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A little fellow wished to pray but had never been taught how. He, thus, began to recite his ABCs as he knelt. A man passing by overheard the lad and inquired, ‘Son, what’s going on?’ ‘I’m saying my prayers,’ replied the boy. ‘But why the ABCs?’ the man asked. ‘Sir,’ came the answer, ‘I don’t know how to go about praying, so I thought if I said my ABCs God would take what he needed and spell out the words to match my wants.’

With childlike innocence, this little fellow believed in prayer.

Jesus also believed in prayer. In fact, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John compositely recorded several occasions where Jesus went apart to pray. For example, all of John 17 projects a prayer of Jesus which may be divided into four segments: (1) For Himself (17:1-5); (2) For the apostles (17:6-19); (3) For the church (17:20-23); and again, (4) For the apostles (17:24-26).

Let’s focus on ‘Christ’s prayer for the church’ (17:20-23). ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.’

This pulsates with a plea for harmony. According to ‘Christ’s prayer for the church,’ harmony is a challenging possibility. He prayed that all who believe on him through the apostles’ word might ‘be one…be one in us….be one…be made perfect in one.’

In each of these petitions, the subjunctive mood of the Greek language was used, indicating an objective reality! Harmony among Christians is more than an illusive dream or noble sentiment. Encouragingly, it is a very real possibility.

A case in point to prove such would be the first century church of Jerusalem (Acts 2:42, 44-46). They were united in their support of fearless Gospel preaching (4:24-29). They were united in their benevolent spirit and sacrificial care (4:32). They were also united in their support of church discipline (5:1-12). By example, they established the possibility of harmony existing in the church.

Therefore, the subject of harmony among Christians should be approached with a positive attitude. When it comes to unity in the church, negative slurs [‘Well, that sounds good,’ or ‘It would be nice,’ or ‘That is just youthful idealism’] should be CANNED. After all, success comes in CANS not CAN’TS!

If Jesus’ prayer for the church implied the possibility of harmony in the church, it is a possibility; yea, it is a possibility that challenges every congregation and heart of the church. — condensed from Harmony Among the Heirs of Heaven, Dan Winkler

Children in Church

Three-year-old, Reese: ‘Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is his name. Amen.’
A little boy was overheard praying: ‘Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.’
A Sunday school class was studying the Ten Commandments. They were ready to discuss the last one. The teacher asked if anyone could tell her what it was. Susie raised her hand, stood tall, and quoted, ‘Thou shall not take the covers off the neighbor’s wife.’
Jason sobbed in the back seat all the way home. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, he replied, ‘That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.’
I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord’s Prayer for several evenings at bedtime. She would repeat the lines of the prayer after me. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word right up to the end of the prayer. ‘Lead us not into temptation,’ she prayed, ‘but deliver us some email. Amen.’
One four-year-old prayed, ‘And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.’
A Sunday school teacher asked her children, as they were on the way to church service, ‘And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?’ One bright girl replied, ‘Because people are sleeping.’
Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together. Joel giggled, sang, and talked. Finally, big sister had had enough. ‘You’re not supposed to talk in church.’ ‘Why? Who’s going to stop me?’ Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, ‘See those two men standing by the door? They’re hushers.’
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. They began to argue over who got the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. ‘If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.” Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, ‘Ryan, you play the part of Jesus!’
A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. ‘Daddy, what happened to him?’ the boy asked. ‘He died and went to Heaven,’ replied the Dad. The boy thought a moment and then said, ‘Did God throw him back down?’

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Posted by Gary Davenport on December 10, 2015 in Prayer

Confident Children and How They Grow — Blessing or Bother?

07 Dec

Eric and Wendy’s November 2015 report from mission work in Rwanda

How could I ever forget the birth of our first child? It was early in the morning and I was rather groggy, but even through the fog of the years I can still project on the screen of my mind some vivid scenes from my memory bank. I can still see the doctor announcing with a note of happy triumph, “It’s a girl!”

Little did I realize it at the moment, but I would hear that very same announcement two more times, each with a little less of the happy triumph. After all, variety is the spice of life, and what father in his right mind doesn’t want a little girl to put her arms around his neck and say, “I love you, Daddy.”

I have learned, however, that God knows far better than I do what my needs are. Since he gave me those boys, and since they are exactly what I need for my own spiritual growth and blessing, no human being could make me give any one of them up of my own volition. Next to the wonderful wife the Lord has given me, they are the most precious things in this world to me. Those beautiful words of the ancient poet of Israel have taken on new meaning

Psalm 127:3 (NIV) Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. (5) Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. “

It is quite obvious that somebody wrote that a long time ago. There are not many people in 21st century America with the Psalmist’s viewpoint on children. A modern version might sound more like this: Lo, children are a burden from the Lord; and the fruit of the womb must be his way of testing us. As the source of endless work and continual aggravation, so are the children of one’s youth. Unhappy is the man who hears his neighbor ask, “Do all those kids belong to you?”

We can understand why folks might feel that way. Many children are rebellious, disobedient, disrespectful, and unmannerly–not very pleasant to be around. It’s no wonder that some people have decided not to have any at all. What has gone wrong? Where did we lose God’s perspective? The first verse of Psalm 127 may provide us with a clue. “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”

Stable and successful homes are built by God. He is the architect and the general contractor. He has drawn the blueprint, and he wants to provide the direction and give the orders. All he needs are some laborers–husbands, wives and children–who will study the blueprint provided in his Word, then follow his directions. Any other procedure is going to result in frustration and failure.

The basic problem in many homes is that we have departed from God’s blueprint and have substituted man’s. God is no longer the architect and builder. We are following instead the blueprint drawn by psychiatrists, psychologists, modern educators, doctors, and even syndicated columnists. Much of the advice we get from these sources is good. But if some parts of a blueprint are good and other parts are faulty, the result is going to be a weak building.

The Bible is still the best textbook ever written on rearing children. We need to find out what it says and obey it. “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”

It is gratifying to note an increasing alarm about the situation. Newspaper and magazine articles, along with a growing number of books on the subject, are warning people of the dangers of an unhappy home and are trying to help them repair the damage. The information may be helpful, but unless people are willing to turn their hearts and homes over to the Lord, it may be too little too late.

Listen to the Psalmist again. “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” No ancient city was safe from attack no matter how thick its walls nor alert its guards unless God was protecting it. Likewise, no home is safe from the attack of Satan unless it has been consciously committed to the Lord, unless he has been put in charge.

The homes where Jesus Christ reigns as Lord in the lives of every family member are the homes that will tower above the rest in love, serenity, happiness, mutual concern one for another, and the ability to adjust to people outside the home.

Some folks think there are other ways to produce a happy home. For example, “Work, work, work, as hard as you can. Provide all the material things of this world for your children. Maybe that will make them happy.” If dad doesn’t make enough money to do it, mom goes to work too.

Read on in Psalm 127. “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so he giveth his beloved sleep.” The bread of sorrows is simply bread secured through toil and trouble. Food is essential, but God can provide it without taking fathers and mothers away from their children day and night to pursue that elusive and almighty dollar.

God has no time for laziness. He blesses honest work, but he can supply the things we need without anxious efforts and ceaseless self-activity. The Psalmist says God provides for his beloved ones, literally, “in sleep,” the idea being in calm, restful, confident trust in him.

