The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Luke 14:25-35 (day five

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Jesus says these words seven times in the gospels and again seven more times in the book of Revelation. Of all the senses, hearing is the one that affords the best opportunity to transform hearts and lives. Words have a preeminent value in God’s economy. We serve a God who speaks. Who created the universe by using words. Who reveals Himself and His plan for salvation and sanctification through words. The scriptures tell us “faith comes from hearing.”  The real battle for our hearts and souls is fought using words- written and spoken. Why? “Whom you hear with delight today will be who you become more like tomorrow.”- David Mathis

Whose voice — whether through audio or written words or video, or old-fashioned face-to-face talk — whose voice is most regularly streaming into your ears, and going down into your soul? Whose voice captures your finite attention, and focuses you, or distracts you? Which voices do you long to hear most? Whose words are you welcoming most to enter into your soul, to sow seeds of life — or death? Whom do you welcome into that intimate space that is your ear?

Our discipleship and spiritual growth will be mainly fueled by words. Let those who have ears be intentional and disciplined to not only listen, but hear the life giving and life changing words of the Lord. “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬

Re:Verse passage – Luke 14:25-35 (day four)

Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?

This remark about salt seems odd here at first. Jesus seems to be mixing metaphors about building towers and cooking spices. But this is not the first time Jesus has talked about salt. The disciples would have heard Jesus use this metaphor of salt at least twice before, recorded in Matthew 5 and Mark 9. Each time he talks about this, Jesus is telling believers to live a distinct life – one that is noticeably different from the world around them. The calling to be a disciple requires us to live in such a way that people take notice.

In Luke 14, Jesus is communicating one of the ways that disciples are called to live in a distinct way – we are called to center our entire lives around Christ and follow him alone, keeping all other things subordinate to him, even things that are precious to us. This goes against the norm of the society Jesus lived in, and it goes against the norm of our world today. One of the ways we maintain our “saltiness” is by keeping all other possessions, loves, and positions in our life subordinate to Christ. Consider the testimony it is to the world to live in this way.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 14:25-35 (day three)

³³ So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Does this sound familiar? We recently finished a study on stewardship where we took a deep look at how God wants us to view our possessions. Here, in Matthew, Jesus is pointing that out again. I do not think that Jesus meant that we cannot be a disciple if we own anything. His point is more on our hearts. Considering this verse in terms of stewardship, we do not truly own anything here on this earth anyway. Everything belongs to God, and He has given us all we have to be good stewards and use well. So, when we hold too tightly to our possessions, they stand in the way of us following God with our whole hearts. Jesus’ point in this passage is that we cannot be half-in on following Him. Ask the Lord today to search your heart and reveal if there is anything standing in the way of you being fully invested in your relationship with Him.

On a side note, today is Day 4 of VBS! Thank you for praying for this week and all that God is doing. We have had an increase in both kids and volunteers this year and God is at work! Tonight, the kids will learn about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Tomorrow, our lesson is on God’s plan for forgiveness. Please continue to pray for the kids (and leaders!) to hear what they need to hear and that God would move in their hearts as they hear the Good News!

Re:Verse passage – Luke 14:25-35 (day two)

 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? v. 28

I am writing this sitting outside a service station on the border of Portugal. One of our buses had a small electrical malfunction, and we are all waiting for the green light so we can continue our journey to Lisbon. This tour has been incredible, and I am so grateful to explore the world and sing the gospel.

Many of the towns we have seen have Roman roots, and some roots that pre-date those. In many cases those influences are clearly still on display and used. We traversed a first century bridge, we saw a first century aqueduct, and many of the castles and churches are several hundreds of years old. In the case of the aqueduct, there is no mortar or cement, just pieces of stone stacked precisely together. FOR 2000 YEARS! Doesn’t that blow your mind? In many ways, the Romans were living in the future. Their understanding of engineering was remarkable. You can be sure they understood the process before they began work, and that has made all the difference.

As we walk our faith journeys, may this example encourage you to take time to cultivate relationships, invest in people, and deepen your walk with the Lord, so that you may bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God. Your spiritual legacy will outlast any other work you do here on earth, so plan well.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 28:16-20 (day one)

Go ye therefore and make converts of some places by inviting them to church so someone more qualified than you can teach them what it really means to follow Christ. 

