Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 86
June 7, 2012
It’s Me, It’s Me, It’s Me O Lord, Standing in the Need of Prayer
Years ago when I was pastoring a Baptist Church, there was a godly old deacon who loved to tease with me on Sundays. “Way to go, preacher!” he’d say to me after a sermon, “You really got after all those sinners today.” It was a running joke. There was probably no more humble man in our church, but he loved to talk about “those sinners” like he was outside of their domain. We both knew better.
Sadly, many in the church today do not. It’s easy to forget that Jesus had to die for us too. When you’ve been a Christian for many years, you can easily lose touch with the reality that you once were lost but have now been found. The more we advance in discipleship, the more we are likely to forget what it meant to be lost. “Sinners” are people who live immoral lives, don’t go to church and vote differently than we do. Sometimes, when we’ve got it really bad, “sinners” become the enemy. They actually devolve from the ones we’re trying to reach to the ones we’re trying to avoid.
So to help protect against the advancing “those sinners” mindset, I want you to learn an important theological term: The Sinner. It’s given to us by a humble tax collector in this parable:
But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ (See Luke 18:9-14)
This tax collector gets it. He understands that when it comes to God’s standards, the enemy is within. The problem with our respective worlds is not everyone else; it’s us. It’s me. The sooner I get my arms around the fact that in God’s eyes I am “The Sinner,” the better off I’ll be before God. When I go to church, the sinner that needs preaching at is me. When I listen to prayers, those sins that most need confessing are mine. And when we approach God together, I am the one who needs to approach most humbly.
Say it loud: The Sinner. Try it later in front of a mirror: The Sinner. It will keep you humble. It will give you perspective. And, it will help you appreciate grace. God, be merciful to me, the sinner!
Want to read more on this topic? Click Here.
Next Blog–Tuesday June 12.
June 6, 2012
New Link to Today’s Video
Apparently the link that went out today failed to work for many of you. My apologies. Let’s see if this works.
June 5, 2012
Hey Teachers/Preachers, Remember that You will be Judged for What you Teach!
It’s happened again. Some preacher has gone on a rant about how God hates homosexuals and how they should all be locked up and left to die. And of course, it was caught in video and posted online for all the world to see. I’m really getting sick of hearing stories like this.
God does not hate homosexuals. He hates sin, not sinners. But that’s not even the point.
As one who stands before people on a weekly basis and tries to accurately communicate God’s Word, I feel the need to remind my fellow teachers of some things the Bible has to say about us:
The pulpit is not my platform to share my opinions or personal points-of-view
The pulpit is not my platform for talking about myself, promoting my name or building my kingdom
The pulpit is not the place where I share my great wisdom
The pulpit has nothing to do with me at all
The pulpit is where I humbly try to accurately communicate God’s Word
My passport into the pulpit is God’s Word; it’s the only reason I can even stand there as a teacher
The only authority I have in my message is the message of God’s Word
I will be judged by God and held accountable for every word I speak “in God’s name”
God will resist me, oppose me and punish me for misusing, misquoting and misrepresenting his Word
In short, ministers who teach that God hates homosexuals (or any other sinner, for that matter) better start repenting in a hurry. God will not tolerate such frivolous handling of his Word.
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. James 3:1
June 1, 2012
Ten Things I’ve Learned from 27 Years of Marriage
Twenty-seven years ago today I married the love of my life, Susie. It’s been quite a ride. Here are then things I’ve learned being married for 27 years:
10. My marriage relationship is more important than my parenting. If you want to raise healthy kids, work hard on your marriage.
9. Good communication takes time.
8. Good communication usually involves more listening than speaking.
7. Love languages work best when you express your love for your spouse in her love language, not your own.
6. Sex is not my most important human need, intimacy is. And yes, there is a difference.
5. Family and childhood baggage can seriously impact a marriage. Deal with it early.
4. Prayer works–pray every day for your spouse
3. Prayer works–pray every day with your spouse. The divorce rate for couples who pray together is less than 1%.
2. The most important verse for marriage is Ephesians 5:21–Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
1. The Proverbs 31 Woman isn’t fictional. I’m married to her.
Next blog date: Tuesday, June 5.
May 31, 2012
Learning in the Classroom of Prayer
Have you considered this great reason to pray: Prayer teaches you lessons that you could never otherwise learn.
When we pray, we gain access to the heart and mind of God. There are deep secrets waiting to be revealed, dark mysteries ready to be solved, and wonderful discoveries ready to be made by the person who is willing be taught by God in prayer. In the same way that there are some things (Kingdom things) that can only be done in prayer, there are some things that can only be learned in prayer.
We have good role models of prayer learners in the Bible. Moses received the Ten Commandments from God in prayer. He repeatedly received instructions for leading the nation by prayer. Samuel learned of the coming judgment of Eli’s family in prayer. Daniel learned the meaning of the king’s dreams by prayer. Simeon learned through prayer that he would see the promised Messiah. In prayer Peter learned that Gentiles had been declared clean by God. In prayer John saw the holy vision we know as the Revelation. Jesus choose his disciples after praying about them all night. Jesus resisted the crowd’s political pull by retreating and returning to prayer. Jesus saw in prayer that God’s will for him was death on the cross.
