Month: January 2015

I was never a Boy Scout, but for some reason I remember getting Boy’s Life magazine during my growing up years. I’d thumb through the articles, ignoring most since I was not in the running for any merit badges, but pausing on some that talked about making a weapon or surviving in the desert… both necessary skills for a 9 year old boy, right?

Without a doubt, my favorite part of the magazine were the advertisements in the back. They were amazing items, and I was dumbfounded that you could only find them in that publication.

There were the x-ray glasses that allowed you to see through almost anything, with just a few exceptions; you know, just like Superman.

Then there was the amazing invisible skin frog that made it possible to see the inner workings of an amphibian without having to dissect the poor creature.

Or, maybe you checked out the Joe Weider Body Building program guaranteed to put you on the path to a Mr. Universe frame in just six short weeks. It didn’t work, or so I’ve been told.

What still amazes me is how expectant I was for those mail-order treasures to be real. I would save the money, get my mom to write a check, and wait ever so impatiently at the mailbox for weeks until that little package would arrive!

But, now we are all adults and we don’t fall for such deceiving literature, and our skepticism is a mark of our maturity and intelligence.

Good for us…?

Maybe we have lost something. Maybe there is a piece of our childhood that wasn’t so immature. Maybe as adults we are hampered by our loss of… expectancy.

A lack of expectancy is most clearly seen, I believe, in the prayer life of the church.

We offer blanket prayers, trying to cover everything in just a few words. We have formulaic responses that fall from our lips without thought or effort. And, our requests are vague and wishy washy, usually tagged with an “if it be Your will”.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a request and supplication in the biblical text? A supplication is a passionate, urgent plea!

Don’t forget Jesus’ amazing teaching on prayer from Matthew 7.

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

We have an amazingly good Father who wants us to want the right things, and when we do He desires to give us those things.

Let’s make 2015 a year marked by passionate, powerful prayer. Let’s ask God specifically for what we know is on His heart and then live expectantly.

Let’s pray for God to move specifically and boldly.

• Would you pray that your church would experience revival and that you would reach 10% of your community?
• Would you pray that your church would double its number of baptisms this year?
• Would you pray for the opportunity to share your testimony with (insert name here) this week?

Let’s pray some bold, specific prayers and then live in the expectancy that we have a great Father who wants to give us His good things in life!

 

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An article of mine printed in the Baptist Digest Jan/Feb 2015 edition

That may not make sense to you, but it’s a battle cry for me. I’ve always been a techie, so I love gadgets and anything that plugs in.

 

It means I really enjoy a good set of headphones to plug into whatever smart phone, MP3 player or laptop that I have at my disposal.

Several years ago I asked my wife for a good set of Bose over the ear headphones for Christmas. It was a big gift and I really appreciated it. I have been using them consistently since then and give them two thumbs up.

However, endorsing the product is not my point here…

I remember getting them and my preteen children kind of rolling their eyes at me. They’re always respectful, but it’s hard for them when they think their dad is a dork, I know, I remember being in their shoes.

After a little prodding I finally got my eldest to admit what he was thinking. I convinced him that they sounded great, that they were high-quality, and that they were really good stuff. However, he couldn’t get over the fact that they just looked ‘stupid.’

He was absolutely convinced that the only headphones you should wear in public were the little earbuds you stick in your ears, because everything else was ‘just dumb.’

Fast forward a couple of years, as an early teen I remember him asking for a pair of “Beats” headphones. I quietly noticed that they were over the ear headphones, but didn’t say anything as he extolled the virtues of their amazing sound quality, their craftsmanship, and their elegant style.

I’m picking my own adjectives here, just FYI.

We were able to find a good Black Friday deal, and that was his ‘big gift’ that year at Christmas.

Fast forward to today… Headphones have once again evolved. Not just into over the ear, but into gargantuan cinnamon roll looking muffins on the side of your head.

Often blinged out with gold or chrome trim, and bulky enough to house a satellite dish on its surface should you choose to install one. They even come with designer motifs with elements like spinners on the side, Darth Vader’s face, or a variety of movie themed implements…

When I first saw these coming into Vogue, I thought they were a joke… Seriously, thought someone was kidding and creating a line of gag gifts.

They look similar to headphones that were around when I was a preteen myself… But those headphones had a built-in FM radio with an antenna that stuck up about 2 feet and were usually connected to a guy wearing jean shorts and rollerskating backwards.

Now I see teenagers with ever decreasing in size devices connecting to ever enlarging headphones. I even see guys and gals walking around the gym with these face-sized, pancake style headphones that you know sop up sweat like a sponge rubberbanded to your face during your workout.

So how did all this happen… my over the ear headphones which are tiny in comparison to today’s standards that have served me well for the last six years are now almost normal looking, nearly sleek.

I don’t get that ‘what a dork’ look from teenagers anymore when I wear them… In fact, they’re hardly noticeable.

It reminds me once again, stuff that doesn’t matter changes a lot, but what matters the most never changes.

Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

Hebrews 14:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Matthew 28:29 – And Jesus promised those of us on His mission, He would be with us “always.”

As we stumble into this new year, make sure your life isn’t directed by fads, your judgment isn’t clouded by social media’s opinions, and that you do have your feet firmly grounded on what matters most.

May this year be the year of the headphones!

Listen to His voice, chase after His holiness, be burdened by what burdens Him and worship Him whenever you get a chance.

Even if your headphones do make you look like a dork