Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 35

House Cleaning

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” John 2:13-16

What did Jesus find in the Temple that upset him so? The services being provided were actually helpful—they were providing animals for sacrifices for the travelers to the Temple who were unable to bring them on the long journey. They were also exchanging money for those who needed the correct currency to pay the Temple tax.

Both of those sound legitimate, right? The problem was two-fold. First, they had set up shop right in the Court of the Gentles, where all non-Jews were required to worship. So amongst the prayers and songs were also the sounds and smells of animals and bartering. The other problem was that the sellers were offering sickly animals to the worshipers—something clearly forbidden in Scripture, and the money changers were extorting money and charging ridiculous exchange rates.

And all of this was happening right smack in the middle of the house of God. No wonder Jesus had such a violent reaction to it.

In the work of God, ends never justify the means. If you cheat (charging high rates) and cut corners (selling bad sacrifices) on the way to a noble end (worship in the Temple), the your means cancel out the end.

When it comes to serving God, how you get there matters.

So your end game is to provide well for your family, give your kids a great education and then retire well. And that means you’re gone all the time on the road and you have to make some questionable business choices along the way.

Or you think God has promised you a husband. As a single woman, you’re eager to marry and start raising the family that God promised you. And the “Christian” man you’re dating wants you to sleep with him before marriage because “you’re both adults, you’re obviously in love and you’re going to get married anyway.”

What do you do?

Friends, it’s not worth cutting corners and ignoring God’s Word on the way to what you think is God’s will. That’s why God told his people centuries before Jesus walked the earth that he desired obedience over sacrifice (see Hosea 6:6).

Choices matter. Choose wisely today.

The post House Cleaning appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Five Daily Personal Pinpoint Prayers, Part 1

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

The teachings in the Lord’s Prayer work great in a group setting or when you’re praying for your family, your roommates, or your church. But don’t miss the significance of praying these prayers for yourself. Jesus’s petitions in the Lord’s Prayer are some of the clearest and most direct personal pinpoint prayers ever written.

Based on Jesus’s teachings in the Lord’s Prayer, here are five pinpoint prayers you can pray for yourself on a daily basis. You’ll find that with just these five prayers, you address almost every need you’ll face on any given day.

Pray for perspective: Lord, let your name be hallowed in my life today. The significance of how Jesus opened this prayer is difficult to overstate. Rather than first approaching God with our needs, Jesus instructs us to seek the proper perspective on them. What we need most on a daily basis is for God’s name to be treated as holy (hallowed) in our lives.

This is a humbling prayer. It reminds us that the world does not revolve around us. A local cable provider in my city is running an ad that goes something like this: You want the meeting to start when you get there. You want the bus to leave when you’re ready. You want to catch your favorite shows when it’s convenient for you. You want to watch the game on your schedule. Basically, you’re at the center of your universe. We like the way you think!  If we listen to enough of that kind of reasoning, it’s easy to start thinking that it is true. That’s why we need to begin every day praying for God’s name to be hallowed. It reminds us who the universe really does revolve around (so to speak), and who it doesn’t. It helps us remember that there is nothing in our lives as important as the holiness and glory of God.

When you’re battling with your flesh to keep yourself in the proper perspective, this is a great prayer to pray. Ask God for this attitude and mindset every day. Pray: Lord, let your name be exalted and declared as holy in my life today.

Pray for priorities: Lord, let your Kingdom be established and your will be done in my life today. As Jesus continued his prayer, notice that he still didn’t turn to the point of asking for personal needs and wants. There was one more area he wanted us to first address in prayer.

To pray for God’s Kingdom to be built in your life is to ask for God’s rule and reign to have its perfect way in you. You’re acknowledging that your heart and soul are God’s throne, and you’re inviting him to reign there. To pray for God’s will is to surrender to God’s plan for your life and to confess that you trust his judgment over your own. It’s to invite God’s course and curriculum for your life, no matter how difficult or painful.

When you pray this prayer, you’re praying that your words, attitudes, actions, spending habits, relationships, work ethic, recreation and spare time would all be places where his rule is welcome. You’re totally yielding every aspect of your life to God.

