Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 4

How To Raise a Child Who is Living on Mission

This weekend, my Father’s Day message was on raising kids who live with a sense of their kingdom mission. It focused on teaching our kids their Kingdom responsibility, teaching them to stand with conviction, and praying God’s Word over them.

I hope it encourages you.

 

 

Want to know more about praying biblical prayers for your children? Check out my book Pray Big for Your Child.

 

An Open Letter to Christians in California

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am writing to encourage you. I want you to know that many believers and pastors in Texas are praying for you and your great state. I hope what I share here inspires you.

Two years ago, here’s what the state of Texas looked like in regards to our statewide drought:

As you can see, our state was ravaged by a severe drought. It had been a long one too.

In my hometown of Austin, the drought stretched over seven years and was so severe the beautiful lakes that surround our city were literally drying up.

I know you have plenty of images like this one on your state. It’s heartbreaking.

In 2014, church leaders in Austin and around the state began a unified effort of fasting and prayer, not just for rain, but for awakening. We recognized that rain is a blessing from God and that maybe we were in a period of prolonged drought for a reason–a spiritual reason.

Fast forward two years. Hers’s the drought map of Texas today:

What a difference prayer makes!

The weather patterns in our state have dramatically changed. Our drought is over. Lake Travis (pictured above) is 110% full! And we know we’re not done. We’re still praying for the spiritual outpouring to match the physical one that has so blessed our state.

Now, take a look at today’s drought conditions in your state of California:

Look familiar?

Friends, there is no difference between Texas and California. God loves us just the same. His promises apply to all of us. What he did for us he will do for you.

I’m writing to encourage pastors and believers in California to commit to a unified, statewide effort of fasting and prayer. Don’t just seek rain, seek revival! Confess your collective sins. Seek his face together. Honor and defer to each other in love.

I was so humbled and thrilled to hear about to 100,000 of you who gathered to pray for awakening just a few weeks ago. God will honor that!

Now, imagine the picture that comes next. Imagine a map of your great state covered in white–no ugly browns and reds. Just pure white. (That’s symbolic, by the way.) Pray that image into reality.

Remember, God does MORE than we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). It will happen.

And know that your brothers and sisters here in Texas are agreeing with you.

Yea God!

Respectfully Submitted,

Will Davis Jr

Sr. Pastor, Austin Christian Fellowship

Austin, Texas

 

 

Dear New Believer, When Temptation Hits

When I think about the verses in the Bible that I want you to know, this is one of them. It’s very encouraging. It’s about temptation:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Temptation takes on all sorts of forms and comes in all shapes and sizes:

It invites you to doubt, worry and question God’s goodness
It pushes you toward a burst of anger
It nudges you to look at a website you shouldn’t, or to look at another person inappropriately
It encourages you to lie on your income tax statement
It makes you feel it’s okay to judge others
It tells you to think terrible things about people of different ethnicities
It provides bad words for you to say about or to others
It woos you to break your marriage vows

Like I said, temptation takes on all forms.

But as this verse tells you, your temptations are neither new, unusual or unique to you — no temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man.

You’re not the only person to feel the way you do. You’re not alone in your temptation.

That’s really important to know — that Satan hasn’t singled you out for some weird, super-temptation. In the language of the Bible, it’s common.

And that should tell you something. The devil doesn’t have any new tricks. What he did to Eve in the Garden — questioned the goodness of God, twisted God’s Word and flat-out lied — is all he’s still doing today. Nothing new at all.

Thus, we’re stupid if we keep falling for his tricks.

So, the next time you feel discouraged, fearful or pulled to sin, remember the source. And as we’ll see as we dive more into this verse, you don’t have to fail.

You have choices. Yea God.

Start a Conversation This Father’s Day

This Father’s Day, why not start a conversation with your father about God?
Or, if you need to, start a conversation with God about your father.
A Man Who Told You the Truth will help you do both.
Order here.

Daily Bread

What follows is from my book Enough: Finding More by Living with Less.

Back to the million-dollar question—what do I need? If you can figure that one out, you can skip the rest of the book and move on to much lighter subjects.

I need food. I need air. I need water. But I also need clothes. I need a place to live. I need income. I need transportation.

So what do I really need? And, when does need move over into the much more exciting world of want. I need food, but I want pizza. I need water, but I want it to be from the Rockies, or at least from an Arkansas spring. I need clothes, but I want Levi’s and Ariat boots.