That is not what this says right? Why then does this encapsulate the vast majority of “Christians” in America today? We have a discipleship problem.

We have so elevated the pulpit, that we do not believe that the average person is capable of leading and discipling someone in Christ. We feel like if we can just get them to church (not a bad starting place), then we are doing our job. We have become dependent on revivals, conferences, and camps to create our conversion moments while we sit on the sideline and hope the pastor does the discipling. True disciples are made in relationships, not in events.

As we as a church get ready for camps and VBS, I long for and pray for conversion moments. I believe these types of events are paramount to our faith and beneficial in creating an atmosphere for someone to draw near to Christ. My prayer though, is not that I would lead them to Christ, but that our students, leaders, and volunteers would be a part of that process and then come alongside us in taking the next step in discipleship:

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; vs 20a

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 28:16-20 (day six)

The Great Commission begins and ends with Jesus.

Before commanding his disciples to go, Jesus declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). After commissioning them, he promises, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

These truths belong together. The authority announced in verse 18 is experienced through the presence that’s promised in verse 20. That means when we go, we go under his authority and with his authority, making his presence empowering rather than just comforting.

The authority of Jesus never leads us to dominate others. It leads us to serve others. The Great Commission is not a mandate to control people but an invitation to love people in the name of the King. We go with his authority, but we exercise that authority the same way Jesus did, through humility, service, and sacrificial love.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 28:16-20 (day five)

The interesting thing about God’s sovereignty is that we often attribute His work to happenstance, when all along He planned things to unfold that way. When I was evangelizing alongside Mike Gahan years ago, we called coincidences “God-cidences” and said that God was simply choosing to stay anonymous. I would add that He only stays anonymous if we fail to speak up and give Him glory.

I think God waits for us to acknowledge Him in situations we assume were under our control or merely happened by “chance.” Even the “God-cidence” of being asked to write this blog post this week, and how the leadership “chose” this curriculum, is not without God’s hand upon it. Especially after “I chose” this past Sunday to be Missions Sunday! Do you see?

Can you trust God’s sovereignty and see Him at work everywhere and all the time? Or do you still claim authority and control over your day-to-day life?

Jesus the Messiah has ALL AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18). You do not. You can pretend to be the king of your universe and make decisions, but God directs your steps. You can sin, disobey His commands, and refuse to bow the knee to His rule and reign, but He is still King. There is no one who can challenge His authority, and there is no other name under heaven by which mankind must be saved (Acts 4:12).

“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands” (Jn. 3:35). “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9–11).

Missionary work is about going in this Christ-given authority to make disciples of people and cultures that deny the authority of King Jesus. We begin by proclaiming the truth of who He is and their need to surrender to Him. This is why we are called ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). People must be reconciled to God and made into new creations who are spiritually able to bow the knee in worship to the King as adopted sons and daughters. Eventually everyone will be forced to. A missionary seeks to make worshippers of God’s enemies and see them born again before the Judgment. There’s an urgency to the mission of God.

How do you live your life? How do you make your decisions? I say “your,” but I hope you realize that your life is not your own. “You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor. 6:19–20). Go through the Great Commission and ask yourself: “Would I say Yes to all that Jesus commanded?”

Live this new life God has given you on your knees before Him. Obey the command to go and make disciples. Do not make excuses. Delayed obedience is still disobedience. God wants your whole heart. In fact, He demands it.

HE IS KING.

Will you live like it?

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 28:16-20 (day four)

Jesus’ command to “go” is a universal calling for all Christians. This calling to go and make disciples among the nations is not just for missionaries, it’s not just for pastors, it’s not just for those with the finances to join a missions trip. The calling to go is for everyone. Whether you’re a new believer or a seasoned Christian, young or old, introvert or extrovert, bat left handed or right handed – you are called to go.

The question becomes, where should you go? For some, it will be the other side of the world. For others, it will be on the other side of their city. And for many, it will be the other side of their street. Our faithfulness to this calling to “go” is not measured in the distance we travel but in our willingness to preach the gospel and make disciples wherever the Lord sends us. Spend time in prayer this week asking the Lord where he is sending you. Do so with an open heart and mind to whatever he may say. Through the power of the Spirit, he has equipped you to fulfill this calling no matter where it leads.