Can you see the significance of praying this prayer for yourself at the beginning of every day? Seeking God’s Kingdom and God’s will for your life through prayer helps to set the thermostat of your heart on “hot” when it comes to the things of God. It removes your right or expectation for negotiation with God on matters of obedience. And it makes you a pliable and usable tool in God’s hands.

Pray for God’s priorities to be worked out in your life. Pray: Lord, build your Kingdom and do your perfect will in my life today!

Pray for provision: Lord, please give me everything I need today. The prayer for daily bread is one of the most liberating, radical prayers a Christ-follower can pray. When you pray for God to give you your daily bread, you’re totally recalibrating your heart and mind to God’s definition of provision. This pinpoint prayer blows up any sense of entitlement that you may have before God. It puts your financial world in the proper perspective before God.

As I write these words, the church I pastor is facing a mild financial shortfall. We are coming off a year where our church members over-gave our budget by $400,000. But this year, our giving has been flat, especially in light of the fact that we’re still a rapidly growing church. The bean counters in our accounting office tell me that in just two months, we’ll be down to $200,000 in our savings account. Given that our budget is over $7 million, that’s not very much financial runway. But when I read what Jesus taught us about praying for provision, I have a difficult time feeling too concerned. That $200,000 we have in savings is exactly $200,000 more than Jesus promised us. He promised to meet our needs today. Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing that our church needs that we don’t have today. I can think of lots of things we want and some things we’re going to need, but there’s nothing that we need today that Jesus hasn’t already given us. And, that’s what he promised.

When you pray for God to provide for your daily needs, you help to boost your contentment levels. Discontentedness is at the root of things like greed and covetousness, both of which are disastrous to your relationship with God. But by praying for simple daily provision, you acknowledge that you don’t need much. You acknowledge that God’s love, mercy and presence are more important to you than material things.

Learn to pray for your daily bread. Pray to be content with what you have. Pray 1 Timothy 6:8 for your heart: Lord, if I have food and clothing, I will be content with that.

The post Five Daily Personal Pinpoint Prayers, Part 1 appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Sign Too

This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory,

and His disciples believed in Him. John 2:11

Here are just a few more thoughts on this idea of signs.

Remember that signs point beyond themselves. Signs communicate. They tell people how to get somewhere.

In John’s Gospel, signs are the miracles that Jesus preformed. The healings, feedings and even raising the dead that Jesus did were never merely for the sakes of those who benefitted from them. They were signs. They were intended to show us and teach us things. Specifically, things about Jesus.

So as I’ve been meditating on this I had a flash of realization–

I’m a sign.

I’m one of those miraculous things Jesus did. I was lost, I was blind, I was dead in sin, and Jesus changed all of that. John could just as easily written about the change Jesus did in me as Jesus changing water to wine.

And as a sign, I supposed to point beyond myself. I don’t exist for my own glory. Jesus didn’t change me for my sake only. He changed me so that I might point others to him.

Guess what? You’re a sign too! As a follower of Jesus you’re one of those amazing things that John could have just as easily written about. You are proof of the deity, grace, mercy and love a Jesus.

You are a sign.

Today, let’s be the signs that God expects us to be. Let’s live and tell our stories, so that many might see us and believe in Jesus.

The post Sign Too appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Will’s Weekly Letter, April 24, 2014

Greetings Friends! How are you?

What an amazing weekend we had last week? I had the pleasure of participating in seven services between Friday and Sunday. And even though my back went out early Sunday morning (stupid Satan trick) and I was a bit crooked, it was still a great day!

In Jesus’ Name

This week we’ll continue the John series we started last week call In Jesus’ Name. We’ll drill down a bit further on what it means to believe in the name of Jesus. This is important stuff as we often hear the expression in Jesus’ Name used in prayers other settings and we don’t really know what it means. And since Jesus called us to believe in his name, we better figure out what that means!

Thanks to Gary and Jackie Sinclair

This weekend at the 4 Points community we’ll be saying Thanks to Gary and Jackie Sinclair for 8 great years of service to ACF. Gary has agreed to join the staff of a church outside of Chicago, and they will be leaving us at the end of May. We’ll be having receptions for the Sinclairs on the patio at 4 Points after each weekend service. Will you please stop by and personally thank Gary and Jackie? If you can’t, feel free to email Gary@acfellowship.org and share your encouraging words with him.

