Thoughts on Prayer

Luke 4:38-43; 25-27 (the inspiring Scriptures)

Not long after Jesus was baptized and tested in the wilderness, he came back in great power, preaching and healing all kinds of people. For example in vs.38, he was asked to heal Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, and he did. Vs. 40 says that people from all over were bringing all their sick and demon possessed, and that Jesus healed EVERYONE! Why did He did do that? Where is Simon Peter’s mother-in-law now? Where are all those once sick and demon-possessed people now? They’re dead… they’re either in heaven or hell, but the point is they all died physically. For some, Jesus’ healing only postponed their death. So, again, why did Jesus do this? Did he do it simply to extend their life? Was He simply being merciful to the remaining friends and family, giving them more time with their loved-one? Or was their another reason?

In vs.42, when the crowd sought Him and tried to make Him stay with them, Jesus said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” So, Jesus said His purpose was to preach the kingdom, not to heal. So, why heal all those people?

Ac 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— (see also Heb.2:1-4)

Why did Jesus do miracles? Validation. God the Father was healing all those people through Jesus to confirm and establish the truthfulness of His message. Which naturally leads me to ask the question, do we understand now why we don’t see more miraculous healings in our day, in our culture? Does the truthfulness of the Gospel really need to be confirmed and established today; something that has been a part of our national culture for over 400 years, beginning with the pilgrims and continuing right on through to our founding fathers, even up until the early part of the 20th century?

Another question to ask, especially for the church, is why are we praying for so many physical healings? In probably any church, if you ask for prayer requests, you’ll get 90 % or better will be requests for physical healing. After that, maybe 1-2 requests for comfort for someone grieving, and maybe 1-2 requests for protection for someone traveling…but very, very rarely will you ever get one for someone who is lost and separated from God, or even for a professing brother or sister who has gone astray. Why? Are we too earthly-minded, rather than being spiritually-minded? Does our focus on the physical betray the real focus of our heart? Or are we too afraid that we might offend if we make discerning judgments regarding the spiritual condition of a friend or neighbor? Are we in denial? Are we afraid that if we really start praying for people spiritually that God may just lead us to actually do something, like go and talk with them?

Again, why are we asking for so many physical healings, even if we understand that the spiritual is more important? Is our heart really focused on the validation of the Gospel as Jesus’ was, or does it really expose that we’re more concerned about keeping our friends and family alive with us than seeing the Gospel spread? What if a loved-one’s death opened the door for more ministry to be done? What if a loved-one’s death created opportunities for the lost to hear about Jesus? What is a loved-one’s prolonged hospital stay created opportunities for doctors, nurses, other patients, or even extended family members to have a opportunity to hear about and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior? What really is more important… living a few more years or seeing souls come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ?

Now, I know as well as anyone how much our friends and families mean to us, I have dearly beloved friends and relatives too. But when someone does get sick or something bad does happen, maybe rather than spending so much time, trying to get every Christian and every church we know of to pray for their physically healing, maybe we would be better served and God better glorified, if we stop and ask, “Lord, how can this situation increase your glory? How can this terrible situation be used to magnify Jesus and spread the good news to those who need it most?” Who knows maybe even this heavenly perspective might itself bring peace, comfort, and even contentment to the one who is sick and to those who are closest to him? When Jesus was here, what was He really more concerned about… the physical healing and restoration of people, or preaching the gospel of the kingdom for eternal salvation? I think the Scriptures are clear, for Jesus, it was preaching the gospel of the kingdom. What should it be for us as His disciples?

Moratorium on Church Membership?

Who have ever heard of a pastor of a church wanting to call for a moratorium on adding any new church members? None that I’m aware of. But this is exactly what this pastor desires to do in his heart. Why you ask? Simply because it has been affirmed and reaffirmed over and over again that the typical, modern-day professing Christian doesn’t have a clue what it means to member of a church. Church Membership has all but lost all of its significance today in our culture. Far from being a community of deeply devoted Christ-followers who covenant together to share all of life together for the glory of God and to carry out the great commission, we change churches like we change our shoes. We’ll try this one for a while, and if it doesn’t fit, we’ll kick it off and get another, without one ounce of regret or second-thought. But what can we expect from the ultimate consumer-driven culture in which coveting is a value and where our personal happiness reigns supreme? In many ways, it takes more effort and devotion to be a member of the local “animal” lodge than it does the church of the Jesus Christ. If this small, insignificant, saved-by-grace pastor is broken-hearted over the current condition of Christ’s bride today, I can’t even imagine how broken-hearted He is.

Wrestling with the Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper is one of two primary ordiances in the church instituted by Christ Himself. It is a very special time of fellowship, personal reflection and evaluation, and a re-committing ourselves to the Lord and to the fellowship of believers. But is this sacred meal only properly to be observed when most of the church is present? Or can it be properly done in homes with only a few believers?

I have really been wrestling over this issue lately because of the desire of many of our shut-ins to participate in the Lord's Supper, even though physically they really aren't able to come and worship anymore.