The society in which we live has perverted our perspective. We have been sold a bill of goods, the false theory that we owe our children all the things they want. We hear parents say, “But we want them to have all the things we never had.” So they have things, but they don’t know who they are, or why they are here, or what they ought to accomplish in life. The most incorrigible rebels in our society are not necessarily the underprivileged. They are kids who have had all that money can buy but were never loved, appreciated, and accepted. (Borrowed)

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Posted by Gary Davenport on December 7, 2015 in Family

What’s harming us now – deadly weapons Satan is using

03 Dec

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Eric/Wendy’s November 2015 newsletter from Kigali, Rwanda

# 1 Materialism

Matthew 19:16-22: “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” {17} And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” {18} Then he said^ to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; {19} HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” {20} The young man said^ to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” {21} Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” {22} But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”

In Matt.19:16-22, we are told about a young man who turned away from the Lord rather than part with his wealth. We may not know how to define materialism exactly, but we know it when we see it — and we know this young man had it.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines materialism as “a great or excessive regard for worldly concerns.”

The person who would follow Christ faces no greater problem than the problem of wrong attitudes about money and material things. To see the magnitude of the problem we need only consider the sheer bulk of teaching devoted to it in the New Testament.

Someone has calculated that nearly ½ of Jesus’ sayings have to do with problems related to money in one way or another. Today, a preacher who taught on the subject as often as the Lord did would be accused of riding a hobbyhorse.

There is a sense in which materialism is truly a “first principles” subject. Judging from the Lord’s own teaching, one of the most basic, fundamental choices a human being ever makes is whether to serve God or money.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt. 6:24).

Of the various weapons the devil can use against the Lord’s people, none does any more damage than materialism. Perhaps this has always been so, but it is an especially critical problem for us in present-day America.

Clarifying the Nature of the Problem

First, let it be admitted and emphasized that there is no inherent virtue or spiritual value in being poor. To warn against the sin of materialism is not to advocate a “theology of poverty.” The poor may be very wicked. Indeed, they may be very materialistic.

An ascetic is a “person who renounces the comforts of society and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion” (American Heritage Dictionary). Ascetic religions are those in which the most serious participants are expected to follow a life of poverty.

Christianity is not an ascetic religion. Being a deeply spiritual Christian does not necessarily involve renouncing worldly goods and taking a vow of poverty, although it may be God’s will for us to make great sacrifices sometimes. But neither is there any inherent virtue or spiritual value in being wealthy.

The rich have no advantage or special relationship with God because of their wealth. In Job, Elihu correctly observed that God “is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands” (Job 34:19).

Riches are not necessarily a sign of virtue or evidence that God approves of one’s character. The rich man who assumes that the riches God has given him are a reward for his own personal righteousness makes a big assumption. More often than not, the riches have not come because of one’s righteousness, but in spite of one’s unrighteousness.

Asaph noted the wickedness of many of the wealthy: “Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches” (Psa. 73:12).

Also, it is worth considering that riches may be as much a curse as a blessing. It is quite accurate in some situations to speak of a person’s having been “stricken” with wealth. (Some of God’s greatest blessings happen to be requests that are not granted!)

The term materialism actually encompasses several related problems.

For one thing, there is the problem of discontent in regard to what we ourselves do not have. “Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you'” (Hb. 13:5).

But also, there is the problem of envy or jealousy in regard to what other people have. We may wish we had what others have. Or we may — and this is worse — wish others did not have what they have, begrudging them anything that appears to make them happy, whether we ourselves would want what they have or not.

The desire to work hard and better one’s “station” in life is not in itself materialistic. The sinfulness of materialism has to do with two characteristics that distinguish it from an honorable work ethic:

Selfishness. The primary motivation of the materialistic person is to satisfy self.
Excessiveness. The materialistic person pursues material ends at the expense of spiritual priorities, upsetting the proper balance and proportion God intends our lives to have.

Being objective about self is the difficult thing, of course. Nobody ever thinks his own material pursuits are either selfish or excessive. Actually, the term materialism comes fairly close to the biblical term covetousness — and covetousness is a sin much talked about in the Scriptures.

The Sin of Covetousness

In the Bible, covetousness is a very serious matter. It keeps extremely unsavory company, frequently appearing in contexts where sins of an obviously serious nature are being discussed. “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints” (Eph. 5:3). It is a form of idolatry.

“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph. 5:5).

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5).

It will keep us out of heaven and send us to hell. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9,10).

Yet despite heavy emphasis on the topic in the Bible, we tend to dismiss the whole idea. We say “Well, where do you draw the line?” as if covetousness were such a totally subjective concept that it would be wrong to make an actual charge of covetousness against any particular person.

In any matter where a line has to be drawn, however, we need to draw the line where the Lord draws it, knowing that failure to do so is serious business and that one day we shall give an account.

Covetousness is one of the few specific sins singled out as grounds for withdrawal of fellowship. “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner — not even to eat with such a person” (1 Cor. 5:11).

The instruction to withdraw from the covetous would be pointless if it were not possible to know objectively when a person is guilty of it. And yet, how many instances do any of us know of where someone has been withdrawn from for covetousness?

With respect to the covetous, what are the reasons why congregational discipline is so rarely exercised? Do we think that, in one of the most materialistic societies in the history of the world, the sin of covetousness is just not committed as much as it was in New Testament times?

Covetousness is one of the most talked about problems in the New Testament. How likely is it that it has ceased to be a problem in our society? Is it not more probable that we fail to exhort and discipline the covetous because we would appear to be somewhat hypocritical if we did so?

One irony is that, as dangerous as it is, covetousness is an exceedingly hard sin to detect in ourselves. It is among the most insidious of Satan’s weapons.

When it comes to the desire for money and material things, it appears to be difficult for any of us to see and admit that our own desires have become selfish or excessive. There is an urgent need for us to “get real” about the sin of covetousness, to own up to it if we are guilty, and to repent of it.

Our Materialistic Addiction

Our pattern of behavior in regard to money and material things very often fits the pattern of an addiction. Certain elements are common to all addictive experiences.

The following is a list of widely acknowledged characteristics of an addiction. Consider this list in relation to the problem that many people have with money and material things. An addictive experience:

Creates predictable, reliable sensations.
Becomes the primary focus and absorbs attention.
Temporarily eradicates pain and other negative sensations.
Provides artificial sense of self-worth, power, control, security, intimacy, accomplishment.
Exacerbates the problems and feelings it is sought to remedy.
Worsens functioning, creates loss of relationships.

This list is from Steven R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill, First Things First: To Live, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), p. 35. The list is adapted from S. Peele, Diseasing of America: Addiction Treatment Out of Control (Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1989), p. 147.

Can it be denied that millions of Americans display these very same addictive traits in their behavior with regard to material things? Unlike the addictions which our society frowns on, however, materialism is an addiction that America applauds. See Robert Hemfelt, Frank Minirth, and Paul Meier, We Are Driven: The Compulsive Behaviors America Applauds (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), pp. 1-114.

We praise the person driven by materialism for pursuing “the American Dream.” We buy millions of books, tapes, and videos that exalt the pursuit of wealth. We flock to financial seminars, workshops, and rallies that inflame our materialistic tendencies, giving loud ovations to motivational speakers who specialize in the dream of wealth.

