Great Prayer from Proverbs 30

Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God. 

Prayer is something that is complex and simplistic all at the same time. I would like to share some principles from Augustine that can help with prayer, and then you and I can see the wisdom of this prayer from Proverbs 30.

Augustine, who lived back in the 400 is considered one of the great Christian thinkers of all time. Augustine taught that before we can know what to pray for or how to pray for it, we must become the kind of person who accounts ourselves as "desolate" in this world, however "well off" we may be. We have to be able to see that no matter how great our circumstances are or can become, that they can never bring us the  lasting peace, happiness, and consolation that are found in Christ.

Augustine taught that our heart's loves are 'disordered'. out of order. Things we ought to love third or fourth are first, and our love for God, which should be supremely, is third or fourth on our list of importance. Unless  we recognize this heart disorder and realize how much it distorts our lives, our prayers will go array. Let me give you an example, If we think being in a relationship or financial security are the main sources of safety and confidence in life, then when any of these are in jeopardy, we will cry out to God for help, but our prayer will be nothing more than worry directed to God.Prayer won't bring the healing and comfort we need because relationships or financial security is our security instead of God being our security.

So once we see the truth of our hearts being disordered Augustine would say we are ready for the "next level' of prayer. He would tell us to pray for what we like, because now we know that comforts and rewards and pleasures in themselves only give fleeting fulfillment. Augustine points us to Psalm 27:4:

 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

If God is our greatest love, and if knowing and pleasing Him is our highest desire and joy, it transforms both what and how we pray.

This is where Augustine cites our prayer from Proverbs 30. The prayer from Proverbs 30 reveals a proper motivation. If we don't realize our hearts are disordered then our prayer may be, "Make we wealthy." But the prayer from Proverbs 30 is asking, "Lord meet my material needs, and give me wealth, yes, but only as much as I can handle without it harming my ability to put you first in life. Because ultimately I don't need status and comfort- I need you as my Lord."

Isn't that the attitude we need with any prayer that we pray? We only get to this attitude by realizing our hearts are disordered, and coming to the realization that only God can give ultimate fulfillment in life. Then we can apply the principle from Proverbs 30 to our prayer life.

Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God

Troy

Grace

People often ask me ,"how have you been able to be a consistent follower of Jesus for the past 20 years? As I have thought on that, I could give a lengthy answer, I could go into a lengthy discussion on theology, I could quote Church Fathers, give a long treastie on the doctrine of salvation. But when it's time to simplify, I simply say, Grace.

 

Grace started me on the journey, Grace has sustained me on the journey, and Grace will help me reach my destination.

 

 

 

 

It's interesting to me how many people I meet who feel they aren't "worthy" of grace. But isn't that the whole point of grace? If I deserved it, it wouldn't be grace. It would be something I've earned, and guess what.....we can't earn grace!!!

 

Isn't that part of the reason why we are uncomfortable when someone does something nice for us, especially if we know we haven't been really good to them? We feel we don't deserve it. On the other end of the spectrum, isn't that why we get upset with others when we have done a favor for someone, but they don't do a favor for us when we are in need?......We think we have earned the favor and it's proof we aren't operating out of grace.

 

I pray this upcoming year will be a year of grace for you. I was reading a blog post from Perry Noble and I would like to close with his words: 

 

Grace is for the person who has messed up somewhere in life and believes the lie that, because of their failures, God can never do anything significant with them.

 

Grace is for the person who wrestles with trying to not find their identity in what they did on their worst day.

Grace is for the person who is tired of trying to keep all of the rules and regulations associated with religion.

 

Grace is for the person who really does believe God is mad at them.

Grace gives us the strength to forgive when we believe that forgiving someone else is an impossibility.

 

Grace gives us courage.

Grace gives us strength.

Grace allows us to keep going when we want to give up.

Grace shatters the shackles of sin that have dominated our lives for years.

Grace allows me to stop being a victim of what happened to me.

Grace gives us hope.

Grace is available to everyone.

I know – it sounds too good to be true.

It’s not!

 

Troy

Graced

Recently I have been thinking of ways that God has graced me. I think one of the ways we miss out on God's amazing grace, is that we confine it to issues of salvation. Don't misunderstand me, I am amazed at God's grace when it comes to salvation, forgiveness, etc.... I just think we experience grace daily and often in ways that we don't even realize.

Let me share a few personal examples and hopefully this will help stimulate your mind in ways God has graced you.

I have always loved music. I didn't do anything to earn that desire, it's just always been there. I was graced with the desire to love music.