In the Baptist confession of faith written in 1689 (one of the most detailed and lengthy confessions), it is stated of the Lord's Supper:

"1.THE Lord's supper was instituted by the Lord on the same night in which He was betrayed. It is to be observed in His churches to the world's end, for a perpetual remembrance of Him and to show forth the sacrifice of Himself in His death. It was instituted also to confirm saints in the belief that all the benefits stemming from Christ's sacrifice belong to them. Furthermore, it is meant to promote their spiritual nourishment and growth in Christ, and to strengthen the ties that bind them to all the duties they owe to Him. The Lord's supper is also a bond and pledge of the fellowship which believers have with Christ and with one another."

In this one paragraph of this confession about the Lord's Supper, we can observse both the corporate aspect as well as the individual aspect of the blessing of participating in this meal.

The question that I have is, which is more important and does one overrule the other? For example, can I as a pastor alone go and administer the Lord's Supper to an elderly shut-in, or does at least a portion of the church be represented because of the communal aspect of the meal? Sure the more practical and easier thing to do would be for me to just do it alone when I'm out doing my visiting during the day. But as one who is trying to be obedient and honoring to God, what is easier or practical cannot be my guide. I have to think through what I'm doing and make sure that what I'm doing lines up with Scripture and with the intention that Christ had when He instituted it.

Insights and comments from other believers who are also striving for God's glory are always welcome. :)

New Appreciation for Genesis 3:16

Genesis 3:16 states, "To the woman He said,'I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children;'" (NASB)

I now have a new appreciation for this verse. When Andrea labored and delivered our first two, she had epidurals with both, the first more than the second. I can remember when Caleb was born that all day, Andrea and I had basically just sat in the hospital room, watching tv, until about 3:30pm when the nurse came in and said, "Ok, it's time to push." I was like, "What?" That experience was nothing like I had seen on television.

But yesterday, Andrea had NO epidural; she only had a little "Newbane" (sp?) to take the edge off, and it was really different. I mean she was hurting and uncomfortable for hours before it was time to push. No television yesterday, we were all business. And then when it was time for her to push, boy I really understood Gen.3:16 because it was like the movies. I'm sort of surprised she didn't start calling me dirty names! (haha).

But even through that terrible/wonderful experience... her heart could be seen. She would scream at the mid-wife and nurses when it hurt so bad, and then immediately say "I'm sorry..." which we all thought was kind of funny. But when God said he would greatly multiply her pain in childbirth, He wasn't kidding around.

So, why would God do that? Why would He take such a wonderful experience as the birth of a child and make it so hurtful and sorrowful? Is God just mean and hateful like that? Well, of course God is not mean and hateful; He has nothing or no amount of evil or maliciousness in Him. Everything He does is good and righteous. So, why the pain in childbirth?

Well, I can't say this is the only reason, because knowing God, I'm sure there are more than one. But one reason I believe is because the Lord in His mercy wanted to give a lasting reminder of the consequences of sin. Sin has consequences. Rom 6:23 states, "For the wages of sin is death..." As the human race, we need to remember that our rebellion against God came at a great cost. And if we forget that cost, and seek not His mercy and forgiveness before we die, we will be eternally separated from Him in hell. So, God who is rich in mercy and grace, gave to mankind a perpetual reminder that "Hey, Sin has consequences! And you had better remember that before its eternally too late!"

Another reason for the pain and sorrow might be to remind us that in sin we are conceived and born. Some people have the mistaken understanding that man is born basically good and morally neutral, and that we only turn into bad people because of our environment or upbringing. This is not true Biblically. Kind David stated in Ps.51:5,"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." Eccles. 7:20 also states, "For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin." So, the truth of the matter is, man is NOT born basically good or morally neutral. He is born with a sinful nature that has been passed down from one generation to another since the time of Adam and Eve. Man is not a sinner because he sins... He sins because He is a sinner. This reminder is also a gift of mercy because again, we are reminded that we are sinners desperately in need of God's grace and forgiveness.



The good news is that God in His love and grace sent His unique and only Son, Jesus, to be the Savior of the world. Jesus came and paid the ultimate penalty for our salvation. He lovingly and willingly allowed Himself to be crucified so that we might live forever with Him. But how good is a cure if a person doesn't know he's sick? In childbirth, we have a perpetual reminder of our need for Jesus. So, even in something as terrible and sorrowful as labor pains, we see the incredible love and mercy of God.

Kid's Chore Chart

I don't know who's idea it was, whether it was mine or Andrea's, but either way I like it. Our boys, who are only 5 and 3 years old, already have chores that they have to do, some on a daily basis. The picture below is snap shot of our chore chart (you can only see Caleb's part). As you can see the chores are listed on the left side with a corresponding block for each day of the week. And each time they do the chore, they get a star. For example, Caleb's chores are cleaning the table (after a meal), feeding his fish, cleaning his room, emptying the dryer, making his bed, and taking out the bathroom trash. Because all of those are things that he can do. Taite only has 3 things: cleaning up his toys, taking out the recyclables, and emptying the dryer (b/c he helps Caleb do that).And at the end of each week, for every star they have, I give them 1 dime. I know thats not a lot, but I can't afford a quarter for every star and a dime keeps things simple. So, why are we doing this?

Well, because I want to start early teaching my children about the value of hard work and about the proper and correct use of money. When I was growing up, I never received any form of allowance. And even though I know my Dad's reasoning (everything I had he provided), I still think I would have benefited from personally learning how to use, save, and be generous with my own money. As they get older, the chores will increase in quantity, and their value will go up as well. But for now, I think this is a good start.