Desperate or Deliberate?

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

Luke 11:13

In this passage about prayer Jesus is sharing through parables some instruction on how to pray. These parables are in response to one of His disciples saying to Him back in verse 1, "Lord, teach us how to pray..."

In Luke 11:6 I read about the persistent friend. This friend goes to his neighbor at midnight and knocks asking for some bread saying, "...a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him."

As I think on this in relation to prayer, I realize this is how prayer so often goes. We are presented with a question or a situation and we don't know how to respond. Our friend pours their heart out on an issue and we have no idea what to say or how to encourage them. In turn, our lack creates a need. In that need we go desperately to the Father in prayer. We run to the Lord and ask for help. We know He is our "ever present help in time of need" (Psalm 46:1). We need the Holy Spirit to intervene and help us, or show us what to do...so we ask for Him.

(pause there for a moment while I share my heart)

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I've been in a long season of spiritual growth in the Lord and at the same time, in a 'not so fun' place with Him. My God has been allowing the sinful nature that is in my heart to surface. Once He showed me one thing, He'd move on to another. And another. Sometimes He made things abundantly clear by showing me multiple examples of a sin or wrong attitude coming out of me. I can't even begin to tell you how heartbreaking and sobering this private process has been. I strive to live a life that is pleasing to my Lord, so to have Him show me all the depravity that was still in my heart... Well, that hurt. It hurt because I knew it grieved Him. Sin in my life defames His name. When everything else drained out the ugliness remained. Like a sifting. There it was. All of it. With everything else removed I could really see what was in my heart. For the most part I'd say it was just God showing me. And me being frustrated with myself. No one else needed to know. Only God and I could do anything about it.

Meanwhile, during this process, my pastor had been encouraging our church staff to pray daily and ask the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit. To pray before we even get out of bed something along the lines of, "Lord, please fill me with the Holy Spirit. Empower me to do Your will today." I began doing this rather sporadic at first, then gradually with more consistency. Mostly because I had some questions in my mind.

Then a couple weeks ago, I came to Luke 11:13 in my Bible reading. I've been camped there ever since.

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

Marinating in this passage I realized how often I was willing to give myself up and let the Holy Spirit take over when I was desperate. Desperate for an answer on an issue. Desperate like the friend asking his neighbor at midnight for some bread. Desperate when I lacked confidence to do something I was called to do. But in recent months after those promptings by my pastor, and the evidence of such fleshly attitudes in my life, I did start asking the Holy Spirit to fill me up before I started my day. I was doing it but wrestling with it at the same time, trusting the Lord to show me the answer to my question which was, "If I already have the Holy Spirit, and trust that He is present in my life, why do I need to keep asking for Him?" I knew, that I knew, that I knew, that I was sealed with the Holy Spirit the day I trusted Jesus with my life. Ephesians 4:30 assures me when Paul says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." So in my heart I really wrestled with why I needed to ask for something I already had. I was sure it was biblical, I just needed to understand it in my head and my heart.

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With that in mind, this passage sort of stopped me in my tracks. It was the phrase "the Holy Spirit" that got my attention. I'm not sure I had ever really taken note of the difference between this verse and it's parallel in Matthew 7:11. The verse in Matthew was the one more committed to my memory. Take note:

Matthew 7:11 --
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

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

In studying this passage at length, I have learned that the change in the phrase from "good gifts" to "Holy Spirit" is known as a metonymy of the cause. The first verse here is stating the effect. The second, the cause.

METONYMY (Mesa + onoma = a change of name)
One word is used in place of another to portray some actual relationship between the things signified.

All "good things" come through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the evidence of good things in our lives found in Matthew, can be replaced with the ultimate source of the good things, the providential work of the Holy Spirit, as found in Luke.

So to answer my own question, I believe this is one of those mysteries in the Bible where the answer is "both/and". I am sealed with the Holy Spirit -- therefore He is "with" me -- because I have placed my faith in Christ. The Spirit is also "in" me giving victory over the flesh, developing Christian character, healing infirmities, inspiring me when I pray, cleansing me, sanctifying me, comforting me, and interceding on my behalf. As I yield myself day by day making more and more room for the power of the Spirit, He acts and works within me and I operate less and less in the flesh. The Bible also implies that the Spirit can be "on" me, anointing me to do some special service for God. I am both sealed with the Spirit and I can have more of the Spirit.

(Ref: The Scofield Study Bible, New International Version, 1984, "The Holy Spirit in the New Testament, Summary" on page 1431.)