Consider how fortunate we are that these people took the time to pray. What if they hadn’t? Think how history and our lives might be tragically different if they had not been prayer learners. What about you? Are you a prayer learner? What divine secrets is God waiting to reveal to you? What plans have you missed, opportunities have you lost, and lessons have you not learned, simply because you skipped your prayer class? Don’t be a prayer truant. The lessons are too great and the teacher too wise for us to skip out. Get on your knees and learn. Class is in session.
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Col. 4:2
I will be on a reduced blog schedule June 4-July 31. I will only blog Tues, Wed and Thurs during that time. I’ll resume my Mon-Fri schedule Aug 6. Thanks!
May 30, 2012
How do You Know When You have Enough?
Many of us live on the treadmill of more. The faster we run, the further we think we get, and yet we always see that there’s more–more money, more status, more comfort, more (perceived security), more notoriety, more stuff. And so we keep running. Tragically, some people run till they drop, having never crossed any sort of finish line.
Question: How do you know when to stop? When do you have enough? When does contentment finally win the day, or does it?
I want to submit to you that there is a discernible, measurable thing called enough, and that it’s the same for every one of us. We don’t have to keep running, and we’re not supposed to.
In my new book Enough: Finding More by Living with Less, I show you how to discover what enough is. Here is the first section from Enough‘s Contents Page:
Section 1: Enough Is Enough
Chapter 1: How Much Is Enough?
Chapter 2: The Oldest Trick in the Book
Chapter 3: Finding Your Enough
If all you read was the first section alone, you’d find it more than worth your time and money. Copies of Enough will be ready to shipped in just a few weeks. If you order today:
you get the pre-order discount
you get something great to read this summer and to share with your friends
you may indeed discover your next small group study (I’ll upload the free study guide soon)
you’ll get a jump on moving toward enough before summer ends and the madness of the Fall overtakes you
Intrigued? You should be. Try moving toward enough. You’ll never be the same.
May 29, 2012
Wise Beyond Her Years
I attended my daughter’s high school graduation over the weekend. During the ceremony, the class’ Salutatorian Julia Martin gave a speech. Julia will attend Texas A&M in the Fall. I found her speech to be very profound, so much so that I wanted to share it with you. Here’s a bit of what Julia said to her peers:
Many of us have been involved in service projects or gone on mission trips to places such as Africa, Nicaragua, and for me, Peru. Over spring break I went to an orphanage in Lima to share God’s love with the 900 children that live there. It’s easy to look at these kids and feel bad because they don’t have houses or nice clothes, but often we don’t consider the fact that many of them lack something even greater that every single one of us in this room has: opportunity. The next Einstein, Dickens or Beethoven may be in one of those orphanages, but they will never have the opportunity to develop their talents or receive the same level of education that we feel is entitled to us. I’m not trying to guilt trip anybody; I’m just saying that we, myself included, should be thankful for the incredible opportunities we’ve received.
I find Julia’s attitude to be quite refreshing. Most of us do in fact feel entitled and are not nearly thankful enough.
I’d like to nudge Julia on one point. That young Einstein, Beethoven or Dickens doesn’t have to stay trapped in the orphanage. You and I have to potential to change his or her life. He or she is only doomed to a life of misery if you and I don’t do something.
It’s our watch. Let’s do something.
I will be on a reduced blog schedule June 4-July 31. I will only blog Tues, Wed and Thurs during that time. I’ll resume my Mon-Fri schedule Aug 6. Thanks!
May 28, 2012
May 25, 2012
Wow.
I attended the funeral yesterday of a woman I didn’t know. She was the mother of a close friend, and in an effort to support him three other guys and I cleared our calendars, piled in a car and drove 200 miles one way to be with him in his time of grief. It was an amazing day.
My friend’s mother suffered a stroke ten years ago. She lost much of her speaking ability, but she did have one word that she could say clearly and with great conviction–Wow. Wow became her best response for everything: A friend would come to see her–Wow; how was your dinner-Wow; how are you feeling today–Wow. It’s hard to have a bad outlook on life when your preconditioned response to just about everything is Wow.
The woman’s Wow spirit was very prevalent through her funeral yesterday. So much so, in fact, that many of us in the congregation found ourselves saying it throughout the service:
As her son and two daughters stood bravely to publicly remember their mother–Wow
As her grandchildren read poems in her honor–Wow
As a gifted musician sang a song she had written for the occasion–Wow
As we laughed raucously at some of the stories of this woman’s life–Wow
As we celebrated her unwavering faith even in the face of illness and death–Wow
As her 15-year-old granddaughter led us in worship to conclude the service–Wow
And as we reflected on the fact that this woman’s first word in heaven must have been Wow–Wow.
You know someone’s life has been lived well when you walk out of his or her funeral and the first tear-choked word out of your mouth is Wow. Such was the case yesterday.
Friends, embrace the reality of the Wow of God that is all around us. It will change you and the lives of all around you.
