Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 7

How Far Does Forgiveness Go?

Bob and Audrey Meisner were living their dream. They were co-pastoring a growing church and were co-hosts of an internationally known Christian television show. They had three beautiful kids and what appeared to be a very happy marriage.

But the curse of busyness hit their marriage and Audrey found herself not only feeling a little disconnected from Bob but also enjoying the attention of a younger man in their congregation. Before long the two had become emotionally enmeshed, and not long after, the relationship became sexual.

Audrey was unfaithful to her husband and put everything they had worked for—their relationship, their family, and their ministry—in jeopardy. After a few weeks, Audrey broke off the affair and confessed her sin to Bob.

How would you respond?

What do you do when the person you love and trust most in the world betrays you in an unimaginable way? How can forgiveness even be an option at that point?

Bob and Audrey resigned their respective church and television positions, relocated to a different city, and took refuge in a church where they hoped to begin the healing process. After a few weeks, they discovered that Audrey had gotten pregnant as a result of the affair.

Again, let me ask you: How would you respond?

Are there limits to what you’re willing to forgive? Are there some sins that are just so grievous, some offenses that are just so heinous, that you know you could never forgive them? Surely, if there are such deal-breaking sins, Audrey had committed them. Surely she deserved to be publicly exposed and then cast off by her husband, who obviously could do better. Right?

What would you do?

Bob didn’t divorce Audrey. He didn’t cast her off, and he didn’t reject the baby she was carrying.

By God’s grace, and by the power of God’s Spirit living in him and loving through him, Bob embraced them both. He forgave Audrey. He helped their children understand the reality of the circumstances surrounding Audrey’s pregnancy without shaming or condemning her.

Then he began to rebuild and restore his family. And a few months later, when Audrey gave birth to a baby boy, Bob gave the baby his own name: Robert Theodore Meisner.

That’s what forgiveness looks like. It’s one of the most powerful, disarming forces in the world.

For more of Bob and Audrey’s amazing story or to get some of their resources, visit their website at www.bobandaudrey.com.

Forgiveness is one of the sweetest gifts one human can give to another. It’s a mental, emotional, and volitional act of grace that may be unmatched in its breathtaking implications for the life of both the offender and the forgiver.

And for Christians, it isn’t optional. Jesus requires us to forgive all who wrong us, no matter how significant or frequent the offense.

How Your Dad Determines Your View of God

I remember the first time I heard the concept. I was a young and very green pastor. I was on the phone with a Christian counselor after a member in my congregation tried to kill herself. His comment to me at first seemed irrelevant, “Unfortunately it makes sense. She had a terrible relationship with her dad.”

Thus began my understanding of one of the most important spiritual truths in our relationship with God.

Your image of God is initially set by the image you have of your earthly father. Your relationship with God will parallel your relationship with your dad until you rethink God.

Like it or not, we all have limited pictures of God because every earthly dad is fallible. And, if you had a tough situation with your earthly father, you’re going to have to work even harder to see God for who he really is and come to trust him.

I literally have thirty years of examples of this important principle, but I only have to go back a few days to find some.

I was talking to a nurse at a doctor’s office last week. She confessed years of anger, disappointment and mistrust of God. I asked her, “What was your dad like?” Her response, “Which one?” was all I needed to hear. She never met her biological dad and her step dad was a thug. Enter God-baggage.

Or the beautiful young seventeen-year-old who became a Christian at one of our Easter services. She said that she really struggled with belief in God. When I asked about her dad, she replied, “I really don’t see or talk to him.”

I could go on and on.

When you run into someone with an extreme anti-God sentiment, typically their dad story tends to be pretty dismal. In other words, 99.9% of the atheists and agnostics I’ve talked to or had friendships with over the years had terrible dad stories. The stronger their disbelief in God, the more difficult their dad story.

So if you’re reading this right now and you’ve never really been close to God, or you have trouble trusting or believing in him, or if you really think that belief in God is the worst thing that has ever happened to humanity, then I’d invite you to take a look at your own big picture. What type of spiritual legacy did you inherit? What was your dad like? What was his dad (your granddad on his side) like?