With materialism, as with any addiction, the fix never lasts — though we always think it will. If the money and the things were really the objects of our need, then having them would be satisfying. But having them is not satisfying in any lasting way; we have no sooner made one acquisition than we are craving another.

It is not having the money and the things that we get high on; it is acquiring them. Once we get what we so desperately “need,” the fix wears off quickly and we are off in search of a new high.

“He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity” (Eccl. 5:10).

Materialism is not a problem limited to the wealthy (any more than drug addiction is a problem limited to those who can get an ample supply of their drug). Materialism is a problem of attitude. It is just as much a sin for those who have little as it is for those who have much.

The rich man may be materialistic. He may trust in his treasure more than he trusts in God. He may neglect spiritual priorities for material ones. But the poor man may also be materialistic. He may envy the rich. He may go into debt over his head to have the things he wants. A person’s outward standard of living, whether high or low, is not always an accurate indicator of whether he is materialistic.

The fact that Sam Walton, for example, drove an old pickup truck does not guarantee that he was not materialistic. He may have simply been too miserly to buy a better truck or just preferred to invest his fortune in securities rather than vehicles!

Whether we are rich or poor, it is a sin to have excessive, selfish desires for money or material things. The problem of consumer debt among the Lord’s people is a disgrace. Not being able to say no to what we want is more than just a childish bad habit — it is a grown-up sin.

Many of us are living beyond our means. We are proof of the adage that when a person’s outgo exceeds his income, then his upkeep will be his downfall. In typical cases, we had parents who wanted to give us “all the things they never had” and never taught us how to do without anything we really want.

As adults, our buying habits are undisciplined. Our desires are not restrained by common sense, income, or anything else.

We simply will not be held back from having whatever we want. We are at the mercy of our impulses. It is simply too easy to charge what we want on credit cards, indulging our desires immediately with no need to pay until later.

We buy too many Zoogles (materialistic gadgets we want, but have little, if any, need for) — and we compound the problem by buying them with credit cards. Not many of us have escaped the dangers of living in an economy based on the principle of consumerism: the economic theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is beneficial. Consequently, we are plagued by two different kinds of pressure, both of which destroy our peace of mind. See Patrick M. Morley, The Man in the Mirror (Brentwood, Tennessee: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1989), p. 16.

First, the advertisers and the entertainment media generate a standard of living pressure by portraying as the norm a standard of living that is above what all but a few will ever have, implying that if we do not live at this level we are missing out on something that is the birthright of every American.

Second, we generate a harmful debt pressure by spending more than we make trying to achieve the standard of living “norm” we have been led to believe is our right.

Our entertainment and recreation alone require vast amounts of money. See chapter on Our Fascination with Fun.

Distinguishing between needs and wants may sometimes be hard, but it is not a totally subjective exercise. Whether we are objective about it or not, God knows precisely what it is we need!

“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Mt. 6:8).

Do we draw the line between needs and wants where God draws it? It is to Him that we will one day give account.

Another aspect of our materialistic addiction is the competitive aspect of it. We get so caught up in standard-of-living comparisons that our enjoyment of what we have often depends on how few other people have the same thing.

Consider the marketing problems of a company like American Express, the success of whose products depends on a perception that very few people have them.

Young married couples are especially prone to materialistic competition among themselves. There is an unspoken pressure to have what other couples have, and denying the tendency only makes the problem more difficult.

Our materialism is one thing that has made us a nation of neurotics. How ironic it is that the higher the standard of living in a society, the higher the incidence of worry, anxiety, and neurosis. Is contentment in inverse proportion to affluence? Does contentment go down as affluence goes up?

Most of us would have more peace if we had less money and fewer things. Solomon said, “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep” (Eccl. 5:12).

We need to meditate on the wisdom contained in this saying: we can have anything we want, but we cannot have everything we want. Some choices have to be made, some possibilities have to be let go.

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Posted by Gary Davenport on December 3, 2015 in Church

Psalm 121: Faith’s Line of Sight

30 Nov

Eric/Wendy’s newsletter from Kigali, Rwanda: November 2015

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I don’t like where I am, but I can’t wait to get where I’m headed

Those words could come from the mouth of practically anyone — at some point in his or her life: a student taking final exams of the senior year, a woman in labor, or an athlete going through rehab on his knee after surgery to repair it.

I don’t like where I am, but I can’t wait to get where I’m headed.

You can even imagine these same words coming from biblical characters: Noah in a crowded floating boat that smelled of animals for a year and ten days, Daniel in a pit filled with angry lions, or Paul in a prison dungeon at Rome awaiting execution.

I don’t like where I am, but I can’t wait to get where I’m headed.

Some days are long and difficult, and some circumstances are outrageous and painful. On those days, it is better to be honest and admit how tough the challenge is. And sometimes the best thing you can do in those times is to raise your line of sight from today’s obscenity to tomorrow’s anticipation.

Those are the days to read the following words from Psalm 121:1-2 (ESV)
¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121 is a traveling song. It is one of the “Songs of Ascents” found from Psalm 120 through 134. This may have been used as an antiphonal psalm that the pilgrims sang as they journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast. The leader of the company opened with verses 1-2, which are in the first person, and different people or groups answered him with verses 3-4 and so on, which are in the second person.

The theme is God’s protection over His people; the word “keeps” (watches over) is used six times. Safety is something about which the pilgrims would be especially concerned as they journeyed on the roads through the hill country.

Pilgrims going up toward Jerusalem — and anyone traveling toward the Holy City biblical…literature was “going up” to the hill and house of the Lord, no matter the sea-level altitude of his point of beginning — sang these songs to make their journey more lighthearted and to keep them focused on their reason for the trip.

A pilgrim could stumble and hurt himself, or someone might suffer sunstroke, or a chilly night of camping out might give somebody a bad cold. There was always the possibility of robbers swooping down.

Most people who travel to beautiful Tennessee area talk about a feature that some of us take for granted — the peaceful, rolling hills of the countryside. And those of us who have traveled to Colorado can attest the majesty, power, beauty, and serenity of its towering, snow-capped peaks.

As the men, women, and children moved along the road toward Jerusalem, they could look at the hills along the way negatively or positively:

They could see the hills as hiding places for bandits; looking to the hills would be a furtive, defensive, even frightened glance toward their fears.
On the other hand, they could let the hills remind them of God’s towering presence around them and see the hills along their way as places of refuge and signs of reassurance.

It’s not unusual to have some ask what they could do about their sense of sadness and depression. After talking about their situation and the treatment they are receiving from their physician, I have tried to help them understand that the root of depression is sometimes genetic and chemical, not a matter of choice or simply a “poor attitude” toward life. So I encouraged them to take the medication they had been given.

Medicine can be a gift from God — whether penicillin or anti-depressants — and the means by which He answers prayer. But I also encourage them to realize that no one could choose the direction of their gaze. And what does “the direction of their gaze” mean?

In his spiritual allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan paints a word picture of a character “who looked no way but downward.” The poor man was groveling on his knees in the dirt and filth, working constantly with a rake, trying to unearth some priceless treasure that would enrich his life. All the while, a bright diadem was in reach just above him.

