The new blog has some features this one does not have.  You can opt-in to an email list, and follow through a variety of social media options.

There you’ll also see I have a new book that has just come out, and it’s available at Amazon. The book is called, Get Dominion: You’ve Been Called to Fulfill a Mission.

The focus of the new blog is to help readers find and live out their God-given purpose in light of the larger purpose He has for the world.  If you are interested in realizing the purpose God has for you, I think you’ll find this site worth your while:  http://www.madefordominion.com/

Thanks for visiting here. . . I hope to see you over there.

Dear Mom,

The man who made today’s prediction, Harold Camping, is a false prophet. He predicted the same thing would happen back in 1994, and it did not. Hard to believe anyone has actually been paying attention to him this go around.

Personally, I do not believe the rapture is a biblical doctrine, but a misunderstanding of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. For more information on this, you might be interested in this article:
http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_BR_Farewell_Rapture.htm

The fact that the world remains today as it has for millennia is no threat to the Christian faith. The events of today — or should we say non-events — do, though, help to reveal the faultiness of theologies built around “the rapture.”

Today was another day of failure for escapist theologies. Time to get back to the work of occupying until He comes.

Love,

David

For centuries the church has relied on spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible study, worship, solitude, and fasting to further the sanctification of God’s people.

Following this pattern, the church today needs to recover the spiritual disciplines that are so essential to the Christian life.

Here’s why. . .

The example of the Scriptures
The Bible shows us that the Christian life is marked by certain practices. When you look at the followers of Christ in the Bible, what did they do? They prayed, they spent time in God’s Word, they served, they fasted, etc. . .

And they did these because Jesus Himself did them. Before calling His first disciples, for example, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer (Lk.6:12). The pattern of practicing the spiritual disciplines is well established in the Bible.

The instruction of Scripture
The Bible not only gives us the example of spiritual disciplines as a way of life, it also instructs us that we are to practice them. The Bible is straightforward when it tells us, for example, that those who live righteously and prosper are those who meditate on God’s Word (Ps.1:2).

Why does the Bible tell us such things? So we can be properly formed and developed as human beings to serve God in His kingdom.

To deal with the body
God gave us bodies, and with our bodies we carry out service to Him in the world. But the body is often a source of trouble for people. Many see themselves as imprisoned by their bodies and enslaved to its passions. It’s often thought that the only way to live a spiritual life is to escape from the body.

The spiritual disciplines are God’s means for bringing the body under subjection. By them we are able to bring our bodies into the service of the king rather live in service to our bodies. As Paul made clear, our bodies are to be our slaves, we are not to be enslaved to our bodies (1 Cor.9:24).

Godliness requires spiritual discipline
The Bible tells us that we are to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness, and it compares spiritual discipline with bodily discipline (1 Tim.4:7,8). Everybody is used to idea of bodily discipline for some purpose (like losing weight), but we easily presume that growth in godliness is automatic.

Could it be the reason why there appears to be so little godliness is that there is little serious application of the spiritual disciplines of the faith?

We have overestimated the contribution that right theology brings to the world
Theology is of critical importance. Understanding what the Bible teaches about topics like God, man, sin, Christ, redemption and the covenant is essential. But, we often overemphasize the good that is accomplished by right theology. Theology is a necessary means to the end of better living – it is not to put us in a place where we have mere “thoughts righteousness.”

Jesus said that we are to let our light shine before men so that they would see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Mt.5:16). In saying this, Jesus is talking about the way we live our lives before others. Faithful practice of the spiritual disciplines transforms our lives in a way that they can shine before the world.

We lack spiritual power
One of the greatest needs of the church today is spiritual power. Even for all that the church does right, it often lacks the spiritual power for these things to be effective and change lives. We need to recover the power of the Spirit.

God’s instrument for bringing power to the church is holy living developed by faithfulness in the spiritual disciplines. When Christ’s first disciples were frustrated by their lack of spiritual power, Jesus told them it was because of a lack of prayer and fasting in their lives (Mk.9:29).

The church really does have the answer for our times. Through Jesus Christ we have the hope of a new, transformed humanity, and the church is to bring this message to the world.

