Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 20

Thanking God for . . . . Everything

As Christians, we can’t take credit for anything. Everything about our lives is a gift. Are you a good steward of the life God has given you?

Stewarding Our Gifts from Will Davis Jr on Vimeo.

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The Beginning of Wisdom

 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is a greatly misunderstood concept. People read of fearing God and think that they are supposed to be afraid of him. And while the Bible does speak of a day when those men and women who oppose God will run in fear from him, that is not what the Hebrews meant by fearing God.

The Hebrew concept of fear included reverence and awe. It was healthy respect that led to humility. Jews so revered God that they would not even speak his name out loud. That is healthy fear.

Note that fearing God is connected to wisdom, or rather, the beginning of wisdom. In other words, all human learning and wisdom is futile if it is not set firmly in the awe of God. Without such appropriate fear, learning yields pride.

We have plenty of examples today of human wisdom that lacks the fear of God. Such “wisdom” exalts man and refuses to acknowledge God’s appropriate place in our lives…such human wisdom always leads to the decline of culture, never it’s advancement.

Today, you have the opportunity to seek the wisdom of God. You have the opportunity to have your mind broadened and expanded in all sorts of ways. Please know that such learning begins with an appropriate awe of God.

Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God. Acknowledge his power and authority in the heavens, on the earth and in your life, and then let him instruct you.

Father, give us a healthy respect for you. Teach us your ways. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

 

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Jesus the King

 

The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Psalm 110:1

Here is a bit of Bible trivia for you: This verse, Psalm 110:1, is the most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. As strange or difficult to understand as it may seem to us, the New Testament writers saw this verse as a critical part of their developing theology.

Let’s see if we can get our brains around it:

David, the King of Israel, is the writer. He says, “The Lord (God) says to my Lord (the Messiah, the future King of Israel, aka Jesus), sit at my right hand. . .”

In this amazing verse, David acknowledged that the coming Messiah (Jesus) was his Lord and that he would rule over all the enemies of God and Israel. That is why the New Testament writers quoted this verse so often. It declared that Jesus was anointed by God and that even the greatest king in Israel’s history (David) would call him Lord.

For us, it simply means that one thousand years before Jesus’ birth, David declared Jesus to be his Lord. Cool, huh?

Jesus is our King. He is your King today. As you deal with traffic and headlines and finances and carpools and conflict and work and everything else that goes into your day, remember that you are living in the light of a three thousand year old promise—Jesus is King, and nothing will ever change that. Yea God.

Lord God, thank you that Jesus is the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

 

 

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Great Music, Great Girl

 

Hey friends, meet Sarah Hurst.

Sarah (@theSarahHurst) is a worship leader in our church, and an amazingly gifted song-writer and musician.

I’d like to recommend Sarah’s new EP, Safety Risk. If you’re looking for some love songs that cover the gambit of the emotional spectrum, this EP has them. One song will have you wanting to grab your lover and dance across the floor, another will have you down on your knees begging Sarah to stop singing, just because of the sheer depth of emotion she’s communicating.

This is good stuff.

Here’s also a link to Sarah’s version of What Child is This? that will have you raising your hands in worship.

I certainly enjoy promoting young musicians, pastors, writers and worship leaders. Sarah Hurst is one you need to keep you eyes on.

 

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Prepare Your Mind

 

Therefore, prepare your minds for action . . . 1 Peter 1:13

Because of the Gospel, because of the Kingdom and because of the coming persecution, Peter told his readers to get ready. Specifically, to get their minds ready.

Isn’t that interesting? Prepare your minds . . .

We don’t usually think about mind prep when it comes to getting ready for tests and battles. We work our bodies and increase our stamina and make sure we are fit and ready to go.

But the preparation Peter was referring to had nothing to do with physical preparation. It was not about abs or gluts or biceps or quads. It was not about bank accounts or portfolios.

It was about mental preparation. In the words of Peter’s friend and contemporary, Paul, it was about renewing your mind and taking every thought captive.

Why? Because the gateway to the spirit is through the soul, not the body. In other words, if you want to strengthen you spirit, you have to do so through your mind.

We never engage spiritual realities with our bodies. We can only engage them with our intellects (our souls) and our spirits. Thus Peter’s command: Get your mind ready. You’re going to need to be in great shape for this next season.

That makes disciplines like worship, prayer, Bible reading and meditation very important for believers. If our spirits are to be strengthened, then we have got to feed them well.

Today you have a great opportunity to prepare your mind. Will you do it? Spend time with God today. Love him, worship him, listen to him, wait on him. Your spirit needs it.

You don’t want to be caught unprepared when things heat up.

 Holy Father, teach us to prepare our minds for what we face every day in your Kingdom,

I n Jesus name . . .

 

 

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Dads, Are You Teaching Your Sons?

 

I ran into a church member last week who I hadn’t seen in a while. The last time we saw each other was about a year ago at a restaurant. It was 7 AM and he was waiting for his high-school-aged son to meet him for breakfast.

That’s a tough hour for any teen, so I asked about the purpose of the meeting.

He told me his son had agreed to start meeting weekly with him for discipleship, and that day was their first meeting. The dad was very curious about how it would go.

