Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 29

Don’t Ever Stop Praying

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. Isaiah 62:1

What did you used to pray for—with great passion and focus—that you no longer pray for? What prayer requests have the years and the perception that God wasn’t doing anything caused you to abandon?

Don’t bail on those requests! Don’t take them off your list! Don’t abandon those people or causes! They need your prayers, and your prayers matter.

Take encouragement from what Isaiah said—I will not keep quiet.

The prophet resolutely declared that he would intercede for Jerusalem until either God answered his prayer or he had no breath left in his lungs.

We need to do the same.

Your prayers matter. God isn’t ignoring you. Some strongholds take years to come down and some answers take decades for God to send. But strongholds do come down and answers do come. So keep praying!

Your prayers matter. Have you considered that the answer to your prayer is slow to come because you stopped praying for it? God moves when we pray, and he doesn’t move when we don’t pray.

Your prayers matter. Draw a line in the sand and tell God that you will be unceasing in your requests to him.

Lord God, help us to be relentless in our intercessions to you, and you please be relentless in our answers to us. In Jesus name . . . .

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Being Okay in Your Skin

Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. Matthew 9:1

I read this the other day and it really started me thinking—Jesus got into a boat.

Why would Jesus do that? He didn’t need a boat. We know that he could have walked or flown and just transported himself across that lake.

But he didn’t. He used a boat. Why?

Because Jesus chose to be human, fully human.

That meant that he checked his divine abilities at the door.

That means that everything he did, he did as a human and by the power of God.

That means that he showed us what humans were meant to be.

You and I need boats, and we shouldn’t apologize for that. Being human—even with our weaknesses and limitations—isn’t a curse. Jesus fully embraced humanity and gave us a picture of just how beautiful it could be.

He also showed us just how powerful it could be. Because it was from a boat in the middle of a lake that Jesus–the fully submitted human–calmed a storm. Hmmm . . . .

Lord Jesus, thank you for showing us what God meant humanity to be. Thank you for showing us our potential when we are fully submitted to God. Holy Spirit, flow through us in power just liked you flowed through Jesus. Amen. 

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A Woman of Excellence

Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. Ruth 3:11

In this day and age when women are pressured to be so many things, I find this phrase to be quite refreshing—a woman of excellence.

Boaz, a wise and godly man, was describing Ruth. Ruth was Moabite and was certainly not expected to worship the God of Israel. But she chose to reject the pagan ways and gods of her culture and embrace, not only the Israelites, but also their God.

That is my prayer for all of you ladies who read this today. I pray that you will have the courage and conviction to reject the demands placed on you by our culture and chose rather to align your life with the Creator and Savior of the world.

As you do so, two things will be true:

You will not fit in well. The more you choose to embrace Jesus and his ways the less you will look like those around you.
You will a woman of excellence. The biblical quality of excellence isn’t based on how much money you make or how attractive you are. It’s based rather on your heart for God.

Excellent women love God. Excellent women follow Jesus. Excellent women don’t give in to the pull and definitions of culture.

Oh sweet ladies, be women of excellence.

Father, I pray for the ladies reading this today. Give them the courage and conviction to be women of excellence. In Jesus’ name . . . .

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A Different Spirit

But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. Numbers 14:24

Caleb was one of the twelve spies Moses sent to scout out the Promised Land. Ten of the spies returned with a spirit of fear and dread, saying that the Israelites were incapable of taking the land.

Those ten spies prevailed upon the nation and the people decided not to move into the land God had promised. And you know the result—40 years of wilderness wanderings while the generation of unbelieving men died off.

But Caleb was one of the two spies (Joshua being the other) who believed the land could be taken. He had, as God acknowledged, a different spirit.

How was he different? He didn’t look at the obstacles and he didn’t rely on his own strength.

Caleb had the most prized possession of any man or woman who is serious about following God—faith. God promised to guide Israel into the land, and Caleb believed him. That was his different spirit, and that spirit allowed him to eventually walk in the land God had promised.

What kind of spirit do you have? The men and women God uses to change generations are those who have a spirit like Caleb’s. They don’t read the headlines, they don’t number their foes and they don’t see their obstacles.

All they see is the promise of God and all they have is faith in his Word. And that’s enough.

