Eye-Black Inspiration

It's hard to imagine an athlete who has used his platform to spread the Gospel any better than University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. From his 2007 Heisman Trophy speech which he openly shared his faith in Jesus Christ, to his overseas mission trips, to his witnessing to men in prison; Tebow's impact for God's Kingdom has been well documented. He has also become known for putting Bible verses on his eye-black patches--he used John 3:16 during last year's BCS Championship game which resulted in over 93 million Google hits on the verse that is the summation of the Gospel and the source of our eternal security.

Yesterday, for the final home game of his remarkable college career, Tebow said he wanted to use a special verse on his eye-black and he chose Hebrews 12:1-2 ---Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Tebow's choice is a battle cry for each of us who strive to be the servant-leaders that God has called us to be. It is a reminder that we live in a world that is watching us and that we have many distractions that undermine our spiritual growth. It is a reminder that we battle the allure of sin and that our Christian walk requires endurance and perseverance through difficulties. But more importantly, it is a reminder of the One to whom we must always keep our focus upon. Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, became sin, so that we could become righteous. He is now seated with the Father in Heaven; continually serving as an advocate for those of us who call upon His name.

How to be Thankful

Tomorrow, we set aside a day to reflect on all of the reasons we have to be thankful. We can find many passages in Scripture that speak to giving thanks. One in particular is Colossians 3:15-17: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

To have a heart and mind that overflows with thankfulness involves four things---all of which center on Jesus Christ. First, we must let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts; a peace that focuses on truth, purity, righteousness, loveliness and praise and surpasses all human understanding (Philippians 4:7-8). Secondly, we must let the word of Christ dwell richly in us. We must allow the truth of the Bible to renew and transform our minds (Romans 12:2) so that we will be able to know the will of God and apply to every situation in our lives.

Next, we must allow all of our thoughts and all of our actions to bring honor and glory to our Lord. As Christians, we represent Christ at all times and in all places and our personal testimony is only as credible as to the degree that others see Christ in us. And finally, our thankfulness is centered completely and totally on Christ's sacrificial death on the cross to pay our sin debt and secure our eternal home in heaven. Everything we have to be thankful for falls in line behind His grace and mercy.

Pray Like Daniel

If you read the book of Daniel, you read the story of a man who spend most of his life in captivity in Babylon, yet never wavered in his faith and trust in God. He knew the prophet Jeremiah had written that God would not allow Israel to return to their land for 70 years. In Daniel 9:1-19 we see the prayer that Daniel lifted up to God as the lengthy period of exile was about to end.

Daniel begins by acknowledging the greatness of God: O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands (v.4). Although he was a righteous man living in a wicked and ungodly land, Daniel acknowledged his sinfulness along with the nation's as well: We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commandments and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets (v.5-6). He goes on in verses 7-15 to describe the shame of not following God and the deserved exile imposed on his people. Daniel also recalls that the Lord is merciful and forgiving and pleads for this in verses 16-19.

In times of adversity, it's easy to blame others and makes excuses for our actions. To pray like Daniel means to look inside ourselves and confess our own sinfulness to God. Often we pray hoping to advance our own personal comfort. To pray like Daniel means to surrender to God with complete openness to His purpose and plan for our lives. Often we tune out the truth of God's Word; allowing our disobedience to keep us from seeking God's forgiveness. To pray like Daniel is to have confidence that God hears our prayers and is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

In Jesus Name

Now that we've unpacked the model prayer and seen how our Lord and Savior taught us to pray, consider this very important element to prayer found in John 14:13-14 where Jesus said, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Since Jesus has all authority in Heaven and Earth (Matthew 28:18), praying in His name puts His power behind our requests. Praying in His name grants us access to God (Hebrews 4:16) and allows us to claim His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Praying in His name gives us the authority to ask (Matthew 7:7) and the assurance of response (1 John 5:14).

Praying in Jesus' name tells our Heavenly Father that we have full and complete confidence is His infinite knowledge and power. It also ensures that our hearts are right with God and asks that He either grants, delays or denies our requests as He sees fit.

For those times that our prayer life seems stale, remember who we are addressing and by whose authority we address Him.

The Blueprint for Prayer (Part 3)

The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples, the one commonly known as the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), is the perfect model for our own prayers. It focuses on placing God first; recognizing that He alone is the source of every blessing and the provider of every need. It helps us maintain a daily reliance on God and reminds us that we need to forgive others as He has forgiven us. Continuing on in Jesus' blueprint for prayer:

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one: Here we are asking God to protect us from our enemy Satan. We seek His power and strength in the spiritual battle we face as Satan attempts to deceive us, discourage us and entice us to sin. The enemy's ultimate goal in spiritual warfare is to keep us separated from our Heavenly Father. Being in daily communion with God, through prayer and reading His Word, is the first step in protecting ourselves from the evil one.

for yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen: Here we conclude our prayer by further acknowledging that God's Kingdom is the only one that matters, the only Kingdom that has power over all others, the only Kingdom that will ultimately triumph over evil and the only Kingdom that will last forever.

