christians figure that a little appeal to the Almighty certainly won’t hurt their situation. But these words by an unknown author summarize well the impact of this pattern for prayer, and the privilege prayer is for believers:

I cannot say “our” if I live only for myself in a spiritual, watertight compartment.

I cannot say “Father” if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child.

I cannot say “who art in heaven” if I am laying up no treasure there.

I cannot say “hallowed be Thy name” if I am not striving for holiness.

I cannot say “Thy kingdom come” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful day.

I cannot say “Thy will be done” if I am disobedient to His Word. 

I cannot say “on earth as it is in heaven” if I will not serve Him here and now.

I cannot say “give us . . . our daily bread” if I am dishonest or an “under-the-counter” shopper. 

I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path.

I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.

I cannot say “Thine is the kingdom” if I do not give to the King the loyalty due Him as a faithful subject.

I cannot attribute to Him “the power” if I fear what men may do.

I cannot ascribe to Him “the glory” if I am seeking honor only for myself.

I cannot say “forever” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by the things of time.

What a refreshing way to look at the Model Prayer. It’s all about relationship. If you know Christ as your Savior, you have an entrance into the throne room of God. But without that relationship God is under no obligation to hear or answer your prayer. If you don’t know Him, we urge you to seek Him while He may be found. That’s why He’s preserved His Word for us to read, and that’s why we’re here….That You May Know (1 John 5:13)

In Luke 19 Jesus tells the Parable of the Minas. It is the story of a king going away to receive his official commission, and while he is gone he gives his servants a sum of money with which they are entrusted. He tells them, “Do business with this until I come back.” The NIV says “put this money to work until I come back.” The Greek word is pragma, from which we get the word pragmatic. They were to do something pragmatic with this money; make some business with it. The point is that the man has placed into the care of these servants a generous trust for which they would be held accountable.

What makes this story so compelling is that you and I are in this story. There are only three possibilities. You are either a true servant, a false servant or you are an enemy of Christ. A faithful servant does business with the Master’s gifts and continually receives more opportunities to serve Him. The false servant has received a commission from the Lord but never applies himself to the work of His master. They really don’t care whether Christ’s kingdom comes or succeeds. They simply don’t care. Therefore, they put forth no effort at all. And the enemies figure they can simply ignore the King of glory and suffer no consequence. There are no other categories. And the King is coming. When He comes He will call you to account. The question is: what will you do while the King is away?

Christians, our Lord and Master has gone away for a while. He has been crowned the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has received His kingdom and will soon return to reign in splendor and majesty. At that time He will ask us, you and me, to account for how we handled His business here on earth. He will look at us with eager eyes in anticipation of our offering to Him. As a demonstration of our love for Him we must be about His business until He returns. After all, He did say, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn. 14:15). 

One writer summed up the attitude that should mark all believers: “I would never want to reach out someday with a soft, uncalloused hand – a hand never dirtied by serving – and shake the nail-pierced hand of Jesus.” Our diligent and faithful service provides us with the divine comfort of a steadfast hope. God has given us His Word that we can know Him, and in knowing Him we have eternal life. In gratitude we serve Him and in anticipation of Christ’s return we are to be doing business for His glory. Dig into Scripture to know His purposes for you. There you will find His will, for His Word has been written…..That You May Know (1 John 5:13)

In His amazing grace God has preserved for us His holy Word as the ultimate guide for living. Every believer is to feast upon the riches of God’s Word on a daily basis in order to persevere through trials and to successfully discern God’s will. Deep in his heart every believer knows that they are to crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:1). The Holy Spirit drives us on to know the truth and to apply it to our lives. We learn to hunger for the nourishment that feeds our souls.

Every true believer longs to have his life described by David’s words in Psalm 1:2. The sweet psalmist of Israel described the heart of the righteous with these words: But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Is that a description of your heart’s hunger for the Word of God? Since we know the Word is God’s truth and since we have tasted of His goodness, it should naturally follow that we long to feed on and meditate on the Word each day. The Word brought us to salvation and the Word sanctifies us for the Lord’s glory. It is the spiritual food of which this world knows nothing.