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10:39

Father, give me a spirit like Caleb’s. Give me a different spirit from those around me. Help me to trust and act on your Word. In Jesus’ name . . . .

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Overtaken

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 28:2

I love the imagery of this verse.

We associate being overtaken with bad things. We’re overtaken by things we’re typically trying to outrun—floodwaters, a severe storm, a pursuing army.

That isn’t the case here. In this critical Old Testament chapter God makes a great promise to his people, and it’s one I want you to pray over today:

We will be overtaken by blessing. The blessings and favor that God commands our way will be so dramatic and so powerful, that there will be no way to stop them. God’s blessings will literally surround and overwhelm us.

And we have to ask, why? What’s the cause of this great overtaking? Obedience.

As we honor God’s name and keep his Word in our lives, he promises that his rich and abundant blessings will find their way to us. They will not be stopped.

Like rising floodwaters of favor, they will come.

Kind of makes you want to be obedient, doesn’t it?

Oh God make us obedient today. And as we obey you, may your blessings overtake us. In Jesus’ name . . . .

 

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Four Great Reasons to Seek a Giving Heart

Here’s this week’s entry from Pray Big for Your Life.

Giving is clearly one of the most misunderstood and undervalued disciplines in the Christian faith. Preachers have become notorious for their unrelenting calls for more and more money. Many churches’ mismanagement of their people’s resources has given more than a few Christ-followers a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to giving. That’s a terrible shame, because giving is one of the most liberating, joy-producing and high-impact disciplines in which a Christian can engage. As you pray for a giving spirit like Mary’s, here are some things that should motivate you.

Giving fends off the relentless pull of materialism. We live in a culture whose mantra is “More is better.” More stuff, more toys, more goods, more money, more comfort—the more you have, the better off you are. Unfortunately, many of us have believed that lie. The allure of more is quite powerful and attractive. Our nation is filled with countless Christians and churches who have somehow been duped into believing that having nicer things—more comfortable homes and bigger and better church buildings—is what really matters.  And as we have seen, their giving reflects it.

Hopefully, you know that it is impossible to satisfy the needs of your God-given soul by throwing stuff at it. Your soul is a spiritual, eternal entity. It cannot be satisfied by anything material. You and I need a life-giving relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. Therein lies our hope for true joy and peace.

Generous giving launches an all-out assault on materialism’s death grip on your soul. It helps you push back against the cultural mantra of more and reminds you that your hope lies in Christ, not in your stuff. Giving is your way of declaring that the things you own will not own you. It’s your declaration of independence from the oxymoron of financial security and your declaration of dependence on our creating, life-giving God.

Giving is good for you. Scientists have been trying to prove for years that having more money does in fact make a person happier. Researchers at the University of British Columbia, however, recently found that giving money away actually increases a person’s feeling of happiness. Lead researcher Elizabeth Dunn, an assistant professor of psychology, was surprised at how even small adjustments in a person’s spending habits can have significant impact on his or her feelings. As earners altered their budgets to include higher levels of financial philanthropy, their feelings of personal satisfaction and joy increased accordingly.

Once again, science has confirmed something the Bible has been teaching for 2000 years. In Acts 20:35, Luke quotes Jesus saying that “it is more blessed to give than receive.” A thousand years earlier King Solomon taught the same thing when he wrote, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed,” (Proverbs 11:25). Christians who are disciplined givers know that these verses teach an important spiritual principle: If you want to benefit your soul, expand your heart, and increase your joy, then give generously.

Giving blesses others. Perhaps the personal benefit we gain from giving comes from the others-centered nature of the act. Giving is one of the most selfless acts we can engage in; it’s also one of the most rewarding. I believe it’s rewarding because it’s selfless. There is something invigorating about being involved in a work with the sole purpose of helping others.

A group of adults in our church just returned from a seven-day mission trip to Guatemala. They spent their time working in an orphanage, painting fences, doing minor repairs and holding babies. They literally exhausted and poured out themselves for seven days, completely for the benefit of others. You would expect that they would return home weary and emotionally exhausted from the trip. But that wasn’t the case. They came back glowing! Their week of service had done more to energize their souls than any vacation or personal perk ever could. That’s the principle that Jesus taught: It really is more blessed to give than to receive.