On and on it goes. That’s why we have such a difficult time defining enough. In the ever-graying world between wants and needs, finding enough can prove to be very elusive.

Enter Jesus. The man we worship as King of Kings and Lord of Lords never struggled with the concept of enough. The God who left heaven to live as slave, the King of the universe who had no earthly place to lay his head, the creator of all things who died with absolutely nothing, never once struggled to figure out what enough meant. And he didn’t hesitate to make it clear to his disciples.

When his disciples asked him to teach them to pray, Jesus gave them the brief yet profound model of the Lord’s Prayer. In it, he included a line about seeking God’s provision. I’m sure you can quote it:

Give us this day our daily bread, (Matthew 6:11).

In one sweeping statement, Jesus presented his followers with a clear picture of what he considered to be enough. Jesus’ daily bread reference no doubt harkens back to the account of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness, where God gave them daily provision of manna and quail for forty years.

In Jesus’ mind, that’s all God promises. He promises to give us what we need today. He doesn’t promise to provide for tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. He doesn’t promise to provide in advance for our retirement. All he offers is today.

According to God, today is enough. And you know what’s really interesting? If we lived on what Jesus called enough, if we lived with just enough to meet our immediate needs, most of us would think we were poor. But we wouldn’t be.

We’d simply have enough.

 

Want to find out more about living with enough? Click Here.

 

The One-Sided Favor and Love of God

Our summer series at ACF is called Faith BC. We’re learning about our relationship with God from some of the most intriguing and exciting stories in the Old Testament.

Here’s this weekend’s message, the first in the series, focusing on the lopsided grace of God.

June 04 Video from Austin Christian Fellowship on Vimeo.

Letters to New Believers: This is How Much God Loves You

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16

I remember when my son, Will, was born.

I mean the very moment.

Susie had experienced a difficult labor, and there was a point when Will’s heart rate dropped and he was in obvious distress. The doctor decided to do an emergency C-section, and moments later we had our son.

I cried and cried. I remember putting my head down on Susie’s shoulder and crying — out of relief, exhaustion and, interestingly, perspective.

I had been a parent for less than five minutes, but I suddenly felt as if I understood this verse. Like I understood it for the very first time.

I now had a son. I had yet to even hold him, but I had this fierce sense of protectiveness for him. I knew right then and there that I would happily give my life for him. It was an instant feeling. I knew that I would do anything to protect him.

I knew that I would never put him in the hands or under the care of anyone I didn’t trust or who might hurt him.

And that’s when the full weight of this verse came pressing in.

God did.

God did give his Son.

God did put his Son into the hands of people he couldn’t trust.

God did give his Son over to people he knew would hurt him.

The thought was devastating. How could God do that? How could God ever part with his Son? How could God condemn his Son to a horrific death for people he didn’t even know?

The answer? Love. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the realization that God loved the world — including me — as much or even more than he loved his Son. His Son’s life was a price worth paying to give me the chance to know him. His Son’s life was worth the gamble, because many of those Jesus died for would reject him.

God saw that as an acceptable risk. He loved us so much that his Son’s life was worth giving, just so we could have the option of being saved.

That is a devastating and wonderful thought.

And, friend, it’s how much God loves and values you.

(Say this out loud): For God so loved me, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if  I believe in Him I will not perish, but have eternal life.

Kinda changes things, doesn’t it?

Four Ways to Pray for Planned Parenthood

This will be a short and simple post, but its message could change our country.

I came back from my sabbatical last summer committed to make a basic change in how I functioned.

I committed to stop saying I was pro-life and to start acting like it.

I led our church to start giving money to non-profits who are fighting abortion in the legal and legislative arenas (we already support pregnancy and adoption centers).

I started praying for the reversal of Roe v Wade.

And, I started praying for Planned Parenthood. I’m writing to ask, if you haven’t already, if you would add these four items to your prayer list.

Pray that Planned Parenthood will lose its clients.

I’m praying that churches and non-profits will be so effective at what they do that potential clients will stop walking into the doors of Planned Parenthood. I’m praying that the men and women who often seek out abortion services will have strategically-placed believers in their lives who can guide them to better options that are available to them.

Because if Planned Parenthood loses its client base, it will go out of business. Will you pray this with me?

Pray that Planned Parenthood will lose its workers.