James 1:19 tells us that we should be “swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” This is especially true when it comes to our reading of God’s Word. Quite often we find ourselves hurrying through a passage that is familiar to us that we miss unexpected treasures. We often argue with God’s Word when it conflicts with our opinions. We often become angry when the Word confronts our sin. Instead of being so quick to speak and quick to become angry we need to respond with a humble heart that says, like Samuel of old, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.”

In his commentary on the Book of James, J. A. Motyer reminds us of the futile practice of reading God’s Word without paying attention. Motyer writes, “It is possible to be unfailingly regular in Bible reading, but to achieve no more than to have moved the book-mark forward: this is reading unrelated to an attentive spirit. The word is read but not heard.” (J. A. Motyer, The Message of James [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1985], 64–65)

How we must long for the pure milk of the Word. It is the only Source of true nourishment for our souls. After all, God has given the written revelation of Himself so we may truly know Him and His purpose for our lives. So, be sure that you do more than move the bookmark. Be sure your read…..That You May Know (1 John 5:13)

Professional golfer Tommy Bolt was playing in Los Angeles and had a caddy with a reputation of constant chatter. Before they teed off, Bolt told him, “Don’t say a word to me. And if I ask you something, just answer yes or no.” During the round, Bolt found the ball next to a tree, where he had to hit under a branch, over a lake and onto the green. He got down on his knees and looked through the trees and sized up the shot. “What do you think?” he asked the caddy. “Five-iron?” “No, Mr. Bolt,” the caddy said. “What do you mean, not a five-iron?” Bolt snorted. Watch this shot.” The caddy rolled his eyes. “No-o-o, Mr. Bolt.” But Bolt hit it and the ball stopped about two feet from the hole. He turned to his caddy, handed him the five-iron and said, “Now what do you think about that? You can talk now.” “Mr. Bolt,” the caddy said, “that wasn’t your ball.”  Operating on limited knowledge often times gets us in trouble.  

Elijah found himself operating on such limited knowledge after fleeing to Mt. Horeb. He had successfully waged war with 450 prophets of Baal, a pagan god worshipped during the reign of King Ahab. Also engaged in the spiritual battle that day were 400 additional prophets of the pagan god Asherah. But Jehovah God put to rest all doubts as to Who was the true God. When Elijah’s turn came to call on the Name of the Lord God sent fire from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, the altar and all the water in the ditch surrounding it. A glorious victory for Jehovah and for the ministry of Elijah.

But in 1 Kings 19 we find Elijah fleeing for his life. What had scared him? A wicked woman by the name of Jezebel had threatened to kill him. So Elijah ran for his life: for forty days and nights he ran until he came to Mt. Horeb and hid in a cave. When the Lord rebuked him by asking why he was hiding at Horeb, Elijah recounted all his faithful service and complained that he was the only prophet left who would proclaim the Name of Jehovah. Then Yahweh spoke – not in a powerful wind, not in an earthquake and not in a fire, but in a gentle whisper. Elijah repeated his complaint. It was then that God revealed to Elijah, the hiding prophet, the truth that he had not seen before. God said, “I reserve seven thousand prophets in Israel who have not bowed down to Baal.” In other words, “Elijah, you’re not alone!”

Do you find yourself at a spiritual Horeb today? Do you sometimes think that you are the only one in your circle of life who is faithful to the Lord? Are you sometimes scared because you have lost sight of the sovereign power of God at work around you? Then listen to the still small Voice of God speaking through His Word that you are not alone. Remember His promise to never leave you or forsake you. Remember His promise that there are more with you than against you. By standing firm in the facts that God provides you can live with a a steadfast hope and an enduring faith. There are many narratives in Scripture to remind us of this. These things are written…..That You May Know (1 John 5:13)

The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 1:16 of the power of the message we proclaim. He writes, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to take the most hardened of sinners and transform them into a powerful testimony of the grace of God.

The testimony of amazing grace includes some truly amazing stories of radical conversion. There’s the testimony of John Newton, a former slave trader who life was totally transformed by God’s amazing grace. There’s the story of a religious skeptic named C. S. Lewis whose conversion produced some of the most thought-provoking Christian literature outside of Scripture. There’s the story of Charles Colson, a chief player in Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal whose life was transformed to reach millions in prison. 