Struggle Pretty

 Can I recommend some music to you? My nephew Kyle Janke and the former ACFNW worship leader Andy Baxter make up the band called Penny and Sparrow. They just released their newest CD called Struggle Pretty and I really like it. These guys have a growing platform and God seems to be granting them some serious favor.

Kyle Janke is married to my niece, Becca. The album name comes from the battle Kyle and Becca have watched my sister and brother-in-law (Becca’s parents) graciously struggle with the advancement of my brother-in-law Jeff’s Alzheimer’s. The album cover, shown left, was painted by Jeff while at his school for people with Alzheimer’s. The first track on the cd is named for him.

And one extra little item—My daughter Sara sings with Andy on track 7—Stoic.

Penny and Sparrow have been reviewed by NPR and the Huffington Post. Keep an eye on these guys. Click here to view the album on ITunes.

 

See You this Weekend!!!!!

The post Will’s Weekly Letter, April 24, 2014 appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Signs

This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory,

and His disciples believed in Him. John 2:11

Check out John’s word for Jesus’ miracles—signs.

What is a sign? What does a sign do? Why would John choose this term to describe Jesus’ miracles?

Signs share a message. They communicate. They tell us something. They point us somewhere.

Signs never exist for themselves. They always point beyond themselves.

What was the purpose of Jesus’ signs? John tells us: Jesus . . . manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. 

Signs reveal Jesus’ true nature. They point to his power, glory and deity. And, they help us believe.

Think about the signs Jesus is doing today: he saves a lost soul, he heals someone of a terrible disease, he frees an addict, he comes through with miraculous provision, he comforts someone in pain, he answers a very specific prayer, he helps a wayward husband repent and be reconciled to his wife.

Those are all signs, and when Jesus does them, he wants us to learn something. His miracles never have just a single point—the healing, the saving or the reconciling. There’s always more to it.

Today, I want you to look at the signs that Jesus has put up for you. Things he’s done, very specific things, that show you his glory, help you better understand his nature and strengthen your faith.

Do you see the signs? List them. Thank God for them. And then make sure you don’t miss their point.

The post Signs appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

This New Life

“Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said,

“and tell the people all about this new life.” Acts 5:20

The Christian life is unlike anything the world has ever seen or can produce on its own. It is, one might say, otherworldly.

When the angel of the Lord gave Peter and the rest of the apostles these instructions, he made it very clear what they were to proclaim—this new life.

Life is a major theme of the Gospel. Life—eternal life, unending life, joyous life, fruitful life, others-centered life.

Jesus is in the business of offering new life. Are you living it?

Here are three things I’m grateful for today in this new life:

Forgiveness. I’m grateful that in the new life I’m free from the guilt and shame of my sin. God offers forgiveness through Jesus’ blood, and Heaven knows how much I need it.

Thank you God, for the forgiveness that comes with this new life.

Love. I’m grateful for the love I experience from Jesus and with other Christians. I’m thrilled to know a love that isn’t based on my performance or my appearance.

I’m grateful for the unconditional love that is part of this new life.

Purpose. I’m thrilled to have the purpose that comes with knowing, loving and serving Jesus. Life would be so stale if I wasn’t able to live beyond myself and have the adventure of following Jesus. I can’t imagine not having the opportunity to empty myself on behalf of others, just like Jesus taught me.

I am really grateful for the purpose that I find in this new life.

Are you living the new life? What makes it new and special to you? Why don’t you tell someone today about the awesome new life Jesus has given you?

The post This New Life appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Saving the Best Till Now

Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now. John 2:10

Things are always getting better with Jesus. Even in hard times, our best days always lie ahead.

The headwaiter at this wedding was amazed at the quality of wine that was served so late in the game. He had no idea that Jesus’ had just miraculously transformed ordinary and dirty drinking water into precious wine.

That’s what Jesus does.

And he does the same in our lives.

