Teach Us to Pray (part 3 of 4)

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I found out that I couldn’t make just one post and say everything I wanted about prayer. I was afraid of that. On this occasion, let’s look at what we commonly call The Lord’s Prayer as Jesus’ example of how we are to pray. This is the prayer he taught his followers.

“Our Father which art in heaven,” addresses the Father to let him know we are speaking to him, and reminds us who it is we pray to. The relationship is constantly before us; he is our father, and we are his children. We are children of the adoption, having been bought with a price and redeemed. “Hallowed be thy name,” since his name is holy and above all names. If we daily pray this prayer, not using God’s name in vain is almost guaranteed. “Thy kingdom come,” is both a request that God come quickly into this world, and reminds us that the kingdom of God is presently being built. We are a part of that. Continue reading →

Word of God Speak (part 2 of 4)

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“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

The Word of God, according to Psalm 119:105, lights our way through this dark world. It gives us direction, lights our way, and guides our steps. The Bible, God’s Word, provides us with instruction on how to live: how to treat the people we meet, how to find a godly spouse and raise a family, how to treat the people we work for and those that work for us, how to be honest in business, how to select church leaders, and a myriad of other tasks in life. More importantly, it is the story of how a holy God interacts with fallen people. That story is worth not only reading, but learning, studying and memorizing. The entire Bible is about we relate to God, and the intersecting point between fallen man and Holy Almighty God is Jesus. Coming to God through faith in Jesus Christ is the only hope we have, and the Bible is that story. Continue reading →

Read the Bible and pray (part 1 of 4)

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Weren’t we all told this as children? Perhaps as a new believer the pastor shook your hand and encouraged you to read the Bible every day. As basic as it sounds, as obvious as it seems to any believer, these two activities are the cornerstones of a close walk and fellowship with our Heavenly Father. But do we practice them?

This is an introduction to a series on reading the scriptures and praying. Continue reading →

God honoring, Christ centered

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What’s the first thing you notice when you look at da Vinci’s Last Supper? It should be Jesus. He is in the middle of the picture, with six apostles sitting on either side. The composition of the painting is designed to draw your attention to Christ, who – here comes a revelation – is at the center.

I’ve just messed with my banner design. I looked for wallpaper, banners, something other than the large blue rectangle I used to have. I’ve played around with the sub-heading several times, and have recently chosen “God honoring, Christ centered.” It’s a good match with the portrait. I changed the color of the text as well, but not sure it’s easy enough to read. Give me some feedback.

The Difference Jesus Makes in God

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This is a follow-up to The Difference Jesus Makes, posted April 13th. That post was really about the difference Jesus makes in us.

What is God like to you? At the mention of God, all of us conjure up some image in the mind’s eye. Some imagine God to be like Zeus on Mount Olympus, tossing thunderbolts at the earth. Others have a misty, ethereal, floaty idea of a disembodied God on a cloud somewhere. Perhaps God is an old man, sitting like a grandfather in a rocking chair, just watching over everything. Deism is the concept that God is like a clockmaker, who put the universe in motion eons ago and is not actually involved in its working. Jesus is the incarnation of God, and should shape our view of who/what God is. Continue reading →

Roman Catholic Christians

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I’m the only writer in the entire blogoshpere that hasn’t said anything about Pope Benedict XVI being in the United States. Half the internet is devoted to this topic. There’s more pics of him this week than Brittney Spears; well, maybe not.

I’m still not going to blog on the Pope, but will take this occasion to say some things about the Catholic Church while everybody’s talking about it right now in America. Continue reading →

May 1st is RSS Awareness Day

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Bloggers know about RSS, but the vast majority of Internet users do not.  May 1st will be RSS Awareness Day, created to get the word out about RSS.  RSSDay.org explains what RSS is, demonstrates how it works, and offers some examples of readers/aggregators.  Bloglines is the reader I personally use, recommended by Internet Monk.  Read up on RSS if you need to, and on May 1st, tell a friend. 

Romans 8:28 -or- Mom’s Buttermilk Biscuits

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buscuits“And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)

That’s not exactly how I first memorized that verse 20 years ago in the KJV, but it’s close. Romans 8:28 is one of those verses that can easily be misunderstood and/or wrongly interpreted. What does the verse not say? It does not say everything that happens will be good. It does not say that. All things that happen work together for good. It’s not the same thing. Some things that happen in life are great. We can see the blessing in them right off. Some things are painful, traumatic, or sorrowful, and we rely on God to know what he’s doing and see us through. Most days fall into the category of ordinary. They just get lumped into the pile of just another day. But God uses every event – good, bad, and whatever – to our ultimate benefit. Think of Romans 8:28 like baking biscuits. Continue reading →

Expositional Preaching

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Internet Monk has brought up an archived article about correctly reading and interpreting scripture. Magic books, grocery lists and silent messiahs gives 3 examples of how scripture can be misused in a sermon or lesson. It’s a good read, and I recommend it. As I looked over it again, and the comments, I found that I had commented twice in the thread. One of them apparently just after I had finished a book on expositional preaching. A good expository sermon is one where the text is read, a few minutes is given to exegesis, and then application is made. Reading my own comments from 2005 reminded me of how strongly I once believed in this. I didn’t have a blog at the time, and good exposition fits well into the theme of Clark Bunch’s Weblog*. Here is the bulk of that comment: Continue reading →

The Difference Jesus Makes

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We could list many things Jesus makes a difference in: finances, vocation, plans for the future, etc. I want to point out the difference Jesus makes in us.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold the new has come.” (ESV) When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, he or she is just not the same person anymore. I don’t often use the term conversion, but that’s what happens. Saving knowledge of Christ changes our mind, heart and spirit from what they were into something… new. Look up the third chapter of Colossians. Verses 1-17 are about this new self. Verse 2 says to “set your mind on things that are above…” When we change from old self to new self, other people will be able to see a difference. It might not be Christian people, either. It could be that old friends notice the difference in attitude, action and speech. Continue reading →