I learned this lesson firsthand several years ago when I took a sabbatical from my job. I was graciously given eight weeks off from my work at church. I spent the first six weeks in my favorite playground—the Colorado Rockies—climbing 14,000-foot peaks with my son. I spent the seventh week in Reynosa, Mexico, working with our youth group to build three houses for impoverished families. I wasn’t prepared for what I learned and felt: After six weeks of my dream vacation in Colorado and one week of very hard work in 100-plus degree heat in Mexico, I felt more fulfilled and enriched by the week of hard labor. The fact that I was sweating, working, and exhausting myself completely for the benefit of someone else—with no visible payoff or payback for me—was one of the greatest and most rewarding experiences of my life. I’ve been back every summer since.

You want a giving heart because your gifts of time, love and money will richly bless and give hope to someone else. You’ll become a conduit of God’s grace and encouragement to someone who desperately needs it. You’ll also know levels of joy and personal exhilaration that you can’t experience outside of giving.

God honors giving. One of the most vivid promises in the Bible regarding giving is found in the Old Testament book of Malachi. You may be familiar with it: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it,” (Malachi 3:10).

It is difficult to overstate the significance of the promise of God to those who faithfully give. In the context of Malachi, God promises to pour out uncontainable blessings on those who fulfill the Old Testament commands regarding tithing. But there is a transferable principle in that verse and many others regarding God’s response to giving. Simply stated: He honors it.

I’m not here to sell you on giving as some kind of Kingdom get-rich-quick scheme or tell you that you’ll live in luxury if you tithe. Neither idea is biblical. What is biblical is that it is impossible to out-give God. If you give, God promises to give back to you “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,” (see Luke 6:38). Any consistent giver will swear to the reality of that promise. Give, and God will give back to you–sometimes financially, sometimes through relational favor, sometimes with increased intimacy with him, and sometimes with a general anointing on your life.

Susie and I both grew up in homes that taught tithing. As a result, we’ve given a minimum of 10% of our income to churches and ministries every month of our marriage. We’ve seen firsthand the favor and blessing that comes through our financial stewardship. We would never stop giving. It’s been too much fun and far too rewarding to see how God blesses our obedience.

Pray for a giving and generous heart. Pray for the discipline to give your best gifts to God’s Kingdom work. Once you start giving, you’ll never go back.

 

[i] “Better to give than receive? Even science can’t argue with that”. Randolph Schmid, Associated Press. Reported in the Austin American-Statesman, March 21, 2008, p. A7.

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Instead of Daily Bread, How about Fresh Bread?

Friends, in just a few days you’ll receive your first Wake-Up Call of my new writing season. I want you to know of a few changes I’ve made to the format.

First, they’re shorter. I’m trying to use fewer words.

Second, I’ve added a closing prayer at the end of each of them. Use the prayer as a way to link what you’ve read to your own communication with God.

Third, they won’t come every weekday. They’ll probably come 2-3 days a week.

It’s really difficult for me to write fresh stuff every day, so I’m reducing the number of Wake-Up Calls I write. Instead of receiving “weekday’ devotionals, you’ll just get fresh ones. As God gives me fresh stuff, I’ll share it with you. They’ll come right out of my own quiet times.

Your first Wake-Up Call will arrive on Monday, August 18th. And if you find them useful, encourage your friends to subscribe as well.

Thanks and blessings, Will Davis Jr.

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More Blessed: Prayers for a Generous Spirit

 

Here’s this week’s entry from Pray Big for Your Life

Chapter 7

More Blessed: Prayers for a Generous Spirit 

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35

 

It is one of the most beautiful biblical examples of passionate giving found in the New Testament. Mary enjoyed a close relationship with Jesus. She, along with her sister and brother, had become safe people for Jesus. They knew him more than just casually. They were close friends. Mary certainly had multiple opportunities to privately express her love for Christ. But time came when Mary’s private worship of Jesus was no longer enough. She sensed a deep longing welling up inside of her to increase her love and worship of Jesus—even if it meant being misunderstood and criticized.