Every day is an opportunity for Jesus to transform our lives from the mundane or even painful to the extraordinary. Every day can be a day of new wine in our lives, even when times are bad.

You see: God’s presence transcends circumstances. So that Chinese Christian languishing in prison for his faith can sill know the intimacy of Jesus’ presence. He can know new wine even in his suffering.

That couple who just buried their child, even in their midst of their terrible grief, can know the healing and hope of God’s presence. They can know new wine even in their heartbreak.

All throughout history and all over the world, Jesus has been making new wine for people. He’s been surprising them even in the most difficult of circumstances. And their prayers sound something like this:

Jesus, you’re amazing. Somehow you managed to save the best till now.

What are you going through today? What prison is holding you? What trial is testing you? Look for Jesus and his new wine.

He tends to save his best work for days just like this one.

The post Saving the Best Till Now appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Not Mastered

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me,

but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

This is a really great word for us in this age of consumption and entitlement. We’re not in the habit of resisting or taming our appetites. But Paul tells us here that we are not to allow ourselves to be controlled by anything other than Jesus.

Paul was discussing the freedom we have in Christ—freedom from all types of religious restrictions. But our freedom doesn’t give us permission to run rampant over others, or to let our own appetites run rampant over us.

Self-discipline, it seems, is a critical component of personal freedom. If you’re able to discipline your appetites, then you’re free. But to the degree that your appetites own you, you are a slave to them.

And like I said earlier, that’s a really great word for us today. I’ve certainly warred with a few of my own unruly appetites. I know firsthand the tyranny that comes from being enslaved to my flesh.

So what about you? Are you mastered by anything: the need to spend money, or just have more of it? Eating and certain types of food? Exercise or adrenaline? Alcohol and/or drugs? Sex, or sex related forms of entertainment?

The list could go on and on.

But the point here is that as followers of Jesus we get to (and want to) have only one master, and it isn’t any thing. We get to be mastered by our loving Lord Jesus. And anything or anyone that also masters us is an enemy of the Jesus in us.

Today, enjoy the rich freedom you have in Christ. Enjoy it by not being mastered by anything other than the one you died to make you free.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Romans 6:12-13

The post Not Mastered appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

Worthy

They all condemned him as worthy of death. Mark 14:64

 I’ve always found the wording of this verse to be interesting, if not ironic. Words like condemned and death conjure up images of punishment and justice. What I find interesting is that the word worthy appears here between the two.

We would rarely describe someone condemned to die as worthy of death. We’d say that he was deserving of death or that death was justified, but not worthy. Worthy is a word for kings or award winners, good citizens or celebrities, not for criminals condemned to die. And yet, Mark chose a word that, although it can be translated otherwise, is best translated here as worthy. What did he mean?

To the religious leaders, Jesus was worthy–worthy of rejection. He had crossed over too many religious and cultural lines. He posed too much of a threat to their status quo. Death was a good solution to the problems he created. A few well-placed bribes would be worth the effort. Jesus was enough of a wild card that he merited their most ruthless response. To the religious leaders, Jesus was worthy–worthy of rejection.

They all condemned him as worthy of death.

To Pilate, the Roman governor, Jesus was worthy–worthy of removal. Pilate had not seen this much uproar in many years. If he was not careful, the Romans would come and replace him and stick him on one of those brutal crosses. Although Pilate saw nothing directly threatening about him, if Jesus’ presence continued to stir up Jerusalem, he might lose control of the city. It was unfortunate, but Jesus had to go. To Pilate, Jesus was worthy–worthy of removal.

They all condemned him as worthy of death.

To Judas, the disciple who betrayed him, Jesus was worthy–worthy of rescuing. He had to be rescued from himself. Judas felt as if things had gotten out of control for Jesus. All this talk of being the Son of God had gone to his head. Now Jesus was making noise about dying and rising again. Something had to be done. Jesus had to be stopped, helped before things really got bad. Perhaps a few days with the Pharisees would finally force Jesus’ hand. Jesus’ foolish talk of a spiritual kingdom would finally cease and he would finally get to the real work of restoring the glory of Israel. If things happened to spin out of control and Jesus died in the process, well, that would still be better than Jesus’ lunatic rantings about being God. To Judas, Jesus was worthy–worthy of rescuing, rescuing from Himself.