People are born with a predisposition toward belief, not away from it. Thus, when someone comes to the conclusion that God is not good or that he doesn’t exist, there’s usually some severe cultural conditioning in the mix. Even those who use science to make their case against God typically have difficult dad stories. In other words, while they may see science as supporting their belief that there is no God, it didn’t cause it.

Bottom line: I’ve learned that one of the most important questions I can ever ask a person is “Can you tell me about your dad?”

That’s why knowing Jesus is so important. He came to set the record straight about God.

Think about what Jesus taught and did. Think about how he elevated the status of women and showed love and mercy to sinners. Think about his passion for justice and his defense of the oppressed. Think about how he opposed religious pride and hypocrisy. And, think about how he died to give every person the chance to know God and be saved–even those who would reject him.

Consider this brief exchange between Jesus and his disciple, Phillip:

Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”  Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:8-9)

Jesus portrayed everything we need to know about God. Our job is just to rethink God in light of who Jesus revealed him to be. Once we do that, we’re on our way to an intimate relationship with the God that Jesus’ died to give us.

By the way, I devote an entire chapter to this topic in my book A Man Who Told Us the Truth.

 

 

 

 

 

Three Reasons to Pray for a Robust Faith

Everything–and I do mean everything–that you hope to accomplish in your life as a Christ-follower requires faith. Faith is the backdrop before which we live our Christian lives. It’s the stage we act on, the field we play on and the house we live in. It is impossible to segregate faith from Christianity. One requires the other.

That’s why we need to pray like the disciples did: Lord, increase our faith! (Luke 17:5). Praying for faith is like adding air to a low tire. It will help you move along more effectively and efficiently in God’s Kingdom. Here are three biblical reasons to pray for a robust faith:

Faith pleases God.

The writer of Hebrews got right to the point when expressing his understanding of his faith: Without it, you can’t please God (see Hebrews 11:6). The means by which humans connect with God is faith. Without faith, we’ll never be able to have a relationship with him. Faith opens the door to knowing, loving and serving God.

God is not like a mean and scary wizard who tries to intimidate and chase off all who would dare to approach him. Rather, God is the kind and approachable creator of the universe who honors and blesses those who approach him in faith. He wants a relationship with every one of us.

You want to be a person of faith because it is the means by which we approach, know and relate to God. God will honor your desire for faith. Pray that your faith will grow.

Faith sees what others don’t.

Faith is the ability by God’s grace to see what others don’t. It’s the capacity to look into an insurmountable set of circumstances and find the hope and provision of God, even when those around you can’t.

Faith is having the awareness of God’s Kingdom in the world, even when no one else around knows it’s there. Jesus taught that all who are born again can see God’s Kingdom (John 3:3); it’s by faith that we do. Faith opens your eyes to the power of God in your daily life, and it is impossible for you to experience the abundant life that God promised you without it.

Faith opens the door to the miraculous.

Matthew 13 records what I believe is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. After Jesus had spent a frustrating few days in his hometown of Nazareth, Matthew wrote, “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith,” (Matthew 13:58). There is an obvious relationship between our faith and God’s willingness to work miraculously among us. The verse doesn’t say that Jesus couldn’t do miracles in Nazareth; it says he didn’t do miracles there. It seems that God doesn’t feel obligated to work where his power is doubted.

That’s good! I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that distinction.

Faith is the red carpet that the power of God walks down. Faith is the key that unlocks the treasury of God’s unlimited resources. Faith paves the way for the presence and anointing of God. The relationship between faith and God’s power is simple: If one is not there you won’t find the other.

But the reverse is true as well. God is ready and willing to work in miraculous ways wherever faith resides. Had the people of Nazareth not doubted Christ, the verse could just as easily have read: And Jesus did many miracles there because of their great faith. What a difference faith makes!

If you want your life to be a place where God’s power resides, then you want him to find faith residing in you. Pray for a great faith! Pray that your belief in the presence and power of God would be a conduit for his supernatural work in and through you.

Too many Christians view themselves as faith weaklings. In reality, you can’t become a Christian without faith. So, stop believing that you don’t have any and start praying like you do. Then, pray for more faith. God will give it to you.

