Spiritual wisdom – Page 8 – Wisdom From the Word

Laying Hold

In 1 Timothy 6 Paul wrote something to Timothy that I think we may miss unless we reflect on what Paul means by his exhortation to ‘lay hold on eternal life.’ We see it in this passage.

¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, ¹⁵ which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:12–16 (NKJV)

The term ‘lay hold’ or ‘take hold’ in the ESV, is a single word in Greek. ἀγωνίζομαι agōnizomai; from 73; to contend for a prize, struggle:—competes in the games(1), fight(1), fighting(1), fought(1), laboring earnestly(1), strive(2), striving(1).^[1] If you look closely, you will see the source of our English word ‘agony.’ The Greek word agōnia, translated ‘agony’ in Luke 22:44 has the same root as agōnizomai, agōn, which refers to a contest or struggle. Obviously to ‘lay hold’ requires more than a casual effort on our part.

Inherent in the idea of ‘laying hold’ that Paul presents is that he is talking about something beyond repentance and salvation. Timothy had already received and entered into that state. Here Paul is strongly urging him to not merely ‘receive’ eternal life but to let this life affect every aspect of his daily life, to ‘lay hold.’ Contextually, he tells Timothy to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ and that part of this is living a life that is ‘spotless’ and ‘blameless.’ Doing this requires a focused effort on our part. Not a legalistic rule keeping approach but rather one of daily pursuing His heart and purpose.

We can engage in this ‘laying hold’ process because when we reflect on it, our life is anchored somewhere. Hebrews presents it this way.

¹⁷ Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. ¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:17–20 (NKJV)

The idea of ‘fleeing for refuge’ comes from the Old Testament where someone who accidently killed another could flee to a ‘city of refuge’ (Deuteronomy 19:1-11) and be safe. In contrast, even though we are all guilty we can all find refuge by laying hold of Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf.

Let’s do that, let’s focus our efforts to grasp and live in and out of this life He has provided for us. After all, He who promised is faithful.

^[1] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

Dreams and Visions

We often use the terms ‘dreams’ or ‘visions’ to refer to things we would like to see happen in our lives, things we desire. We refer to ‘dreaming’ of becoming a movie star, singer, preacher or any number of other aspirations. The reality is that dreams are things we aspire to and are linked to the idea of having a ‘vision’ for out future. While these ideas are often popular, in my experience many of us never achieve them, they remain just that, unfulfilled desires. An important point from a Christian perspective is that we need dreams and visions from the Father’s heart. Those are the ones worth pursuing. Yet, even if we know where we should get them from, and we have them, the ‘how to’ is not automatic.

I remember once hearing that ‘when opportunity knocks it usually shows up in work clothes.’ The idea being that for dreams and visions to be realized we need to do more than simply think about them; we need to take action. So let me tie dreams and visions to the reality of ‘work clothes.’

Dreams and visions are often amorphous. They are like a viewing a mountain from a great distance where specific aspects come into focus as we draw near. Our drawing near requires a strategy and persistence. The dream or vision pull us toward the future while a strategy anchors us in what we need to do in the present to achieve it, to reach our mountain.

To illustrate this, I will share from my own life since I know it best. I can remember as far back as high school having sense of a call to teach. I considered further education as a teacher but frankly I did not have great marks from grade 10-12. I had skipped a lot of school for a variety of reasons and just made it through grade 12 so I began my work career. At age 20 I was visiting my parents and my sister was home for a visit as well. I commented on not being happy with my job and my sister suggested I could go back to school. This comment was a spark that stirred something in me that led to action. I sought out some college information, applied for a program I was interested in, quit my job and moved 500 kilometres away to attend college. I simply assumed I would be accepted into the program, thankfully I was.

For my career I spent thirty-seven years working in the social services field. I was never employed as a teacher. The end? Not quite. In my career I intentionally sought out teaching opportunities, I took a certificate program in adult and continuing education through the university while working. I took training in conflict resolution and taught part time for the provincial program for a decade. I continued my education and did an MA in Conflict Management. Later in my career I became the manager of the training unit for the largest child welfare region in the country. I did some part time teaching at a local university. The last six years of my career I was the Director of Engagement and Education for a legislative office. I did a lot of teaching over my career.

