All Things in Common

God creating mankind for the purpose of fellowship and unity is well documented throughout Scripture. We see this especially in the early church as recorded in the book of Acts. After the arrival of the Holy Spirit and Paul's sermon at Pentecost where over three thousand people were saved and baptized (Acts 2:14-41), notice the description of the believers who comprised the first church:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common (Acts 2:42-44).

What we see here in the early church was a commitment to learning the things of God and spending time together. We see joy and amazement at the things being revealed by the Holy Spirit. We see believers eating together, praying together and ministering to each other. Scripture records that these believers came from many different lands, so there was no hint of prejudice but rather a unity that came through their common bond of belief in Christ. What a great example to follow!

Lessons From Peter

Few Biblical characters can generate a wider range of opinions than Peter. He answered Christ's call to leave his profession and follow him (Luke 5:8-11). He was a devoted follower of Christ; part of his inner circle. He passionately preached the Gospel at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41). Yet he also denied his Savior three times (Luke 22:54-62) after Jesus was arrested and taken away to be crucified; just hours after declaring he would follow Jesus to his death (v.33). What then, can we learn from this man whom Jesus declared he would use to build his church?

First of all, it is critical that we know Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Peter knew exactly who Jesus was. While the Jewish people were all trying to figure out who this remarkable teacher was who had come on to the scene, it was Peter who declared "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Secondly, our Lord is keenly aware of when we sin and deny him. Though he was off in the distance, Jesus made eye contact with Peter after he denied him three times (Luke 22:60-62). Thirdly, our Lord stands ready to restore our relationship with him when we confess and repent of our sins. Jesus forgave Peter and charged him with continuing in the ministry he had started (John 21).

Peter, like each one of us, was created in God's image. God had a purpose and plan for his life, just like he does for us. Peter's mistakes didn't invalidate God's plan to use him to build his everlasting church (Matthew 16:18). And in spite of our failings and our shortcomings, God can do mighty things through us if we are willing to be yielded to Him and not our own sinful desires.

One More Prayer Worth Praying

Sticking with the prayers worth praying theme, here's one that is for those who are absolutely serious about following God's will for their life. James Ryle (http://www.truthworks.org/) shared this prayer with us at Promise Keepers and told us it wasn't for the faint-hearted and he was right! This is a prayer that should come with a warning label---Praying this prayer with all of your heart will radically alter your life. Ready? Here goes: Lord Jesus, do in me anything you need to do so that you can do through me everything you want me to do.

Praying this prayer recognizes that God's will for your life is to become more like the person of Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:3). It is in alignment with the model prayer that Jesus gave his disciples that says "Your Kingdom come, your will be done" (Matthew 6:10). It acknowledges that God's ways--righteous and holy--are higher than our ways--sinful and self-centered--and his thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). It realizes that God has gifted us with certain gifts, talents and abilities and they are to be used for his honor and glory (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12).

I believe God is pleased when his men pray this prayer because, more than anything else, it says that we are offering ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and we are willing to let God do whatever is necessary to make us into the men He wants us to be. You can be absolutely sure our Heavenly Father stands ready and able to answer this prayer. Are you ready?

Another Prayer Worth Praying

Father's Day is a call for God's men to celebrate. Unfortunately this time of year, much is said and written about the absence of fathers and its affect on the home and on the multitude of social problems we face. I don't want to minimize the truth of these issues caused by fathers failing to live up to their responsibilities. Rather, I want to encourage fathers to continue to fulfill their God-given role as spiritual leaders in their homes. Nothing you do carries more importance for both here and now as well as eternity.

If you are a father, you've received a special blessing from God in your children. You have the awesome privilege of influencing young lives in a way that no one else can. If you have a godly father who modeled Christ-likeness in your life, you've been blessed with the best possible role model. If you grew up without a father or with a father who was emotionally absent, you have a great testimony in how you overcame those obstacles to be God's man and you (like all of us) are still blessed with a Heavenly Father who never leaves you or forsakes you and loves you unconditionally.

Because our children are an inheritance from the Lord, it only makes sense that praying for them is also a prayer worth praying. I learned this prayer many years ago at Promise Keepers and I've prayed it over my daughter ever since: Father, thank you for Amanda and the blessing that she is. Father, protect her from evil, cover her with Christ's blood, fulfill your purpose in her life. This prayer expresses my greatest desire; that she will come to know Christ as her Savior and spend eternity with Him (and me!). It also expresses my desire to see her walk with God and live a life that honors and glorifies Him. It seeks protection for her from our enemy, who seeks to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

May each of you have a Happy Father's Day!

A Prayer Worth Praying

There are certain Scripture verses I've read that made me pause and think what an awesome prayer to God they would be. My daughter Amanda came home from school one day and shared this memory verse with me: May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14). This would be a great verse to remember whenever our prayer life becomes stale because it is a prayer worth praying.

Our words have the power to bless or curse (James 3:8-10). They can offer hope to those without hope and encouragement to those who are ready to throw in the towel. Yet our words also have the power to damage or destroy others as well as our own testimony. Our actions can also be God-honoring or destructive as well and they begin as thoughts and meditations in our hearts. If those thoughts are not pure, our incorrect thinking will eventually lead us into sin (James 1:13-15).