But in bringing the message to the world, we must do so as those who are transformed ourselves. This transformation can only come about as we practice the way of life that has changed people for ages.

We do not expect that an athlete or musician could ever excel in their callings without hours of disciplined practice. In a similar way, we cannot expect to obey the One we profess to love without incorporating the spiritual disciplines in our lifestyle.

May the same grace that draws us to Christ in the first place continue to be at work in us as we present our lives before Him by way of the spiritual disciplines of the faith.

Blaming our circumstances or someone close to us is appealing because it gives us cover for our failings. But doing so takes away hope for any change for the better.

The tendency to refuse responsibility for problems and shift the blame on others goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. After the first man and woman ate the forbidden fruit, Adam blamed his wife, and Eve blamed the serpent.

Although Adam and Eve portrayed themselves as victims, they were filled with shame and hid themselves from God. If it were not for God’s pursuit of them, they would have remained in this hopeless state of shame. But God confronted them with the truth, and brought them mercy so they could move forward with their lives.

The blame-shifting approach modeled by Adam and Eve is practiced daily as people face their own personal difficulties. It is far more common for people to explain away their wrong behavior than own it themselves.

The result? Multitudes spend their days stuck in hopelessness and shame.

This problem is reinforced in that society discourages personal responsibility and encourages blame-shifting in various ways. It used to be, for example, if someone had a drinking problem he’d be called a drunkard and exhorted to change his ways. Today, someone with a drinking problem is said to have a disease and is urged to get treatment.

This sort of approach is intended to be caring as it tends to soften the blow on the person who is afflicted. But the net effect is that it takes away hope.

If a person comes to think that his problem is totally outside of his control – as though it were innocently contracted like some disease – it will not be long before he believes that there is nothing he can do about his problem and that he will be locked to it forever.

But the truth is that we do have a personal responsibility when it comes to the difficulties we face. That can be sobering to face because it will connect some of our problems to our own foolish actions. The good news, though, is that we can begin to think and act in ways that lead us in a new direction .

Realizing this in itself gives hope for change and a better way of life.

Hope does not come by denying our responsibility. Hope does not come by suppressing the truth we know deep down in our hearts.

Hope comes when we accept that sometimes we are in the mess we are in because of our own sinful or stupid actions. Hope comes when we embrace personal responsibility and take steps to live in the way we know God wants us to.

Are you facing some hardship that you have brought on yourself? Don’t evade your responsibility, but accept it fully. Seek the forgiveness of God and others where needed, and begin by His grace to make the changes you know you must make.

By taking responsibility in this way you will find hope.

From the very beginning of creation God revealed His intention for mankind to develop the whole earth for His glory (Gen.1:26-28). As this has been God’s plan from the start, we should keep it in mind as we make our own plans for a new year.

Making plans for the coming year is a wise thing to do. God Himself makes plans, and by making plans ourselves we show that we bear His likeness.

But we must not merely plan – we must have regard for God in our plans.

Many will make plans during this time of year. Those with wisdom will make them with an awareness of God’s presence and a desire for His glory.

The Proverbs reveal an inescapable interplay between the plans of men and the plans of God. Consider a few examples. . .

“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord” (Pr.16:1).

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Pr.16:3).

“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs His steps” (Pr.16:9).

What is the gist of these verses?

When it comes to planning, human responsibility and divine sovereignty must be taken into account. We are to plan to the best of our ability, but it is God’s larger plan that will ultimately prevail, often leaving our own plans different than when they were first conceived.

Consequently, all the plans we make are to be done humbly and with dependence on God. For this reason, the Bible warns that we shouldn’t boast about what we are going to do tomorrow or next year. We don’t know what our lives will be like tomorrow! You and I are just a vapor that appears for a while and then vanishes away (Jas.4:13-17).

Yet, at the same time, we should plan with confidence, knowing that even if God turns our lives in a way contrary to our plans, it is all for His larger purpose. This is true even if His plan involves pain and hardship. As the Bible also tells us, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28).

So, as we embark upon a new year, make plans. They’re essential to following God’s design for you in this world. Realize, however, that as God works out His plan, circumstances will come that will require you to refine your course..