I pray for the doctors, nurses and staff of Planned Parenthood. I’m praying they will see the error of their ways and immediately abandon all ties with Planned Parenthood. If you haven’t done so, you need to familiarize yourself with Abbey Johnson. Abbey is a former Planned Parenthood director who is now a vocal leader in the pro-life movement. Abbey’s story is as gut wrenching as it is inspiring.

If God can rescue Abbey from Planned Parenthood’s lies, he can rescue the rest of those who work there as well. Will you pray for their deliverance with me?

Pray that Planned Parenthood will lose its funding.

When the abortion industry is exposed for what it really is, only those truly committed to doing evil will continue to fund it. When the abortion industry is exposed for what it really is, the political and social pressure will be too great for most organizations to continue to affiliate with Planned Parenthood.

Thus, I pray that the real work and agenda of Planned Parenthood will be revealed and that it will lose all major funding. When the money dries up, so will the “services.” Will you pray this with me?

Finally, pray that the National Director of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, will fall madly in love with Jesus.

Cecile Richards is the daughter of former Texas Governor Ann Richards. My father knew Gov. Richards quite well. There was a point in her adult life when Gov. Richards would have described herself as a Christian and attended the Methodist church.

Cecile attended a private Episcopal school here in Austin. My point is that Ms. Richards is not ignorant of the Gospel. I am praying that it ambushes her. I am praying that she comes to personally know the love and grace that only Jesus can offer. I ‘m praying that God frees her from the lies she has fallen prey to.

I am praying that she fall passionately in love with Jesus.

Will you pray these things with me?

Dear Pastor, Here’s Great Wisdom from Seasoned Leaders

We recently introduced a new crop of summer interns at our church staff meeting. This is always a fun time, and it’s great to meet so many young and aspiring Christian leaders.

As part of the meeting, I asked several of our staff leaders to offer their best counsel to these young men and women. I think my question was: “What’s you best ministry advice to these young leaders?” What followed was pure gold.

Here’s some of what they said:

Volunteers are gold. Treat them well. If you serve kids or students directly, honor their parents and partner with them to help their kids grow.

Always be teachable. 

Always look for those kids (or anyone) on the fringe. It’s more work, it takes more commitment. But they need you to seek them out. It can be life-changing for everyone involved. Some of my most influential relationships have come from hard places.

Learning what to say “No” to is important. If you try to do everything, you’ll fail at everything. Not only that, but you may be depriving other people of serving in your place.

Stay desperate for the Lord. Long to be in his presence more than anything and remain completely humble and teachable.

When you plan for ministry, dream of something that only God can do. Begin to ask him for that and don’t let up until He answers. Pound on the doors of heaven until God does what only He can do. Don’t just try to accomplish the things that you can accomplish. Attempt what only God can do and lean into Him to accomplish it! 

God is always at work. Trust that He is working, that His Spirit is moving ahead of you, in the hearts of those you talk to. Even when it doesn’t feel like it, or you may not see evidence of it, He is working. So, ask Him what He wants you to do and respond to the nudges, knowing that He is at work in the lives of those He directs you to love, encourage, help along the way.

Remember: God is God, and I am not. Make prayer the most important thing you do in ministry, because you can’t out-plan, out-dream, or out-deliver God. He has great things for the people in your ministry — just ask Him!

Maintain balance in your personal and/or family life, because it’s easy to be consumed by ministry and neglect your closest loved ones. Your people still need you!

Live completely dependent on Christ and abide in him moment to moment. Always remember you have the fullness of Christ living in you through the new covenant. Don’t try to live for Christ, but let Christ live through you!

Keep trying to make an impact on someone even when you think they aren’t listening.  One day they will come around.

Never act like you’ve arrived. Regardless of your age, experience, or position — never quit learning. Find time to gain the wisdom of those who have gone before you. Similarly, don’t fall into the trap of thinking God’s done refining you. Your current season is just that — a season. Learn what you can, and lean into Him as He equips you for what’s next. Even if you’re desperate for a new beginning, today still has value because it can prepare you for tomorrow. 

Show grace to others. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you see others through his grace lenses, people united with you in Christ on this freedom journey. Extend grace to yourself when you make mistakes. Come clean, ask for and receive God’s forgiveness, then move on!