Mary’s inner desire was finally expressed in one of the most powerful and poignant acts of worship and extravagant giving recorded in the Bible. John, an eyewitness to the event, recorded what happened:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:1-8

What is often lost in the details of that story is the personal sacrifice Mary made when she emptied her perfume jar out on Jesus’s feet. Such a valuable commodity could have been sold off little by little and would have provided significant extra income for Mary and her family. Reason and pragmatism suggest that Mary could have demonstrated her love for Christ just as easily by only using some of the perfume and saving the rest for more practical purposes. But that was not in Mary’s heart. She had been gripped by a desire to offer all that she had to Christ. Saving for herself was no longer the point. She wanted to give as generously, as passionately and extravagantly as she could.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Church

The self-abandonment and giving spirit that Mary showed has been tragically lost on this generation of Christ-followers. We have forgotten what Jesus taught us—that when we give to the poor and needy we give to him (see Matthew 25:40). So even though our gifts and sacrificing may actually benefit a church or ministry, we’re still pouring out our love on Jesus’s feet. Giving still exalts and honors our Savior; it’s unfortunate that he’s not getting too much honor these days.

A recent study by the Barna research group indicated that only about 5% of Americans actually tithe (give away 10% or more) their income. Of Americans who claimed to be born-again Christians, only 9% gave away 10% or more of their income. Stated more bluntly, over 90% of Christians in America don’t tithe. As a result, ministries and churches face ongoing difficulties because of financial shortfalls. Many Christians simply aren’t sharing their financial resources. Few worship Jesus through giving; few are pouring out their love into his Body.

The news about church giving isn’t much better. A recent study of the nation’s largest denominations indicated that only 2% of money given to U.S. denominational churches actually gets used for missions. So, those of us (church leaders) who set church policy and are supposed to pave the way and be an example for other Christians don’t seem to have much of a passion for sharing either. It seems the spirit of Mary’s extravagant giving is in real trouble in the U.S. today.

That’s actually a bit ironic, isn’t it? America isn’t just one of the richest countries in the world, it’s one of the riches countries in history.[iii] The typical American—and that includes American Christians—lives at a level of comfort and provision unheard of around the world. Our sense of “normal” isn’t normal at all. We are a blessed people; and tragically, we’re squandering what God has given us.

That’s why we need to pray for a heart like Mary’s. We need to ask God to make us a people who look for chances to anoint and honor Jesus through our giving to others. We need for God to resurrect in us the same spirit that caused him to give his Son for us. Extravagant giving is at the heart of biblical Christianity. We need to pray for God to make us extravagant givers.

 

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Flash Your Lights Please

 

Last week I had a close encounter with a boat . . . . on a major highway in Austin!

I was traveling along a busy road in Austin (Hwy 2222 just above Tumbleweed Hill for all you locals) at about 50 MPH when I noticed a pickup just ahead flashing its lights. It got my attention as I assumed that there was either a police officer or a wreck just around the corner.

As the truck passed me I then saw what was up: A large fishing boat on its trailer was heading right for me. I assume it had somehow come loose from the truck. But it was drifting across all four lanes of traffic and about the be in mine.

What happened next took about half a second. It’s all I had.

I looked right thinking I could just change lanes. But there were cars to my right and that was the direction the boat was going anyway.

So I looked left. Had there been just a yellow stripe to my left, I probably would have struck the boat head-on. There were all kind of cars whizzing by on my left and I would have had no place to go. But, there was a left turn lane and it was empty! So I immediately pulled into the left turn lane just in time to watch the boat and trailer pass where my jeep had just been.

I kept watching as the boat continued drifting to the right, with cars scattering in all directions. It finally came to a rest on the opposite side of the road from which had started. It had (miraculously, I might add) crossed four lanes of traffic, going the wrong direction, at a high rate of speed and not hit a single car.

It was one of the craziest things I’ve seen in a while.

As a former avid skier, I’m used to dodging boats . . . . just not on the highway.

I’m very grateful to the driver of the truck for flashing his lights. That’s what got my attention. Had I not seen it, you might be reading about this really weird boating accident that killed a local pastor on a highway in Austin.

But flash he did, and we all lived to tell about it.

Now think with me: Some of you have amazing life experiences. You have overcome addictions, survived marriage infidelity and /or walked through long-term relational conflict. You know what trouble looks like and you can see it coming a mile away. And, you can see it in others.

