“If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
If we endure,
we will also reign with him;
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
If we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.” ~2 Timothy 11-13
Author: Allan (Page 405 of 492)
There are people around the world every single day who receive great blessings from God without ever asking for them. These people don’t pray. And they don’t give God thanks when they receive these great blessings. The fact is, they enjoy the benefits of these wonderful gifts and never acknowledge the Giver.
“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” ~Matthew 5:45
We joke sometimes about getting more rain than our friend who lives somewhere else because we must be “livin’ right.” Obviously, that’s not the way God works. He pours his merciful blessings on the good and the bad.
And he tells us to do the same.
“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” ~Matthew 5:46-48
Be perfect in your indiscrimination. Be perfect in your unbiased grace toward others. Be perfect in the equality with which you share your love and good deeds. Like our God, be perfect in showing kindness and mercy to people who like you AND to people who don’t.
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What a wonderful five days in Fresno with my great friends, Jim Gardner and Jimmy Mitchell, at the 12th annual Spiritual Growth Workshop at the Woodward Park Church of Christ. What a time of encouragement and edification. What a time of renewal and re-energizing.
I strained several muscles from all the laughing. I gained several pounds from the late night Cookies-and-Cream milkshakes at Chick-Fil-A and the animal fries at In-and-Out Burgers. I threw grapes at friends sitting four tables away under a big tent at a lunch on the grounds. I was inspired by Evertt Huffard’s presentation on the honor of our God. I was moved by two women who gave their lives to Christ in baptism. I was the butt of Paul Methvin’s jokes. I was hugged by a hundred different people who really don’t know me at all. I met missionaries and homeless people (sorta the same thing). I talked with Brian and learned several new “words” in sign language. I slept in Tori’s room on her Cheetah Girls sheets. I was amazed to watch the Laotians keep coming and keep coming to pack the place to worship our God. Joann’s generosity. Dan’s parsing. Andy’s sarcasm. Jimmy’s tenor. John’s unique songleading. Mandy’s personality. John Ed’s wisdom. L. Jeeves’ nametag. Steve’s great attitude. Praying with Jim and Jimmy Sunday morning, just like old times.
What a blessing to see the Kingdom of God expressed in such clear ways among his people there in the California valley. Different colors. Different cultures. Different ethnic groups. Different languages. Different ages. Different socio-economic classes. Praising God with one voice. Communing around the same table and celebrating our one salvation through our one Lord and Savior.
Participating together in baptisms. Praying together for families who’ve lost jobs. Learning new songs together. Sharing meals together. It’s wonderful. It’s heaven.
The kingdoms of the world come with power. They come with violence and noise and fanfare and bloodshed. The kingdoms of the earth come with great force. God’s Kingdom comes with casseroles and rides to the doctor. The Kingdom of God comes with kind acts and loving mercy. Hugs and pats on the back. Sharing and bearing.
May God continue to bless our brothers and sisters in Fresno as they bring the Kingdom to the California valley. May his perfect will be done there as it is in heaven.
Peace,
Allan
There are people around the world every single day who receive great blessings from God without ever asking for them. These people don’t pray. And they don’t give God thanks when they receive these great blessings. The fact is, they enjoy the benefits of these wonderful gifts and never acknowledge the Giver.
“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” ~Matthew 5:45
We joke sometimes about getting more rain than our friend who lives somewhere else because we must be “livin’ right.” Obviously, that’s not the way God works. He pours his merciful blessings on the good and the bad.
And he tells us to do the same.
“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” ~Matthew 5:46-48
Be perfect in your indiscrimination. Be perfect in your unbiased grace toward others. Be perfect in the equality with which you share your love and good deeds. Like our God, be perfect in showing kindness and mercy to people who like you AND to people who don’t.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a wonderful five days in Fresno with my great friends, Jim Gardner and Jimmy Mitchell, at the 12th annual Spiritual Growth Workshop at the Woodward Park Church of Christ. What a time of encouragement and edification. What a time of renewal and re-energizing.
