Solomon opens the third chapter of Proverbs with these words, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart.” Then he goes on to list the blessings that come from doing things God’s ways. Here they are—
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
The Purpose Of Prayer
The purpose of prayer is the maintenance of fitness in an ideal relationship with God amid conditions which ought not to be merely ideal but really actual….
So in the better and new way of breathing spiritually in prayer, we shall be conscious of forming the habit, but it will soon pass into normal spiritual health, and it must never be worshipped as a conscious process.
From Christian Disciplines
Chambers is saying that prayer ought to be as natural to us as breathing. In order to get to this place, we must develop the habit of prayer, which mean disciplining ourselves to return to prayer when we might normally revert to another natural response.
But in forming the habit of prayer, we must not become like the Pharisees who worshipped their spiritual activities. They thought they were spiritual because of what they did, so they kept track of all they were doing, and they pointed to how many times each day and each week they had prayed. In essence, they worshipped prayer more than they worshipped the God they were supposed to be addressing in prayer.
The habit of prayer does take discipline (as the title of this Oswald Chambers book suggests), but it leads us to a life fully engaged in God’s presence. It’s a habit that is well worth the disciplined effort!
Jesus takes the church of Thyatira to task because they are tolerating someone with a Jezebel spirit to remain in a position of leadership and influence (Revelation 2:18-29). This is still a message to the church today!
However, for some reason Christians have made “confrontation” a dirty word. We don’t confront people in error, especially those who are in leadership positions within their church. Perhaps equally as wrong: when we do confront, we do it in a way that is destructive.
The goal of confrontation is restoration, not destruction!
In Revelation 2, Jesus gives us five steps toward healthy, biblical, God-honoring confrontation:
Don’t tolerate a Jezebel spirit by remaining silent (v. 20). Instead we need to follow the principles in Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 Timothy 5:19.
Allow the one whom you’ve confronted time to repent (v. 21a).
If they don’t repent, don’t rescue them from God-inflicted punishment (vv. 21b-23).
Run away from secrets (v. 24). If something more than Scripture is required by the Jezebel leader, reject it.
Don’t run away from the situation, but hold on to Jesus until Jesus returns (vv. 25-28).
Not one human is infallible, but Jezebel not only claims infallibility, but also demands blind allegiance to her teachings. But it is just as wrong to tolerate Jezebel as it is to confront her unbiblically; Jesus opposed both.
One way for us to always avoid these two extremes: Try to out-serve one another, just as Jesus directed us—
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)
If you are near Cedar Springs next Sunday, please join me as we continue our series on The 7-Star Church.
“Never has a teacher taken such trouble with his scholars as Jesus Christ will with those who preach His Word. He will spare no pain; no time will be too limited or too long for Him. In the love that took Him to the Cross, He wants to fellowship and converse with us, fashion us, sanctify us, and make us fit for His holy service. Will we not commit ourselves entirely to the love that gave up all for us and look upon it as our greatest joy to have daily fellowship with Him? All you who long for blessing in your ministry, He calls you to abide in Him. Let it be the greatest delight of your life to spend time with God; it will be the surest preparation for fruitful service.” —Andrew Murray
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This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Unchecked Imaginations
The day we live in is a day of wild imaginations everywhere, unchecked imaginations in music, in literature, and, worst of all, in the interpretation of Scripture. People are going off on wild speculations, they get hold of one line and run clean off at a tangent and try to explain everything on that line, then they go off on another line: none of it is in accordance with the Spirit of God.
We must be so cautious about not reading into Scripture what we want it to say. In other words, we cannot say, “This is what I believe to be true, now let me find a verse or two that will support that belief.” Instead, we must let the living Word of God speak. As the prophet Samuel approached God, so must we with the humble attitude, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).
Make sure you don’t interpret Scripture through your feelings, or through the commentary of another human; rather let Scripture be its own commentary on other Scripture, and let the Spirit guide you. I love this insight from the habits of the Berean Christians—
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11)
Watch your imagination. Don’t get caught up in others’ ideas of what God said. Read the Scriptures—or better yet, let the Scriptures read you—with the help of the Holy Spirit.
John Wesley said that harsh words spoken to us actually provide a helpful balance:
“Who could bear honor and good report, were it not balanced by dishonor?”
In other words, if the only things said to you are words of praise, it’s awfully hard to keep from getting a big head! So when the painful words come, it is important to evaluate them, but also recognize that they might be just the medicine you need to reduce ego swelling.
As a parent (and a pastor), delivering correction is one of my least favorite things to do. But it must be done.
The apostle Paul seemed to feel the same way. We get some insight into his heart in his letter to the Corinthians, where he reminds them of why he had to write such a stern letter of correction.
For I wrote to you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. (2 Corinthians 2:4)
The loving shepherd’s heart longs for the advancement, the betterment, of all the sheep under his care. He is hurt when his sheep are wounded. His approach to discipline is always gentle; not weak, but strength lovingly applied.
