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Emails to God – Submitting to Discipline (Hebrews 12:4-11)

14 Aug

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline —then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Dear God, the deeper I get into parenting the more I am breaking my priorities down to three things.

1. Show my children what it means to love you
2. Show my children that I love them
3. Teach them how to submit to authority

The problem I run into is that the second and third items can sometimes feel mutually exclusive—especially as they hit the teenage years. When they are in their twenties, perhaps they will look back and understand what I am doing/trying to do now, but for right now I think they see discipline and love and mutually exclusive things. That really frustrates me because I want more than anything for them to feel my love.

Father, I suppose it all starts with me accepting your authority over me and submitting to that. Then, from there, I will let your spirit flow through me as much as possible. So please forgive me for the times I’ve missed it and not found the right balance with them. Protect my children from my sins. Encourage them to love you and submit themselves to you. Help them to turn loose of their own agendas and wills and turn them over to you. And help me to love my wife as you need her to be loved.

 
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Posted by on August 14, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – Quenching the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19)

13 Aug

19Do not quench the Spirit.

Dear God, this is probably one of the easiest things to allow to happen—quenching the Spirit in my life. It is so easy to allow to happen. So what are the ways that I can quench the Spirit in my life?

1. Hold onto anger and unforgiveness. Bitterness can absolutely grow like a cancer until it pushes everything else out. I have a relative who reminds me of this fact. She will hold onto bitterness and just not let it go. Now I see it pushing you totally out of her life. I wish there was something I could do about it, but I feel powerless.
2. Living in fear. Fear is future-based, and you do not call me to live in the future. You call me to live today, and make decisions today that will glorify you and not mortgage the future. I have been feeling fear lately. Fear about challenges at work. Fear about challenges at home. I can see where Satan might be using fear to quench your Spirit.
3. Giving in to selfishness. Self-indulgence is completely opposite of the spirit. I suppose that one could list self-pity separately, but it seems to be that the times I am feeling the most self-indulgent are the times when I am feeling the sorriest for myself. In essence, I’m not getting what I think I deserve here, so I am going to spoil myself there. There is no room for the Holy Spirit in that
4. Allowing ungodly influences into my life. Oh, this is probably where I quench the Spirit the most. You know what I mean. TV shows. Movies. Music. For just about any type of media I let in too much of the world and I allow the world to water down the Spirit.

Father, I know there are probably more ways in which I quench the Spirit in my life, but the problem then becomes when I allow the Spirit to also be quenched in my home. Help me in all of these areas. Help me to enflame the Spirit in my life, my wife, and my children. Help me to enflame the Spirit at work and in my dealings outside of the home. Help me to embrace forgiveness, faith, and unselfishness. Let the fruit of the Spirit grow so that it might not be quenched in any area of my life.

 
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Posted by on August 13, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – What’s With All Of The Suffering Verses? (1 Peter 4:12-19)

10 Aug

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Dear God, I know I sound like a broken record on this, but I seem to keep coming across verses that remind me that suffering is not outside of your plan for me. It’s funny because I think I know that, but then you apparently keep bringing these passages to me so it makes me wonder if I still haven’t gotten it.

So, yes, I’ve been going through some trials lately, both at home and at work. Compared to what other people experience in life, however, I am hard-pressed to classify it as real suffering. And I’m certainly not suffering for your name or anything like that—I’m just going through normal life stuff. But I guess the question is, do I feel sorry for myself and angry with you for my suffering, or do I just accept it as part of the journey and move forward. I thought I was doing the latter, but perhaps I am doing the former more than I know.

Father, all I ask for myself is that you give me your wisdom, discernment, and peace. Whatever else you need to do to or through me to accomplish your will, so be it. You are my God. I am your servant. I already have it better than I deserve.

 
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Posted by on August 10, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – Suffering for the Lord (Luke 1:26-38)

08 Aug

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Dear God, it seems to me that Mary was put in a really tough position here. I realize that she has been revered since her death, but her earthly life was not easy. It seems to me that there are a lot of instances in the Bible when you feel like the good of the many outweighs the good of the one. Noah’s call was not an easy one to follow. Nor was Moses’. Generations of Israelites suffered in slavery. Ruth suffered until she married Boaz (which eventually produced David’s lineage). The apostles lived difficult lives. Even Jesus lived a challenging life and suffered a terrible death. And then there are Mary and Joseph. They were poor, faced being ostracized from their community, traveled during pregnancy, gave birth in a manger, ran from Herod in the middle of the night to Egypt, relocated a couple of times after that, etc. It wasn’t an easy call.