I strained several muscles from all the laughing. I gained several pounds from the late night Cookies-and-Cream milkshakes at Chick-Fil-A and the animal fries at In-and-Out Burgers. I threw grapes at friends sitting four tables away under a big tent at a lunch on the grounds. I was inspired by Evertt Huffard’s presentation on the honor of our God. I was moved by two women who gave their lives to Christ in baptism. I was the butt of Paul Methvin’s jokes. I was hugged by a hundred different people who really don’t know me at all. I met missionaries and homeless people (sorta the same thing). I talked with Brian and learned several new “words” in sign language. I slept in Tori’s room on her Cheetah Girls sheets. I was amazed to watch the Laotians keep coming and keep coming to pack the place to worship our God. Joann’s generosity. Dan’s parsing. Andy’s sarcasm. Jimmy’s tenor. John’s unique songleading. Mandy’s personality. John Ed’s wisdom. L. Jeeves’ nametag. Steve’s great attitude. Praying with Jim and Jimmy Sunday morning, just like old times.
What a blessing to see the Kingdom of God expressed in such clear ways among his people there in the California valley. Different colors. Different cultures. Different ethnic groups. Different languages. Different ages. Different socio-economic classes. Praising God with one voice. Communing around the same table and celebrating our one salvation through our one Lord and Savior.
Participating together in baptisms. Praying together for families who’ve lost jobs. Learning new songs together. Sharing meals together. It’s wonderful. It’s heaven.
The kingdoms of the world come with power. They come with violence and noise and fanfare and bloodshed. The kingdoms of the earth come with great force. God’s Kingdom comes with casseroles and rides to the doctor. The Kingdom of God comes with kind acts and loving mercy. Hugs and pats on the back. Sharing and bearing.
May God continue to bless our brothers and sisters in Fresno as they bring the Kingdom to the California valley. May his perfect will be done there as it is in heaven.
Peace,
Allan
I suppose you regular readers have already taken note that I absolutely nailed the outcome of last night’s Cowboys-Giants game, including a lot of the details, well over a week ago in my game-by-game predictions of the 2009 season. I said Eli Manning would throw two touchdown passes. He did. I said he’d go 7-8 in the last 2:00 and the Giants would win it in heart-breaking fashion on the last play of the game. In actuality, Manning went 7-10 on that last drive, setting up the game-winning field goal at the gun. I also predicted that Roy Williams would only have one catch in the loss. He did. I missed the final score. But you get the idea. You can go back to those pre-season predictions to see what’s going to happen Monday night against the Panthers by clicking here.
My friend Glenn Branscum came through for me again. By his grace I was able to attend last night’s regular season home opener with Doug, Todd, and Scott up in his luxury suite. Forty-seven of us total up in that huge suite, including Russ and his family and Cody M. What a blast! To be there for that historic kickoff, the unveiling of the names around the new Ring of Honor, and all the dignitaries and pageantry of that opening night was a true blessing. My deepest thanks to Glenn. And to Scott for driving. And for knowing how to make U-turns.
The highlight of the night, as far as I was concerned, was looking up about an hour before kickoff to see Walt Garrison walk into our suite. He and Preston Pearson were making the rounds and they both stayed in our room for almost 45-minutes. I was thrilled to be able to talk to Walt about the legendary stories of those early ’70s Cowboys, attempting to separate fact from myth. I’ve read the stories about Walt sneaking out after team meetings on Saturday nights to bull ride down at the Mansfield rodeo. He’s told me in a telephone interview about being busted by Tom Landry after a rodeo official called the coach to thank him for letting Walt rope and ride bulls the nights before football games. But to stand there right beside him and interact with him as he re-told the tales was priceless.