Additionally, I became a believer early in my career and did ongoing teaching at church, including being the interim pastor of a church for about a year. Thus, while I was never formally a ‘teacher’ I frequently taught and still do because I pursued a calling and purpose that He had placed within me and took concrete steps to see this realized.

The idea of a calling or purpose is common in church circles while the fulfillment of it is not even though it is rooted in scriptural concepts. Years ago, I looked more deeply at Proverbs 20:5 because it relates to seeing dreams and visions fulfilled.

⁵ Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out. Proverbs 20:5 (NKJV)

I realized there was more depth and so from my research created my own translation of Proverbs 20:5, ‘Purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a discerning man will draw it out.’ I have referenced it many times over the years. Interestingly, after I had done this the English Standard Version came out with this translation of the verse.

⁵ The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. Proverbs 20:5 (ESV)

The Hebrew word translated as ‘understanding’ basically means to discern or understand, תְּבוּנָה tebunah (108b); from 995; an understanding:—discernment(1), reasonings(1), skill(1), skillful(1), skillfully(1), understanding(37).^[1] Inherent in the verse is the idea that purpose or calling in our lives is put there by the Father and it needs to be drawn out of us. I believe we can draw it out ourselves or have others draw it out of us. We can see our dreams and visions realized if we recognize and respond to His calling, that which He has placed within us.

In each of our lives we have the opportunity to discern and then realize His calling and purpose in our lives. Even when we fail, we can still recover. We have an example of this in scripture with John Mark the cousin of Barnabas (Acts 12:12). He traveled with Paul and Barnabas on their first apostolic journey (Acts 13:5), deserted them and was rejected by Paul (Acts 13:13, 15:36-38). We later see Paul commending John Mark as a fellow worker and comfort to him (Colossians 4:10-11). Church history also tells us he is the author of the gospel of Mark.

My conclusion, pursue His calling and purpose. If you don’t know what yours is then seek out wise counsel from mature and spiritually gifted believers who can discern and help you develop yours. When you have failures, like John Mark, seek out godly support and counsel and keep going, believing what Paul wrote.

⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

This is available to us, the mountain is calling, go climb it!

^[1] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

A Godly Vision

In the business world and in organizational culture the idea of vision is presented as something important to follow. I believe there is truth in that idea but I think it only has lasting merit if it is a godly vison. To that end I am focusing on Proverbs 29:18 in relation to vision for our lives.

¹⁸ Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)

I have included Proverbs 29:18 from two translations as they capture the full range of meaning. Solomon is referring to prophetic vision/revelation. This is an insight Solomon had and penned for others to learn from. Here in this stand alone verse he contrasts those who lack revelation/prophetic vision with those who keep the law. At the time of his writing the Mosaic Law was the law Solomon was familiar with.

Given the existence of the law we need to consider the role of the prophets in relation to the law. Their primary job description wasn’t declaring things to come and prophesying the future, their main prophetic role was calling a wayward nation back to obedience to the law.

Knowing this let’s consider what Solomon is getting at and how it applies to our lives. Solomon is saying we need a revelation or vision of the importance of adherence to the law to live our lives rightly. That made sense in Solomon’s context. Those in Israel who had a revelation of the importance of the law and followed it lived their lives well. Look at what happened in Israel when Josiah called the nation back to adherence to the law (2 Kings 21:24–23:30; 2 Chronicles 33:25–35:27).

Obviously, we live in a different context so we need to consider how to theologically and practically apply this verse to our lives. Theologically we need a revelation of the importance of Jesus words.

³⁷ Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37–40 (NKJV)

For us this means pursuing His call on our lives to love the Father, Son and Spirit and out of that to love our neighbours as ourselves. That is the theological perspective. Practically speaking loving God brings pleasure to His heart. Loving others means doing what is in their best interest. Not following our culture and seeking to make others feel good, though that may be the result. Loving others means speaking truth to them and living rightly before and toward them. Paul provides many practical examples of this type of life from Ephesians 4:17 – 6:9.

Paul also provides similar instructions in his other letters for our day to day lives. One very practical example is Philippians where Paul tells us where and how to focus our thinking and the outcome we can anticipate.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. ⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8–9 (NKJV)

Living practically, we need a revelation of the importance of living rightly before the Lord and others and an awareness of the impact we will have on their lives and our community.

Servants or Leaders?