In looking at these stories I wonder why we, as American Christians, sometimes feel like our suffering should be mitigated or minimized. I think we have created this idea of a God who wants each of us, individually, to be cozy in our homes. I know that thought is certainly appealing to me. But is it consistent with what we read in the Bible? Did our heroes live easy lives. Even David had to fight wars and face insurrection from his children. Your prophets were rejected. Stephen was stoned.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I need to be careful about what exactly it is I expect from you and our relationship. I need to be careful about not expecting to be able to look back on my life and evaluating its success based on whether or not it looks good on the surface (e.g., did I have a good career, did I make a lot of money, did I live a long time, did I retire well (and young), did I live in comfort, did my family live free of disease, etc.). You haven’t promised me any of these things, and I have no right to expect them from you. And if you do give me these things then my first question should be, God, what is it you want me to do with this blessing?

Father, I confess to you that there are times when I start to worry about my career and wonder if I should be accomplishing more (and making more money). I wonder if I am starting to get to an age where I will be too old to get that one great job that will set me up for retirement. As my children near the end of high school I start to wonder about my legacy through them and how I will be perceived as a parent through their accomplishments. These are all sins because they take my eyes off of you and turn them to myself. They take my eyes off of today and turn them to tomorrow. They ignore the idea that my suffering might be for the good of so many more. So I will start the way Mary started. “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

 
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Posted by on August 8, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – Jesus’ Insensitivity (Luke 2:41-52)

07 Aug

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Dear God, I hope this isn’t blasphemous to say, but it is nice to know that Jesus could be a clueless kid every once in a while too. He had no evil motives here. He had a unique opportunity to learn more about God in the Jerusalem temple so he took it. He just didn’t stop to think about how his actions would impact other people. He had not yet learned courtesy. I don’t see this as a sin. I see it as insensitivity that needed to be corrected. Verse 51 is the key: “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” He submitted to them and their authority over him.

As a parent of teens, it is sometimes hard to discern between when they are being sinful and when they are simply being thoughtless. In fact, there are times when my wife has to figure out the same thing for me—am I sinning against her or just being thoughtless. Frankly, it is refreshing to know that there is a difference.

Father, help me to be thoughtful of those around me. Help me to teach my children thoughtfulness. Help me to be able to recognize when my child is just being thoughtless and to train them to be thoughtful. Help me to also recognize when my child is being willfully sinful and train them to repent. And, of course, help me to learn these lessons for myself as well.

 
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Posted by on August 7, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – Praying In Jesus’ Name (John 16:25-28)

06 Aug

25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Dear God, I assume this day is still here. I assume that I have direct access to you through my prayers. But the key is to ask in Jesus name. But what does it mean to ask something in Jesus’ name? Does it mean to actually declare Jesus’ name as I pray, or is it more subtle than that? If I say my own selfish prayer, but I throw in Jesus’ name at the end, is that the same thing as blaspheming Jesus’ name? Can I pray my own selfish prayer, add Jesus’ name to the end, and not offend you?

Being raised Baptist, one of the things I learned to do as a child was add on the phrase, “in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen,” to the end of all of my prayers. In fact, I am careful to always put that little phrase at the end of each of these prayers in my journal (although the people on the blog don’t see it because I normally leave the end of my prayers out of the blog). But do I mean it, or is it just something I say on the end because I think I am supposed to? Am I truly taking each prayer and considering what Jesus would think of it and then submitting it through His name, or am I just throwing some words up toward heaven and putting a Jesus bow on them?

Father, help me to take the times I am speaking to you as the beautiful, powerful moments that they are. This is an opportunity for me to get a glimpse of your glory and your presence. It is a chance for me to lay my life before you and humbly ask for your provision in whatever ways you see as appropriate. Thank you for the fact that Jesus’ death and resurrection delivered to me the power of prayer.

 
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Posted by on August 6, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – The Power of Prayer? (Luke 18:1-8)

03 Aug

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Dear God, I have to admit that sometimes I question the power of prayer. I suppose, at some level, it is a matter of believing in predestination or not. If I believe in predestination, then what is the point in praying for my children, the sick, or anything else that comes to mind? I heard a quote one time where someone said, “I don’t pray because it changes God. I pray because it changes me.” That sounds really good and cool, but is it accurate? Do my prayers change you.

