The point is I don’t do well with any sort of repair/construction work. But I do carry nails with me all the time. I carry them in my pocket. I carry the nails that pierced the hands of Christ…
It began with a cup of coffee for the road, as I headed out a few minutes late for the Pittsburgh airport. But daydreaming, I drove the wrong direction. I was probably wondering why cows always seem to face the same direction. Ten minutes into my drive I suddenly jolted into reality and realized I was heading east away from Pittsburgh…
This past weekend was homecoming at the local university, and as I saw one stone drunk college student after another stumble past my house, I was remindedthat I’m surrounded by spiritually dead people. I saw hundreds of college students passionately indulging in sin, pursuing the very things that would make them unhappy, and I was reminded that this world is a spiritual morgue…
Intense pain, slowly pulling my neck forward. I hauled myself out of bed, took some ibuprofen, and lay on the couch in the living room. The pain kept intensifying, my head drawing further toward my chest. By 2 a.m. I couldn’t endure the pain any longer, so I grabbed the car keys and eased out my driveway toward the hospital…
Parenting is scary. You’re always wrestling with concerns like, will my children ever remember to brush their teeth on their own? (One survey found that the average age is 18). Will my children ever learn to read? Will they ever be able to do anything besides play X-box? Will my 29-year-old son ever move out of the house? (This was my Mom’s concern).
But no doubt Christian parents’ biggest concern of all is our kids’ salvation. And now that I’ve become an ancestor in flowing robes with a flowing beard and a staff, I carry this burden for my granddaughter Charis.
Though Scripture doesn’t absolutely guarantee their salvation, God gives us many strong reasons to pray and hope for our children. Spurgeon urged parents to pray Isaiah 59.21, which I’ve written in my prayer notebook at the top of the page of requests for my family:
“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.” IS 59.21
I read this verse often before praying something like this: “Father, thank you for promising that your Spirit that you’ve given me and your word that you’ve put in my mouth won’t depart from me or my children or my children’s children from this time forth and forever. You didn’t have to make that promise, but you did. So I ask that you would save each of my children and my grandchildren and all my descendants until you return. I ask that you would fill each one with your Spirit and your Word.” And then I continue praying for my family.
There are many other promises we can pray for our kids. For example:
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. IS 54.13
The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you. PS 102.28
Years ago I was inspired by James Dobson’s story of his great-grandfather, G.W. McCluskey, who died the year before James was born. His grandfather prayed between 11 a.m. and noon daily for the spiritual welfare of his family, including future generations. Before he died, he announced that God had promised him that every member of his family for four generations would be born-again. Did God come through? The McCluskeys had 2 girls, one of whom was Dobson’s grandmother. Both girls married pastors. These women had 5 girls and one boy between them. One of the girls was Dobson’s mother. All five girls married pastors and the boy became a pastor. Dobson and his cousin, H.B. London, were the first of their generation to go to college and were roommates. In their sophomore year, H.B. was called to the ministry. And we all know about James – he founded Focus on the Family and has spent his life writing and speaking about Jesus Christ.
Dobson says, “At times as I sit on a platform waiting to address a church filled with Christians, I wonder if my great-grandfather is smiling at me from somewhere. His prayers have reached across four generations of time to influence what I am doing with my life day by day.“ (Tears are filling my eyes)
He continues, “What does that say about free moral agency and the right to choose? I don’t have a clue. I know only that God honors the prayers of His righteous followers, and you should stay on your face before Him until each child in your family and extended family has been granted every opportunity to repent.”
Anybody want to join me in praying for their kids and grandchildren?
The other day I was arguing with God. Now before you string me up by my thumbs (which are rather short to begin with), hiss at me for being a heretic, and go on a Salem Blog Hunt, let me explain.
At the recommendation of some readers, I was reading the Psalms. Psalm 30:8-9 says,
To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?”
Well what do you know, David argued with God too. He’s pleading for mercy, yes, but there’s an argument hidden in these words too. Do you see it? David argues, What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? David is reasoning with God, giving God reason after to answer his prayer.
There’s a reason David’s argument is recorded in scripture: God wants us to argue as well. But we need to be careful here. There’s a way to argue with God that’s wicked, and there’s a way to argue that glorifies God. When we bring accusation and bitterness against God, that’s wicked. When we bitterly say to God, “I don’t deserve this!”, God doesn’t listen. But when we argue the glory of God, like David did, God is pleased.