Bunyan summarized the tragedy of his plight in these words: “There stood One over his head with a celestial crown in his hand, and proffered him that crown for his muck rake; but the man never looked up as he continued gathering to himself the straw, the small sticks, and the dust of the floor!”

There are some people whose mental and spiritual health could be improved significantly by adjusting the direction of their gaze. Those who tend always to see the dark and dreary side of life would do well to adopt a healthier view of things.

Yes, there is such a thing as a sappy, naive, unrealistic optimism. But that opposite extreme is not the only alternative to hopelessness! There is a balance of realism about life and confidence in God that makes one a functional human being in a stressful world.

Taking Eternity Into Account

But there is something far more important still than keeping a tether on your daily attitude toward life’s stresses and believing that God will help you deal with whatever curve balls you are thrown. Christian faith has a line of sight that takes eternity into account. If we are authentically rooted in our heavenly citizenship conferred through Jesus Christ, we can deal with anything that happens here.

Writing to ethnic Jews who were facing persecution for having embraced Jesus as their Messiah, a Spirit-guided teacher gave them this counsel: Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)
¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Jesus took eternity into account in dealing with the shame, opposition, and death forced upon him. The writer of this text encouraged his readers to fix the eyes of their faith on him in his heavenly glory for the sake of enduring the things that lay ahead for them.

Are you and I to expect no challenges? Is it unfair for us to be tested? Is it unreasonable that people of faith will have to resort to faith’s unique line of sight in order to cope with our most agonizing situations?

Eight centuries before the birth of Christ and extending over a period of 50 years, Isaiah prophesied to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He lived during Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem and prophesied of the deliverance Yahweh would bring to his people (Isa. 36-37).

He nevertheless predicted a period of exile in Babylon (Isa. 39:5-6) — an exile that would indeed come to the Southern Kingdom, Judah. With his prophetic foresight into what lay ahead for that nation, he urged those who would endure so terrible a fate to utilize faith’s line of sight and to look beyond their coming troubles to their Sovereign Lord.

Isaiah 40:27-31 (ESV)
²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹ but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

God’s Protection

The language of Psalm 121 parallels this beautiful text from Isaiah. It is an assurance of God’s faithfulness as the watchman over his people.

Psalm 121:1-8 (ESV)
¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
⁷ The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
⁸ The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

“My Father’s Creation Is Before Me” (vv. 1-2)

If Jehovah created the heavens and the earth, then He is a God of power, wisdom, and glory, and we have nothing to fear. Satan and his demonic army may be at work opposing the saints, but this is still our Father’s world.

The apostate Jews worshiped other gods at the shrines (“high places”) in the hills, but the faithful people of God looked above the hills to the great God who created all things. When the travelers caught sight of Jerusalem, situated on the mountains, they knew that God dwelt there in His sanctuary and provided the help they needed.

Everything in the heavens and on the earth bears witness to the great Creator who is also our heavenly Father, so why should we fear?

“My Father’s Eyes Are upon Me” (vv. 3-4)

The word translated “moved” means “to slip and slide, to stagger, to be shaken.” How easy it would be to sprain an ankle or even fall and break a bone while walking on uneven rocky paths. The Lord is concerned about our feet and our walk. “Keep” means “to guard and protect” and is used six times in the psalm (vv. 3, 4, 5, 7 [two times] and 8).

It is first used in the Bible in Genesis 2:15 where the Lord put Adam in the garden “to keep it.” This means to guard and protect it and take good care of it. Even while we sleep, God watches over us because He does not go to sleep.

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry” (34:15, nkjv)

“My Father’s Presence Is Beside Me” (vv. 5-6)

Our Keeper is not only on the throne looking down on us, but He is at our side to shield us from all harm. This does not mean that obedient believers never find themselves in difficulty or danger, or that they will never feel physical and emotional pain.

The things that God permits to happen to us in His will may hurt us but they will not harm us.

In writing about the sun and the moon, the psalmist was saying several things. To begin with, in that part of the world, the burning sun is menacing (2 Kings 4:18-19; Jonah 4:8), but at night, the sudden drop in temperature is both uncomfortable and unhealthy, if you lack warm covering.

Day and night, our Father is with us to shelter us from that which could harm us. The Jewish people followed a lunar calendar (81:3), so the writer was also referring to days (the sun) and months (the moon). From day to day, from month to month, from season to season (Gen. 1:16-18), from year to year, our Father is with us in the many challenges and changes of life.

Whether by day or by night, in heat or cold, whatever the changes might be, the Father’s presence provides all that we need. We need not be afraid of sudden attacks that can come in the day or the night, for “the shadow of the Almighty” covers us (see Ps. 91).

“My Father’s Care Is Around Me” (vv. 7-8)

We need not fear life or death, today or tomorrow, time or eternity, for we are in the loving care of the Father.

“All evil” means anything that could harm us, but in His grace, He turns into good the things we think are evil.

Joseph had to endure the slander and hatred of his brothers, thirteen years of separation from his father, the false accusations of his employer’s wife, and years in prison, all because of his brothers’ sins. But in the end, Joseph was able to say, “[Y]ou meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20, nkjv).

He is alert — i.e., he “will neither slumber nor sleep” (v. 4). He is the great protector of his people — i.e., he is a “shade” to keep the sun and moon from harming them (v. 6). He is always there for those who turn to him — i.e., “the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (v. 8).

These promises can be understood correctly only from the perspective of eternity that has already been identified in this sermon. Shall we hear the promise that “the Lord will keep you from all harm” (v. 7a) as a promise of no sickness, no financial reversals, no problems? Hardly!

Verse 1 already acknowledges the real presence of difficulty and cries out to God for help. This writer knows the story of righteous persons such as Job and Moses — men who suffered though they were near to God.

Far from the promise of a challenge-free, discomfort-free, wound-free existence, the promise of this pilgrim song is that the Lord will not allow his people to be destroyed by their challenges, discomforts, and wounds.

Through whatever may happen in your life, God will provide the support, guidance, and restoration necessary to bring you safely to his Holy Mountain. Whatever you need to survive Earth for the sake of Heaven will not be withheld from you.

After enduring some terrible adversities, a Spirit-filled saint was asked by a friend how he could maintain not only his faith but his positive spirit through his ordeal. He said, “Suppose someone sent me on an important journey and warned me that I would come first to a dangerous crossing over a river and then to a forest filled with wild animals. I would feel a sense of satisfaction when I actually encountered those obstacles. They would prove to me that I was traveling the right road.

“The same is true in this Christian journey I am taking. The Lord told his followers that they could expect tribulations in this world. So when difficulties come, then, I find encouragement. They reassure me that I am walking the narrow path of God’s will.”

Conclusion

Robin Jones composed “A Parable of God’s Perspective“[i] in which a fellow named Bert is allowed to look down from heaven into human experience. Aghast at some of the things he saw, he asked God, “How can you allow it? Look what evil is setting in motion down there!”

“There’s no one better than the devil for creating a tragedy like that!” God said.

“But God, that man is one of your people . . . oh, that poor man!”

“I gave the freedom to choose between good and evil,” God said, his face sad. “No matter what they choose, they all live there together. Sometimes, those who choose my way are impacted by those who don’t.” He slowly shook his head. “It’s always painful when that happens.”