The Bible is full of examples of people changing your mind. Abraham got you spare Lot and his family instead of just destroying the whole city. Moses got you to relent before destroying the Israelites. I think there’s a story about either Elijah or Elisha getting you to change course. There’s the story of the king who got a few years added on to his life. So that leaves me with the question, what exactly is the power I have in prayer? Can I, a speck of dust, really change the mind of God?

All of this came to mind because I have noticed a shift happening in my life lately where I am feeling your power. I can feel a tangible difference. I also know that there are at least a couple of people who are praying specifically for me about a couple of areas of my life. Am I feeling the power of their prayers? Does their time spent petitioning you really increase your involvement in my situation?

I remember the book This Present Darkness. I read it over twenty years ago, but I remember that, at the time, it gave me an entirely different perspective on prayer and your power as it strengthens the power that flows into the spiritual warfare that is happening all around me at any given time.

Father, first, thank you for reminding me about the power and importance of prayer. Yes, I pray for my wife and kids. I pray for my marriage. I pray for my work and my friends. But how much am I really expecting to come from it? Well, I want to expect a lot because you are an awfully big God and I have a lot of things that need your help. Finally, I want to thank you for the power I am currently feeling in my life. The way is hard right now, and that path is murky, but I do, truly, feel your power. Help me to stay in the center of your heart and bask in your presence. And remind me of those around me who need my prayers so that I might lift them up to you and be a part of releasing your power in their given situation.

 
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Posted by on August 3, 2012 in Luke

 

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Emails to God – Rejecting Evil (Psalm 119:113-115)

01 Aug

113 I hate double-minded people,
but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
115 Away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commands of my God!

Dear God, when I read this passage this morning it made me wonder if I do enough to keep evildoers away from me. Do I do enough to meditate on your Word and keep out things that are unholy and impure.

So I watched the new Batman movie this weekend. What an interesting franchise. When they portray evil in the movies, the portray unrelenting, merciless, pure evil. They show someone who is willing to do anything to strike terror in the hearts of their victims and then follow through on the threat. Frankly, it was hard to watch. Even the good guys have darkness in them. And after what happened in Aurora a couple of weeks ago, I found myself being distrustful of every person in the theater. Whenever someone got up to go to the bathroom (or came back from the bathroom), I noticed and watched them the whole way. Of course, I was sitting by myself, and I figured there were probably people wondering what the big guy sitting by himself was up to.

My point is, did I go and hang out with the evil doers by watching this movie? Did I let any kind of darkness into my heart? Or was it more benign than that? Was it just being reminded of the human condition—especially in the hearts of the good guys who were flawed, but earnest?

Father, I think that it is important that I find times regularly to love you and put things into my mind and heart that remind me of who you are and who you are calling me to be. You want to remind me to reject selfishness and embrace your authority over me. So help me to do this. Help me to be the man you need me to be for my wife, my children, and everyone else around me. Help me to remember to put “my hope in your word” and “keep the commands of my God!”

 
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Posted by on August 1, 2012 in Miscellaneous

 

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Emails to God – “In the Light” by Charlie Peacock (performed by DC Talk)

31 Jul

I keep trying to find a light
On my own, apart from you
I am the king of excuses
I’ve got one for every selfish thing I do

Chorus
What’s going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I’m still a man in need of a savior

I wanna be in the Light as you are in the Light
I wanna shine like this stars in the heavens
O, Lord, be my Light, and be my salvation
‘Cause all I want is to be in the Light
All I want is to be in the Light

The diseases of self consumes my blood
It’s a cancer fatal to my soul
Every attempt on my behalf has failed
To bring this sickness under control

Chorus

Bridge
Honesty becomes me
There’s nothing left to lose
All those things that did run me
In your presence are diffused
Pride has no position
The fame that once did cover me
Has been sentenced to this earth

Dear God, the year was 1995. I was 25 years old, naïve and impressionable. Oh, if I had known then what I know now. But, as my grandmother once told my mother, you can’t put an old head on young shoulders. I was working for a Christian music publisher called Word. I was fortunate enough to be the editor of their Christian music record club. I remember the day I received the demo of this CD from the record company so that I would consider featuring it in the club. I loved it. I remember the vice president of the division walking by my desk while I was playing the album, and I told him, “This is the next platinum record in Christian music.” Now, that wasn’t really going out on a limb. It’s a little like saying the Yankees have a shot at the playoffs at the beginning of the baseball season—it was almost a given.

