RE Verse reading–Luke 18:9-17 (day seven) “Whoever humbles himself as this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4) Our RE Verse reading this week is familiar. Jesus defending the children. Allowing them access. Permanently elevating their value in the church. The primary truth, however, is not about children. The Lord’s main focus was on adults, teaching them (us) humility. How do children illustrate the absence of pride? Soft hearts. Easily moldable characters. Could we get back to this place with God? Jesus believed that pride is the problem and humility is the solution. In a few hours we will meet together for worship. I have great expectation that the Lord will use this passage to teach us “the path of life”. “This is the one to whom I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2) Praying for childlike hearts and the blessing that comes with it.
Author: Don Guthrie
Don Guthrie is the Senior Pastor at FBCSA.
Do I want justice or to be justified?
RE Verse reading–Luke 18:9-17 (day six) “Will not God bring about JUSTICE for His elect who cry to Him day and night?” (Luke 18:8) “I tell you, this man went to his house JUSTIFIED rather than the other.” (Luke 18:14) The Bible is filled with people who pray when in trouble. When life is unfair. When justice doesn’t come. “I waited patiently for the Lord. . .He heard my cry and brought me out of the pit of destruction.” (Psalm 40:1) Valid use of prayer. ( See Luke 18 — story of the determined widow) Our reading this week is a second story. Deeper story, I think. Subject still prayer. Rather than ask that for JUSTICE ( for his circumstances to be made right) the tax-collector seeks to be JUSTIFIED (made right with God). It is a rare prayer. Harder. Different focus. Most of us blame life and others for our misery or ineffectiveness. This man knew. What needed to be put right was his own heart.
Prayer and preschoolers
Re: Verse reading – Luke 18:9-17 (day one)
Our scripture this week is about prayer and preschoolers. Luke puts these two stories together. Same lesson. God’s help moves toward humility. Ego= problem. To be a sinner and know it (and be humbled by the failure) is actually a better position than to be a respectable person trapped in pride. The story of the children illustrates the same truth. No one in ancient society had less standing than a child. No disqualification, this native, intuitive humility gave a child special advantage in the eyes of Christ. Maybe coincidence. Maybe not. This weekend our search team will recommend a candidate to become FBC’s Minister to Preschool and Children. Welcome Jimmy Gunn! (and Ashley and Ezekiel) A huge step forward in the “Next Gen” strategy approved last spring. My prayer? As we think seriously about what/how we will teach children, we also think about what they can teach us. If my people will humble themselves. . .
NOT a “means to an end”
Re: Verse reading – Luke 14:25-35 (day seven)
The confusion is deep. Inside me. A twisted motive to love God in pursuit of self. To make Him a “means to an end”. Better family, life, eternity. The end game, however, is still ME. Jesus didn’t think this way. He warned against it. “Which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the COST?” (v 28) Early on the true follower of Christ must have an honest conversation with himself. Is this about God or me? Is God worthy of my love even when His path costs me the things I hoped for? Must I truly hate (comparative word) all other things in order to give him the exclusive love He deserves? “Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” (Philippians 3:7) NOT a means to an end, God is a brand new reason for living!
An Exclusive Love
Re: Verse reading – Luke 14:25-35 (day six)
I did not have to persuade her. She understood. 29 years ago, when I proposed marriage to Holly Holm and she accepted (cue LOUD, HAPPY music!) she agreed that I would be her only love. I agreed the same for her. Since that day, she and I have faithfully hated, denied, rejected and broken the heart of every other suitor for our affections (personal, professional, circumstantial). Essential! Beautiful! Necessary part of the marriage equation. No room for anyone else. Exclusive. I think this what Jesus meant in Luke 18. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.” (v 26) Those who follow Christ into the life of the Spirit must be prepared to reject all other lovers. Nothing and no one can come close to the loyalty we have for Him. He desires/deserves an exclusive love.
40 Days of Prayer – FBC Ministers
I got the news this past week. The FBC Preschool/Children’s Minister Search Team is ready for us to meet a candidate! We will have an opportunity to do so on the weekend of January 12. There will be scheduled moments for parents and workers and for the church as a whole. Exciting answer to prayer. Made me remember all the times (over the years) that God has blessed by sending leaders to us.
Day 38 – Will you pray for the Ministers of FBCSA?