Flash your lights. Go ahead and step into other people’s lives and warn them of the danger that’s rapidly approaching them.

They may accuse of of not minding your own business, but in the end you may end up saving a life.

If you see a friend or loved one headed for disaster, please step up and warn them. Let your life experiences benefit someone else and maybe help them avoid some pain.

Flash your lights, please.

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How to Pray for Your Words

Here’s this week’s entry from Pray big for Your Life.

The biblical writers have given us ample ammunition for pinpoint praying so that our words will honor God and not hurt others. Here are a few verses you can use as pinpoint promises when praying for your words:

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity, (Proverbs 21:23).  Pray that you’ll consciously guard your words. When you’re out with friends and the conversation turns into a gossip session or the group becomes critical of another person, pray for the strength to not participate. When you’re in an argument with your spouse, friend or roommate and the verbal darts start flying, pray for the wisdom and strength to not say something that you’ll regret later. When you are making a sales pitch or in a job interview, pray for the self-control to not overstate your abilities or to make claims about your product or service that aren’t true. Pray that you’ll think about your words before you say them.
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips, (Psalm 141:3). Much like the secret service that guards the American president, the king’s royal guard would have been an ever-present protective force around David. We don’t know what prompted David to pray for a guard over his mouth. Had he just snapped at a palace servant? Had he ridiculed one of his children? Had he made rash judgment that had cost the freedom or even the life of one of his citizens? We don’t know. What we do know is that David found in his royal guard a perfect metaphor for what he wanted God to do for his words: Oh God, guard my tongue. Place a watch over it. Let no word escape my mouth that would be harmful or dishonorable. We should pray the same. Ask God to protect you and others from the power of your tongue.
Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one, (Matthew 5:37). I pray this verse for my verbal integrity. It’s a vivid statement of how we’re supposed to communicate in ways that are clear, honest and without innuendo. Jesus made this statement when he was teaching against the frequent use of oaths used by some of the religious leaders of his day. Instead of swearing by this or that, we simply need to tell the truth. For Christ-followers, Yes does not mean maybe, hopefully or possibly or probably, it means Yes. And when we say No, it needs to be equally clear of ambiguity or hidden meaning. That’s verbal integrity, and we should pray for it. Pray Colossians 3:9 for your words: Lord, keep me from lying to anyone, since I have taken off my old self with its practices.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen, (Ephesians 4:29).  This is a great verse to pray for your words. It doesn’t just tell us what not to say, but it also teaches us what to say. Here are three specific pinpoint prayers based on Ephesians 4:29.


Pray to end verbal corruption. The word unwholesome in Ephesians 4:29 comes from a root word that means corrupt. Corrupt words are the kind that poison and harm others. They don’t help; they harm. Pray that no harmful and poisonous words will ever leave your mouth.
Pray for verbal edification. Paul commands us to speak words that help and encourage others. Paul’s word for building up is a construction term. It pictures a house being built piece by piece. Pray that your words will add to the strength, security and growth of the person you’re speaking to. Even if you need to have difficult or corrective conversations, pray that your words build up, not tear down.
Pray for grace-filled words. When Paul taught that our words should benefit others, he literally said that our words should offer grace to the listener. He doesn’t mean eloquence of speech, but rather eloquence of meaning. Your messages should be kind, truthful, hope-producing and overflowing with grace. Again, even difficult conversations can be grace-based. Pray that your words will give life and hope to the hearers. Pray that your words will always reflect the grace and favor of God.

Hopefully, I’ve learned my lesson. I plan to never yell “Shut up!” to anyone again, stranger or friend. I’m praying for a pure heart. Jesus taught that our words are sourced by the overflow of our hearts (Matthew 12:34). If my heart is pure, then my words will reflect it. Pray the same for yourself. Pray that no word will ever come out of your mouth that is inconsistent with the heart of Jesus.

Discussion Questions

Think of a time when you said something that you immediately regretted saying. What did you say and what happened?
The tongue seems like such a small thing; but both testaments of the Bible talk about how damaging it can be. What does that tell you about how important it is to God for us to control our tongues?
Read Ephesians 4:29 again and talk about how your words can be used to build up others. Be as specific as you can.
After reading this chapter, how will you pray differently for yourself?

 

 

 

 

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