Just as a builder needs to follow a blueprint to properly build a house, we as God's men need to follow the blueprint Jesus gave us to build a purposeful and fulfilling prayer life.

The Blueprint for Prayer (Part 2)

In witnessing Jesus' earthly ministry, the disciples didn't need to ask Jesus how to help the poor or how to minister to the sick and needy. But given how difficult it can be to maintain a consistent and purposeful prayer life, it shouldn't be a surprise to us that the disciples asked "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1). Continuing in the model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) He taught his disciples:

Give us today our daily bread: This acknowledges our daily dependence on God, the one who provides everything we need, every single day. By asking for daily provision, we are asking Him to provide not what we want, but only what we need---no more and no less---each and every day.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors: Here we are asking God to extend his mercy and forgiveness for our sins--a promise that He made in Scripture and fulfilled in Christ's sacrifice on the cross. However, we are also asking for forgiveness only to the same degree that we are willing to extend mercy and forgiveness to others. This part of the model prayer is a stark reminder of how much we can hinder our prayer life if we are unforgiving toward others.

The Blueprint for Prayer (Part 1)

Throughout Jesus' earthly ministry, his disciples saw him perform miracles, help the poor, the sick and misfortuned. They heard him teach about Scripture and the principles we need to live by. They also noticed that he often went off by himself to pray and must have wondered among themselves, "How does Jesus pray to the Father? What does He say? What does He ask for?"
In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples---the one commonly known as the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)---is a blueprint as to how we should pray as well.

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name: The first thing to acknowledge in prayer is the position, the power and the preeminence of God. To hallow His name is to make it holy and set it apart from any other name. As the Almighty, Everlasting Creator of Heaven and Earth, there is none greater than He. This points our prayers in the right direction; toward the One who alone can answer.

Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven: This acknowledges that God's Kingdom is everlasting and His purpose and plan is perfect, holy and just. This allows us to focus on accomplishing things that are in alignment with God's will instead of our own. This also recognizes that we need to do our part to carry out His plan here on earth in anticipation of His glory in Heaven.

Let's Talk About It

The Bible speaks frequently regarding the importance of prayer. King David, described as a man after God's heart, continually sought communion with his Heavenly Father through prayer. During his earthly ministry, Jesus often retreated to be alone with God in prayer--especially during the most difficult times in his life (Matthew 26:36-46). We know, through God's Word, that we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17), we are to pray for others (1 Timothy 2:1) and that our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16).

So why is it that prayer is such a challenge for God's men? Why does spending time with the One who created us in His image often take a backseat to all of the other activities in our lives? Why do we often find our prayer time becoming an obligation or worse yet a missed appointment, rather than the life-giving necessity that it is?

Psalm 139:1 says: O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. Since He is all-powerful and all-knowing, God knows not only what we want but also what we need and when we need it. When we limit God to being our cosmic ATM machine, we limit his infinite wisdom to the limits of our limited understanding. We force ourselves to either doubt the power of prayer or the ability of God to answer. Yet, when we pray in Jesus' name, we alter our priorities and open the door for blessing beyond what we can imagine.

We have the promise that our prayers in Jesus' name will be answered in a way to bring glory to God (John 14:13) and we also have the warning that if we pray with the wrong motives, our prayers won't be answered (James 4:3). We also have the assurance that if God makes us wait for an answer, He is strengthening us in the process (Psalm 27:14).

What Are You Leaving Behind?

When ex-Beatle John Lennon was murdered in 1980, there was an outpouring of emotion throughout the world for the man who penned famous phrases in song such as "All you need is love" and "Give peace a chance". Musically, he left behind a legacy of peace, love and hope for millions.

But what kind of legacy did he really leave behind? In an interview, his son Julian had this to say about his famous father: "My dad was a hypocrite. He could talk about peace and love out loud to the world, but he could never show it to those who supposedly meant the most to him, his wife (whom he left when Julian was five) and son. The only thing he taught me was how not to be a father."

As God's men and spiritual leaders in our homes, the first people who ought to see us as authentic Christians are our children. Scripture warns us that the sins of the father will be passed on to the children and grandchildren--meaning that we have an incredible opportunity and responsibility to shape the spiritual walk of our sons and daughters. Many of us bear the scars of fathers who were physically or emotionally absent. Yet through Christ, we can start a legacy of godliness, faithfulness, honor, integrity and character that points future generations to our Heavenly Father.

1 Timothy 4:12 says Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. So the question is, what kind of example are you leaving behind?