They all condemned him as worthy of death.

To God, Jesus was worthy–worthy of sacrifice. From God’s standpoint, Mark’s wording is here supreme. Jesus was not only worthy of death, he alone was worthy of death. The sacrifice needed to free humans from sin had to be fully human and yet without any sin. Only one who had not sinned was qualified to die for those who had. From that standpoint, Jesus was indeed worthy of death. He alone met God’s requirements. He alone was worthy to be the holy sacrifice for the sins of mankind. To God, Jesus was worthy of death.

But He was not condemned as worthy, he was worshiped as worthy.

And so when Jesus went to the cross, the religious leaders cried out, “Worthy!” but they were wrong.

Pilate declared, “Worthy!” but he was wrong.

Judas betrayed Jesus as “Worthy!” but he too was wrong.

But when Jesus went to the cross, the angels declared “Worthy!” The saints in Heaven proclaimed “Worthy!” Every demon in Hell knew that He was “Worthy.” The dead who got up from their graves after he died did so because he is “Worthy.” The veil of the Temple tore because he is “Worthy.” Darkness came and the earth shook because he is “Worthy.”

Jesus is worthy. He is worthy of all the praise and honor in all creation. He is God’s holy sacrifice for sins. He is worthy of our very lives. And when you join with the saints and angels in heaven declaring for yourself, with your heart, from your lips, that he is worthy, you will be right. He is worthy!

The post Worthy appeared first on Will Davis Jr.

The Greatest Pinpoint Prayer Ever Prayed

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

In Matthew 6, Matthew records for us what I believe is the greatest example of pinpoint praying offered in the Bible. I’m sure Matthew, one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, remembered the moments when Jesus first taught this prayer with vivid clarity. On at least two occasions Jesus taught his disciples how to pray with focus and power. In reality, he was teaching them how to pray pinpoint prayers.

Matthew was in the crowd that day when Jesus preached the greatest sermon in history, the Sermon on the Mount. As one of Jesus’ inner crowd, Matthew probably had a ringside seat to that momentous occasion.

What Jesus taught that day on that hillside was revolutionary: Blessed are the poor in spirit; love and pray for your enemies; hatred is the same as murder and lust is the same as adultery; and, when you pray, don’t offer up meaningless, repetitive phrases. Instead, tell God your needs with biblical precision.

For Jesus, prayer’s power was found in the quality of its words, not its quantity. Here’s what Matthew heard Jesus teach that day: This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” (Matthew 6:9-13).

Never before had so much been said in prayer with so few words. I think the disciples were stunned by Jesus’s brevity.

On a different occasion, the disciples asked Jesus about prayer. They had grown up hearing the prayers offered by the teachers in the synagogues; but when Jesus prayed, they heard prayer on an entirely different level. Luke, probably getting his information from the disciple Peter, recorded their question: Lord, teach us to pray, (Luke 11:1).

The disciples weren’t asking to learn to pray for the first time. They knew all about prayer. What they didn’t know was how to pray like Jesus did. That was what they were seeking. They wanted the authority, the focus and the power that they no doubt heard in their Master’s prayers.

So how did Jesus answer them? What did he tell them about effective Kingdom praying? Luke recorded Jesus’s answer: He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation,’” (Luke 11:2-4).

When I was in college, I had a history professor who used to warn us, “If I say something once, write it down. If I say it twice, memorize it. You’re going to see it again on a test.”

So what do you think it means that on two different occasions Jesus offered the same model of prayer for his disciples? It means that in God’s Kingdom, praying like Jesus is very, very important. It means that he wants us to pray with the single-mindedness, exactness, authority and biblical foundation that he modeled for us in these two prayers. It means that prayer is too important for us to load down with a bunch of meaningless words and repetitive phrases. It means that prayer is how we get things done in God’s Kingdom, and that our prayers need to be in good, fighting shape.

And (don’t miss this!), it means that God wants and expects us to pray pinpoint prayers for ourselves!

The post The Greatest Pinpoint Prayer Ever Prayed appeared first on Will Davis Jr.