“But those people right there have no choice,” Bert protested. “Evil is being crammed down their throats! That isn’t a choice!”

“Now, Bert,” God said patiently, “have I ever let pain go unavenged?”

“No . . . no, but . . .” Bert cringed from the sight, unable to bear any more.

“Watch!” God put his arm around Bert’s hunched shoulders and turned him again. “Look right over there, by the wall.”

“That one? He looks nearly dead. Is he praying?”

“Ah, Bert, you should hear his prayers!” Intense love flashed in God’s eyes like lightning. “Simple prayers from an aching heart. This is triumph over evil. Trusting me — that is the choice.” God smiled through sparkling tears of love. “Isn’t he magnificent?”

Together they stood in silence, and Bert began to see as God did.

“Now watch this, Bert.” God spoke softly, never letting his eyes leave the scene. He called for Michael and the archangel appeared.

“Go down and get him, Michael.” The tears of divine joy spilled over. “I’ll arrange the party.”

Don’t like where you are today? Just remember where you’re headed! Faith’s line of sight gives you clearer vision on everything.

[i] Quoted in Alice Gray, More Stories for the Heart (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1997), pp. 270-271.

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Posted by Gary Davenport on November 30, 2015 in Encouragement

A Mother’s Request – Matthew 20:17-34

23 Nov

Matthew 20:17-34 (ESV)
¹⁷ And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,
¹⁸ “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death
¹⁹ and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

This is the third time Jesus announced His arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection. In the previous announcements, He had not specified how He would die. But now He clearly mentioned the cross. He also clearly mentioned His resurrection, but the message did not penetrate the disciples’ hearts.

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.
²¹ And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

In contrast to this announcement of suffering and death, we have the request of James and John and their mother, Salome. There may have been a very natural reason for this request. It is probable that James and John were closely related to Jesus. Matthew, Mark and John all give lists of the women who were at the Cross when Jesus was crucified.

Matthew’s list is: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee (Matt 27:56)
Mark’s list is: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Younger and of Joses, and Salome (Mk 15:40)
John’s list is: Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

Mary Magdalene is named in all the lists; Mary the mother of James and Joses must be the same person as Mary the wife of Clopas; therefore the third woman is described in three different ways.

Matthew calls her the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Mark calls her Salome; and John calls her Jesus’ mother’s sister. So we learn that the mother of James and John was named Salome, and that she was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. That means that James and John were full cousins of Jesus; and it may well have been that they felt that this close relationship prompted this request for a special place in his Kingdom.

Before we criticize what they did, let’s notice some commendable features in this event. For one thing, they did believe in prayer, and they dared to believe the promise Jesus had given about sitting on thrones (Matt. 19:28).

Their mother also wanted her sons to be involved “on the front lines” in service to our Lord! What better things could a mother want for her sons?

It must have taken faith on their part to believe He would establish these thrones, because He had just told them that He was going to die, even if they had a misconception as to the kind of kingdom He was going to establish.

This is one of the most revealing passages in the New Testament. It sheds light in three directions. First, it sheds a light on the disciples. It tells us three things about them. It tells us of their ambition. They were still thinking in terms of personal reward and personal distinction; and they were thinking of personal success without personal sacrifice. They wanted Jesus with a royal command to ensure for them a princely life.

Every man has to learn that true greatness lies, not in dominance, but in service; and that in every sphere the price of greatness must be paid. That is on the debit side of the account of the disciples; but there is much on the credit side.

There is no incident which so demonstrates their invincible faith in Jesus. Think of when this request was made. It was made after a series of announcements by Jesus that ahead of him lay an inescapable Cross; it was made at a moment when the air was heavy with the atmosphere of tragedy and the sense of foreboding. And yet in spite of that the disciples are thinking of a Kingdom.

It is of immense significance to see that, even in a world in which the dark was coming down, the disciples would not abandon the conviction that the victory belonged to Jesus. In Christianity there must always be this invincible optimism in the moment when things are conspiring to drive a man to despair.

Still further, here is demonstrated the unshakable loyalty of the disciples. Even when they were bluntly told that there lay ahead a bitter cup, it never struck them to turn back; they were determined to drink it. If to conquer with Christ meant to suffer with Christ, they were perfectly willing to face that suffering.

It is easy to condemn the disciples, but the faith and the loyalty which lay behind the ambition must never be forgotten.

But there were several things wrong with their request. To begin with, it was born in ignorance. “Ye know not what ye ask,” Jesus replied. Little did Salome realize that the path to the throne is a difficult one. James was the first of the disciples to be martyred, and John had to endure hard days on the Isle of Patmos. These three believers wanted their will, not God’s will, and they wanted it their way.

Another factor was their lack of heavenly direction. They were thinking like the world: James and John wanted to “lord it over” the other disciples the way the unsaved Gentile rulers lorded it over their subjects. Their request was fleshly (sensual), because they were selfishly asking for glory for themselves, not for the Lord. No doubt they felt relieved that they had gotten to Jesus with this request before Peter did!

Finally, the request was not only of the world and the flesh, but it was of the devil. It was motivated by pride. Satan had sought a throne (Isa. 14:12-15) and had been cast down. Satan had offered Jesus a throne and had been refused (Matt. 4:8-11). Satan magnifies the end (a throne) but not the means to that end. Jesus warned Salome and her sons that the special thrones were available to those who were worthy of them. There are no shortcuts in the kingdom of God.

²² Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
²³ He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Jesus said that those who would share his triumph must drink his cup. What was that cup? It was to James and John that Jesus spoke. Now life treated James and John very differently. James was the first of the apostolic band to die a martyr (Ac 12:2). For him the cup was martyrdom. On the other hand, by far the greater weight of tradition goes to show that John lived to a great old age in Ephesus and died a natural death when he must have been close on a hundred years old. For him the cup was the constant discipline and struggle of the Christian life throughout the years.

It is quite wrong to think that for the Christian the cup must always mean the short, sharp, bitter, agonizing struggle of martyrdom; the cup may well be the long routine of the Christian life, with all its daily sacrifice, its daily struggle, and its heart-breaks and its disappointments and its tears.

A Roman coin was once found with the picture of an ox on it; the ox was facing two things—an altar and a plough; and the inscription read: “Ready for either.” The ox had to be ready either for the supreme moment of sacrifice on the altar or the long labour of the plough on the farm.

There is no one cup for the Christian to drink. His cup may be drunk in one great moment; his cup may be drunk throughout a lifetime of Christian living. To drink the cup simply means to follow Christ wherever he may lead, and to be like him in any situation life may bring.

This passage sheds a light on Jesus. It shows us his kindness. The amazing thing about Jesus is that he never lost patience and became irritated. In spite of all he had said, here were these men and their mother still chattering about posts in an earthly government and kingdom. But Christ does not explode at their obtuseness, or blaze at their blindness, or despair at their unteachableness. In gentleness, in sympathy, and in love, with never an impatient word, he seeks to lead them to the truth.

It shows us his honesty. He was quite clear that there was a bitter cup to be drunk and did not hesitate to say so. No man can ever claim that he began to follow Jesus under false pretences. He never failed to tell men that, even if life ends in crown-wearing, it continues in cross-bearing.

