prayer coach

images courtesy of Getty images

Christians are not new to professional athletics, but with first Tebow and now Lin, you would get the impression that this is a new trend. Still Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin are similar in how they came in mid-stream and provided a needed spark to their respective teams. Both have weaknesses in their games that cause people to doubt them – passing for Tebow and turnovers for Lin. Ultimately, it is their quick thanksgiving to God for their opportunities that have linked the two together.

With the recent explosion of Jeremy Lin just after Tim Tebow’s rise a couple months ago, I have started wondering what God is up to. Is he media playing these two’s stories up because they know it will sell? Or is God trying to get our attention?

Since God is always trying to get our attention, I will choose that is what is going on here too. Therefore, what is God trying to say? Here is a list of possibilities:

1. Confidence is not pride. Both of these men are good at what they do. Tebow met with fans before each game using his platform to bless others. Lin has just started to shine, but he easily dishes out praise to his teammates building up the people around him. Pride is all about what you can get for yourself. Confidence is knowing what you have to strengthen those around you.
• Christians have too often been afraid of confidence for fear of being prideful.
2. Your biggest limitation is how you view yourself. Both have been criticized for what they lacked. Both had been overlooked in their positions. And yet, both prevailed when given the opportunity. They didn’t let the views of others hold them back. They believed in themselves and were ready when the time came.

source unknown

As Christians one day we will spend eternity with God. We will experience fully everything our hearts hunger for… everything we have been created for. Joy will fill our hearts and never depart from us again. When we are with God, we are in heaven for heaven is where ever God is.

Heaven is God’s kingdom. It is where His rules, principles, and ways are observed. This happens in God’s presence. Therefore when God invades earth, heaven comes with Him.

As we read the Gospels, we see the Son of God restoring heaven to earth. He disarms the power of sin, removes its sentence of death, restores people to God, and offers new life to all.

As Christians we have the potential to live Emmanuel lives – God with us. We are taught to pray for God’s kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). We are to be continually filled with God’s Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). We are to be temples of the living God (1 Corinthians 6:19). As we bring the presence of God to our world, we bring heaven with Him. Where heaven is, the benefits of heaven reside. Let’s bring the life-giving benefits that only God can give to the people around us.

poster used during World War II to raise British morale

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” – Hebrews 13:6

Last week I looked at how Jesus had no fear. Thinking along these lines leaves us with the natural conclusion that we are to live without fear. Throughout the Bible God is constantly telling His friends not to be afraid.

• Abraham, do not be afraid. – Genesis 15:1
• Hagar, do not be afraid. – Genesis 21:17
• Isaac, do not be afraid. – Genesis 26:24
• Jacob, do not be afraid. – Genesis 46:3
• Moses, do not be afraid. – Numbers 21:34
• Joshua, do not be afraid. – Joshua 8:1 , 10:8, 11:6
• Gideon, do not be afraid. – Judges 6:23
• Elijah, do not be afraid. – 2 Kings 1:15
• Jeremiah, do not be afraid. – Jeremiah 1:8
• Daniel, do not be afraid. – Daniel 10:12, 10:19
• Zechariah, do not be afraid. – Luke 1:13
• Mary, do not be afraid. – Luke 1:30
• Joseph, do not be afraid. – Matthew 1:20
• Shepherds, do not be afraid. – Luke 2:10
• Paul, do not be afraid. – Acts 18:9

Each of these saints were either afraid of God or the situations they were being called into. Either case, the natural reaction was fear, and the automatic response from God was peace. We will never overcome this world if we are living in fear of it. We never fully love that which we fear. Remove all fear from your lives. Take on more of God’s love and peace.  Jesus has left us with peace that our hearts will be settled and we would not be afraid (John 14:27).

image courtesy of the Jesus Film

I have been thinking again about the theme of love and fear. Jesus was the perfect representation of God on earth (Hebrews 1:3). He was perfect love, and perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). Think through the life of Jesus. Was He ever afraid?

• While in the desert during a 40-day fast, Jesus had a personal encounter with Satan.
• Several times, Jesus heard the audible voice of God.
• After a short sermon in His home church, the people tried to stone Him.
• When faced with 5,000 hungry people and little resources, He proceeded to feed them.
• In the midst of two terrible storms at sea, he sleeps through one and walks on the water in the other.
• The religious leaders throw a woman they caught in adultery in front of Jesus and demanded His response.
• After a long night wrestling in prayer, soldiers come to take Him to His death.
• Jesus subjected Himself to lies, mockings, beatings, and torture.
• Before going back to heaven, He leaves His ministry to a bunch of guys who a few weeks earlier all abandoned Him.

During each of this situations, Jesus showed no fear. How did He do it? I think to answer this question, we need to know how He continued to love since love casts out fear. The story where Jesus washes the disciples’ feet provides this for us. It begins with Jesus wanting to show the full extend of His love. The passage says that Jesus had a firm grasp on His identity, power, and purpose. And, it was out of this that He then washed their feet.