Your Finest Hour

As we approach Good Friday, I pray you will consider the following:

I believe that Jesus was the man who told us the truth, the truth that he heard from God.

He told us the truth about ourselves—our origins, our needs, our God baggage and our potential. He told us the truth about God—his love for us, his plan for us and his efforts to rescue us from our sins.

He told us the truth about evil—its true source, its ability to control us and how he was going to conquer it.

He told us the truth about death and Heaven. He taught us that death need not be feared, and he promised that, if we followed him, he would come back and personally take us to Heaven.

He told us the truth about love—love that is unmerited and undeserved and love that does not require reciprocity—and commanded us to love each other as he loved us.

And finally, he told us the truth about himself. He claimed to be a man who told us exactly what he heard from God. He claimed to be one with the creating God of the universe.

He said that he had come to save us, that he would rise from the dead (an event that remains irrefutable in history), that he would send us his Holy Spirit to guide us and that he would come back to establish his kingdom on earth.

He talked to God as if he were a peer; he accepted worship and claimed to be both Teacher and Lord. He said that if he was lifted up from the earth, he would draw all people to himself.

I wonder if he is drawing you now?

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, it was his finest hour. In that hour, he showed his love not only for his Father through his rugged obedience but also for you.

He showed that you mattered to him, enough that he should die for you. He demonstrated that you were worth pursuing, worth wooing and worth the sacrifice of his life. He showed that the religious systems of humans were not good enough for your spirit. He showed that your soul could only be redeemed by something of greater value—him.

When Jesus died, he dealt once and for all with the issue that separated you from God and threatened to condemn you in eternity.

When he died, he paved the way to God for you by his own blood.

When Jesus died, he proved that he was not a great religious leader, but rather the greatest religious offering.

And when he died, he left the door open for you to become part of the largest and most blessed family in the world—God’s. Jesus did all of this for you when he died.

When Jesus died for you, it was his finest hour. When you embrace him, it will be yours.

Truth with Skin on It

Have you ever thought about about the outlandish nature of some of Jesus’ statements? I mean, have you ever really thought about them?

Given the approaching Easter weekend, I’d like to nudge you this week to think about Jesus.

Consider this:

Most religious leaders point beyond themselves to something other or something greater. They include themselves as being on the journey to discover truth and offer instructions and insights on how to get there.

Not Jesus. He brazenly pointed back to himself and basically said, “If you want to know truth, look no further. It is standing right before you.” In short, Jesus linked truth to himself.

Jesus’ most notorious “I-equal-truth” statement is found in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Scholars and skeptics alike have gone to great extremes to unpack and disarm this over-the-top declaration of Jesus. By far, this statement has created the most controversy for Christianity. It seems too narrow and exclusive.

No wonder people take issue with it. Jesus would be much more palatable and would fit better into the synchronistic religious landscape if he wasn’t credited with such an outlandish statement. As a result, many throughout history have worked overtime to remove the stinging implications of Jesus’ claim.

I, for one, feel no need to come to Jesus’ rescue here or try to diffuse this rather contentious comment. This man not only claimed to be God but also accepted worship as God. That being the case, this statement doesn’t seem so out of place for him.

Please don’t reduce Christ’s comments to something that he did not intend them to be. Jesus wasn’t stupid. He knew full well the implications of claiming to be “the way to God” in a highly monotheistic society. This was no slip of Jesus’ tongue; it needs no spin-doctor to clean it up. Jesus meant what he said. To do justice to any serious investigation of him, we can’t afford to dilute his comments.

Jesus wanted his audience to believe that he was truth revealed, truth with skin on it. He wanted men and women to point their respective searches for ultimate reality squarely in his direction, and then to stop when they got to him.

He claimed that if seekers of purpose, meaning and truth bet the spiritual farm on him, they would indeed find what they were looking for.

That’s pretty high cotton for a small-town carpenter.

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681A Psalm of Thanksgiving Oh Lord, you have heard our...