To refer to God as our rock and redeemer is to acknowledge that all of our power and strength comes from Him. We recognize that it is only by his unmerited grace and mercy that we have an everlasting hope for the future. To pray that both our words and our thoughts would be acceptable in God's sight is to admit that left to our own thoughts, words and deeds; we will fall incredibly short of His holiness.

I am completely confident that our Heavenly Father stands ready to bless and honor a prayer like Psalm 19:14 because it expresses a heartfelt desire to be like Christ.

Daily Time in the Word

I don't think too many days go by where I don't talk to someone who struggles to carve out time every day to read God's Word. And yet, no one I've talked to has admitted that reading His Word isn't time well spent. Scripture tells us that God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105), so do we really want to stumble around in the dark?

We all know why this is a challenge. Overcrowded schedules, multi-tasking, family commitments, hobbies, even rest can all rob us from time with our Heavenly Father. Yet just like ignoring the "check engine" light can eventually result in our cars breaking down, failing to feed and be replenished with a daily serving of Scripture can cause us to break down as well.

I've added a section to the right of our website entitled devotionals which has links to daily and weekly Biblical insights from some of the most gifted people who share God's Word. No matter how busy our day can be, we always have time to jump on the computer for a few minutes and now you can turn those few minutes into a time of spiritual refreshment.

If you already have quality and consistent devotional time with God, please keep on doing what you're doing and share with others how you do it. Yet if this is a problem area in your life, take advantage of our devotion section and feed on God's Word. Enjoy!!

Integrity--No Matter What

Integrity, by definition, means adherence to moral or ethical principles; soundness of moral character, honesty. It also means the state of being whole, entire or undiminished (dictionary.com). As God's men, we'd like to think we do pretty well at maintaining these standards on a big-picture level, but what about the the little nitty-gritty day-to-day details of our lives. How important are the little matters that seem so trivial?

Here's God's perspective as written in Luke 16:10-12: One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? Think about it--has your opinion of someone else ever changed because of how you've observed their actions when no one else was watching? Has your character or reputation ever taken a hit because you were not faithful in the very little (a white lie, an exaggeration of past accomplishments, helping yourself to office supplies from work, spinning a situation to make yourself look better, etc.)?

Patrick Morley of Man in the Mirror Ministries said, "Unless we hold onto absolute integrity in every situation, no matter how big or small, we grieve God and cut ourselves off from the blessing we want and that God wants to give." Integrity--no matter what, is a price we must always be willing to pay.

A Godly Legacy

John Wooden, arguably the greatest college basketball coach of all time, went home yesterday to be with the Lord. His sports accomplishments were legendary: 10 NCAA Titles (including seven in a row from 1967 to 1973), 88 consecutive wins, four undefeated seasons, dozens of future NBA players including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes and Bill Walton. Yet what Wooden leaves behind is a near century of godly influence on thousands of people.

In a sport famous for colorful and controversial personalities, Wooden was a man of class and composure. Abdul-Jabbar recalled how his coach used sports to teach how to apply yourself in everyday situations. Wilkes noted how approachable he was and how he connected with people of many different cultures. President Obama saluted him for the way he achieved success with modesty and humility and his wholehearted dedication to the lives of others.

When asked a few years ago about his secret for long life, he replied, "Not being afraid of death and having peace within yourself. All of life is peaks and valleys. Don't let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low." He lived by the advice passed down from his father: Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books--especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for you blessings and pray for guidance every day.

Wooden was frequently quoted in devotionals such as Men of Integrity and rightfully so. In looking back on his legacy, I see 99 years of a man becoming more and more like the person of Jesus Christ. As God's men, we have a lot we can learn from the coach; especially this gem: "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

What About Worry

Several years ago, there was a catchy song on the radio that told us, "Don't worry, be happy!". A popular satire magazine's featured character has, "What, me worry?", as his catch-phrase. We'd all love to think and act like worry wasn't a part of our landscape, but studies show that worry is the main cause of stress in people's lives. We burn a lot of time, energy and resources in an attempt to control things we have little or no control over--because we worry.

Jesus went to great lengths to assure us that as God's men, worry should never dominate our lives. In Matthew 6, he reminds us that creatures as simple as birds--who have no ability or means to provide for themselves--are taken care of by God and that as the prize of his creation, we should expect nothing less. Jesus tells us not to worry about our basic needs being met (v.25). He reminds us that we are more valuable than any thing else God created (v.26) and that we cannot improve or extend our life one hour by worrying (v.27). He assures us that our Heavenly Father is well aware of our needs and He is willing, able and better equipped to meet those needs than anyone else (v.32).

Rick Warren once said that worry is a warning light that you've shoved God to the sideline. In its basic form, worry is a heart condition that reveals a lack of faith and trust in God's grace; which is always more than sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). To battle our natural tendency to worry, we must cling to the promise of Matthew 6:33---but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Then we can be sure that worry, not God, gets relegated to the sidelines.