They serve so well. Without complaint. Odd hours. Will you thank God for their gifts and their energy? Will you ask Him to fill them with His Spirit and to protect and prosper their families? Will you ask for wisdom and vision? Will you hold them (by name) before God’s throne? If we are glad when new ministers come, we should also be faithful to pray for the ones who are already here. Will you? “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would not be profitable for you. Pray for us.” (Hebrews 13: 17-18)
Re: Verse reading – Luke 14:25-35 (day one)
40 Days of Prayer – New Year
In 2 Samuel 5:19, the Bible says that David “inquired of the Lord” re a military decision. It was his pattern to seek and to follow the Lord’s guidance. Perhaps the best explanation for his unique success. In order to say,”The Lord is my shepherd” one must have a seeking and surrendered heart.
Day 37 – Will you ask the Lord for His guidance re. 2014?
On January 18 leaders and members of FBC will gather for our annual Strategic Planning Saturday. We will ask the Lord to guide us. What new ministries and innovations are we to embrace? What familiar ideas/patterns is He ready for us to retire? What is His path of blessing for us? But what of our individual lives? Don’t we all need to ask the same questions privately? “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10) As the new year approaches, will you hold your life before the Lord in quiet surrender? Take time with this assignment. Be still! A new year begins with a renewed heart and a clear grasp of God’s assignment. “Then Jesus was lead by the Spirit.” (Luke 4:1) Will you ask God to guide you in the same powerful way?
RE Verse reading – Luke 13:10-17 (day seven)
40 Days of Prayer – (Church) Family
One of the ways the Bible describes the church is by comparing it to family. In Galatians 6:10, Paul calls it “the household of faith”. When Jesus teaches us to pray, He sets this image in our mind by teaching us to say “our Father which art in heaven”.
Day 36 –Will you pray for FBCSA to be a family of faith?
Difficult assignment for sure. Busy lives. Generational differences. Language, cultural barriers. Single adults, Senior adults, teenagers and college students, children, internationals, different worship services. Yikes! Apart from the work of the Spirit (and some serious obedience on our part) we will not know each other, much less love each other. Family is a loyalty/love that is deeper than circumstance/convenience. Family is a group of people to which we belong. Will you pray for the Spirit of God to create this in us? Will you ask Him to bless every intergenerational activity? Spring Area Fellowships? FBC Family camp at HEB? Will you ask Him to assign you someone to love as your own contribution to this miracle? “God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6)
Re: Verse reading – Luke 13:10-17
40 Days of Hope – Enemies
The Eternal One does not think like we do. “My thoughts are not your thoughts” And one place that the difference is very obvious is the choice between hate and love. Hate, if we are honest, comes in various forms. Aggressive and cruel. Cool and dismissive. Anything that falls short of love qualifies. The requirement is broad. Not only my friends, but my enemies are included. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Jesus-Matthew 5:44-45)
Day 31 – will you pray for your enemies?
It was a very dark world when the Light first shined into it. Christmas Eve is always a reminder to me. And one of the ways that Light conquers the darkness is by loving it. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died.” Today in your quiet time will you lift before the Lord those people who have hurt you? Your critics, your opponents? Someone who has disappointed you? It may be the holiest moment of your Christmas season, and the most Christ-like.
Re: Verse reading – Luke 13:10-17 (day one)
40 Days of Prayer – Haven for Hope
It is a profound (and instructive) irony. When God became a man, He came as a poor and homeless man. Not a king’s palace. A manger to be born in. Makes a clear statement, doesn’t it? Value and dignity have nothing to do with wealth! Poverty is not a death-sentence for holiness or hope.
Day 30 – Will you pray for Haven for Hope?
Several years ago, the city of San Antonio, in cooperation with faith-based benevolence organizations opened a place for people in our city who are hungry and homeless. It is a place of refuge. A place where food, shelter, drug/alcohol addiction treatment, counseling, dental care, job training and many other needed forms of assistance are provided to the poorest citizens of our city. Since compassion for the poor is part of God’s command, will you pray for the workers and leaders of Haven for Hope? Will you plan a visit in the new year? The best way to celebrate Christmas is to remember the poor and one of the best ways to assist the poor is Haven for Hope.
RE Verse reading – Luke 12:13-34 (day seven) I will see you in worship in a few hours!