Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 22

Who is the Greatest?

 

****Tune in tomorrow for an exciting announcement about a new resource from Will and Susie Davis!!!!! It’s free and we promise it will be very practical and helpful, especially for those in their 20s and 30s.*****

An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.  But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side . . . Luke 9:46-47

Have you ever noticed that little children rarely make those Top Ten Greatest People lists we are so fond of? And yet, in Jesus’ economy, kids are by far the Kingdoms’ most valuable citizens.

This is one of at least two occasions we know of where the disciples got in an argument over which of them was the greatest. The second was the last night of Jesus’ life.

Even Jesus’ closest allies struggled with posturing, politics and the desire to be closest to the throne that they thought Jesus would have. But Jesus made quick work of their posturing.

Enter the little child. Jesus grabbed the nearest elementary age kid and had the disciples look at her. Then he basically said, “If you want to understand true greatness, then be like her.”

The greatest people in God’s Kingdom have all the sophistication a seven-year-old. They are simple, highly trusting, naïve, fun-loving, resilient, quick to forgive and even quicker to love. They would greatly resemble that group of kids in a race who refused to cross the finish line until they could all cross together.

That is what Kingdom greatness looks like. It never focuses on self. It is always consumed with others.

So if you were a character in this story in Luke, would you be one of the squabbling disciples or would you be the little child? Think about it.

Father, give us the gift of true Kingdom greatness. Make us like little children. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Who is the Greatest? appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Looking for Soft Soil

But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ Luke 10:10-11

We make reaching people for Jesus much too difficult. We tend to go after the really hard cases—the atheists and agnostics and those who want nothing to do with God. They are fun to try to reach, and I have spent more than my share of years trying to win over some of the most hardened cases…but is that really a good strategy? Even more important, is it God’s strategy?

Don’t get me wrong, God loves them and wants them to be saved. But when giving marching orders to his disciples, Jesus told them not to spend time on hard soil. In other words, if people reject or mock you and the Gospel you share, move on.

Sound harsh? It’s not. Actually it is very strategic.

Jesus had already told his disciples that the harvest was plentiful. He made it clear that there were receptive hearts to his message just waiting to be told how to be saved. So if the disciples entered a village and were immediately rejected, they were to not waste any more time there.

God promises that he will work on the hard soil of those who reject his message. And history is filled with great stories of those atheists and agnostics who found God despite their hardened soil. It is filled with the stories of God’s use of brave missionaries who obeyed his call and went to people groups who had no awareness of Jesus and his message. Some worked years before seeing a single convert. Others gave their lives in the effort. If you have that calling, you need to obey it.

But many of you do not. You are called to work the soft soil. Jesus made it clear: Yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.

Today, why not seek out the soft soil and work where the Kingdom is evident. It’s out there. It’s the addict who is fed up with his addicted life. It’s the wealthy business guy who can’t believe that “this is all there is to life.” It’s the woman who just lost her marriage due to an affair and is at rock bottom. She is looking for real answers…and hope.

That is soft soil, and it’s all around you.

Lord God, help us to work where your Spirit is moving and invest in those with soft soil around us. In Jesus’ name . . . .

 

The post Looking for Soft Soil appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Boundaries

Do you embrace or push against God’s boundaries? They’re there for our protection.

Boundaries from Will Davis Jr on Vimeo.

The post Boundaries appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

The Shortage

And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Luke 10:2

I need this verse to help me keep things in perspective. Before I go off griping about how bad things are and complaining about all those “sinners” out there, I need this verse to set me straight.

Basically, Jesus says that the problem is with a shortage of people willing to spread his Gospel. The problem is not that people have heard Jesus’ message and rejected it, but rather that those of us who know it are not communicating it sufficiently.

If we take Jesus’ metaphor to heart, there are billions of people around the globe who would be receptive to hearing and receiving his message of forgiveness and grace. And they, like ripened fruit on a vine, are simply waiting for someone to come and “pluck” them.

Jesus didn’t tell us to pray for the harvest, because the shortage is not there. He told us to pray for laborers. It’s very much as if Jesus created a start-up company and the demand for his product has greatly outmatched his employees’ ability to respond. What a great problem to have!

What does this mean to you and me? It means that today we will quite likely pass by someone who is very open to hearing Christ’s message. Our culture’s overall climate of hostility toward Jesus and His followers must not intimidate us. The ripe souls are still out there.

Think about this today. Be the laborer that Jesus told us to pray for.