As I have been praying this prayer, I am realizing that more than being filled daily, it's a yielding to the Spirit that is already there willing to act and work in and through me -- when I let Him. It's asking Him to guide me in His ways and intentionally laying mine aside. It's seeking the Spirit deliberately, not out of desperation. In doing so, I find that I am calling on the Spirit more and more throughout the day. Instead of asking for help after things happen or when I get fearful, anxious, desperate, etc. I am now asking for the Spirit to take over in the mundane. Before I speak. Or respond. Or react. Just to take over period. I'm tired of doing part of the day in the spirit and part of it in my own strength. I want the Spirit to just lead so that my responses and reactions are not selfish or in the flesh, but instead reflect the fruits of the Spirit. Responding and relating with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. God's Word says, "There is no law against behaving in any of these ways" in Galatians 5:23 (CEV). I just want to be covered with His grace. More than anything, I want the Holy Spirit infusing my life day by day, hour by hour. In accordance with God's Word I can ask for that! The Amplified version says He gives "to those who ask AND continue to ask Him!" I see it as a conscious, constant yielding of myself to the Spirit. In other words, surrendering my all, moment by moment, for His best.

Father God, I thank You for Your patience with me when I don't fully grasp or understand Your Word. I thank You for answering when I ask for clarity. I ask that You fill me to overflowing with the Spirit so that I can act and think and do according to Your will. Keep working in and through me I pray. Help me to keep dying to the flesh so I look more and more like You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Choosing the Better Way

"...Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42

This story about Mary and Martha is so familiar it is easy to look over, but I asked the Lord to show me something new as I studied it this morning. I read about Martha opening her home to Jesus (she was very hospitable). When He came in, her sister Mary chose to sit down at His feet and listen to what He had to say. Martha, on the other hand, was distracted (the complete opposite). She chose to busy herself with all the preparations she felt necessary to host Jesus as her guest.

As I read these verses the Lord revealed some key points in a different light. First, Martha opened her home and welcomed Jesus in, but then left Him sitting in the living room, so to speak, while she busied herself with household tasks to host Him. If this were happening in modern times, she might have run to put fresh sheets on the bed, dusted and vacuumed the guest room, picked some fresh flowers to put on the dresser, laundered the towels and put fresh ones in the guest bath, straightened up the kitchen, unloaded the dishwasher so she could load the dirty dishes in the sink, pulled up her recipe boards on Pinterest to see what she might make for dinner, run to the store for a few ingredients, donned her apron and slaved over the meal, set the table with fine china, lit the candles, and then took a quick shower, whew! ...before announcing, "Dinner is served!" All the while, her sister sitting at Jesus's feet, hanging on His every word. 

Mary had much to do to feel ready for this guest she'd already invited in, so it's understandable why she'd be a teensy bit frustrated with her sister for not helping her. But Jesus said, "Martha, Martha...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her." I believe this parallels well with our walk with Christ. We ask Jesus in to our hearts and lives, go to church and worship Him on Sundays, then leave Him in the living room all week and fail to spend time with Him. 

Mary chose to lay busyness aside and sit at the feet of Jesus. She chose to give Him her full attention as their honored guest. She chose to be fully engaged and listen intently to the words He spoke. I believe she drank deeply of the wisdom He shared, allowing it to penetrate her heart in a life changing way. 

Mary wanted Jesus there. There was no question about that. She was the one that invited Him in after all. But before she took time to visit with Him and hear His heart, she chose to do other things. This very concept is one the Lord has been teaching me at new levels in recent months. I always want Jesus near, desire to spend meaningful time with Him, and with my whole heart I want to do the things He calls me to do, but many times my obedience has come with distractions or was delayed. Sometimes I've been up to meet with Him, but found myself so distracted by the cares or to do's in my mind that I wasn't fully present and hearing what He had to say. Or I would put Jesus off in a sense saying, "Lord, I'll meet with You this morning, but first let me..." Or, "Lord, I will work on that project You've asked me to do, but first I need to do such and such." The Lord has convicted me of the "But first's..." We can be so busy trying to prepare to spend time with Him, that we never really get around to spending undistracted time with Him. I am trying to be much more diligent about saying, "First, I'm going to spend time with Jesus, then I will..." Or "I'm going to [work on this project] out of obedience to the Lord first, then I'll run my errands or meet my friend for coffee." In so doing, I'm learning that busyness returns void, but God and His work do not. I'm choosing Him first.

Father God, I am human. I mess up. I have flaws. I get distracted with the best of them and I like to have my "to do" list all checked off. But I have found a better way. You are the better way. When I choose to put You and Your work first, all that really needs to be done gets done. Help me to keep putting You first. Help me to be fully engaged when I spend time with You and in Your Word -- only then will I be changed by it. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

A Right Heart

"He answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27

A lawyer, testing Jesus with his questions, asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replies with two questions of His own: What is written in the law? And, how do you read it? Verse 27 (above) is his reply, to which Jesus tells him he answered correctly.