681

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

 

Oh Lord, you have heard our cries

And you have answered our prayers

You are so good

You have kept your Word

And been faithful to your promises

Before we called, you answered

While we were still speaking, you heard

We prayed in your name

And you gave us what we prayed for

We agreed

And you honored our agreement

We are overwhelmed by your goodness

And we are humbled by your favor

You filled our radar screens with green, yellow and red images

Storms that covered half our state

You washed out dry creeks

You flooded empty riverbeds

You showed your mighty power

By sending rain in and out of season

We prayed

And you answered

We stood before our city leaders and called on you to end the drought

You did

We stood before our city leaders and prayed for you to restore Lake Travis to its full level of 681

You did

A beautiful and very full Lake Travis on March 19, 2016, the day after it reached its full elevation   of 681 for the first time since April of 2010.

We asked that you fill the lake as a metaphor of what you are going to do in our city

You have

Lord you have been so faithful over the years

You have heard our prayers and answered them

Once again you showed yourself strong on behalf of your people

Once again you have proven yourself to be mighty

How can we not praise you

How can we not bless you

How can we not tell our children of your amazing acts

How can we not boast of you to those you don’t know you

Thank you Lord

Thank you Father

Thank you Faithful One

Thank you Promise Keeper

We lift our hands in your name

We bless you for your goodness

Thank you for filling Lake Travis to 681

Thank you for ending the drought

Oh Lord, you have heard our cries

And you have answered our prayers

You are so good

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just Say “Yes” to God

Here’s another great ACF success story. This one is from Claire Balfour:

Long before our small group did a study called “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat” by John Ortberg, I started getting out of my boat…but I was always keeping a foot inside as a tether so I would not fall into deep water.  This is the story of how God showed me how to step out with both feet.

The story begins when I took an early retirement from my long career at the age of 47 to spend more time with my family and God.

Next, our family started sponsoring a child in Nicaragua through our church, Austin Christian Fellowship and NRN, Nicaragua Resource Network, in 2008.  The child’s name was Reyna and she was 11 years old at the time.

We wrote letters and sent gifts to her until 2011, which was the year that everything changed for us. A leader in our children’s ministry came back from Nicaragua to tell us she had met Reyna. Although Reyna and her family were on the verge of losing their home and in severe poverty, her only request was for me to visit her.  Reyna didn’t ask for a new home or any urgent supplies, she just wanted to meet me.

Until then, I had assumed that just sending money was sufficient. Was I ready to get out of my comfort zone to actually go there? A few months later, my husband, Derek, went on his first men’s mission trip to Nicaragua. He came home with a video of Reyna.

She had me at “Hola.” Her voice was like an angel and my husband told me everything about her was angelic. Her heart for the Lord was overwhelming and filled with joy. My heart raced, for I knew what this meant.

With little hesitation, that year we traveled to Nicaragua for the first time as a family with our two girls, McKinzie, 10, and Georgia, 9. Reyna ran to me when our eyes met. It was like a scene in the movies. Tears flowed and hugs were in abundance. We have been back every year since.

In 2014, I was asked by ACF to start leading short-term Mission trips, which I assumed would be family trips since that was what I had experience with. But, as we know, God always has His plan.

To my surprise, our missions leader asked me to lead trips for the special needs students at the schools in Nicaragua. Now THAT was out of my comfort zone! I have no experience with special needs kids…I love them and think that they are sweet…but other than that, I wondered why God chose this for me.

That night I prayed about the decision that I had to make, but had not spoken to my family about the offer. At breakfast the next morning, out of the blue my daughter said to me, “I would like to teach special needs children to dance!” What? It was as if God had spoken through her. Her voice even seemed different.

The following day, I left for Northern Wisconsin to see my dad and step mom. She was struggling with cancer and I wanted to be there for them. After flying from Austin, TX to Minneapolis, MN, I caught a van shuttle for the three hour drive to our beautiful cabin in the woods in Hayward. I knew it was going to be a long ride, because as I took my first step into the van I heard God whisper “BE QUIET”.  Then, he said,“Listen, Be Still!” It was actually a very stern demand. I did not hear him audibly, but yet I knew He was serious.