Down in you heart there is a temple
Come and kneel before its throne
Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know

Pursuing the heart of God is a goal of all believers. What is it that pleases Him? What is it about us that He likes? What makes God tick? This is not a pursuit so we can put Him in a box, but it is so we can be more intimate with the One who loves us.

A person’s heart is not only the place where all the blood circulates from, it is the source of all life for that person – physical, emotional, and spiritual. To understand the heart of God is to make sense of all of life. Why did He create everything? Why He lets us have free-will to sin?

The good news is God wants to reveal His heart to us. The access point to knowing the heart of God is through our hearts. God is looking for intimate lovers and friends. He will give us as much of His heart as we give Him ours. He may give a little more than we give, but that is His attempt to entice us to share more of ourselves with Him. Therefore we hit a roadblock with God when we don’t know what is in our hearts.

The degree with which we don’t know our own heart is the degree that we will be hindered in knowing God’s.

image courtesy of The Passion of the Christ

“You know the Greeks didn’t write obituaries.
They only asked one question after a man died:
‘Did he have passion?’”.  – Serendipity

Did Jesus have passion in His life? Absolutely! He put all of His emotions, strength, thoughts, and will to His one goal: to do the will of His Father who sent Him (John 6:38). What was the main direction of the Father’s will: to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus did not have to die, but He chose to die to accomplish the will of the Father.

Jesus went to Jerusalem knowing the religious leaders wanted to kill him. Jesus told Judas to do what he had planned. Jesus had to wait for the soldiers to get back on their feet for them to arrest Him. Jesus chose to stop Peter from defending Him. Jesus had to put the servant’s ear back on before they took Him. Jesus gave the high priest the answer to assuredly irritate him. Pilot tried to get Jesus give him anything in which to let Him go. Jesus wanted to die.

Jesus’ choice to die was not to become a martyr, but for that joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). The discussion with His Father in the garden of Gethsemane revealed this was the only way (Mark 14:35-36). And since it was the only way, Jesus gave everything to make it happen.

So now, do we have passion? Is it okay for us to have passion? Let us be passionate about the things that Jesus died for. Let us have passion for being with God, passion for bringing others to God, passion for experience all that Jesus death and resurrection has given us.

Earlier this week I reviewed Tedd Tripp’s Shepherding a Child’s Heart. One of the chapters in this book is about the shaping influences in our kids’ lives. Tripp defines “shaping influences” as those events and circumstances in your children’s developmental years that prove to be a catalyst for making them the person they are. But shaping is not automatic; the ways they respond to these events and circumstances determine the effect they have upon them.

Most parents spend a majority of their time focusing on this aspect of parenting. Some of the things listed were: family history, roles and values. But, things happen to our children all the time that shapes who they are. And, it is how they interpret them that define who they become. Tripp states that all people, including children, respond to their shaping influences by his or her Godward (or lack thereof) orientation of his heart.

We want our children to be aware of God’s perspective. Every child is going to worship something, whether it is us as parents, themselves, princesses, toy trains, or God. Our goal is to point them to know their ultimate source of protection and life.

We do this by the shaping influences we put in their lives (going to church, teaching songs, praying before bed), and we do this by modeling it in our own lives, which technically is still a shaping influence. We are not going to be able to make this happen for our children, but through prayer, consistency, and God, our children will gain a deep love of God. The best part is that God is redemptive. Even if our kids have negative influences, Jesus can transform them to His glory. We are stewards of these lovely creations that are placed in our home. Pray for them. Pray with them. Help them know how to go to God. Love them and let them know God loves them.

Not only does God have loving thoughts about us, He is also playful with us. He likes surprising us. He likes giving us clues and yet still waiting to reveal what He is doing. The obvious example is the birth of Christ. Sure now we can look back and see how all of the prophesies were fulfilled, but it seems that only the wise men won that great treasure hunt. Christ return is very similar. Jesus says here is how you will know when the time is near, but I don’t even know the exact hour. I think Paul says it best when he says that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). God likes to keep us on our toes. I believe He is having fun with us.  Here are some quick examples:

• Jesus making a lot wine for party that already had their fill (John 2:6-10).
• Jesus walking on the water… and about passing by the disciples (Mark 6:48).
• Jesus making the soldiers fall down before they could arrest him (John 18:4-5).
• Jesus not revealing himself on the road to Emmaus and then vanishing when they recognizes Him (Luke 24:31).

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying He carelessly messes with our minds. He is playful, and He is inviting us into His playfulness. Remember the children were always trying to get to Jesus. They don’t gravitate to the most serious adults. They look for the fun ones that pull coins out of their ears… Jesus, of course, pull them out of fish (Matthew 17:27), which is way more fun.