It shows us his trust in men. He never doubted that James and John would maintain their loyalty. They had their mistaken ambitions; they had their blindness; they had their wrong ideas; but he never dreamed of writing them off as bad debts. He believed that they could and would drink the cup, and that in the end they would still be found at his side. One of the great fundamental facts to which we must hold on, even when we hate and loathe and despise ourselves, is that Jesus believes in us.

²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.
²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
²⁶ It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
²⁷ and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,
²⁸ even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The result of this request was “indignation” on the part of the other disciples—probably because they had not thought of it first! Selfishness will only result in dissension and division.

This disagreement gave Jesus the opportunity to teach a practical lesson on leadership. In His kingdom, we must not follow the examples of the world. Our example is Jesus, not some corporation president or wealthy celebrity. Jesus came as a servant; therefore, we should serve one another. He came to give His life; therefore, we should give our lives in service to Him and others.

The word minister in Matthew 20:26 means “a servant.” Our English word “deacon” comes from it. The word servant in Matthew 20:27 means “a slave.” Not every servant was a slave, but every slave was a servant. There are many who want to “exercise authority” (Matt. 20:25), but few who want to take the towel and basin and wash feet.

The key to greatness is not found in position or power, but in character. We get a throne by paying with our lives, not by praying with our lips. We must identify with Jesus Christ in His service and suffering, for even He could not reach the throne except by way of the cross.

To improve our praying we must improve our serving. If we are serving Him and others, then we will not be praying selfishly. If our prayers do not make us better servants, then there is something wrong with them.

Do our prayers make us easier to live with? The two disciples prayed selfishly and threw the fellowship into an uproar! Do our prayers make us more like Jesus Christ? Do our prayers cost us anything? Prayer in the will of God does not mean escape; it means involvement. If our prayers do not bring us nearer to the cross, they are out of God’s will.

Salome learned her lesson. When Jesus was crucified, she was standing near the cross (John 19:25, “his mother’s sister”) and sharing in His sorrow and pain. She did not see two thrones on either side of her Lord—she saw two thieves on two crosses. And she heard Jesus give her son, John, to His mother Mary. Salome’s selfishness was rebuked, and she meekly accepted it.

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Posted by Gary Davenport on November 23, 2015 in Sermon

I am thankful…

19 Nov

happy-thankful FOR THE WIFE WHO SAYS IT’S HOT DOGS TONIGHT, BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO, BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

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Posted by Gary Davenport on November 19, 2015 in Encouragement

Two Debtors: How Much Do I Need God? – Luke 7:36-50

16 Nov

As we begin this study, we see the acceptance of Jesus by the sinners and the rejection by the religious leaders. The anointing of Jesus by the sinful woman. The pharisaical self-righteousness of Simon.

The parable is followed by a record of women with questionable background who followed Jesus. (A woman who had been demon possessed. A woman who was the wife of Herod’s finance minister and a woman named Susanna. I don’t know who she was.) These women are contributing to Jesus’ ministry out of their own personal financial means.

Cultural setting: Jesus and Simon were eating in the center of the courtyard. There were benches around the outside of the courtyard where others could sit and watch and perhaps talk to those eating, but not participate in the meal. This allows for the woman to be a part of audience and come into the center of the courtyard. This was not done.

This woman of the street, is pouring strong smelling perfume on Jesus’ feet and making the place smell like her private chambers where illegitimate things go on. This woman lets her hair down in public. Women did not do that. She was touching a man in public. Women did not do that. She is crying in public. Women did not do that. They hired professional criers to cry for them in public. She is kissing his feet and wiping his feet with her hair.

The Problem

Simon is about to have a fit. He makes an assumption. The problem with the assumption is that the premise is wrong. He thinks that Jesus is either not a prophet or He is a bad prophet.

Why is Jesus risking ceremonial defilement in allowing the sinner woman to touch Him?

Jesus tells a parable to answer the unasked question:

In the parable one man owes the equivalent of $50,000 to a man who makes about $30,000 per year and the other owes $5,000. Both are unable to repay. Both are graciously forgiven. Which will love Him more?

Simon judged correctly.

Simon did not provide for the customary foot washing that culture demanded. He didn’t do it. He didn’t have a servant do it. He didn’t even provide water for Jesus to do it. Simon didn’t greet Jesus with the customary cheek to cheek kiss. Simon did not put oil on Jesus’ head. (equivalent of taking someone to the guest bathroom to get cleaned up). The woman on the other hand did all this and more.

Verse 47 should be translated “Because she was forgiven, as a result, she loved much.” We know this because the next phrase says, “he who is forgiven little loves little.”

Who is this that forgives sin? This goes unanswered, but it is obvious.

How do you get forgiveness? Verse 50 says “your faith has saved you.” Because she was forgiven, she could go in peace. She didn’t have the awful debt hanging over her head.

The Central Truth

Love is the evidence of forgiveness which can only be received by faith in Christ. Those who recognize that they have been forgiven much, respond with worship to God and love to others. Those who don’t recognize their need for forgiveness are self-righteous.

Simon had a faulty concept of who Jesus was and what he shooed do. This reveals the basic problem of the religious leaders.

Simon would have recognized that he was the one who owed 50 denarii. The woman would have recognized that she was the one who owed 500 denarii. Who would Jesus have said owed 500 denarii? He would have agreed with Simon. The woman was the bigger sinner. But Simon was a sinner too. He had a debt he could not repay. He showed no love which raised the question of whether or not there was forgiveness of even the smaller debt.

Our tendency is to jump to the question – “How much love should be shown?” But that is not a proper question to ask. If we ask the question, we have missed the point of the parable.

We must be careful not to reverse the process and say that our love results in forgiveness.

Illustration: Some of you were raised in a Christian home. You never got into any serious trouble, never got arrested, never did drugs, never got drunk. Some of you, on the other hand, might have been more rebellious and been in trouble with the law, done drugs.

Analogy: The worst thing some of you ever did might have been to shoot a BB gun and break a window. Others of you threw bricks through the window. The question is this? How much do the windows cost? They cost the same. They both needed to be replaced.

Simon’s problem was that he thought she was a worse sinner than he was and that his sin was not as serious. But his sin was just as serious.

The more I understand how much I’ve been forgiven, the more I will appreciate my forgiveness and the more I will love God and others.

Jesus loves to take the rowdy and the religious to destroy two satanically designed thoughts. One is that there is a level of sinfulness that God cannot accept. It is the attitude that I’m too bad to be saved or loved by God. The other extreme is the idea that there is a level of merit in man for which there is no need for salvation. Or there is a way to merit God’s love.

If you have the idea that the flat tire you had was because you skipped your quiet time two days in a row, then you fall into this second category.

If you remember, Jesus healed the Centurion’s slave in 7:1-10 and raised the widow’s son in 7:11-17. Those were two people who recognized their need. Here we have a Pharisee who does not recognize his need and so Jesus can’t “heal” him.

It was customary in that day for outsiders to hover around during banquets so they could watch the “important people” and hear the conversation. Since everything was open, they could even enter the banquet hall and speak to a guest. This explains how this woman had access to Jesus. He was not behind locked doors. In that day women were not invited to banquets.

Jewish rabbis did not speak to women in public, nor did they eat with them in public. A woman of this type would not be welcomed in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Her sins are not named, but we get the impression she was a woman of the streets with a bad reputation.