I was tired, so it didn’t seem like much of a request at the time. There was not a cloud in the sky and the snow glistened in the barren trees. The dried cornstalks flowed in the wind as we passed through the Swedish small towns. The barns roofs were covered with snow and the frozen lakes entertained the ducks.

A woman with a thick northern accent began to talk to the two men in the front seat. Her name was Carole. She shared her amazing stories of ministering in over 50 nations for the past 30 years. I listened to her countless stories of being a missionary in volatile situations. She traveled by faith and not by finances, sharing with the riders in our van about God’s provision and saying “yes” to all the things He asked of her. She talked of how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. She mentioned she had written a book about her experiences, which I promptly googled while still sitting quietly in the back row. As I read her excerpt, chills moved down my body. Her excerpt read “Trust God and walk on the water”. Seriously? Did I just read that?  I knew I was an ordinary person, but was I meant to take a risk and do something out of my comfort zone?

When I returned to Austin the signs continued to point to YES. There were dozens of friends and acquaintances that said, “Did you know that I used to be a special needs teacher” or “I am a therapist for special needs children.” Many of these people I have known for years and never knew their backgrounds.

Finally, when the “500th” person said something like that, my response was “Of course, you are!” God was speaking to me through other people. I finally said YES.

Nearly a year later, after leading my first Special Needs Mission Trip, on the 4oth day of 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting, I was praying for God to give me more guidance on how to further my gifts and skills. It was not the 39th day, nor the 41st day, but as God always has things lined up perfectly, I received a call from NRN asking if I would be a Short Term Mission Trip Coordinator on the 40th day! God had answered my prayer.  How could I not say YES?

That day I got out of the boat. No life jacket. No floaties. No foot still tethered to the boat. I started walking on water with both feet.  I wanted to try to be as much like Jesus as I could.  I am still ordinary, but trying to do extraordinary things that are significant for Him.

Get uncomfortable and say YES. Put down all the stuff in your hands and keep them open for God’s blessings.

http://nicaresourcenet.org/

http://www.acfellowship.org/

http://www.amazon.com/Miracles-Milestones-Carole-Haskins-Hale/dp/1498414974

Claire W. Balfour

Wife, mother of two girls, mother of 4 Nicaraguan sponsor children including a special needs daughter, and an obedient daughter of God.

 

If You’re Looking for God, You’re not Crazy

I am amazed at the number of people I meet who find themselves actually surprised by their own level of spiritual curiosity. Their reasons are varied, but the need for the search is nonetheless the same.

There’s the woman who just went through a painful divorce, and she’s wondering if she can ever trust and love again.

There’s the Fabio look-alike who does construction for a living. Women are lined up to get an evening with this guy, and yet he’s spending most of his time these days thinking about the possible reality of God.

There’s the successful trial lawyer, a self-described “recovering Catholic,” who is having strange urges to give church another try.

There’s the CEO who is coming to the terrifying realization that his money and expensive toys aren’t enough. He’s still hungry for more, something…spiritual.

There’s the irreligious parent who is just trying to stay one step ahead of her child’s questions about God.

There’s the husband and father who has experienced yet another massive moral failure. He’s beginning to wonder if he might not need some outside, spiritual input.

There’s the bright, highly educated, scientifically minded grad student. She has always found evolution to offer satisfactory explanations for her existence. Now, however, she’s finding that some of her previously accepted theories don’t really answer life’s more pressing questions.

And there are the grieving husband and wife, whose sudden and tragic loss of their child has left them emotionally breathless. As mad as they are at God, they have found themselves looking for him, hoping to find some sort of meaning in their child’s apparently senseless death.

Each of these real people is a summit seeker.

Can you relate to any of them? Are you somehow a reluctant but still determined seeker? Are you surprised that you’re reading a book about spiritual matters? Well, don’t be too concerned about your lack of intelligence or some inherent weakness on your part.

To be spiritual is actually quite normal. We are instinctively a spiritually inclined people. We seem to find it most natural to believe in something. There’s probably good reason for that.

There is the very great possibility that someone exists beyond you who is in fact wooing you.

