Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 77

When Was the Last Time You Heard God Speak

I was privileged tho speak this weekend at ACF on the subject of hearing God through the Bible. God was very gracious and used the message powerfully in many people’s lives.

Do you want to sharpen your God-listening skills? You can watch here:

Click Here to download the audio.

My New Day TV and Enough, Part 2

Are you ready to read Enough for yourself? CLICK HERE

 

Trump Should Give the $5 Million Anyway

Yesterday, Donald Trump challenged President Obama to release his college transcripts and his passport records in return for a $5 million gift to a charity chosen by the President. (Read the full story here). This was part of an October surprise planned by Trump. To say Trump’s plan fizzled would be an understatement.

But all is not lost. Mr. Trump has the opportunity to still be the hero in this story. How? By simply giving the money anyway.

Charitable gifts shouldn’t be politicized or used to drum up publicity. If Trump really has $5 million ready to give to a charity, then he needs to give it right now, today. He needs to give it whether it makes news or not, whether the President complies or not, and whether he gets credit or not.

I’ve spent a significant amount of time staring in the face of poverty. I have many friends who serve in desperate settings all over the world. I know firsthand just how much good, impact and life-saving $5 million could do. Trump could single-highhandedly bring water to millions, or shelter to hundreds of thousands, or clothes, food and medical care to countless others if he’d go ahead and give that money. He could build schools, provide much needed city services and infrastructures, and even give protection for the unprotected with that money. He could address the tent cities in Haiti, the street orphans in Calcutta or the homeless in L.A. with that money. The opportunities are there right now. All Mr. Trump has to do is pony up.

And honestly, that’s all the rest of us have to do as well. The money to address many of the critical social needs here at home and around the world is out there. We just need to better understand the value of ending injustice and oppression with our God-given resources than hanging on to them for an opportunity–political, personal or professional–that may never come.

Go get’em Mr. Trump. The blessing is yours for the making.

 

 

External vs. Internal Cleanliness

It was the worst case of leftover food mutiny I’d ever seen. My college roommate had prepared a massive feast, including a huge pot of duck stew. We nicknamed it “Drunk Duck” because of the large amount of alcohol the recipe required. Anyway, after dinner was over, we went to bed and forgot all about the dishes . . . . for several days. When we finally returned to face the kitchen, we found that the pot which had held the drunk duck was literally alive. Hundreds, if not thousands, of maggots had found the pot’s interior to be the perfect breeding ground. There was no cleaning-up that mess. All of it went into a garbage bag and out to the dumpster. What’s interesting is that when we first walked into the kitchen, everything looked normal. The pot containing the maggot community actually appeared to be clean from the outside. Only a glance into the interior revealed what was really going on. And there’s the point: it’s not the outside cleanliness of a dish or cup that determines its usefulness, but the inside.

So consider this: You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Matthew 23:26

Jesus used this image to rebuke those whose religion focused on external appearances rather than internal realities. They were interested in how one dressed or what rules one kept. As long as the external details were watched, the condition of one’s heart remained irrelevant. Jesus would have no part of such empty religion. He pointed out that a cup with only a clean exterior was still useless to its owner. Its real condition is shown by what’s inside. That’s why Jesus said that lust was the same as adultery, and hate was the same as murder. It’s our internal condition that reflects where we really are before God. Any religion that doesn’t bring about internal change is ultimately useless. Men don’t need clean shells; they need pure hearts.

So take a look at your vessel. What’s the inside like? Is it pure and holy, or do hate, sin and death reside there? Let Jesus cleanse, heal and forgive what’s inside. Confess your sin. Invite Jesus’ Spirit to fill you, to restore you from the inside out. Then, you’ll be clean.

Is Luxury a Sin?

Yesterday I pulled a magazine out of my mailbox that had the words Luxury and Living in the title. It was a real estate magazine featuring some of the higher-end homes in our area. I’m not sure how they got my name or why they thought I’d be interested in a luxury home. The cover was graced with a shot of a beautiful home, well-lit at night, that looked warm and inviting.

The magazine started me thinking: Is it a sin to live in luxury? I mean, the Bible is filled with characters in both Testaments who lived in palaces or nice homes and still seemed to love God. But then when you read Revelation 18 and you hear of Babylon being judged for living in luxury and riches, you’ve got to wonder--Is God against riches?

David confessed in 1 Chronicles 29 that “both riches and honor come from you,” (see verse 12). But then Jesus commented that it was nearly impossible for the rich to get to heaven. So which is it? Is it bad to be rich?