As for the game itself, Cowboys fans may want to blame Doug. He was visiting with Wade Phillips before the game and suggested to the Cowboys coach they let Romo call his own plays. On his way off the field, Doug also whispered to Flozell Adams that if he kicked Justin Tuck in the thigh in the middle of a play, nobody would notice.
I’ll wait a while before making too many comments about the new stadium. There are some disappointments with several aspects of the venue and the game presentation I’ll write about later. And I can’t tell you how upset I am about the commemorative patch the team is sporting on its jerseys. Suffice it to say, for now, this whole thing, all of it, is solely about Jerry Wayne. It’s all about Jerry.
Jerry ought to be more than a little concerned about his quarterback. And his secondary. And his pass rush.
No more blogging until next Monday, September 28. I’m flying out to Fresno, California this Wednesday for the annual Spiritual Growth Workshop at the Woodward Park Church of Christ where my great friend Jim Gardner is the preacher. I’m speaking three times on Christ’s fulfillment of the Law: God’s Eternal Intentions, Christ’s Eternal Fulfillment, Our Eternal Righteousness. Gardner’s also got me delivering the Saturday night keynote on salt and light and teaching a combined adult class at his congregation Sunday morning. What an honor. I love that Woodward Park church. A thousand people. And only 600 of them speak English. A true Kingdom experience to worship with that multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-languaged, economically-diverse body of believers.
Pray for us to have a great week in Fresno and for our God to overcome my shortcomings and prove his power in my weakness to bless everybody who attends.
Peace,
Allan
I suppose you regular readers have already taken note that I absolutely nailed the outcome of last night’s Cowboys-Giants game, including a lot of the details, well over a week ago in my game-by-game predictions of the 2009 season. I said Eli Manning would throw two touchdown passes. He did. I said he’d go 7-8 in the last 2:00 and the Giants would win it in heart-breaking fashion on the last play of the game. In actuality, Manning went 7-10 on that last drive, setting up the game-winning field goal at the gun. I also predicted that Roy Williams would only have one catch in the loss. He did. I missed the final score. But you get the idea. You can go back to those pre-season predictions to see what’s going to happen Monday night against the Panthers by clicking here.
My friend Glenn Branscum came through for me again. By his grace I was able to attend last night’s regular season home opener with Doug, Todd, and Scott up in his luxury suite. Forty-seven of us total up in that huge suite, including Russ and his family and Cody M. What a blast! To be there for that historic kickoff, the unveiling of the names around the new Ring of Honor, and all the dignitaries and pageantry of that opening night was a true blessing. My deepest thanks to Glenn. And to Scott for driving. And for knowing how to make U-turns.
The highlight of the night, as far as I was concerned, was looking up about an hour before kickoff to see Walt Garrison walk into our suite. He and Preston Pearson were making the rounds and they both stayed in our room for almost 45-minutes. I was thrilled to be able to talk to Walt about the legendary stories of those early ’70s Cowboys, attempting to separate fact from myth. I’ve read the stories about Walt sneaking out after team meetings on Saturday nights to bull ride down at the Mansfield rodeo. He’s told me in a telephone interview about being busted by Tom Landry after a rodeo official called the coach to thank him for letting Walt rope and ride bulls the nights before football games. But to stand there right beside him and interact with him as he re-told the tales was priceless.
As for the game itself, Cowboys fans may want to blame Doug. He was visiting with Wade Phillips before the game and suggested to the Cowboys coach they let Romo call his own plays. On his way off the field, Doug also whispered to Flozell Adams that if he kicked Justin Tuck in the thigh in the middle of a play, nobody would notice.
I’ll wait a while before making too many comments about the new stadium. There are some disappointments with several aspects of the venue and the game presentation I’ll write about later. And I can’t tell you how upset I am about the commemorative patch the team is sporting on its jerseys. Suffice it to say, for now, this whole thing, all of it, is solely about Jerry Wayne. It’s all about Jerry.