What the lawyer describes is a heart that is first, right with God. And second, right with others. The first, loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, represents a vertical relationship with the Father. It's what enables me to live in right relationship with Him. (The key to salvation is to be in relationship with Christ.) In this place my wrongs are confessed, my sins are forgiven, my trust is in Jesus, and my life's energy is focused on my God and the things He has called me to do. The second, loving my neighbor as myself, represents horizontal relationships. It is striving to live in right relationship with those around me; those in my sphere of influence in as much as it depends on me. In so doing I want to reflect Christ with my words and actions as I interact with others. I'm not perfect in this by any means, but it is my deep desire to honor the Lord in this way. When I am wronged, I must choose to forgive so my heart is right with God and towards the offending person, whether or not they ever receive it. It also means meeting the needs of others according to my means as God makes them apparent. In short, it's having a right heart with God and loving others the way I want to be loved -- in a way that looks like my Jesus.

Father God, Thank You that my name is written in heaven. Today and every day please help me to live in right relationship with You and with those in my circle of influence. I want my life to be a genuine reflection of my relationship with You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Deceived No More

"...Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." Luke 10:17

Having been sent out by Christ, the disciples returned to Him with joy. Though they had surely endured trials, opposition, discouragement and the like on their mission, they came back joyful talking about their successes. Primarily, their success when employing the power of Jesus' name: "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." They were acknowledging the truth that all victories over Satan come through the power of Jesus' name.

We as believers, just like the disciples, have access to the power of Jesus' name. It is through Christ's name and His alone that the power comes, and to whom the glory must return. Whatever is done in Jesus' name, honor must be given to His name. Satan's rightful place is under Jesus' feet. "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand until I make a footstool for your feet.'" Psalm 110:1. "...the saints have no greater joy or satisfaction in any of their triumphs than in those over Satan. If the devils are subject to us, what can stand before us?" (Henry)

As this new year begins, give your spiritual life a fresh perspective. Refuse to believe the devil's lies! Decide to no longer be deceived by the evil one. Ask the LORD to reveal the enemy's schemes in your life and then rebuke Satan in Jesus' name. Proclaim truth where the enemy would have you believe lies. And give glory to the Father when the enemy flees. You have power in Jesus' name!

Father, I thank You that my name is written in heaven, and because it is, I have power and authority over the enemy in Jesus' name. I ask You Lord to reveal Satan's schemes in my life. Show me where I've been believing lies. Empower me to stand against the enemy in Your name, and stand up for Your truth. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

This is how I did this exercise this morning...

I took a blank sheet of paper and a pen and sat before the Lord quiet and undistracted. Praying, I asked God to reveal the enemy's schemes in my life. I wrote down every lie that came to mind that I had been believing, trusting that God was answering my prayer. Using that list, I confessed them one by one out loud to the Lord and rebuked the enemy. (This is done audibly so the enemy can hear me - only God is omniscient - Satan cannot hear my thoughts.) I penned a prayer like this one in my journal to use, and ad libbed or adjusted as I prayed and the Spirit led. I repeated it for every item on my list.

Sample Prayer

Dear Lord, I have believed (insert one of the lies or schemes God showed you). I now know that is a lie from the enemy and I refuse to believe it any longer. Your Word says (insert a truth from God's Word) and I choose to believe the truth. As a child of God raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenly places, I rebuke the enemy in Jesus' name and command Satan to leave my presence in this area and never return. He has no power or authority over my life because I belong to God. Help me Jesus, to walk in a way that honors You and reflects this truth. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Do You Have Room?

"She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7

No room in the inn? The Savior of the world was about to be born but there was no room for His mother Mary to give birth to Him. The phrase "no room for them in the inn" is where I have camped my thoughts and study time today. Joseph and Mary returned to their own town, the city of David, to register for the census. Given the numbers of people that had traveled to Bethlehem for the same reason, the city and its "inns" were full.

As I studied, I discovered that the modern Christmas legend that paints the manger scene as a building with guest rooms not unlike a hotel, and a heartless innkeeper that turned a young woman away about to give birth, is rather inaccurate. Digging down a bit, it is found that the Greek word used for "inn" here is not the same word used in other parts of the gospel. The word here, kataluma (inn) actually refers to a lodging place for a guest. It was guest room, if you will, such as one at a personal residence. It is the same word used for the room where the disciples ate the Passover meal, an upper level room. So at the residence where Joseph inquired, the guest room was already full probably due to travelers that arrived before them. They were likely directed to the homeowner's main room, the lower level floor where the animals stayed at night to feed, keep warm, and produce warmth for the owners and guests on the upper level while they slept. It was in a place like that that the baby Jesus was born, wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in the manger, the animals' feeding trough.