Recently I was listening to a song by the guitarist Wes Montgomery. In the middle of the song I heard some notes used in a way that I hadn't heard before. When this happens it does something that I can't explain to the inside of me. I hear two chords used together that I never heard before, I hear a harmony I never heard before. Again, when this experience happens I didn't do anything to earn it, I was just simply listening to music and I experience grace.

What about friends? Isn't amazing how certain people come into your life? You didn't do anything to meet them, you just did. I have friends from childhood, teenage years, etc.... These are people I love to be around. I was graced to have these people in my life.

What about relatives? You and I didn't do anything to be in the families that we are a part of. God graced us to be in these various families. No family is perfect, but we love each member and have great memories.

What about sports? Either the ability to play or the ability to watch, or both. I have been graced in my life to see the likes of Michael Jordan, or Walter Payton. They did things that made my jaw drop. Yet, I did nothing to merit be able to see them in my lifetime.

We have been graced by God in numerous ways. Hopefully I have stimulated your mind to help you to think of ways you have been graced by God.

Troy

Angels We Have Heard On High

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid ; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people ; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." 15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.    Luke 2:8-17

The angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. Shepherds were not considered to be the upper class of society. The birth of Jesus was not announced to the mighty world leaders, but to lowly shepherds.
The shepherds were just going about their daily responsibilities when the news was announced to them. It is not written that they were in a prayer meeting, or in the synagogue. They were simply taking care of sheep.

 The next time you feel you aren't important enough for God to use or trust, remember the shepherds. Also remember God can reveal very important spiritual things to you while you are just going about your daily responsibilities.

Troy

What Jules From Pulp Fiction And I Have In Common

In the movie Pulp Fiction there are two characters named Jules and Vincent (played by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta). In one of the scenes someone opens fire on them from point blank range. All of the bullets miss them. John Travolta's character thinks they were just lucky. Samuel L. Jackson's character interprets this moment as divine intervention :

Jules: That was ... divine intervention. You know what divine intervention is?

Vincent: Yeah, I think so. That means God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.

Jules: Yeah, man, that's what it means. That's exactly what it means! God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.

I believe we all have had moments of divine intervention. Some are very obvious, such as the scene from Pulp Fiction. Others are not so obvious,but they have happened nonetheless. I believe if we look back over our lives whether we want to acknowledge it or not, or whether we were receptive or not,  we have experienced times of divine intervention.

I would like to share with you one of my times. It was very obvious to me when it happened that I had experienced divine intervention, and I  still believe it to this day.  It was October of 1988, the band I was playing in were going to play out of town. Usually the majority of us rode together, but this time we didn't because the van we usually rode in wasn't running. So one of the members and I decided to go together. I drove only because my car had a tape player. I had a little Pontiac Fiero.  For those of you who don't remember those cars, they were little two seat cars with the seats all the way to the ground. It was raining really bad on the way home. Everytime a semi truck would pass me it would cause my car to shake. Well, as one semi passed me my car began to shake more than usual and  the car began to hydroplane. Then I made the mistake of hitting the brakes, which caused the brakes to lock. We began to slide into the other lane with a semi coming. I can still remember the semi honking his horn. I knew that we were going to get hit by the semi.

Let me interrupt the story to tell you at this point in my life I had a knowledge of God like all of us do, but I was not living for Him. I had gone to Sunday School as a child and I knew that Jesus had died on the cross for my sins. I had even asked Jesus to come into my life as a child, but once those teen years hit I lived for myself. I guess you could say at this point in my life I had a head knowledge of Jesus but not heart knowledge.

Now back to the story: As we were sliding into the other lane getting ready to get hit by the semi, I remember putting my head down and saying in my mind, "God please don't let me die." We got hit by the semi on the passenger side, as it went by us it sucked us underneath it and then spit us back out with its back tires. After the car stopped spinning it came to a dramatic stop, which pushed my head into the steering wheel and caused my nose to push the steering wheel into the dash of the car. Well, took make a long story longer, the semi missed our seats by about one inch and tore up the rest of the car. I had a broken nose, but the doctor said it was set perfectly. We had to get all  the glass from the windshield  removed from our faces, and we couldn't wash our faces. But there we were, still alive, still hard to believe. Divine intervention.

I know that there are people who may think like John Travolta's character that we were just lucky. I appreciate their opinion, but I don't agree with it. Some may still argue their point that there is no God, which they have a right to believe, but argument can never win over experience. Let me also be honest enough to acknowledge that though I believe in God, I don't always understand Him. I don't know why I lived, while other people have died in car accidents. I have had the opportunity to pray for people and see them live, or be healed. But I have also prayed for people who still ended up dying, or who are still sick. I don't understand His ways all the time, but that doesn't stop me from believing in Him.