In light of that possibility, I’d like to offer you a rather wild proposition. Now, given that we live in a culture that claims life is some big accident or that we were actually brought to earth by aliens, I don’t feel so bad asking you to consider a claim that seems on the surface to be rather outrageous.

So here it goes: I’d like you to consider the possibility that the answers to our most pressing questions can be found in the life, teachings and, strangely enough, the death of one man who lived over two thousand years ago. I’m inviting you to at least consider the possibility that Jesus of Nazareth, the humble Jewish carpenter and unlikely founder of the Christian faith, may indeed have been on to something when he said he was God’s Son.

–From A Man Who Told Us the Truth

The Untold Story of How Jesus’ Words Ended Up on the UT Tower

“Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Those words are etched across the centerpiece of the University of Texas campus and a major Austin landmark, the University of Texas tower.

In my book, A Man Who Told Us the Truth, I talk about the irony of a world-renown institution of higher learning quoting the founder of what is arguably the world’s most politically incorrect faith on its major campus landmark. I also point out the difference between academic truth and the perceived freedom it brings and the truth that Jesus was talking about. The differences are significant indeed.

It’s worth the read.

Also worth the read is the story of Wood Hall, the sculptor who literally risked his life to chisel the words into the sides of the now iconic tower.

At the time, he didn’t even know their true meaning or significance.

You can read the full story here. 

 

Confessions of a Formerly Pro-Choice Pastor

The year was 1987. I was the pastor of a Southern Baptist Church, I was working on a Master’s degree from the largest seminary in the world, and I was pro-choice.

That may come as a shock to you, but pro-choice was a very natural place for me to be at that stage in my life.

I grew up in the home of an elected official. Civics and being socially responsible was just part of my DNA.

I also grew up in a post Engel v. Vitale world, the 1962 Supreme Court decision that finalized the Court’s complete reversal of over 150 years of legal precedent and interpretation of the Bill of Rights. I grew up believing that church matters and state matters should never mingle, including in one’s personal life.

I know it was a completely immature bit of theology on my part, especially for a pastor, but it’s where I was.

I believed that it wasn’t any of my nor anyone else’s business what a woman did with her body. In my immature theology I somehow managed to overlook the standpoint of the unborn child and the biblical command to do justice.

I simply hadn’t thought about it.

At that point in my life I approached biblical and cultural issues with a very clear “separation clause” mindset.

(By the way, I’ve done extensive historical and documentary research into the writings of the framers of the Constitution. I believe the Court was dead wrong and socially/politically motivated when it flipped on the previous 150 years of protecting religion from government, not vice versa. Our country’s founders were very outspoken in their belief that our country couldn’t exist but for dependence on, humility before and the protection of God. But that’s another blog for another day.)

In other words, I didn’t let my Christian beliefs impact my politics. I felt no disconnect there. It seemed perfectly normal to me to love God with part of my brain and to think politically with the other.

It’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s true.

And that personal separation of church and state, of politics and faith, is where I believe many Christ-followers find themselves today.

Most of the pro-choice believers I know simply haven’t thought about it. They haven’t done their homework.

In my case, a friend challenged me to look at abortion through the eyes of Scripture and not just through the eyes of good civics. That was all it took.

I found a God who was active in the womb, forming the life of the unborn. I found the Scriptures exhorting me as a Christ-follower to be to protector and voice for those who cannot protect or speak for themselves. And, I found Jesus commanding me to protect and bring little children to him at all costs.

It was those biblical revelations, along with many others, that caused me to abandon my pro-choice stance.

My change (and repentance) was almost instantaneous. Once I began to look at cultural, social and political issues through the lens of the Scriptures, everything changed for me.

It wasn’t a political transformation, it was a biblical one.

I find the same is true for other believers. Once they start looking at front-page issues in light of God’s Word, their thinking changes.

No longer do their politics trump their faith; the faith inevitably dictates their politics.

Can I invite you to take a look at the social and political issues that motivate you through the lens of the Bible? Can I challenge you to embrace a world-view that responds biblically to what’s being done and said in our world?

I’m not asking you to change your politics, I’m asking you to change how you see the world.

 You have ordained Your precepts, That we should keep them diligently. Psalm 119:4