No. God is indeed the source of all things, including our material and financial means. But we get into trouble if we misinterpret why God has given to us so amply. It’s not for us. If you have even a small degree of “wealth” by the world’s standards (for a great discussion of what it means to be rich, see my wife’s blog today), then you might need to remind yourself that your stuff isn’t yours.

Every blessing we receive is meant to be shared. Are you wealthy? I am, and God fully expects me to share that wealth with others and to use it for his Kingdom.

So go ahead and sponsor that child in a third world country. Go ahead and give to your friend who is raising money for a mission trip to India. Go ahead and put a foster child in your spare bedroom. Go ahead and write a check to that crisis pregnancy center.

If you’ve got more than you need, that’s what it’s for.

Want to know more? Click Here.

 

A Great Prayer for Yourself and for Those You Love

I love Psalm 119. Many of the verses are perfectly written prayers. Here’s an example of one I pray frequently:

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. Psalm 119:133

Sin, by its very nature, is addictive. It is very alluring. Once tasted, it creates an appetite for more that can be difficult to overcome. Sin is designed to make you hungry and then to enslave you with ever-increasing cravings. Sin takes prisoners and sin makes captives.

Notice what David prayed: Let no sin rule over me. I love that because of David’s zero-tolerance policy. It wasn’t acceptable for David to be 90% free; he wanted 100% freedom from sin. That doesn’t mean that he never sinned, it means that no sin would rule him. It means that he would be the slave of none but God.

What about you? Look at your life right now, at this precise moment, and honestly consider whether any sin owns you. What about jealousy, worry, anger, fear, lust, pride, or lack of faith? What about addictions to work, alcohol and drugs, pornography or spending money? Just name the area and sin will find a way to addict you to it.

So look at David’s battle plan. He took very deliberate steps to avoid sin’s attractions. His prayer? Direct my footsteps according to your word. David’s defense strategy was really quite simple: follow God’s Word. Now remember that David’s Bible was the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Old Testament. That’s the Word that David knew most. He believed that what God had said through Moses in the Old Testament was enough to keep his soul free from sin. And so he bet the farm on it. David’s plan was God’s Word. If he was faithful to take his steps according the God’s promises, God would be faithful to steer David clear of sin’s strongholds.

The same still works today and we are much better equipped than David. We have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the teachings of the Old Testament prophets, and we have the entire New Testament. God has set us up to win.

Determine today to walk according to God’s Word. No sin should ever rule you. Free yourself into the delightful slavery to God’s promises. Pray with David: Lord, direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.

Will Discusses Enough on Canadian TV

Want to know more? CLICK HERE

Prayers for Marriage Intimacy

Looking for more intimacy in marriage? Try praying. Here are some pinpoint prayers to pray for your marriage intimacy:

Pray about your relationship with God . Pray that you’ll feel totally free and secure before him. Pray that your relationship with God will be the most important and meaningful in your life. Pray that for your spouse as well.
Pray for authenticity before God . Confess your sins and your deepest fears and feelings to him. Don’t hide from him.
Pray every day for your spouse . Pray that he or she will be real and authentic before God.
If possible, pray every day with your spouse . If one of you is out of town, pray over the phone. Always pray together at night before you go to sleep.
Ask God to show you where you’re being inauthentic in marriage . Pray for the opportunity and courage to really “be naked” before your spouse.
Pray that your marriage will be the safe and authentic place that God intends it to be .
Pray that God will give you and your spouse the gift of emotional intimacy .

Verses about Relational Intimacy to Pray for Your Marriage

Genesis 2:24-25, Father, I pray that my spouse and I will every day leave other sources of human dependency and cleave to each other. Make us one, the way you intended marriage to be. I pray also, Lord, that you will give us the courage, grace and love to be relationally naked before each other without shame. Please make me a safe place for my spouse, and make my spouse safe for me.
Ephesians 4:15, Holy Father, give us the commitment and the courage to always tell each other the truth, and to do so in love.
Ephesians 4:29, Precious God, protect us from speaking evil, mean or unwholesome words to each other. Train us to speak only those words that build up each other and that encourage intimacy.

A Pinpoint Marriage Prayer

Precious Father, thank you for the gift of intimacy. Thank you for dying to make it possible for me to have intimacy with you. Please be the most important relationship in my life. Help me to love you, desire you and need you more than anyone or anything else. I pray for my marriage. Help us to be secure enough in you to be authentic with each other. Make us like Jesus—knowing where we came from and where we are going—so that we can humble ourselves, wash each other’s feet, and share even our deepest hurts and fears. Give us, oh God, Eden-level intimacy.  I pray this for us in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Want to know more about praying for your marriage, CLICK HERE.

