focus

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Dana

From Luke 9: “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for him to be received up, that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem…” (v 51 – NKJV)

Jesus knew his purpose would be fulfilled in Jerusalem, so he went steadfastly. There were many things that happened in his life before passion week, but Jesus stayed focused on the will of the Father. Whether there were victories or losses on the road, nothing would distract him from his purpose.

Oh to have this focus! But how often do I look more like Martha? From Luke 10: “As Jesus and his disciples were on the way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (vv 38-42 – NIV)

For Jesus, the ‘one thing’ was surely his Father, and he depended on the Holy Spirit to lead him daily until his purpose was complete. Is not Jesus the ‘one thing’ we need? Will I choose ‘what is better’ or will I let all the worries and distractions of life knock me off course?

“Father, let me follow your Spirit in focused living. Let me choose the ‘one thing’ every day on this earth. Thank you that Jesus shows the way. Amen.”

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

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disciples

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Dana

Peter, Andrew, James, John, Mary Magdalene, Stephen, Philip, Paul, Barnabas, John Mark, Aquilla, Priscilla, Lydia, Mary the mother of Jesus, James the brother of Jesus… these are a few of the disciples we read about in the New Testament. These (and all others) were sinners who found forgiveness and grace in the Good News of Jesus Christ. They all made mistakes after being saved, but they believed their righteousness was fully dependent on the Messiah. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22-24)

Disciples are those who, after receiving such a great gift, dedicate themselves to follow the Master. Disciples take seriously the life they live on earth, desiring to bring lasting fruit to the Father. This fruit only comes as one abides in Christ and receives Living Water from the One who gave his life.

When our oldest daughter Kinsey came back from Zambia five years ago, she told us about a young missionary who had moved there after graduating from college. During Kinsey’s three months in Africa, Megan was a living example of a disciple of Christ. Knowing she still lived there, Kinsey told her little sister to get to know Megan as she studied abroad in Zambia.

Because of schedules and work loads, Karlyn did not get to be around Megan much the first several weeks of the semester, but eventually they got to work together. Megan is now thirty years old and has had an impact on hundreds of children in Zambia. After children leave the base orphanage, Megan continues relationship with many of them in the outlying villages.

Karlyn accompanied her to one village where a blind couple lives. Their five children were cared for at the base until they were old enough to move back with their parents. Megan counsels, encourages, and loves this family through some difficult circumstances. Disciples of Jesus remember the most important command of the Master is to love others the way He loves us.

During one of the team’s long excursions on the rough African roads, Megan got to encourage the Americans. She instigated a conversation with one of Karlyn’s friends that clearly impacted a young life. The discussion centered on using our gifts for the glory of God. The Father gives gifts to build up the Body. If we bury our gifts, we rob others of the blessings God intends to give. As Karlyn shared this story and the subsequent effect it had on her whole team, I thanked God for a young disciple willing to humbly yet boldly pass on important truths. Disciples constantly point to the Father, Son, and Spirit using God’s Word as light and life.

I imagine Megan shies away from being held up as an example, but disciples walk in such a way that others can look to them. Jesus is the only One worthy to be exalted, but a disciple can honestly live with an open heart and open home. “Come see the way I live. Come be my guest in my home. Everything good I have comes from the Father above and I will be happy to share. Jesus has changed me; He is my Hero and my best Friend. He is also my Lord so I will follow wherever He leads. I love Him, but the truth is: He loved me first. And He loves you too! Don’t you want to be his disciple?”

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” I Corinthians 11:1

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thankful

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Dana

Susan and I are so thankful our daughter Karlyn has returned from Africa after spending a semester studying abroad. God protected and blessed her and her team. He answered so many prayers and we continue to marvel at his goodness and power.

Last Saturday, her older sister Kinsey drove Karlyn to my parents’ house in Chattanooga where we welcomed her home.  Monday, three of Karlyn’s closest friends surprised her in our driveway after we returned from Chattanooga. We are thankful for family and friends.

img_3281While at the base orphanage in Zambia, Karlyn was assigned to Steve, an eighteen-month-old child with several developmental challenges. Over three months, Karlyn saw Steve blossom. He learned to walk and he progressed in language and social skills. You can see in the picture that Steve is a big boy, dwarfing all the children his age, but Karlyn witnessed the power that loving, consistent care has in the life of a child. We are thankful she experienced why ‘the greatest of these is love.’

Karlyn not only grew close to her teammates on this trip, but she also met brothers and sisters in Christ from other nations. ‘We are all members of one body,’ and Karlyn witnessed the beauty of God’s plan. As she told us of the gifts God planted in some of her associates, I was reminded of the wisdom of God. The Spirit gives according to the will of the Father, and God knows what best builds up his church. When body members, young and old, offer themselves to the Father for his glory, the light of Jesus shines in a dark world and hope expands. We are thankful Karlyn loves the body of Christ.

At the end of their journey, the team of college students spent a few days in Rwanda, where an atrocious genocide took place in 1994. Karlyn got to visit a home in the countryside where Christians met to pray and study the Bible. “They asked how they could pray for us,” Karlyn said, “and they wanted specific names and details of our requests. We knew they intended to pray seriously with expectation of answers.” I have witnessed such prayer meetings in different African settings. Hearing brothers and sisters pray boldly before God’s throne of grace reminds us what a gift we have in prayer. We are thankful Karlyn found herself in an atmosphere of faith and action.