I believe with all my heart God called me to preach, as amazingly improbable as that would be. I concur with Paul’s assessment in 1 Timothy 1:12. No one is more surprised than I that God would call a scrawny little kid from the hills of Huntington, West Virginia to preach His glorious Gospel. To think that He can see all my sin, faults and failures and still use me to declare His glorious riches is beyond me. The only way I can reconcile such an anomaly is to say, “Isn’t God’s grace amazing?!” I’m just a frail cracked pot, broken before Him so the glorious good news can be seen and heard in me.

Your conversion from sin to salvation may not be as dramatic as Paul’s; no one’s is. You may not have been called to a ministry of preaching the Word of God. But make no doubt about the fact that if you are a Christian, your life is a Testimony of Amazing Grace. 

You recognize the Source of this grace is God Himself, Who has called you and equipped you for service in His kingdom. You freely acknowledge the Need for grace because previously your sin had separated you from Him. You recognize the Power of saving grace; so much greater than your sin. You understand the Measure of this grace because no one knows the depth of your sin like you do. You have come to appreciate the Purpose of God’s grace extended to you was so that others might come to salvation through your testimony. And you know deep in your heart that the only appropriate Response to the grace of God is adoration and praise.

Friends, if you are not amazed at His grace then you have never truly experienced it. If you cannot stand in sheer rapture at the glorious grace of God poured into your life then you have never been to Calvary. But if you have been there, the strains of amazing grace will flood your soul with adoration and praise. 

Do you know that amazing grace? The Scriptures were written so you could know it, and that’s why we’re here…..That You May Know (1 John 5:13)

In the novel, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., an important book comes to light. It is titled “What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?” The chief character is anxious to read it. But when he does, he finds that it doesn’t take long. The whole book consists of one word: “Nothing.”

Many people are concerned with our future these days and are beginning to think there is nothing they can do about it. In our country, after a deeply divisive election, we are seeing many who feel they have lost hope. Many Christians are wondering what will become of the Church in the coming days and years. 

Well, let me share something with you that may come as a surprise. We lose! In this world we lose. We don’t win on an earthly level. Our race isn’t over when death comes knocking on our door. Jesus said in John 16:33, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” 

This world and all we recognize here is doomed for destruction. Not by carbon emissions, not by plastic bags and cutlery, not by a pandemic and not by nuclear war. God almighty created this world and He will destroy it. Afterward, He will usher in a new heavens and a new earth wherein the righteous will live for eternity in the presence of Christ our Savior and God our Father.

We who are in Christ know that there are only two possibilities after life on earth ends: heaven or hell. God created them both. Those who have faith in Christ have the hope of heaven; those who are lost have no hope and are doomed to experience the eternal hopelessness of hell. It may be that one of the greatest torments in hell will be the realization that the pain will never cease.

For those who have placed their trust in Christ Jesus, He is the foundation of hope and since He is unshakable our hope is secure. Be cause we know what is coming we are commissioned as ambassadors to present the message of hope: the Gospel of Christ. If you don’t know that hope, look to Christ today. Call out in faith to receive forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life with Christ. If you’d like to know more, contact us – – – that’s why we’re here….That You May Know (1 John 5:13)

In Luke 19 Jesus tells the Parable of the Minas. It is the story of a king going away to receive his official commission, and while he is gone he gives his servants a sum of money with which they are entrusted. He tells them, “Do business with this until I come back.” The NIV says “put this money to work until I come back.” The Greek word is pragma, from which we get the word pragmatic. They were to do something pragmatic with this money; make some business with it. The point is that the man has placed into the care of these servants a generous trust for which they would be held accountable.

What makes this story so compelling is that you and I are in this story. There are only three possibilities. You are either a true servant, a false servant or you are an enemy of Christ. A faithful servant does business with the Master’s gifts and continually receives more opportunities to serve Him. The false servant has received a commission from the Lord but never applies himself to the work of His master. They really don’t care whether Christ’s kingdom comes or succeeds. They simply don’t care. Therefore, they put forth no effort at all. And the enemies figure they can simply ignore the King of glory and suffer no consequence. There are no other categories. And the King is coming. When He comes He will call you to account. The question is: what will you do while the King is away?