The present passage contrasts the attitudes of the sinful (repentant) and the self-righteous. It needs to be studied carefully, for self-righteousness is a serious sin. It is both common and damning.

LUKE 7:36-38 — 36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

This is a passionate scene. She comes to Jesus with the obvious intent of anointing him with the ointment. She winds up paying respect in four different ways:
1. Her tears wash his feet. The verb “wet” is translated in other places, “rain.” Tears streamed down her face and fell profusely upon his feet. Enough tears, in fact, to wash them.
2. Wiped his feet with her hair. All vanity is gone (cf. 1 Cor 11:15). With the most humble act she ministers to the Lord.
3. Kissed his feet. This is a strengthened form of the verb “kiss.” In other words, she kissed his feet profusely.
4. Anointed his feet with ointment. Ointment was more expensive than oil. It has a heavy, rich smell like perfume. The word used here for “anoint” is not the normal religious act (“to pour”) but what we might translate as “rub” or “massage.”

Simon’s thoughts can be summarized in the following logical syllogism:

a. If Jesus were a prophet he would know what kind of woman she is.
b. If Jesus knew what kind of woman she was he would not let her touch him.
c. Jesus is letting her touch him.
d. THEREFORE: Jesus must not be a prophet.

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Posted by Gary Davenport on November 16, 2015 in Sermon

The heart of a little man

12 Nov

(I found this in my old…old..old files and have no idea of its source…but the message is a good one so please pardon my forgetfulness)

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out patients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. “Why, he’s hardly taller than my 8-year-old,” I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.

Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus ’til morning.”

He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but without success, no one seemed to have a room. “I guess it’s my face … I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments.”

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”

I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. “No, thank you. I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her 5 children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accom-panied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.

At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.

He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, “Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.” He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.”

I told him he was welcome to come again.

And, on his next trip, he arrived a little after 7 in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen! He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. And I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.

Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk 3 miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning.

“Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!”

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But, oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.

I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend, who has a greenhouse, as she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, “If this were my plant, I’d put it in the loveliest container I had!”

My friend changed my mind. “I ran short of pots,” she explained, “and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn’t mind starting out in this old pail. It’s just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden.”

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven. “Here’s an especially beautiful one,” God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. “He won’t mind starting in this small body.”

All this happened long ago – and now, in God’s garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b)

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Posted by Gary Davenport on November 12, 2015 in Encouragement

The need for a more vital prayer life Matthew 6

09 Nov

If you wanted someone to instruct you in golf or tennis, wouldn’t you choose someone who is good at golf and tennis? The same goes for prayer. If you want a better prayer life, why not go to someone who excelled in the ministry of prayer? Why not go to Jesus?

No nation ever had a higher ideal of prayer than the Jews had; and no religion ever ranked prayer higher in the scale of priorities than the Jews did. “Great is prayer,” said the Rabbis, “greater than all good works.” One of the loveliest things that was ever said about family worship is the Rabbinic saying, “He who prays within his house surrounds it with a wall that is stronger than iron.” The only regret of the Rabbis was that it was not possible to pray all day long.

Some suggest these principles for our praying: Do not pray for easy lives, Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, Pray for powers equal to your task. Don’t ask God for what you think is good; ask him for what He thinks is good for you. Don’t bother to give God instructions; just report for duty. Each time you pray, fervently plea, “Lord, make me worthy to associate with thee.”

Simple instructions: Be yourself. Be natural before God. Do not pretend to emotions you do not feel. Tell him whatever is on your heart and mind with whatever words are most natural to you. You do not have to speak to him in “religious” language about “spiritual” matters only . . . Speak as naturally and as easily as you would to a friend, since God is just that. . . . This natural expression of yourself at the outset is the guarantee that you can go on to a creative, free, and mature relationship with God.

Certain faults had crept into the Jewish habits of prayer. It is to be noted that these faults are by no means peculiar to Jewish ideas of prayer; they can and do occur anywhere. And it is to be noted that they could only occur in a community where prayer was taken with the greatest seriousness. They are not the faults of neglect; they are the faults of misguided devotion.

Prayer tended to become formalized. There were two things the daily use of which was prescribed for every Jew.

The first was the Shema, which consists of three short passages of scripture—Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41. Shema is the imperative of the Hebrew word to hear, and the Shema takes its name from the verse which was the essence and center of the whole matter: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.”

The full Shema had to be recited by every Jew every morning and every evening. It had to be said as early as possible. It had to be said as soon as the light was strong enough to enable a man to distinguish between blue and white, or, as Rabbi Eliezer said, between blue and green. In any event it had to be said before the third hour, that is, 9 a.m., and in the evening it had to be said before 9 p.m. If the last possible moment for the saying of the Shema had come, no matter where a man found himself, at home, in the street, at work, in the synagogue, He must stop and say it.

There were many who loved the Shema, and who repeated it with reverence and adoration and love; but the Shema had every chance of becoming a vain repetition, which men mumbled through like some spell or incantation.

The second thing which every Jew must daily repeat was called the Shemoneh ‘esreh, which means The Eighteen. It consisted of eighteen prayers, and was, and still is, an essential part of the synagogue service. In time the prayers became nineteen, but the old name remains. Most of these prayers are quite short, and nearly all of them are very lovely.

The twelfth runs: “Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be showed upon the upright, the humble, the elders of they people Israel, and the rest of its teachers; be favorable to the pious strangers amongst us, and to us all. Give thou a good reward to those who sincerely trust in thy name, that our lot may be case among them in the world to come, that our hope be not deceived. Praised by thou, O Lord, who art the hope and confidence of the faithful.”

The fifth runs: “Bring us back to thy law, O our Father; bring us back, O king, to thy service; bring us back to thee by true repentance. Praised by thou, O Lord, who dost accept our repentance.

Further, the Jewish liturgy supplied stated prayers for all occasions. There was hardly an event or a sight in life which had not its stated formula of prayer. There was prayer before and after each meal; there were prayers in connection with the light, the fire, the lightning, on seeing the new moon, comets, rain, tempest, at the sight of the sea, lakes, rivers, on receiving good news, on using new furniture, on entering or leaving a city. Everything had its prayer. Clearly there is something infinitely lovely here. It was the intention that every happening if life should be brought into the presence of God.

But just because the prayers were so meticulously prescribed and stated, the whole system lent itself to formalism, and the danger was for the prayers to slip off the tongue with very little meaning. The great Rabbis knew that and tried to guard against it. “If a man,” they said, “says his prayers, as if to get through a set task, that is no prayer.” “Do not look on prayer as a formal duty, but as an act of humility by which to obtain the mercy of God.”

Still further, the devout Jew had set times for prayer. The hours were the third, the sixth and the ninth hours, that is, 9 a.m., 12 midday and 3 p.m. In whatever place a man found himself he was bound to pray. Clearly he might be genuinely remembering God, or he might be carrying out an habitual formality.