Let me also add that after getting hit by the semi, it still took six years before I finally surrendered my life to Jesus and decided to live for Him. You would have thought that I would have instantly given my life to Him, knowing that He had allowed me not to die. I mean, even Jules in Pulp Fiction after he experiences his moment of divine intervention decides to change his lifestyle. Not me, I wanted to change my lifestyle, but as each day went by, I eventually kept on living the same way.I thank Him for His patience and grace that He extended towards me during that time.Maybe that is why I understand when God has got someones attention and yet they still don't surrender over to Him.

There are many examples in the Bible of dramatic moments of divine intervention. The time God parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14), Daniel in the lions den (Daniel 6), Peter getting out of prison (Acts 12). These are just a few instances. But as I stated earlier, there are times that God has intervened into our lives that were not as dramatic, and yet He still intervened.

Let me finish by saying, take some time to reflect back on your life, thank Him for the times He has intervened on your behalf. As you are thinking back, maybe He will reveal to you some times that He intervened that you never thought of before because they weren't dramatic moments. Thank Him for the those moments and also for the revelation of those moments. Thank Him for His grace that He has shown you. Hopefully in the future we will be like Jules and acknowledge when God has intervened on our behalf and not just think of it as luck.

Troy

Loved

There is a God who love us. His name is Jesus. The Bible tells us He is love. Nothing can separate us from His love.

We have all experienced the hurt of being rejected by someone, but God will not reject us. Why? He loves us.

He loves you and has a plan for you. Remember, you are loved. No matter what a mess up you may feel like, no matter if someone has rejected you. Remember, you are loved.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? 36 Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   
Romans 8:35-39 

Troy

Identity

From the time we are young we work at having an identity. If we are good at sports we take that on as our identity. If we get good grades or are smart we take that on as our identity. At the same time others are putting an identity on us.

All of us are blessed with various talents and giftings. God has gifted us and when we are functioning in those gifts, those seem to be the times when we feel the most alive. Why? We were created to do whatever that is.

The danger that we run into is when we try to find or feel we have found our identity in those areas of gifting. There is also danger in trying to find our identity in what we do. All of these things are good. We are to function in our giftings, we are supposed to be good parents, responsible workers, etc.... but if we try to tie our identity to them we are headed for trouble. Why? Well, what happens if you can't do what you have tied to your identity? What if your identity is being a husband or wife and your spouse leaves you? What if you raise your kids a certain way and people say you are a good parent and you take that on as your identity, but then as they get older they take actions that aren't good? Are you not a good parent now? And if you tied your ientity to that you will become disillusioned. If you play sports it is only a matter of time before your skills will begin to diminish. Then what? As a musician I have watched many musicians get older and seen their skills begin to diminish (which is natural) and they get upset and mad. Why? They had tied it to their identity.Even in ministry as a pastor gets older they may stay on longer than they should. Why? Without realizing it they have attatched their identity to their position.

This is the challenge for us because it is so easy to tie our identity to these areas. But can we see the set up for danger by living this way? We can fall into depression, anxiousness, etc.. because in losing whatever we have tied our identity to we have lost our identity.

We are supposed to enjoy the things we are gifted at. We are supposed to enjoy the things that bring us pleasure. But we aren't supposed to find our identity in them. Our identity is to be found in Jesus. Our skills may diminish, others may take stuff away from us, we may lose our jobs, our spouses may leave, but Jesus is eternal. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

It is ok for us to do the things we enjoy even after our skills begin to diminish at them.Hopefully we do them out of enjoyment and not out of identity. But if we are doing them because we still have our identity tied to them we are in trouble. A sterotypical example would be the elderly church organist. Though they can't hear the music well anymore, much less see the music, though their skills have diminished, they won't step down and give someone else a chance to use their gift. Why? They feel I AM THE CHURCH ORGANIST!!! You see it's their idenity. They could enjoy life so much more if they would just play the organ for the love of it instead of trying to find their identity in it. But instead they look at others as competition, they have to speak down about others. etc.... because if they lose their position they lose their identity. You can translate this to any area of life. It doesn't have to be an elderly person, skills don't have to be diminishing, it's just that it is so easy to find our identity in areas we aren't supposed to.

So we have been gifted with talents and there are things that bring us pleasure, but may we find our identity in Christ and not in these other areas. Maybe a better approach would be to thank God for our talents and enjoy them and bless others with them. Enjoy the things that bring us pleasure and cherish the moments we got to enjoy them. And find our identity in Christ. We will enjoy life more and others will enjoy us more.

Troy