Father, make us the laborers You prayed for. Make us alert to the harvest around us and obedient to Your call to set them free. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

The post The Shortage appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Five Mistakes Most Christians Make

This week I celebrate thirty-five years as a minister of the Gospel…thirty-two of those as a pastor. I have obviously seen and learned a lot during those years, and I have witnessed some pretty clear patterns of behavior in Christians.

Today I thought I would share some of the common mistakes I have seen Christians make over the decades. I pray you can learn from the experiences of others and apply these lessons to your own lives.

Mistake #1—They Delay Baptism. This is a trend I have witnessed more in the last 15-20 years at Austin Christian Fellowship. While we have seen hundreds and hundreds of adults embrace Jesus, we have also noticed a significantly smaller number of them follow up that decision with baptism.

I have found two common myths about baptism among our people: One is that they have to have it all together before they get baptized, the other is that their baptism as an infant is enough. Neither is true.

I plan to write about this more in the future, but suffice it to say that baptism is a sign that you do not have it all together—thus your need for the Savior. Beyond that, your infant baptism was for your parents, not you. You need to update your baptism to reflect your decision, not your parents’ decision.

Beyond that, God honors obedience…and baptism is an act of obedience. You can do the math.

Mistake #2—They Have Irregular or Nonexistent Quiet Times. This is a major cause of the struggling and powerless lives so many Christians live today, and it is one that is easily fixed. Bottom line: it is impossible to grow as a believer without regular times of Bible study and prayer.

Many of us are more committed to our personal training or watching our favorite television shows than we are meeting with Jesus…and our lives reflect it.

If you are serious about walking with Jesus, then regular times of sitting at his feet and listening to his Word (see Luke 10:38ff) have to trump everything else.

Mistake #3—They Do Not Tithe. This is a real head-scratcher for me. The data is in and the testimonies of those who give are too many to number. Bottom line: God honors giving. And yet, the typical American Christian gives away only 1% of his or her income.

Tithing (giving the first 10th of your earnings to your church) is a spiritual discipline that is accompanied with multiple promises in the Bible. It is also the only discipline that God dares us to test Him in. He basically says, “Hey, try this and see if I won’t just blow you away with blessing.”

I have been tithing since I was a kid. Now, Susie and I tithe to ACF and give beyond our tithe to other ministries. It is part of our financial strategy. And it works. We have always had enough, actually more than enough.

Too many Christians do not know freedom in their financial worlds. The reason? They don’t tithe. However, just like the rest of these common mistakes, it is something they can fix today.

Mistake #4—They Live in Isolation. Many Christians stall out in their Christian lives because they don’t get the full benefit of being part of the overall Body of Christ. They don’t let believers with differing spiritual gifts speak into their lives. They don’t have any accountability. They don’t have anyone watching their backs.

And like a burning log that is taken out of the fire, their flame eventually goes out.

Christians need community. We need intimate, authentic and accountable relationships. It’s like competing in a triathlon, climbing Everest or riding in the Tour de France—each is impossible without a good support system. And consistently living the Christian life is harder than a triathlon, climbing Everest or riding in the Tour.

Living in Christian community is not optional in the Bible, and yet many believers are flailing in their respective Christian walks because they are living in spiritual isolation.

Mistake #5—They Church-Hop. This one really breaks my heart. I saved it for last in case I break out in a rant about it.

My pastor friends and I frequently lament this ever-growing trend. It is sheep choosing shepherds and alternating pastures. Some sheep even decide not to connect with a shepherd or stay in a pasture at all.

It is the simple habit of church-hopping, and it undermines the stability and ministry effectiveness of many a church’s ministry. It also keeps church-goers at a comfortable and even stagnant level in their maturity.

People leave and change churches for all types of reasons, few of which have anything to do with the call or assignment of God. In the last decade, we have seen the largest exodus from our church when we, as leaders, have made changes or decisions that asked more of our members. In other words, when we have called out sin and called for repentance, when we have tweaked or done away with ministries we have deemed ineffective, or when we have basically taken steps to nudge our people off the pews and into greater levels of maturity, some or even many of our people have chosen to leave. We have even seen people make a change when a nearby church gets a new pastor or builds a climbing wall or gets a flashy new building.

As a pastor, I have been on the giving and on the receiving end of this pattern, and neither has benefitted ACF or the greater church at large. I have found that if people join or leave our church for frivolous reasons, they will repeat the pattern in the future. It is just a matter of time.

The result is a Body of Christ in a city that is underfed and undisciplined. It results in Christians who are allowed to continue in their sin because they just change churches (or quit going all together) when a small group leader, a pastor or a group of elders calls them out. It results in warped “church growth” numbers, as leaders in churches are basically counting the migration patterns of believers and not the amount of unbelievers who have been miraculously brought into the fold.