David’s argument goes like this: God, if I die, I won’t be able to praise you and tell of your faithfulness. If you don’t answer my prayer, I won’t be able to praise you. So for your own glory, please answer my prayer. We should pray like David.
“Lord, if you don’t save my daughter, she won’t live a life for your glory. Please save her for your glory!”
“Father, if you don’t give me patience with my children I’ll sin against them in anger. Please help me glorify you by being patient.”
“Lord, if you don’t give me courage to share the gospel I’ll never speak up. For your glory, give me courage.”
My good friend Ian was in a car accident over a year ago. He’s still is in a wheelchair and can’t yet speak. But I was filled with faith when I prayed for Ian. I prayed, “Lord, if you don’t heal Ian, he can’t sing and speak your praises. For your glory, please heal Ian.”
Do you argue with God when you pray? Do you pray that God would answer your prayers for his glory? Let’s be like David. Let’s argue with God for his glory.
Lots of celebrities and television shows are into giving away money to the less fortunate these days. I’m grateful for God’s common grace that moves both Christians and non-Christians to pity and help the poor. One celebrity recently encouraged their viewers, “Remember, never give to receive; give to give.” I appreciate the thought and agree that we shouldn’t do things with selfish motives. But God never says we should simply “give to give.”
God’s word says that whatever we do, we should do for the glory of God (1 CO 10.31). So don’t “Give to give,” but “Give for the glory of God.” Give to display God’s compassion for those in need. Give in gratitude for the love of Christ who emptied himself to make us rich. Give to display the power of the gospel to change self-centered sinners to those who care for others.
Not only does God say we should give for his glory, but we should give expecting reward and blessing. He stirs us to generosity by promising an abundant return. God doesn’t say “give to give.” That would be like saying to a farmer, “Plow to plow. Sow for the sake of sowing. But don’t have any expectation of a harvest.” I don’t know about you, but I’m not into plowing for plowing’s sake.
God motivates us to give generously by promising we’ll reap bountifully:
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (2 CO 9.6).
God encourages us to bless the poor by promising to pay us back:
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,and he will repay him for his deed (PR 19.17)
Imagine us lending to God - and the King of the universe paying us back - with interest!
And here is the key - Give here, get treasure in heaven:
Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (MT 19.21).
But isn’t giving with an expectation of reward selfish? Not if God tells us to give this way. Isn’t this the prosperity gospel? No. God doesn’t promise he’ll prosper us financially in this world, but will give us treasure in the next. Our reaping will be in heaven, when Jesus returns and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Jesus promises us that in this life he’ll meet all our needs. In other words, he’ll give us all the grace we need to glorify him each day.
So don’t just give to give. Give to glorify God. And give with hope of eternal rewards.
Yesterday my dad wrote a post on imitating our generous God. A post like that leads to the obvious question, how do I grow in generosity? Here’s just a few practical suggestions on how we can grow in being cheerful givers.
Pray For A Generous Heart
Fact: we’re sinfully, selfishly, stingy (say it three times fast) by nature. My selfish heart doesn’t get real revved up about giving away my hard earned money. I would rather spend it on other things like, say, myself. I would rather plunk down sixty bucks on some new jeans and a nice dinner with my wife, than drop it into the offering basket. Why? Because I’m selfish. I need God to give me a cheerful, generous heart. Check out the early church in Acts 2:44-46
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts…
These folks were generosity freaks. They were selling off their couches and land so that they could give the money to those who needed it. I want to be generous like that. God needs to change me. I need to pray.
Make Giving A Habit
If giving isn’t a habit there’s a good chance it won’t happen. I saw this recently in my own life when I had been waiting to tithe until the week after I got paid. In other words, I got paid on a Friday, and would tithe on that check 9 days later on Sunday. The result? During those 9 days I would pay bills, buy groceries, go on a date with my wife, and buy a book that I didn’t really need. By the time Sunday came around my bank account was low and I wasn’t able to give as generously. God convicted me that I needed to be in the habit of tithing and giving to our new building project first, before I spent money on anything else. Give to God first and let him take care of the details.
Look At The Big Picture
Think about what really happens when you give. You give money to your church, the gospel is preached, souls are won for the glory of God. You give money to the poor, a starving little boy gets food in his stomach, you get eternal rewards. You give money to a Christian in need, they rejoice in the provision of God, you get the joy of seeing them grow in faith. If we want to grow in generosity, we need to see the big picture. We’re not just putting money into a basket, we’re investing into eternity.