Christians, our Lord and Master has gone away for a while. He has been crowned the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has received His kingdom and will soon return to reign in splendor and majesty. At that time He will ask us, you and me, to account for how we handled His business here on earth. He will look at us with eager eyes in anticipation of our offering to Him. As a demonstration of our love for Him we must be about His business until He returns. After all, He did say, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn. 14:15). 

Bill Hybels once summed up the attitude that should mark all believers: “I would never want to reach out someday with a soft, uncalloused hand – a hand never dirtied by serving – and shake the nail-pierced hand of Jesus.” If you’d like to know more about what it means to be a servant in the Master’s kingdom, contact us – because that’s what we’re here….

That You may Know 1 John 5:13

E. M. Bounds once said, “What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use–men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.” (Power Through Prayer, (Baker Book House), p. 3)

God always moves when His people pray. Israel was delivered from bondage because they cried out to the Lord for deliverance. The Church was born in a prayer meeting and experienced dramatic growth as a result. This nation has had two Great Awakenings that came as a direct result of God’s people joining forces and crashing the gates of heaven to pursue the blessing and favor of God. We are at a crossroads as a nation. We need another awakening, another revival. And it must begin with God’s people on our faces before God in prayer.

Prayer is to the Christian what breathing is to human beings. It is an absolute necessity, for without prayer the believer cannot live. As a human being you don’t have to think about breathing; it is an involuntary reaction to the atmospheric pressure that surrounds us, exerting pressure on our lungs and forcing us to breathe. That’s why it’s harder for you to hold your breath than it is to breathe.

Similarly, for the believer, prayer is the result of the spiritual atmosphere where the presence and grace of God exerts pressure, or influence, on your life. Prayer is the normal response to that spiritual pressure from above and within us. Every believer, having entered into the divine atmosphere, breathes the air of prayer. That’s the only way we can survive in the darkness of the world that surrounds us.

The purpose of this post is not to convince you of the need to pray. Every genuine believer recognizes his inability to function without prayer, and if you don’t recognize the necessity of prayer in your daily life perhaps it says more about your spiritual condition than you might want to admit.

We all know that the exercising of our spiritual muscles through prayer is to be not only a daily practice, but a moment-to-moment reality. Yes, Jesus often withdrew to a quiet place to pray. But prayer was the spiritual air that our Lord breathed every moment of every day as He enjoyed uninterrupted and unending communion with His Father. Even Paul admonished believers to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

If we could get back to that constant awareness of the presence of God, perhaps our nation would once again receive God’s favor. Once we learn to commune with our Father continually we will be assured that His blessing is upon us and we will possess a steadfast hope. If you’d like to know more, contact us – because that’s why we’re here…..           

That You May Know

1 John 5:13

The Doomsday Clock conveys how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction–the figurative midnight–and monitors the means humankind could use to obliterate itself. First and foremost, these include nuclear weapons, but they also encompass climate-changing technologies and new developments in the life sciences that could inflict irrevocable harm. 

According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the amount of time remaining before the total annihilation of humanity has varied over the past 73 years. They started keeping the Doomsday Clock in 1947 by declaring that we were 7 minutes from midnight. By 1953, as the United States was testing hydrogen bombs, the minute hand reached 2 minutes before midnight. In 1963, with the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty between the US and the USSR, the hand moved backwards and we were 12 minutes from midnight. During the intervening years we have been as close as 3 minutes (1984) and as far away as 17 minutes (1991). Around 2012 we were 6 minutes from midnight. 

Currently, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists shows the Doomsday Clock sitting at 100 seconds to midnight — a metaphor for the end of the world — in a recognition of growing threats from nuclear war, climate change and disinformation. It is the first time the clock has passed the two-minute mark in its existence.

There is, however, another clock. It sits on God’s desk. Of course, this is figurative because we all doubt if God actually has a desk! But God’s clock is His own and it is the only clock that really matters. His time is not our time, and we obviously can’t comprehend time as He does. But His timeline has been moving slowly toward the return of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The question is: are you ready? If you are a Christian, the question applies to you, also. Are you living as if you expected Christ to return today? Have you committed your life to holiness so that you will be found well-pleasing in His sight? Are you praying for the lost and witnessing to God’s saving grace whenever you have the opportunity to do so? Are you longing for Christ’s return – or just passing time here on earth?