You have likely heard the term, ‘Lead, follow or get out of the way.’ While meant to encourage leadership I believe it merely demonstrates a lack of understanding of what an actual leader is like. We are all called to lead, which sometimes is demonstrated by following and at other times leading by not obstructing good leadership. Getting out of the way as it were. A good leader is first a good follower and analogous to this is the idea that to exercise authority well you need to have had some experience being under authority. To lead well we need an understanding of the impact of our behaviour on others from having been in their shoes. Wherever you are in your journey through life and in your walk with Jesus you are called to lead. Whether that is leading by example, influencing others or having authority over others, you need to lead. So, let’s look at how we do just that.

We can better understand our call to lead by looking at positional and relational authority. We don’t all have positional authority; we all have the opportunity to develop relational authority. Many times, over my years in leadership at work I made this comment, “If all you have is positional authority you don’t have any.” I would then go on to explain the need for relational authority. I people who follow my lead because they freely choose to, not due to forced compliance. I found in my career that when I developed meaningful working relationships with those over who I had positional authority they were more willing to follow my lead and support me in whatever tasks we needed to accomplish. In most leadership roles we need relational authority to accomplish tasks through others.

A great example of relational authority is friendship. I have friends who can ask me for things or ask me to do things and I do those things because we have a relationship and I trust their judgment. In those cases, they are leading me.

We see this in Jesus leadership style. He gathered His followers and demonstrated and taught many things. He coerced no one to follow Him. He often said hard and difficult things and yet they still followed. They followed because they valued the relationship Jesus had developed with them. Jesus presented it to the apostles this way just as they were vying for positional authority over one another.

²⁴ Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. ²⁵ And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ ²⁶ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. Luke 22:24–27 (NKJV)

Here Jesus contrasts positional authority with relational authority without using the exact words. I suspect my relationship with Him is what led me to begin using the terms many years ago, they described His servant leadership approach. If we believe Jesus, the best way to lead others is to learn to serve them. Which answers the question inherent in my title, are we servants or leaders? Neither really, we are called to be servant leaders so let’s lead by serving others and His kingdom. Whether in practical matters or in the place of prayer, let’s serve.

Among Us

I last wrote about the significance of Moses realization that he needed to know Yahweh’s character in addition to His presence. I did this by looking primarily at Exodus 33. The next step is looking at Yahweh’s presence in relation to sacred space.

First a brief primer on sacred space. Eden was sacred space because Yahweh dwelt there and when Adam and Eve sinned, they could no longer remain in sacred space. When Moses met Yahweh in Exodus 3:2-6 he was instructed to remove his sandals, he was on holy ground, sacred space. We see a more explicit understanding of sacred space in the role of the scapegoat. We are likely all familiar with the term scapegoat but we may not know the origin. Below is the Levitical passage that is the source of the term. I have used the ESV as it clarifies something missing in many translations.

¹⁰ but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. Leviticus 16:10 (ESV)

Azazel is the Hebrew term usually translated into English as ‘scapegoat.’ However, the Ancient Near East literature from the Second Temple period and the Dead Sea Scrolls inform us that Azazel is a proper name. Azazel was viewed as the leader of the rebellious Elohim who fell in Genesis 6. In Ancient Near East culture, the sea and the desert both represented chaos, darkness and the realm of the fallen ones. In the annual ritual the live goat was being sent to Azazel not sent as a sacrifice. Once the sins of the nation were confessed over the goat and the goat was taken to the wilderness the sins being sent to the place and being to whom they belonged, Azazel.

²¹ Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. ²² The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:21–22 (NKJV)

Here, Israel was cleansed of sin both through sacrifice and ritual at the tabernacle as well as sending the sins of the nation to Azazel. This is a primer for understanding the role of sacred space in Israel in terms of Yahweh’s ability to dwell among them. In Exodus 33-34 following the golden calf incident a distinction is made between Yahweh appearing versus dwelling among or in the midst of Israel.

We see it in Exodus 33 and 34.

³ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Exodus 33:3 (NKJV)

⁸ So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. ⁹ Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.” Exodus 34:8–9 (NKJV)

Whenever Israel failed disaster struck the nation. If Yahweh went among them and they sinned again they would be consumed due to His holiness. There needed to be a way for Yahweh to dwell among them without consuming them, a way for Him to ‘go among’ them as Moses requested. Exodus 13:20-22 describes the behaviour of the pillar of fire and the cloud, the manifestations of Yahweh’s presence, as going ‘before’ Israel, never among them. Then we have Exodus 33:7-11 describing Yahweh’s presence descending on the tent of meeting but it had to be ‘outside the camp.’ We only see His presence in the camp once the Tabernacle of Moses is completed. Chapter 40 describes all of the rituals and sacrifices required in the setting up and use of the Tabernacle. The result is a transition in how Yahweh interacts with them as He is now among them.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. Exodus 40:34–38 (NKJV)

The important part is that the Tabernacle of Moses was in the midst of the people of Israel not outside the camp. In Numbers 2 Moses provided instructions for how the tribes of Israel were to camp. They were set up three tribes to each of the four directions, north, south, east and west with the Tabernacle in the middle.

An additional part around the role of the Tabernacle relates to the Ark of the Covenant. It was Yahweh’s dwelling place, His footstool (heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool, Isaiah 66:1). This is why we see the following verses in scripture.

⁷ Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. ⁸ Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Psalm 132:7-8 (NKJV)

⁴¹ “Now therefore, Arise, O Lord God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, And let Your saints rejoice in goodness. 2 Chronicles 6:41 (NKJV)

The people wanted Yahweh to be active among them in His dwelling place, to arise ‘to’ rest upon the Ark of the Covenant between the wings of the cherubim. As a bit of an aside, when I was twenty-two, I had started attending church off and on. The Lord had not yet captured my heart, that would happen at 25. However, I had read and knew a fair bit of scripture. I was in a service and they sang the song ‘O the Glory of His Presence’ based on Psalm 132:8. Not knowing that the song writer had gotten it wrong and written ‘arise from your rest’ rather than ‘arise to your rest’ I pointed this out to the pastor. Rather than showering me with effusive praise he brushed me aside. I was genuinely trying to be helpful and though I didn’t understand all the significance at the time, I knew ‘to’ was correct. Yahweh isn’t engaged in resting and needing to join the people, He is present and the request is for His manifest presence on His resting place.

Now, it is important to look at what this means for us as believers. When we were born again the Holy Spirit brought about a new birth in our spirit and we became His dwelling place individually and corporately (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19). As a result, we both are and also carry sacred space. We carry Him with us wherever we go and one of our jobs is to influence the spiritual atmosphere around us by asking Jesus to move with us as His resting place whenever we interact with others. Let’s do that.

Here is the song Oh the Glory of His Presence by Jesus Image. They do the song correctly with ‘to Your rest.’

Oh The Glory Of His Presence (Live) – Bing video

Our Father’s Business

I begin with a bit of background. What I see in scripture is that when Adam and Eve fell in Genesis 3 the earth’s dominion was moved to Satan, the Adversary. Yahweh still owned the earth but the general rule and dominion He had delegated to Adam and Eve and they gave it away. In scripture we see how it was restored in The Great Commission in Matthew 28.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)

Jesus was clear when He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Authority in heaven had never been lost (Psalm 115:16), on the earth it had, and Jesus restored it through His sacrifice as He was fully God and fully man. As Paul put it.

⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV)

At the same time, it doesn’t look like Jesus is ruling and reigning on earth, in fact He isn’t. In Matthew 28 He told us to go and bring about change. He wants to rule through His church. Look at these scriptures together, a portion of Matthew 28:18-19 and then Genesis.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26–28 (NKJV)

In effect, what we refer to as The Great Commission is a recommissioning of the original command in Genesis to be fruitful and fill and subdue the earth. Yahweh created a garden, heaven on earth, that He wanted Adam and Eve to extend to the rest of the earth. The way it works for us is that we each have a sphere of authority. When we were born again we were commissioned to use that authority to represent the King and extend His dominion in the earth. Though Jesus has all authority He chose to exercise it through a praying and proclaiming church, His body on the earth.

This doesn’t mean we are to exercise control over our society or culture. We are however to be an influence, a change agent, so that wherever we are others encounter His presence. There is the ‘already not yet’ idea of His kingdom in that Jesus already secured the victory but it will not be fully realized until His visible return at the end of the age. In the meantime, we are to reflect and demonstrate His kingdom within our sphere of influence so that wherever we are is a reflection of another kingdom. We are to have the attitude of Jesus that we are to be ‘about our Father’s business’ (Luke 2:49).

Let’s do that.