This paints a different picture than the hotel being full and the couple being sent out back by an insensitive innkeeper to a barn full of smelly animals. In fact, on examining this passage again, there is no reference to animals being present at all. Given the poor status Joseph and Mary held, not being from a line of wealth or notoriety, no special concessions were made. They were likely given what was left available, not necessarily turned away. This leads me back to a quote I penned in the margin of my Bible, "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus" (Neal A. Maxwell).

Father God, I pray that for the very first time this Christmas, many will come to understand who You are and why You came. May the realization that the Savior of the world was born penetrate hearts and change lives here and around the world today. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Expect Opposition

"Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." Luke 10:3

Those who dare to live their lives on mission for the sake of the gospel should "go" expecting opposition. There is so much work to be done. "The harvest is plentiful," God's Word says, "but the workers are few" (v. 2).

It would seem the vast majority of believers want the "easy button" and that's why there are so few workers. When God's work gets hard, feels uncomfortable, appears dangerous; when the opposition is great and naysayers seek to discourage, when situations come about that terrify, most shrink back. They revert to what they know, to what is comfortable, preferring their load to be easy and light and in their control. Instead of fearing God, they fear their  circumstances. That may mean living a lukewarm or safe-feeling life, pursuing the "American dream" or "keeping up with the Jones'" instead of getting their hands dirty for the sake of the gospel, or doing hard things for the cause of Christ.

Warfare is real. Just for the record, opposition can be expected. There is an unseen world out there that would scare us half to death if we could see it, but God... God is the Victor. If warfare were visible, we would also see how much interference the Lord runs on our behalf to protect us and prevent bad from becoming worse. Even warfare is used by God to bring about His divine plans. 

Nonetheless, warfare or not, God doesn't want us shrinking back from hard things. Over and over His Word tells us to take courage and not be afraid. Obviously that is our fleshly tendency which is why He said, "Do not fear" more than 365 times in the Bible. It's as though we need to be reminded daily.

As lambs, we are to do our best to remain peaceable and patient in a cruel and threatening world. We are called to be "lambs among wolves." As we set out to follow Christ we must go with resolve to do whatever He calls us to do, and we must go expecting opposition. The work of Christ always gets satan's tail feathers in a ruffle. If we just expect difficulty, trouble, persecution and the like, we won't be so surprised when it knocks on our door. If we anticipate it like we anticipate company, we can almost laugh and say when it arrives, "I was expecting you!" Then leaning into Christ, and with His help, we press on determined to make the best of it, all the while striving to focus more on the mission and less on the distraction. The fruit is worth the trouble!

Go out as lambs among wolves. Expect opposition.

Father God, following You is not always easy, but it is so worth it. I depend on You and ask that You undergird me with Your strength and Your peace, especially when things are hard. Help me to keep my mind on the mission, my heart focused on my calling, and my eyes fixed on You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

A Broken Heart

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17

Both David's broken spirit and broken heart are found pleasing in the sight of the Lord in this passage. As an onlooker, I see him pouring out his heart before God in repentance, truly sorry for the sin of adultery he commited with Bathsheba. Here, near the end of the Psalm, he is humbling himself and professing his willingness to do whatever might please the Lord as recompense for his sin. He knows that sacrifices and burnt offerings will not suffice. David comes to realize it is a heart broken over sin and his sincere remorse that God is looking for.

broken - adjective

     reduce to fragments; ruptured; torn; fractured; changing direction abruptly

contrite - adjective

     caused by showing sincere remorse; filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement

When pride is crushed and the spirit is broken, God often gets our full attention. His Word says in Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall." Our pride (which itself is sin) and the sin that ensues from it, breaks the Father's heart. It is when we fall and lay pride aside that we tend to look up at Him. 

Pride, just for the record, goes two ways. It means thinking too much, or too little, about one's self. We are prideful when we think we deserve ...x-y-z. We are also prideful when we think too little of ourselves to admit we have any needs. It is when either of those are crushed, and we truly lament over the sins our pride caused us to commit that Jesus is pleased with our heart's condition. He is pleased when our hearts are broken over sin. More than anything, He wants the result of our brokenness to be an abrupt change in direction, where we turn and follow Him. It is in that place of humility that God can mold and shape our lives to look more like His.

Thank You Jesus for the ways You've broken me, changed me, and made me more like You. Help me not to think too much or too little of myself and to find my confidence solely in You. Keep me far from sin and close to You, my Creator, my Father, my Friend. I love You and ask this in Jesus' name, amen.