The Ultimate Virus

Hollywood screenplay writers and well-known novelists love the story of the ultimate virus. Countless movies have been made and books written, each with basically the same plot. The story-line typically reads like this: a vicious virus has been unleashed on humanity. Thousands of people have died horrible deaths and millions more are infected. The wicked bug is spreading like wildfire. (I’m pretty sure 24 used this storyline in at least two of their seasons.) Even the President’s lovely teenage daughter has been stricken. The world literally stands paralyzed with fear in the face of the death-producing machine. (Now for this next part, you need to read it in your best Hollywood, deep, movie-preview-announcer voice.) But one man, with all the weight of humanity on his shoulders, holds the cure. Can he, will he, be able to stop the death flood? Will he act in time? Can he save the day? You get the picture. You’ve probably seen the movie and read the book.

Consider this: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned . . . . Romans 5:12

Here’s Hollywood meeting biblical reality.  According to the biblical writer Paul, there really is a virus that has stricken all mankind. It spread from one man to all men. It’s incurable and fatal. If a solution is not found, all humanity will be wiped out by this vicious plague. The disease, of course, is sin. The Alpha carrier was Adam. Through his rebellion in the Garden the plague of sin entered the spiritual gene-pool of mankind and condemned all to sickness and death. The death that sin produces is not, however, just physical. It’s eternal. It’s a spiritual black death. It’s eternal damnation without God. No fate could be worse, and it awaits all men.

Could any plot be more intense? But friends, this one isn’t fiction, it’s real. Every one of us really has been condemned and faces a hopeless eternity. And it’s true—one man really does hold the key to our redemption.

For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Romans 5:15

Jesus came through and provided the cure for all who will receive it. Jesus didn’t just face the virus, he died from it. And Jesus didn’t just provide the cure, he became it. His own shed blood is the antidote for the eternal curse of sin.

Have you come to the humbling realization that you are S.I.N. positive? Do you know that your soul will die and spend eternity in Hell if left to itself? And, do you know that one man did for all of us what we could not do for ourselves? Jesus really is the superhero. He really did save the day. He really will forgive you, heal you and secure your eternal future.

This isn’t fiction, it’s the Gospel truth. You don’t have to die from the super-bug of sin. Let the super-savior save you today.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

OK. This is Seriously Cool.

Sometimes my job allows me to see really cool things–people at their best. Last week was one of those times.

A couple in our church came into some money. It was kind of an unexpected windfall. With such a serendipitous event comes the opportunity to use, spend, manage or invest the unexpected cash. This couple isn’t independently wealthy. They’re raising kids and paying a mortgage and live in a modest house in an equally modest neighborhood. They could easily put that money to any number of good uses, including tucking it away for college.

But the couple is in a small group with several other families. They’re trying to live their lives in the context of Christian community. They’re trying to take seriously Jesus’ command to love their neighbors as themselves. So as they were considering their new financial options, they thought of one couple in their small group that had fallen into a difficult financial season. A reduced work load, then unemployment, then a much lower-paying job had left this breadwinner and his family facing foreclosure on their home. The couple–the ones with the windfall–decided to help the other couple in their small group.

What did they do? They gave them the money. All of it. Every penny. Without the benefit of a tax write-off, without their names going on a plaque, without any fanfare at all. It’s one of the coolest acts of Christian love, of generosity, of moving toward enough and of others-centered living I’ve seen in a long time. It really inspired me and encouraged my spirit. These two are a great example of Christian disciples who obviously mean business about following Jesus. They make me want to be a better Christian.

I was so inspired by this story I shared it as part of my message last weekend. It was equally inspiring to all who heard it.

But I was missing a detail. Only yesterday did I hear the rest of the story. There’s a part of this that I didn’t know. The couple who gave the money away–the wife is a stay-at-home mom. The husband? He’s recently unemployed. They don’t have any foreseeable income and they still chose to give their unexpected financial blessing away.

The biblical writer Paul used the believers in Macedonia as an example of Christian generosity. Even though they were suffering terrible hardship, they insisted in participating in a love offering for their suffering brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Paul described them this way:

Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!— pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. 2 Corinthians 8:1-4

Looks to me like the Macedonians have a little Twenty-First Century competition. Yea God.