It makes the church about the flashy and the trendy and the material and the convenient and the culturally cool, and not about discipleship and evangelism. No wonder our churches and nation are in trouble.

(Sorry, I warned you I might rant a bit.)

Find a church that God has called you to, commit to it, and take leaving it off the table. (Yep, it’s kind of like a marriage.)

So, are you making any of these mistakes? The good news is that you can address the common areas of spiritually poor judgment today. Will you?

 

 

 

 

 

The post Five Mistakes Most Christians Make appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

How to Approach God

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. Psalm 100:4

“Please Sir, I want some more.”

So said the young orphan Oliver to the harsh housemaster in the Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist. And if you remember the scene, young Oliver’s request was soundly rejected.

I am afraid that we often approach God the same way. And while God is nothing like the harsh housemaster in the novel, it would serve us well to approach Him with more than just our hands out asking for more.

You are not a beggarly orphan. You are not a fatherless child. You are rather the child of the richest, most benevolent king in world. You are royalty. And when you approach your father with your needs—something he wants you to do—you can afford to lead with your voice of gratitude.

I have found that beginning my prayers with thanksgiving really takes the pressure off of my needs list. By the time I am finished thanking God for all he has done for me, my needs list doesn’t seem quite so pressing. I still pray it, but perhaps with a bit less urgency. After entering His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, why would I ever doubt that He would not have my back going forward?

Have you prayed today? Why not take the counsel of this great verse to heart. Before you get to your needs, bombard heaven with your gratitude and praises. Thank God for what He has done—be specific—and then praise Him for who He is.

My guess is that you will find that it changes how you pray.

Holy Father, teach us to approach You with gratitude and worship. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

The post How to Approach God appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

The God of Life

Have you thought lately about life’s origins? It’s not unscientific to associate God with life.

The post The God of Life appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

The Prayers of One Person

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.  Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:16-18

Prayers matter…specifically, your prayers matter. You do not have to be some spiritual giant to move Heaven with your prayers. Pray, believe, and then watch God work.

The point of James’ teaching is not that Elijah was a super-human pray-er. His point is rather that Elijah was just like us. And if a man with the same nature as you and I can shut up the heavens with his prayers, then we can too.

Sure Elijah had great faith, but that is something that you and I can grow into. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of Christ.

I wonder if you would be willing to take this verse to heart today and raise the level of your praying. I mean really raise it. Raise the frequency, the intensity and the expectation.

I can promise you that the limits you feel in your prayers are not on God’s end. He is ready to move Heaven and earth in answer to your prayers. If there is a holdup in your prayers, it is on your end.

Let’s end that today. Right now.

No more feeble praying. No more drive-by prayers. No more safe and no-faith-required praying.

Let Elijah, a man just like you, be your example in prayer. What do you have to lose? Pray.

Lord God, help us to pray with the fury and faith of Elijah. In Jesus’ name . . .

The post The Prayers of One Person appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

What is Faith?

 

There is a difference between blind faith and stepping out in faith. Do you know the difference?

 

CLICK HERE to watch the full message.

 

The post What is Faith? appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Call On Your Elders

 

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. James 5:14

God provided a way for the sick and needy in his church to receive the best care possible—prayer. This verse places a high premium on the effective praying of godly men and women over those who are in need.

The oil simply represents the presence of God—the Holy Spirit. The laying on of hands includes Jesus’ teaching about the power of agreeing prayer (See Matt 18:19). And if you read on in James, you see that great promises are attached to such power praying.

There is a very important detail in this verse that many of us miss, however. James clearly places the responsibility on the person in need to raise his or her hand and ask the elders for prayer. He must call for the elders of the church. It seems that James knew the congregations were just too large in number for the elders to know of all the needs. So he commanded his readers: If you are sick, call your elders.

I wonder how the landscape of the church might look different today if we did exactly what this verse teaches. I can personally speak to the countless answered prayers that we, as elders, have seen as we have prayed over the sick and needy in our church. But those we actually get to witness are few in number.

People simply don’t ask. They are shy, embarrassed, afraid, or maybe they simply are not aware of this teaching. But regardless, they are missing out.

What about you? What needs—physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, relational—are you struggling with? Why not send an email to your pastor or an elder in your church and ask him to call the team together and to pray over you. It is your responsibility. It is worth it. And, it will change you.

Holy Father, help us to take seriously and to act on your promises about the power of prayer. In Jesus’ name . . .

The post Call On Your Elders appeared first on Will Davis Jr.