The need to change your plans at any given time should not be a cause for aggravation, but an occasion to focus on God and rejoice as His plan and yours come together.

Many would see this kind of action as another example of what’s been called “the war against Christmas.” But actually, attempts to rid the season of any vestiges of the Christ child is just one battle in a much larger war – the war against Jesus Himself.

The war against Jesus has been going on for a very long time. In fact, it precedes His incarnation.

After the fall of mankind, God promised that a seed would be born who would overcome evil and redeem fallen humanity (Gen.3:15). Once that promise was issued, Satan did his best to keep it from being fulfilled.

Cain’s murder of Abel, the corruption of the human race before Noah, Pharaoh’s efforts to kill the male offspring of the Hebrews, and Saul’s attacks on David are just a few examples of Satan-inspired attempts to keep God’s promised seed from coming forth.

But the seed did come forth. In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman. This is what we celebrate at Christmas.

Yet, even after Christ was born, the war continued as attempts were made to keep Him from reigning and ruling as the royal seed.

Upon hearing of Christ’s birth, King Herod of Judea ordered the slaughter of all the male children in Bethlehem under two years of age to assure he would have no rival. Christ escaped this massacre, but Satan would not give up.

During Christ’s ministry, Satan tempted Him to forsake His mission, and tried to have him murdered multiple times. Then, by working through Judas, Satan thought he finally had Jesus where he wanted Him when He was crucified on the cross. But this only furthered God’s plan of redemption as Jesus was raised from the dead.

Today, the war against Jesus continues as souls resist His rule over them. But Jesus has already vanquished His enemies. Though the rulers of the earth take their stand against Him, He who sits in the heavens laughs, because the whole earth is His inheritance (Ps.2).

The day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil.2:9,10).

Any effort to remove Jesus from the season represents one battle in the long war against Him. But the war has already been won. Satan’s head has been crushed, and those who follow his inspired ways are on the losing side.

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev.11:15).

When the prophet Isaiah wrote of Him, he described Him as the “Prince of Peace” (Is.9:6). After the announcement of Christ’s birth was made, the heavenly host praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men. . .” (Lk.2:14). Also, the hope of Christ’s kingdom is that the day will come when, “Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Is.2:4).

With the coming of Christ, peace should be a foremost desire for us, and what we strive for in the midst of conflict. The Bible tells us as much as it depends upon us, we are to “be at peace with all men” (Rom.12:18). It also says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Mt.5:9).

In light of the emphasis that the Bible puts on peace, it’s remarkable how many professing Christians are so quick to advocate war. Too often the knee-jerk reaction to some country that goes against our nation’s established policy is to want to “nuke ‘em.” We’d rather send the military than missionaries to bring about change.

Of course, a nation has a right to defend itself. But let’s consider a few facts.

As a nation – at least publicly – we have abandoned God. His Word tells that if we forsake Him, He will forsake us (2 Chr.15:2). A nation forsaken by God is sure to find itself in more trouble, including war.

We need to realize, too, that war is profitable for some. One famous general said it plainly when he exclaimed, “War is a racket.” By this he meant that there are those who will have no remorse sending others to death in war if by it they can enrich themselves. The Bible confirms this when it observes that covetous desire is the root of war (Jas.4:1ff).

Also, we must acknowledge that we now live in a time when there is greater faith in the state than in God, and this has led us as a people to walk more according to the spirit of statism, nationalism, and militarism than the Spirit of Him who brings peace. This has led those in the military to serve more as killers for the state and its agenda, than defenders of the people.

The season of Advent is a fitting time to consider these points, because it is a time to prepare for the coming of the Prince of Peace. And come He will, both to judge and deliver. And when He does, He will consider what we have done to promote His peace.

How can we prepare for such a day? We can start by asking ourselves, “What do we want more, war or peace?” Or. “What holds our greatest devotion, a crumbling American Empire or the eternal kingdom of God?”

We’ll see more peace in our world when we put His kingdom above all others, and rely more on the sword of the Spirit than on bombs and guns.

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? You must take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, you have to preach to yourself, question yourself. . . then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done and what God has pledged Himself to do.”

~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Spiritual Depression

What is the biblical basis for talking to yourself? Psalm 42:5. . .

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.