The final fault which Jesus found with certain Jews was that they prayed to be seen of men. The Jewish system of prayer made ostentation very easy. The Jew prayed standing, with hands stretched out, palms upwards, and with head bowed. Prayer had to be said at 9 a.m., 12 midday, and 3 p.m. It had to be said wherever a man might be, and it was easy for a man to make sure that at these hours he was at a busy street corner, or in a crowded city square, so that all the world might see with what devotion he prayed. It was easy for a man to halt on the top step of the entrance to the synagogue, and there pray lengthily and demonstratively, so that all men might admire his exceptional piety. It was easy to put on an act of prayer which all the world might see.

Jesus develops two basic kinds of prayer. The first is “showcase prayer” by which the person praying actually draws attention to himself. He wants to be known as spiritual and holy. His religion gives him status, and by public prayer, he maintains and feeds it.

The second kind of prayer is “relational prayer.” This is prayer that seeks time with the Father. Jesus, for teaching purposes, draws a distinct line between the two, but we must acknowledge that most people will fall somewhere between the two extremes. It is also important to understand that no one can read the mind and intentions of another heart. What might seem to be the height of arrogance may only reflect upbringing. Or gentle, quiet prayers may come from one who has no private prayer life at all. Jesus’ instructions are for us to know and personally apply His words and to let the Holy Spirit guide and train our hearts in these matters.

There are, however, some warning signs to which we might want to pay attention.

Do I have an “I am speaking to God” voice? This may be a matter of upbringing. Nevertheless, none is needed, and such a change in voice can draw attention to the one praying—unless one is in an environment that expects it, in which case not changing the voice can draw attention.
Elegant words and lots of them. This may be a matter of gifting and natural oratory, but again none are needed.
Personal agenda. It’s hard to excuse this one. You pray according to what you want done and what others need to do to help it along.
“Please God. Help Jane resist the temptation to keep seeing that guy.” Such public prayers are only fruitful if Jane is there and has asked for intercession on that subject.
Public prayer of any kind without a private prayer life. It is a given that if you are not speaking to the Father when you are alone, there is no good speaking to Him publicly.

The rewards of relational prayer is that it can:

Direct the heart
Receive answers and close or open doors
Strengthen the character and spirit
Increase faith and spiritual gifting
Bring a deeper sense of the Father’s presence and care

He insists that all true prayer must be offered to God. Matthew 6:1-6 (ESV)
¹ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
² “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
⁶ But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Prayer time is not a time to try to impress people, but to communicate with God. If we talk to be heard by men, they will hear, but God will not.

He insists that we must always remember that the God to whom we pray is a God of love who is more ready to answer than we are to pray. His gifts and his grace have not to be unwillingly extracted from him. We do not come to a God who has to be coaxed, or pestered, or battered into answering our prayers. We come to one whose one wish is to give. When we remember that, it is surely sufficient to go to God with the sigh of desire in our hearts, and on our lips the words, “Thy will be done.”

Prayer is measured by sincerity not multiplication of words Matthew 6:7-8 (ESV)
⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

There was a way in which Jewish prayer used repetition. There was an attempt to pile up every possible title and adjective in the address of the prayer to God. One famous prayer begins: “Blessed, praised, and glorified, exalted, extolled and honored, magnified and lauded by the name of the Holy One.”

This is not a condemnation of persistence. Later in the sermon, Jesus will recommend persistence. It is condemning empty repetition. It is condemning the notion that the best prayers are the longest prayers.

Prayer should follow Jesus’ pattern, not our preferences Matthew 6:9-13 (ESV)
⁹ Pray then like this: “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 also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Person…Praise should always come first.

Priority…Provision…Pardon…Protection

Respect for God’s names. Commitment to God’s kingdom. Submission to God’s will.

We must note the order of the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. The first three petitions have to do with God and with the glory of God; the second three petitions have to do with our needs and our necessities.

That is to say, God is first given his supreme place, and then, and only then, we turn to ourselves and our needs and desires. It is only when God is given his proper place that all other things fall into their proper places. Prayer must never be an attempt to bend the will of God to our desires; prayer ought always to be an attempt to submit our wills to the will of God.

The second part of the prayer, the part which deals with our needs and our necessities, is a marvelously wrought unity. It deals with the three essential needs of man, and the three spheres of time within which man moves.

First, it asks for bread, for that which is necessary for the maintenance of life, and thereby brings the needs of the present to the throne of God.
Second, it asks for forgiveness and thereby brings the past into the presence of God.
Third, it asks for help in temptation and thereby commits all the future into the hands of God.
In these three brief petitions, we are taught to lay the present, the past, and the future before the footstool of the grace of God.

It is also a prayer which brings the whole of God to our lives.

When we ask for bread to sustain our earthly lives, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Father, the Creator and the Sustainer of all life.
When we ask for forgiveness, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer.
When we ask for help for future temptation, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Strengthener, the Illuminator, the Guide and the Guardian of our way.

Prayer should affect our behavior, not just our mood Matthew 6:14 (ESV)
¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

Prayer may make us feel better. While that is welcome, it is not all there is to our prayer life.

Prayer will affect the way we relate to other people. If we have received forgiveness from God, it will be difficult not to extend it to others. Something is seriously wrong if we cannot do this.

He prayed for strength that he might achieve; He was made weak that he might obey.

He prayed for health that he might do greater things; He was given infirmity that he might do better things.

He prayed for riches that he might be happy; He was given poverty that he might be wise.

He prayed for power that he might have the praise of men; He was given weakness that he might feel the need of God.

He prayed for all things that he might enjoy life; He was given life that he might enjoy all thingsHe received nothing that he asked for—but all that he hoped for.

He who fails to pray does not cheat God. He cheats himself.

I cannot say our if religion has no room for others and their needs.

I cannot say Father if I do not demonstrate this relationship in my daily living.

I cannot say who art in heaven if all my interests and pursuits are on earthly things.

I cannot say hallowed be thy name if I, who am called by his name, am not holy.

I cannot say thy kingdom come if I am unwilling to give up my own sovereignty and accept the righteous reign of God.

I cannot say thy will be done if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life.

I cannot say in earth as it is in heaven unless I am truly ready to give myself to his service here and now.

I cannot say give us this day our daily bread without expending honest effort for it or by ignoring the genuine needs of my fellowmen.

I cannot say forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say lead us not into temptation if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted.

I cannot say deliver us from evil if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.

I cannot say thine is the kingdom if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.

I cannot say thine is the power if I fear what my neighbors may say or do.

I cannot say thine is the glory if I am seeking my own glory first.

I cannot say forever if I am too anxious about each day’s affairs.

I cannot say amen unless I honestly say, “Cost what it may, this is my prayer.”

I need to stop talking about prayer—and pray.

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Posted by Gary Davenport on November 9, 2015 in Sermon

How to turn failure into success

05 Nov

Harold Sherman wrote a book entitled, How To Turn Failure Into Success. In it he gives a code of persistence. He says:

1) I will never give up so long as I know I am right.

2) I will believe that all things will work out for me if I hang on to the end.

3) I will be courageous and undismayed in the face of odds.

4) I will not permit anyone to intimidate or deter me from my goals.

5) I will fight to overcome all physical handicaps and setbacks.

6) I will try again and again and yet again to accomplish what I desire.

7) I will take new faith and resolution from the knowledge that all successful men and women have had to fight defeat and adversity.

8) I will never surrender to discouragement or despair no matter what seeming obstacles may confront me.

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Posted by Gary Davenport on November 5, 2015 in Encouragement

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