Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 23

The Top Three Lessons I Learned in 2014

 

Well, it’s a new year and a time we all tend to do some reflecting. What went right in the last year and what went wrong? Where were we successful and where did we fail? What would we do differently if given the chance?

And, what lessons did we learn?

In the spirit of a little self-disclosure and with the hopes of encouraging you, here are the top lessons I learned last year.

1. Rest matters.

If you have been following my blog a while or if you attend Austin Christian Fellowship, then you know that I hit a major wall back in August and took a three month leave of absence from my job.

Bottom line? I was really, really tired and battling depression.

Watch Susie’s and my message about my depression here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read my previous blog about it here.

Looking back now, I realize that I hadn’t managed my life well. I had ignored the little hints my body kept giving me and, more importantly, I had ignored God’s commands on the subjects of rest and Sabbath.

Today I’m healthier and much better, but as I step back into my roles I have to work very hard to stay balanced. I’m sure it will be an ongoing learning process.

Lesson for you? Rest matters. Rest isn’t a sin, it’s a command.

 

2. Truth sets free.

Part of my inner struggle before I collapsed in August was with much pent-up frustration. I’m a classic people pleaser and am often guilty of stuffing my feelings or not being completely honest in the name of unity, good leadership or just the need to be liked.

Bottom line? Those stuffed feelings and frustrations rebelled. I ended up being a grumpy guy carrying a lot of old news/hurts/concerns around with me.

 

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,

that is, Christ, Ephesians 4:15

 

So part of what I processed while I was out dealt with why I wasn’t being fully honest and how to start, albeit tactfully. I’m getting better at it. I’ve had several occasions already to lean into how I was feeling and speak the full truth in love. Yes, it’s created some short-term chaos, but I can tell that’s it’s serving me and those around me much better.

Lesson for you? Speak the full truth, and speak it in love.

 

3. God answers prayer.

This one obviously isn’t new. But I got some powerful reminders of it in 2014.

The first was my daughter’s wedding. Emily Davis married Kenton Boone on October 26, 2014.

Susie and I have been praying for Emily’s husband since she was born. She’s a few months older then Kenton, which means we’ve been praying for him all of his life.

God answered our prayers—not just for Emily to get married, but for her to marry a mighty man of God. Kenton loves Jesus and is everything we’ve asked God for. And, Emily’s giddy. She’s having a really hard time not levitating everywhere she goes.

God answered that prayer in a huge way.

I feel so strongly about praying for your kids (and their spouses) that I write an entire book about it.  Click here to check it out.

Two other huge answers to prayer have to do with the church I lead, Austin Christian Fellowship.

One of our elders has been praying for many years that someone would gift $1 million to our church. This year that happened, it it obviously made a major difference for our church. It also increased the amount of money our church gets to give away.

And that leads to the final major answer to prayer.

Way back in 2003 our elders felt led to become a 50% giving church. Simply put, we felt called to move towards giving half of our receipts away. At the time, we were only giving 1% away and were sitting on a $3 dollar debt.

Fast forward to today. Our church is debt free, we built a youth building and paid cash for it, we’ve planted three new congregations with two more in queue for 2015, and last year we gave away over $3 million, 45% of our receipts.

And January 1, 2015 we started giving away at the 50% level. Yea God. Only God can do that. We’ve prayed for twelve years for God to make us a giving church, and he’s answered our prayers in miraculous fashion.

Lesson for you? God answers prayer. Never, ever, ever stop praying.

So, do you care to weigh in? Can you list some of your top lessons from 2014?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post The Top Three Lessons I Learned in 2014 appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

The Original John 3:16

 

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Do you know John 3:16? If you grew up in church, my guess is that you do. John 3:16 is popular because it is a beautiful summary statement of the New Testament message.

Now I would like to introduce you to the John 3:16 of the Old Testament…Micah 6:8.

Micah 6:8 is a beautiful summary of the message that dominates the first 39 books of the Bible. And even though it is part of the Old Covenant teachings, it is still very relevant for our lives today.

What does God requires of us–his people?

Do Justice. The biblical concept of justice, especially in Micah’s day, focused primarily on the righting of wrongs for others and defending the voiceless and the oppressed. To do justice is to pursue right for those around you, not yourself.

Love Kindness. The Old Testament idea of kindness is closely tied to the New Testament’s concept of mercy. To love kindness is to love withholding judgment and wrath from others. Kindness and justice are closely related, as both involve doing for others what they cannot do for themselves.

Walk Humbly with God. Finally, God requires us to walk humbly before him. Humility is another major theme of the Old Testament, and God simply will not tolerate arrogance…even from those who know Him.

Now remember, this verse represents one of the best summaries of what God expected of his people pre-Christ. And even though we are now under the New Covenant, these expectations haven’t changed.

So today, why not work on these three areas of your life? Right a wrong for someone. Be a voice for someone who doesn’t have one. Practice kindness. Do for someone what he cannot do for himself. And finally, walk in humility before God. Acknowledge your constant dependence on Him. Confess your sins to Him. Worship Him.

Oh God, help us today to do justice, to practice kindness and to walk humbly before You. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post The Original John 3:16 appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Do You Walk Away from Jesus?

Here’s a really great post from my friend, Chelsea Landis:

I Walk Away from Jesus

I flew back to Austin last night after spending time at home with my family.  It had been a really long time since I have been home.  I realized something this visit that I’ve never really thought about in depth before.  Home didn’t change at all since I left last year.  And then I thought…

Home should never change.