But I remember putting this song, in particular, on a tape and driving down LBJ Freeway in Dallas, where I lived at the time, and giving it the full range of my Mazda 626’s radio’s ability. Promise Keepers was coming to Dallas and I was picking my dad up at the airport. I blasted the song on the way to the airport and then I played it for him as I left the airport. I loved it. I loved the words. I loved the musical style. I loved the humility and the songwriter’s willingness to repent. Repentance is a beautiful thing. (Click here for a link to a youtube version of the song)

So here are some thoughts about “In the Light,” which was written and performed originally by Charlie Peacock and released in 1995 by DC Talk.

Verse 1:
• I really do have excuses for the selfish things I do. They usually revolve around me having been wronged by someone else in some way. I justify them by saying to myself, “Well, I wouldn’t normally do this, but since I am suffering in this way then I deserve to have my way here.” But the truth behind it is that I am simply trying to find a “light” on my own and apart from you.

Verse 2:
• I cannot imagine what it will be like to not have the disease of self in me anymore. I know that there are those who would say that I already have the victory in Jesus and I have all I need. And I understand that, and I am glad that the cancer is being managed, but the truth is, this cancer of self will not completely be purged until I cross over to the other side. Much like my mother-in-law’s cancer was not purged from her until after her death, this cancer of self is simply a part of who I am here.

Chorus:
• Obviously, the first part of the chorus is a play on what Paul said about doing the things he didn’t want to do. But then my favorite part of the whole song is right here: “This only serves to confirm my suspicions—that I’m still a man in need of a savior.”
• Sweet Jesus, I need you to be my light because I have no light on my own. I need you to be my salvation. All I want is to be in your light.

 
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Posted by on July 31, 2012 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Emails to God – “Nothing is Beyond You” by Rich Mullins

18 Jul

Where would I go? Where would I run,
Even if I found the strength to fly?
if I rose on the wings of the dawn
And crashed through the corners of the sky
And if I sailed past the edge of the sea
Even if I made my bed in hell,
Still there You would find me.

[Chorus]
Nothing is beyond You, You stand beyond the reach
Of my vain imaginations, my misguided pieties
The heavens stretch to hold You and deep cries out to deep
Saying that nothing is beyond You
Time cannot contain You, You fill eternity
Sin could never stain You, death has lost its sting
And I cannot explain how You came to love me
Except to say that nothing is beyond You,
Nothing is beyond You

If I shrink back from the light, so I can sink into the dark
If I take cover and I close my eyes, even then You would see my heart
And you’d cut through all of the pain and rage,
The darkness is not dark to you, the night’s as bright as day

Dear God, this is one of those last songs Rich Mullins wrote and recorded before he died, but the recording is something he did as a demo, just sitting in an old church with a piano and a “boom box”. Others like Amy Grant, have recorded since then, but I still prefer Rich’s version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbVy3Ak3V8

When they released this collection of songs after he died and called it The Jesus Record, this one was my instant favorite. It just kind of addresses that dark, sad place I let myself go to sometimes. There are times when I just want to be alone. I want to be away from everyone and everything, and that includes You. The seductive thing about these times is that they usually start pretty well. After all, a little alone time can be healthy (although I think I am still supposed to “take you with me” to those places. But what ends up happening is that I become self-indulgent. Then I start to feel sorry for myself. My heart gets darker and before I know it I am overwhelmed y everything around me and I have no perspective.

As I typed out the words to this song this morning, the second verse struck me in a new way. Here are the words that really hit me: “so I can sink into the dark.” What is it about sinking into the dark that is so appealing to a human who is in the Light? Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s not. But there is something about the quiet hole of sin that is enticing.

Father, my other favorite part of this son is when he says, “Even if I made my bed it hell, still there You would find me.” You are, for whatever reason, always seeking me. Like the Prodigal Son’s father, seeing the son a long way off, you are always looking for me. So thank you for your love. As a father, I can get just a little feel for your love for me. I am sorry where I fail you. I am sorry for when I indulge my slothful, sinful side. I am sorry when I shrink back from the light and seek a little time away from you. The truth is, it is NEVER fulfilling. It is empty and hollow.

 
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Posted by on July 18, 2012 in Hymns and Songs

 

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