So fast-forward to last week. The man told me he is still meeting with his son. They’ve been meeting pretty much every week since I saw him last.

Currently, they’re studying John’s Gospel together. The boy had admitted to his father that he was uncomfortable talking to his peers about Jesus. So, the dad is teaching him about sharing the Gospel from John. And, the kid loves it.

I walked away from that conversation both humbled and impressed. I thought about all the things I taught my son over the years—how to treat a lady, how to throw a football, how to climb a mountain, how to load and shoot a gun, how to change a tire, how to balance a checkbook, etc., etc.

But I’m almost positive I never gave him any lessons on sharing his faith. That hurts.

So dads, what are you teaching your sons? Are you teaching them how to obey the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)? I know I taught my son that he needed to obey it, I’m just not sure I told him how.

Brothers, remember that Christianity is only one generation away from extinction. It is incumbent on us to make sure that out faith gets passed on.

So why not schedule a breakfast with your kid? See what he’s thinking and feeling. Find out what he’s struggling with? Ask him how you can help him develop his faith. Just be with him and see where God takes it.

You’ll both be better for it.

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The Fruit of Faith

 

. . . obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:9

Some people shame themselves for not having enough faith. They hear Jesus talk about mustard seed faith and how it moves mountains, and instead of being encouraged, they feel beat up.

Many of us do not see mountains moving in our lives and thus conclude that our faith is less than even the tiny mustard seed faith that Jesus described. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In this verse, Peter puts things into perspective for us: Faith yields salvation. You cannot be saved if you do not believe 1) that Jesus is real, and 2) that he will save you if you seek him. That is no small thing.

Regarding mountain moving, the most demanding thing we could ever ask God for is salvation. That is the greatest work God can do. Why? Because it cost him his son. Everything else we can ask God for is in the “just say the word” category for God. Healing the sick, meeting financial needs, removing wicked world leaders…it is all everyday stuff for God.

But saving a captive soul? Regenerating a dead spirit? That is his greatest and most costly work. It is the work that cost Jesus his life.

And, it is the work he did in response to your prayer of faith.

Don’t ever let the Enemy tell you that you don’t have faith. If you didn’t have faith…mountain-moving faith…you wouldn’t be saved.

So, walk today as the person of faith that you are.

Thank you Jesus, for equipping us with the faith to be saved, AND to move mountains. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

 

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What is Faith?

 

And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. 1 Peter 1:8

 The writer of Hebrews called faith the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, (Heb. 11:1). Here, Peter develops that definition a bit further.

Loving what you cannot see. We cannot see Jesus. We feel him, we hear his voice, and we see the fruit of his work. But we cannot see him. Yet we still love him. We still worship him.

That is faith. Faith is not loving what you can see; it is loving what you cannot see.

Trusting what you cannot see. Belief, to Peter, is not just the faith acknowledgment that something exists; it is trusting in it. It is depending on it. Belief is commitment.

It takes faith to follow and obey someone you have never seen, and yet that is exactly what Christianity calls us to do. We will see Jesus eventually, but for now we follow him without seeing him. That is faith.

Rejoicing in what we cannot see. This is the ultimate faith expression. It is joy in the unseen. Anyone can take joy in the visible—a playful six-year-old, a gorgeous day, and quiet mountain stream. But it is something else altogether to rejoice in unseen realities.

That is faith-based joy, and it is one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Are you a person of faith? Ask God to help you love, trust in and celebrate that which you cannot see. You will find that doing so will completely change how you see the world you live in.

Oh God, deepen our faith. Give us great joy in the unseen things. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

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Our Living Hope

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

1 Peter 1:3

Hope is a relative thing. It can be well founded and based on something strong and sure, or it can be as flimsy as its even flimsier foundation.

Hope, in other words, is only as good its basis.

That is why this verse is so important. Peter writes to a people that are enduring severe persecution. He wants to encourage them and remind them that their suffering is not in vain…so he talks about hope.

He calls it a living hope. The hope that Peter knew and wanted his readers to know was not static or dead or based on myth or fairytale. The hope of the Christian, according to Peter, is based on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Peter was an eyewitness to the resurrection of Jesus. He had been with the Savior multiple times after his resurrection. Here in this text, decades later and in the face of real persecution, Peter’s hope is as strong as ever.

It seems the reality of a resurrected Jesus makes the sufferings of this world seem trivial, or at least worth it.

What are you facing today? Where is your hope? The basis for the hope of every believer is the unshakable truth that Jesus rose from the dead. That reality changes the game for us entirely.

 Holy God, thank you for the resurrection of your Son Jesus, which gives us a living hope.

In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

 

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Hey Ministry Leaders–Do you have Safe Friends?

Last night I went to happy hour (yes, happy hour) with three fellow ministers. One’s a Christian counselor and the other two are pastors. We try to meet twice a month.

For nearly two hours we ate buffalo wings and calamari, shared some of Austin’s best local brew, and laughed till our sides hurt. We typically ask for a table in back, not just because of the sensitive topics that might come up, but because we tend to get so rowdy that we don’t want to offend the other patrons.

I promise you, our volume and raucous behavior has nothing to do with the alcohol, as very little is consumed. Rather, it has to do with the serious nature of jobs and our need to vent accordingly.

To read more. CLICK HERE

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