My home never has.  As early as I can remember, my home has been my home.  My family is a part of that.  It’s not so much about the four walls as it is the life that is created in your heart from it.

Last year when I walked out the door, it is as if the clock stopped and didn’t start moving forward again until I walked back in the door this year.  That’s how it felt anyway. Everything about it felt the same. And it’s got me thinking…

I think Jesus is a lot like home.

Click here to read the rest. 

The post Do You Walk Away from Jesus? appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!!

Friends, I pray you have a great HOLY Day season. I’ll resume posting after the first of the year. Blessings, Will

The post Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!! appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

From David in South Africa

Dear Will,

I thought I knew how to pray, that is, until two days ago. I walked into a christian book store in my country (South Africa),  and  the Spirit led me straight to your book “The power of praying boldly” It has drastically changed my mindset about my prayer life and drastically changed the way I pray. Following the godly advice in your book I now am certain every one of my prayers reach the heart of God in heaven. Thank you! And warm regards from South Africa.

David.

Have you read it yet? Maybe it’s time.

Click the image for the paperback version or here for the gift version.

The post From David in South Africa appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Rest Requires Diligence

Would you use the word diligent to describe your pursuit of God? There’s diligent and there’s distracted. You’ll never find rest of you’re distracted.

To watch the full message, Click Here.

The post Rest Requires Diligence appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Going Up?

 

When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem, Luke 9:51

This hit me like a ton of bricks recently. I was reading in Luke 9 as part of my devotions, and I saw Luke’s wording here as if for the first time. It rocked my world.

Luke was describing Jesus’ approach to Jerusalem. Jesus knew that Jerusalem was the end of the road for him – at least for his earthly ministry. He knew that he would die brutally and then, after three days, be resurrected.

Luke wrote his account of Jesus’ final months several decades after the fact, so he has much more of a long-term perspective. Did you see how he described Jesus’ approaching season—the days were approaching for “his ascension.”

Luke, reflecting back on the life and ministry of Jesus, didn’t see the end of the story as Jesus’ resurrection; he saw it as his ascension into Heaven. That’s a biblical fact and a major component of the story that many of us overlook. Ultimately Jesus’ life on earth ended with his ascension into Heaven.

And so will yours and mine.

Death is never the end of the story for a Christian. Behind the physical veil of an earthly death is a spiritual ascension. Behind the bodily failure is a spiritual victory. Behind the final moments of pain is the beginning of an eternity of unspeakable joy.

Your death—your date with your Jerusalem—does not end when your body is laid to rest, it ends when your spirit ascends to Heaven.

The life of every Christian always ends with ascension. Jesus’ did… and so will yours and mine.

Isn’t that an amazing truth? That should give us great confidence as the moment of our departure draws nearer every day. Our lives do not end in pain and death. They end with our ascension into Heaven. Praise God.

Lord God, because of the reality of our ascension into Heaven with You, help us to face our mortality with joy and fearless confidence. In Jesus’ name . . .

The post Going Up? appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

A New and Living Heart

Friends, many of you commented on the story I shared in my weekend message about the heart of a 21-year-old that ended up being given to a seventy-something Viet Nam vet. In case you missed it, here’s the amazing story.

The post A New and Living Heart appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

All Things

 

 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, Ephesians 1:22.

For all who feel powerless, for all held captive by sin or fear, for those who feel stuck…this verse is for you.

In two sweeping and once-and-for-all actions God completely changed the game for everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus.

Action 1—God placed all things under Jesus’ authority. Or, stated positivity, God gave Jesus authority over all things.

Question—what does “all things” mean? It means all things. Everything. Period.

Jesus has authority over sin and death. Jesus has authority over cancer and other diseases. Jesus has authority over addictions. Jesus has authority over fear. Jesus has authority over drought and plague. Jesus has authority over poverty. Jesus has authority over the demonic.

Jesus has authority over all things.

Name your battle, name your stronghold, name your struggle—Jesus has authority over it.

Action 2—God gave this all-powerful ruler to the Church. Better: He gave Him to you and me.

The Church is not some weak non-profit that is trying to do a little good in the world while at the same time trying not to be sideswiped by the tsunami of culture. The Church is the living Body of Jesus, and Jesus has authority over all things.

Thus, the only time the Church is powerless is when it is headless. The degree to which we stay connected to the Head, the Lord Jesus, is the same degree to which we have His authority over all things.

So what are you battling today? Know that if you are rightly connected to your Lord, that thing you are battling is something that God has allowed. It is not out of His control.

Ask the Lord what He is trying to do in this specific circumstance. Ask Him to move in His great power on your behalf. And then go out in confidence knowing that, regardless of what happens, you have won the day.

Father, thank you for anointing us with the very power of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post All Things appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Speaking Of . . . .

 

Greetings friends, Today I’m introducing a new feature of my blog called Speaking Of . . . . The Speaking Of entires will actually be short video clips of my teaching on various subjects at Austin Christian Fellowship . They’re meant to be quick, encouraging little moments of truth for you to meditate on throughout your day.

The Speaking Of entires will include a link to the full message, in case you decide to watch the entire thing.

Please let me know how you like this new addition to my blog.

And now, here’s our first Speaking Of entry:

To watch the full message, Click Here.

The post Speaking Of . . . . appeared first on Will Davis Jr.