Carrying His Heart

In my last post I wrote about the relationship and importance of prayer regarding an eternal perspective. Here I am continuing to expand on prayer, beginning with a little bit of context. I have read many accounts of people having amazing spiritual encounters with the Lord and that leading to prayer and travail. I have heard testimonies and read accounts of people praying for hours and it seemed like minutes. Wonderful – not me. I find that I need to be disciplined and diligent in prayer. I have never prayed in the morning, or any other time, and had an experience where even half an hour seemed like it was mere minutes. I have however had greater and lesser experiences of His presence and leading in prayer.

At the same time, I choose to simply follow His command to pray whether or not I have a sense of His presence and leading in the morning. This is simply honouring His requirement to be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). This is one aspect of carrying His heart and I think it is encapsulated in this verse, which I will illustrate.

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NKJV)

The idea of praying without ceasing does not mean praying 24 hours a day, a logical impossibility. It does mean holding our heart in an attitude of prayer and responding to His leading in prayer whenever the opportunity arises.

Here we will focus in on carrying His heart outside of a set prayer time (hopefully you have one). In my life I regularly have experiences of thinking of someone and sensing a call to pray for them. This can happen at any time during the day or when I am walking, hiking or biking. At times I wake up during the night and He brings someone to mind and I sense a call to pray for them. I often wake up during the night, I don’t always pray!

To be clear, there are no flashes of lightening, no deep travail, just the sense of a calling and opportunity to pray. I think this is something available to all of us if we cultivate an awareness of His presence and ask Him to develop and deepen our awareness of Him throughout our days.

I believe this sensitivity to His presence requires a gentleness on our part, which I will illustrate with something that happened a few days ago when I was walking my son’s dog. I came across a large and beautiful butterfly on the sidewalk that was struggling to get airborne. I put my finger under the many legs and it climbed on and I gently lifted it up. It was amazing to study close up, face to face as it were. On my finger it began to move its wings then slowly flew off gaining altitude. I continued my walk.

Think of this as Him calling us to prayer at various times throughout the day. He brings our awareness to something; I saw the butterfly struggling. We then engage with what He brings to our attention, usually a person. We follow up by lifting this object of prayer up to Him and release it (unless He keeps bringing it back) then continue on with our day. This is carrying His heart.

An Eternal Perspective

I began this online teaching blog in January 2014. Prior to starting the blog, I came up with a tagline, “An Eternal Perspective: Living in Time, Preparing for Eternity.” Here I am going to explore the idea of an Eternal Perspective and the relationship it has to prayer.

We all know as believers that we are to have a prayer life. We have numerous examples of prayer in the Old Testament. Many of the Psalms are prayers. We have Daniel modelling prayer three times a day.

¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. Daniel 6:10 (NKJV)

In the New Testament we have Jesus’ teaching us, through the model prayer He provided in Matthew 6, that we should at least have daily prayers (verse 11).

⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9–13 (NKJV)

Given the numerous examples of prayer in scripture and the scriptural calls to engage in prayer, it seems important to look at what relationship prayer has to holding an Eternal Perspective. The inspiration for “An Eternal Perspective: Living in Time, Preparing for Eternity” was my awareness that everything we do in time has ripples in eternity. Prayer is one of those things. We see in Revelation that our prayers go into bowls and are presented before the throne.

⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8 (NKJV)

Knowing that are prayers are incense before His throne it is important to anchor our prayers in an Eternal Perspective. We are called to pray because it matters.

Prayer doesn’t require a certain posture or location. More important than our physical posture and location is the posture of our heart and where are affections are located. We see the importance of this in scripture. Here are Old and New Testament examples.

¹ Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. ² Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. ³ My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. Psalm 5:1–3 (NKJV)

¹ If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1–2 (NKJV)

In Psalm 5 we see David expressing his habit of daily morning prayer and he includes in this Psalm the expectation that there will be a response to his prayer, hence his phrase, “And I will look up.”

Understanding Psalm 5 is easy and obvious. Colossians 3 takes us a little deeper. Whether or not it was the unconscious source of my expression, An Eternal Perspective: Living in Time, Preparing for Eternity, I cannot tell you. I can tell you that it encapsulates the expression with the call to set our minds on things above rather than things on the earth. I don’t see these two verses as a call to ignore what is happening on earth, just the opposite. Fixing our minds on eternal things will affect how we live on earth and how we pray. We will pray with an awareness that what happens on earth echoes in eternity, we will know that our prayers, no matter how seemingly weak and futile, matter. We can then pray like David, offering our heart to Him and looking up in expectation that heaven will invade earth.