After taking the requests of the Americans, one Rwandan lady asked if the foreign team would pray for her. “Tomorrow I am going to meet and forgive the people who killed my family in the genocide.” We are thankful Karlyn saw the desire of God for his children: ‘Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.’ We are also thankful she witnessed the humility we all must possess if we truly intend to be disciples of Christ on this earth. We face hard things here, but since we believe Jesus has overcome the world, we can say to one another: “Pray for me.”

I pray you enjoy counting your blessings this special season. And since we are so blessed, may we determine to be a blessing to others for the glory of God. Happy Thanksgiving!

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

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trust

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Dana

On this earth, the Son was all about his Father. When the religious misrepresented God, Jesus was angered because He wanted everyone to know the real Father. Of course Jesus knew that if a person does not see Him for who He is, that person cannot know God. “You do not know me or my Father… If you knew me, you would know my Father also… If God were your Father, you would love me… He who belongs to God hears what God says… Though you do not know him, I know him.” (see John 8) Jesus knew God and that made all the difference.

So what does Jesus want for those who do believe in Him? “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22) “Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1) Jesus knows He is the way to God and He wants all who put their faith in Him to know beyond any shadow of a doubt how kind, how loving, how wise, and how powerful his Father is. “If my Father feeds the birds, will He not feed you? Why do you worry? You can trust my Father!”

Of course Satan proclaims the opposite message. “Look what is happening in the world… you can’t trust God! What about all those who have died for following Jesus? How can a ‘good’ God allow that? No, anyone is a fool who really believes everything Jesus said.”

So who do I listen to? The enemy uses my circumstances, my surroundings, and my logic to ‘talk’ me out of faith. Satan uses many ‘smart’ people (even some who claim to know God) to produce fear and doubt. His strategies are crafty and his lies often go undetected.

But Jesus tells the truth. He was tempted in every way that we are on this earth, yet He walked as a child who knew, loved, and trusted his Father. No matter the circumstances, surroundings, or arguments, Jesus says: “My Father can be trusted.”

Alex is a teenager who has lived most of his life in a broken home. His parents have joint custody so Alex travels back and forth between his father and mother. He has grown accustomed to broken promises and has concluded that grownups cannot be trusted. In junior high, this young man became friends with another boy from a different home environment where love, stability, and accountability are the norm. When this friend invited Alex to go camping one weekend, there was a lot of skepticism. “I’ll believe it when it happens,” he said. The friend gave a simple reply: “You just don’t know my dad. If he says it will happen, you can go ahead and pack your bags.”

Let’s believe what Jesus says about his Father.

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24

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spirit

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Dana

The camera targeted the head coach clapping on the sideline in a high profile college football game this past weekend. Then the picture shifted to the quarterback on the field. Though a different age and size and role, the quarterback clapped exactly the way his coach did. So often the spirit of a player and a team reflects the spirit of their coach.

Jesus commented on the connection between a teacher and student. “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40) But what about the parent and child? Heredity aside, is not the aim of a good father to produce his own spirit in his children? Is not the desire of a good mother to nurture a gentle, loving spirit in her children?

Andrew Murray was a South African pastor who died almost a century ago. His writings and sermons have blessed countless believers over the years. He compared the human goals parents have for their children with the eternal goals the Heavenly Father has for us. “If there is one thing on earth we can be sure of it is this, that the Father desires to have us filled with His Spirit, that He delights to give us His Spirit.” Here’s a passage from one of Andrew Murray’s classic books, With Christ in the School of Prayer:

The best gift a good and wise father can bestow on a child on earth is his own spirit. This is the great object of a father in education — to reproduce in his child his own disposition and character. If the child is to know and understand his father; if, as he grows up, he is to enter into all his will and plans; if he is to have his highest joy in the father, and the father in him — he must be of one mind and spirit with him. And so it is impossible to conceive of God bestowing any higher gift on His child than this, His own Spirit. God is what He is through His Spirit; the Spirit is the very life of God. Just think what it means — God giving His own Spirit to His child on earth.

Or was not this the glory of Jesus as a Son upon earth, that the Spirit of the Father was in Him? At His baptism in Jordan the two things were united — the voice, proclaiming Him the Beloved Son, and the Spirit, descending upon Him. And so the apostle says of us, ‘Because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.’ A king seeks in the whole education of his son to call forth in him a kingly spirit. Our Father in Heaven desires to educate us as His children for the holy, heavenly life in which He dwells, and for this gives us, from the depths of His heart, His own Spirit. It was this which was the whole aim of Jesus when, after having made atonement with His own blood, He entered for us into God’s presence, that He might obtain for us, and send down to dwell in us, the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit of the Father, and of the Son, the whole life and love of the Father and the Son are in Him; and, coming down into us, He lifts us up into their fellowship… The Father can bestow no higher or more wonderful gift than this: His own Holy Spirit, the Spirit of sonship.

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13

(Quotes taken from With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. ©2007 Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

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