The loving shepherd looks at his own life first, before correcting the sheep, to address anything he may have done or failed to do which caused the sheep to stray.
The loving shepherd knows that discipline may be painful for a moment, but it is to bring greater life. Just as a parent will allow a child to suffer the momentary pain of an immunization injection, to spare that child the unbearable pain of a disease later on.
And the loving shepherd always approaches a time of correction with “confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy” (v. 3). The shepherd doesn’t view them as “dumb sheep” that cannot improve; rather, he is confident and assured that they will receive loving correction and make the change that leads to joy for all.
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Examination
Sin destroys the power of the soul to know its sin, punishment brings awakening, self-examination brings chastisement and saves the soul from sleeping sickness, and brings it into a healthy satisfaction.
There’s so much to unpack in this single sentence…
We are very good at self-medicating away any pain (even spiritual pain), so that we never address the source of the pain (Ephesians 4:18).
I can be “sin sick” and not even know it because I’m not allowing the Holy Spirit to examine me (1 Corinthians 10:12).
The pain of punishment and chastisement is for my eternal benefit (Hebrews 12:5-11).
What do I need to do? Invite the examination of the Spirit:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24)
So let a person examine himself first, and then he may eat of the bread and drink from the cup; for a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. This is why many among you are weak and sick, and some have died! If we would examine ourselves, we would not come under judgment. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined, so that we will not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:28-32)
King David was brilliant as a king, and a disaster as a father. One of the things that is very telling is what is not written when his kids mess up. The Bible tells us that David felt strong emotions, but he simply didn’t act on them. In fact, one of the most telling verses of inaction comes when his son Adonijah is trying to put himself on David’s throne—
His father had never interfered with him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” (1 Kings 1:6)
It takes courage to interfere with our kids when they are misbehaving.
So why don’t some dads interfere? I can think of a few reasons…
They didn’t have a good relationship with their own father. In David’s case, his father Jesse didn’t think too highly of David. In fact, David was the overlooked, almost-forgotten son (1 Samuel 16:8-11).
They’re too tired. David was so focused on building up Israel’s defenses, and defeating the bad guys, that he had nothing left emotionally and physically to interact with his kids. We need to make it our priority!John wrote: I have no greater joy than knowing my children all walk in the truth (3 John 4). Now that’s a great priority!
Their past sins haunt them. David sinned against Bathsheba (like Amnon did against Tamar); David murdered Uriah (like Adonijah did Amnon). So perhaps he felt like he didn’t have the moral authority to interfere with his sons. But if you read some of the wise sayings in Proverbs 6:20-29 and 7:1-5, they sound like a man who has had experience. Let your hindsight (good or bad) be your kids’ foresight.
They think it’s too late. It’s never too late! Never! Apparently, David learned this lesson in time and taught his son Solomon (read Proverbs 1:1 and 4:3-4). As long as there is breath in your lungs, you should be your kids’ dad!
Dads, will you be courageous enough to lovingly interfere with your kids if they are getting off track?
Will you be courageous enough to make some changes in your schedule so that you can invest the time and energy and creativity necessary to raise them up?
Will you be courageous enough to confess your past sins, and not let them hold you back from speaking into your kids’ lives?
Will you be courageous enough to start today?
Dad, you kids need you to be involved! Be courageous enough to step into their lives.
Jesus never hesitated to speak the truth. After one such time, a sad verse appears: From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. (John 6:66)
The words of Jesus are so countercultural, so counterintuitive, that they might be shocking to our human ears. We get used to thinking along certain lines, and then Jesus says, “That’s not the way. I AM the only way.”
Why do these statements ruffle us so much? I think they remind us that He is Lord, and there is no other. We like to think that we have options … we think, “Surely He means this” … we convince ourselves that there is some wiggle room. But we are wrong.
Jesus says: I AM. His way is the only way.
Some people turn back when they hear this. That’s to say, they don’t deny Jesus is Savior, but they no longer want to do the hard work of being His disciple. “Turn back” means to separate; it’s the opposite of coming alongside or following Jesus.
“No longer followed” in this verse is translated “walked no more” in the King James Version. They stood still. If we choose to stand still or to turn back, we miss out. Those who turned back missed out on the miracles, on the personal conversations, on the deeper intimacy with Jesus.
Those who turn back say believing in Jesus is enough, but they think discipleship is just too hard. Can they still have salvation that leads to eternal life? Yes, but it becomes harder and harder because they want to try to pursue it on their own.
I’d rather keep on walking, keep on learning, keep on maturing, keep on following.
Solomon opens the third chapter of Proverbs with these words, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart.” Then he goes on to list the blessings that come from doing things God’s ways. Here they are—
Craig T. Owens 