Therefore, while we have the opportunity here let us pray with expectation and a heart of affection for Jesus and heaven.

The Path

As we journey through life each of us leaves a path for others to follow. One thing that got me thinking about the path we leave is a quote I read a couple of years ago by Scott Rodin. You may have never heard of him but he teaches and focuses on our responsibilities as stewards of God’s gifts and grace. A saying of his that I saved in my prayer list is, “It is not whom you are leading but who is leading you that will determine your legacy.” Implicit in this expression is the idea that we are all walking a path following someone. The other thing that got me thinking about the path we leave is the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Implicit in both is the idea that our path is the fruit of our choices. Jesus highlighted this issue of our path choices as well.

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13–14 (NKJV)

Clearly our choice of path as Jesus presented it in The Sermon on the Mount is one with eternal consequences. Yet beyond that choice we also make daily choices in our walk with Jesus. Below we see some things that the scriptures have to say about the path we take as trumpeted forth by Jeremiah and highlighted by Job.

¹⁶ Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV)

⁷ That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. ⁸ The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. Job 28:7–8 (NKJV)

These scriptures point to paths not well trodden but important. Yet scripture tells us not only how to find the right path, it also tells us how to stay on it. When we look to Him for guidance and seek His presence, we can be confident He will guide us on the path of life.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV)

¹¹ You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)

Thus, I leave you with these thoughts. While we all leave a path for others if we continually look to Him for guidance our path will be marked with signposts like truth, integrity, faithfulness, prayer and meaningful fellowship with others. While there will be failures on our path, we all have them, they can be marked by signposts of repentance. We can leave a path that others will want to follow.

Embracing His Kingdom Part 2

In my last post I stated that in this one I would delve into how the kingdom of God functions and our role in it. The first thing to note is that the kingdom functions based on authority. That may seem too obvious but it is an important reality. Jesus operated under the Father’s authority in His earthly ministry. His submission in His humanity is what enabled Him to function. The key passage in scripture that relates to our role in the advancement of the kingdom is what we refer to as The Great Commission.

Here we see that all authority has been given to Jesus due to His sacrificial submission to the Father’s purpose in redemption. Next, we see that He has delegated to us the responsibility to extend His kingdom on the earth through two things. 1 – Evangelism, 2- Discipleship. Every time someone is newly born again the kingdom is extended or expanded in the earth. Every time someone grows in their faith and the application of it, the kingdom grows deeper in the earth.

Practically we need to walk in submission, come under His authority, to operate in the authority He has delegated to us. We see this with Jesus when He submitted to baptism by John the Baptist and when He shared how He ministered in response to what the Father was showing Him.

¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. Matthew 3:14–15 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. John 5:19 (NKJV)

The practical implication of these verses is that for us to walk in authority and live out The Great Commission we need to embrace submission to the Father’s heart and move as He directs us. When He prompts us to speak up, we need to speak up. When He prompts us to remain silent, we need to remain silent. When He nudges us to give a prophetic word to someone, we need to give the word.

In my own experience I have ministered to a lot of people over the years through both teaching and prayer ministry. I have sought to be sensitive to His voice in the process. At times I have had words from the Lord for someone that I had to wait to share. At other times I have given words from the Lord when it was clear He had opened a door, a kairos moment. I have had things to share with individuals or groups that I knew needed to be bathed in intercession prior to being shared. Each of these moments were the extending of His kingdom and exercising His authority through submission to His word and presence.

The above illustrates some ways that He has called us to embrace His kingdom. They may be different for each of us. Some are called to focus on evangelism, some to focus on intercession, others on discipling others. I know in my own life my primary calling is to build His body through teaching and intercession.

A key factor I referenced last week was the distinction between seeing and entering the kingdom as Jesus presented it to Nicodemus.

³Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:3-5 (NKJV)

When we were born again, we perceived and became aware of the kingdom of God. Our next choice was whether we entered into it and became actively involved, whether we embraced the kingdom. I encourage you, ask Him how He wants you to be involved then walk in submission to Him exercising the authority He has given you to extend His kingdom.