If you are not a believer, if Jesus Christ were to return today would He be your Blessed Hope or your holy terror? If you have never accepted Him as your Savior, today is the day to act. Repent of your sins and accept His atonement by faith; confess His Name as the only name by which we can be saved; be baptized into Christ, joining in His righteous living by the power of His Holy Spirit. Only through Christ can you escape the coming doom. Reach out to us if you want to know more. That’s why we’re here…..

That You May Know

1 John 5:13

One of the more mysterious elements of Christmas is the identity of the Wise Men. Over the years perhaps you have wondered, “Who are these guys?” We are fascinated by their presence and their presents. We are drawn to their fancy clothes and mysterious air. Usually we are left with more questions than answers. As a matter of fact, what we think we know about the wise men is the product of the greeting card industry and artists rather than from theologians. Many unfounded and even absurd traditions have crept their way into our Christmas celebrations concerning these mysterious visitors to the Lord’s house. Most people think they were three in number, a symbol of the fact that they might represent the families of Shem, Ham and Japheth – the sons of Noah. Thus, one of them is usually pictured as an Ethiopian. Tradition has given them the names Caspar, Belthazar and Melchior. Supposedly, in the twelfth century Rinald, Bishop of Cologne, discovered their skulls with their eyes still in their sockets facing toward Bethlehem. But all of this in purely conjecture. In all likelihood, this was a large contingent of Magi that arrived in Jerusalem. All we know for certain are the facts we find in Holy Scripture.
From what we can discern from history and Scripture we can conclude that the Wise Men were a priestly tribe of people that can be dated back to the time of Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian Empire. According to Jeremiah 39 and Daniel 4 they were consultants to kings. As a matter of fact, they were in many respects “king-makers,” meaning that they were consulted on who was to be made king. According to Daniel 4:9 Daniel had been made “chief of the magi” during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. It is highly probable that Daniel, who was a faithful and loyal servant of Jehovah God, took the time to instruct these priestly Magi concerning the promises of almighty God. For the next 6 centuries they would anticipate the coming of the Promised One, the Messiah. As amazing as it might seem, these Magi came seeking the long-awaited King. In humility and with great sacrifice they came to worship Him and presented Him with gifts fit for a King (gold), a Priest (frankincense) and a Sacrifice (myrrh).
There is a two-fold message to the account of the Wise Men. The first lesson is that God is on control. What we find as we search through Scripture and see the presence of the Magi from six centuries before Christ was born is that God was sovereignly working behind the scenes to accomplish His purposes and plan. He picked out a man named Daniel and placed him in a position of leadership and authority so men would seek the Promised Messiah. God was working all this for His glory because history is His story. Don’t miss that this Christmas. This message is not a conglomeration of a bunch of historical facts; it is the culmination of God’s sovereign work.
This has great significance for you and me, dear ones. If God was so concerned that King-makers would show up at the cradle of His Son at just the right time in history, don’t you think He will do everything He can in order to bring you to His side through faith in Christ? God is in control and He is working to bring you to salvation in Christ.
The second lesson is that God loves all people. It is true that Jesus was born as King of the Jews. But the Jewish people rejected Him. John 1:11-12 tells us, “He came to that which was his own, but His own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” The message of the magi is that God is in control so that if the Jews would not acknowledge Christ as the Messiah-King then these king-makers from Persia would. God’s master plan is unfolding right before their eyes. In an amazing twist of grace the people who should have known missed it and the people from far-away, who should never have guessed it, showed up and worshipped the Savior. Paul reminds us that Jesus came to the Jew first, then to the Greek. Israel rejected Christ, so He reached out to Gentiles so that we could be grafted in, as Paul writes in Romans 11. One day people from every tribe, tongue and nation will gather before the throne of God in heaven.
My prayer for you this Christmas is that you would discover the wisdom of the Magi and offer genuine worship to Christ. The gift He desires most from you is a humbled heart that is bowed low before Him as King and Lord. Such worship and surrender will give you not only a Merry Christmas, but it will also give you eternal life and everlasting joy. If you’d like to know more about this marvelous Gift of grace, contact us. That’s why we’re here….

That You May Know

1 John 5:13