Never say never! Always be open to God’s leading and direction, which could mean change. Don’t be so stuck on a program, system or way of doing things that you are blind to other possibilities that might actually be better. Stay in tune with God to make sure that you hear him clearly and eliminate the confusion and frustration that can sometimes come with change.

Seek what Christ’s obedience looks like for you with a heart of “yes” — here you’ll find his peace and provision.

Remember that everyone you meet is made in the image of God, and treat them as such. That annoying student that dominates your time is made in the image of God. Their interactions with you just might change their life.  

Don’t be afraid to ask someone to help lead if God has placed that person on your heart. God has placed them on your heart for a reason, so seek that person out.

You are not responsible for what another person does with what you share with them. In ministry, we so often feel like what we share is very personal and we are giving a piece of ourselves for the other person to experience growth. But we are only responsible to those we serve; to share the truths God calls us to in that moment. What they do with that is their choice, leaving the rest of the work for the Holy Spirit to do within them. We are planting a seed which we may never see bear fruit, but we can let that go into God’s hands.

Remain in Christ. Abide in him. Without Christ, we can do NOTHING. We should wake up each morning believing that even our best fleshly effort today amounts to zero fruit tomorrow. In ourselves, we have nothing to share with the world. But in Christ, sweet fruit abounds.

Make us your family. Never hesitate to ask questions, and never hesitate to ask for prayer. 

When pouring in to teens this summer, it’s easy to fill your calendar with Kingdom stuff but be too busy for your own daily time with God. Mark your calendars first — your date (quiet time) with God is essential for your success with the teens. 

It’s all about relationships. Build godly relationships with everyone you encounter. Share ideas. Encourage one another daily. Relationships will carry you through the good times and the tough times!

Even though you may not know the spiritual impact immediately of what you are putting your time and effort to, God can use anything to build His kingdom. Whether big, small, significant or insignificant, your part is to be obedient to the ministry season you are in.

Tap into the immeasurable power of the Holy Spirit, who can do infinitely more than any of us could ever hope, dream, or even imagine. Good programming, content, curriculum are all fantastic; but it is God who qualifies us to do His work. The difference between getting the job done and doing it with excellence is often found in the percentage we yield to His Spirit. To Him be the glory for the mind-blowing results. 

Every time you walk into a room, remember that every person in the room is more important than you are. The lower the socio-economic levels of the people in the room, the truer that becomes.


It is impossible to over-pray. You can’t. You should definitely try to over-pray. Give it your best shot! But know that it’s impossible.

Letters to New Believers: What Your Baptism Means

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.  As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” Acts 8:35-36

If you think about it, baptism can look like a rather odd practice. I mean, what’s up with pouring water on a baby’s forehead? Or, even more dramatically, dunking a person in water and thinking that it has some sort of meaning?

Knowing what your baptism means will help you enjoy it and, honestly, prepare for it.

In the story above, the eunuch from Ethiopia (a man assigned to protect the Queen) heard about Jesus from the deacon Philip. As soon as he saw a pool of water he asked Philip to baptize him.

What was he seeking? What did he think he’d accomplish? And at your baptism, what will you accomplish? Let me list two things:

Identification. Baptism is the international and timeless means of identifying with Jesus and thus with his followers. Since our leader Jesus was baptized, we are baptized as a means of aligning ourselves with his person and his cause.

I like to portray baptism in two ways: One, it’s like putting on your favorite team’s jersey. Baptism tells the world whose team you are on. Two, it’s like a wedding ring. It says you’re off the market. Your spirit belongs to Jesus.

When you get baptized, you’re choosing to publicly identify yourself with Jesus.

Symbolism. There’s no magical power to baptism. The water cannot wash away your sin. No physical act or thing can. But the act of immersion (the word baptize means to immerse in water) paints several beautiful pictures for us.

First, it symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The submersion and subsequent rising up from the water retells the story of Jesus’ suffering, death, burial and resurrection every time someone is baptized.

Second, it symbolizes Jesus’ blood washing us clean from all our sins.

Third, it symbolizes our being born again. (Remember Nicodemus in John 3? Jesus told him he needed to be born a second time.) Baptism represents our new birth. It represents the death and burial of our old, sinful selves and our resurrection to new life in Christ.

Yep, I know that’s a lot to think about. The point is that baptism is a really big deal.

And remember what I told you yesterday: Baptism is an act of obedience and God honors obedience.

Ponder these meanings today and maybe even pray about them.