Jerry ought to be more than a little concerned about his quarterback. And his secondary. And his pass rush.
No more blogging until next Monday, September 28. I’m flying out to Fresno, California this Wednesday for the annual Spiritual Growth Workshop at the Woodward Park Church of Christ where my great friend Jim Gardner is the preacher. I’m speaking three times on Christ’s fulfillment of the Law: God’s Eternal Intentions, Christ’s Eternal Fulfillment, Our Eternal Righteousness. Gardner’s also got me delivering the Saturday night keynote on salt and light and teaching a combined adult class at his congregation Sunday morning. What an honor. I love that Woodward Park church. A thousand people. And only 600 of them speak English. A true Kingdom experience to worship with that multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-languaged, economically-diverse body of believers.
Pray for us to have a great week in Fresno and for our God to overcome my shortcomings and prove his power in my weakness to bless everybody who attends.
Peace,
Allan
When we pray, we do so in faith that God is always going to give us what we need. We get that. We understand that. But what do we do with the words of our Lord in John 14:13-14?
“I will do whatever you ask in my name…You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
But God doesn’t give me whatever I ask. He’s said “no” to many of my prayers. His words don’t mean the same thing to us that they meant to the apostles.
What if — play along with me here — everytime you asked for something in prayer, God gave you a gift. He blessed you. What if — are you still with me? — sometimes he gives you something different than what you asked, but that something is so much bigger and better? What if God makes substitutions, but those “audibles” are always to your advantage?
He created me. He knows me. He knows every single thing about me. He certainly knows what’s best for me.
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” ~Matthew 7:11
God may not always give you exactly what you ask for. But your faith assures you that God is giving — he’s always giving. And if it’s different, you can trust that it’s better for you than what you think you want. His divine sovereignty will prove out because he knows. He knows much better than you what will best meet your needs and fit into his heavenly plans.
If my kids beg me for Little Debbies and Dr Pepper floats for every meal, three times a day, but I answer those requests by giving them salads and steaks and vegetables and rice and milk and water, does that show that I love them less? Or does it prove I love them more? Giving them what they want all the time would actually be much easier. But wouldn’t it prove that I don’t really have their long term interests at heart?
Jesus says, if you (insert your name), in all your shortcomings and sins and failures; if you (insert your name), in all your inadequacies, in all your evil; if you (insert your name) know how to give good gifts to your children…
How much more!
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Yes, I’ve got prayer on the mind. It’s 6:30 Friday evening and there are seven men in two different rooms upstairs in The Rock here at Legacy, praying for over 130 prayer requests from our church family and the community. We started praying in one-hour shifts up there at 8:00 this morning. And nearly a hundred men are coming and going throughout the night through 8:00 tomorrow morning in our big annual prayer event, Legacy’s 24 Hours of Prayer.
I can’t adequately describe what it’s like to pray for your brothers and sisters, to lift up their deepest fears and concerns and their richest praise and thanksgivings, with four or five other brothers, for over an hour. I learn so much. I didn’t really know Michael until I listened with him this morning as he prayed for Mary and Gene and Betty. Now I know his heart. I had no idea the pain that Stuart and Hope have endured. But after reading their prayer requests form, now I know. I thought I knew Larry until I prayed with him for his children and mine. I thought I knew Steven until I heard him pour his heart out to God about his own sins and failures.
As Oswald Chambers said nearly a hundred years ago, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works; prayer IS the greater work.”
I love the 24 Hours of Prayer. My last time slot comes up at midnight. I’ll be praying with Tracy and David and Paul D. and Paul B. I feel like I know two of them pretty well right now. I know a little about the other guy. One guy I hardly know at all.
Right now, I consider all four of them friends.
At 1:00 am, I’m guaranteed to know more about them, and them about me, and to be closer to them and bonded to them than we would be after a year of going hunting or fishing or watching football games together.
At 1:00 we will be brothers.
Peace,
Allan
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