Author: TimMaynard

Before his death, Francis Schaeffer wrote a number of books compelling Christian people to think about what it means to live our faith in a fallen culture.  His words in his most famous works, The God Who is There, and  How Shall We Now Live?  give us a thoughtful approach as the world continues to “tighten the noose” around our faith.

How do we now live in a world that is antithetical to everything we believe?  Some felt that evangelical Christianity had a soulmate in the Republican party but that illusion has been mostly shattered.  We are, indeed, no longer the “moral majority” in America.  Politics will not “swing” the vote of the world in our favor.

We must become more comfortable with being the outliers in our culture, not the driving force that makes us mainstream in acceptance and thought.  We are more akin to bands of guerilla fighters, seeking to live against the ruling regime of this world.

Some, in panic, have chosen to capitulate and become traitors… selling their souls to the world for the highest bid.  They have caved in first this moral issue, and then on that other ethical decision, and finally became indistinguishable from the world around us.  They literally have become “spiritual chameleons,” choosing to blend in rather than stand out.

So how shall we now live?

Others have “hunkered down” in fear and tried to keep a low profile so as not to be discovered and called out as followers of “that man,” as Peter was accused in the courtyard of Caiaphas.  We would rather the world “like us” than to take a chance of having to defend why we are different.  Popularity becomes more important than spiritual integrity; acceptance of the world more valuable than the “well done” of our King.

So how shall we now live in such a world without becoming “of it?”  Some make the case that it’s better to be the white glove handling the “mud” of the world.  They call it witnessing.  They want the “mud” to accept them as part of it.  It always ends up with a muddy glove, never “glovey mud.”  The Bible calls such living “compromise.”

We are frequently called in Scripture to “love the world,” but cautioned not to love “the things that are in the world.”  The Bible warns us that “friendship with the world is enmity with God.”  While “God so loved the world,” He did not love the world system, the world’s culture that is continually polluted by the enemy of our souls.

Our challenge, then, is to love people unconditionally… even those who disagree with us and seek us harm.  We are to “love our enemies” and to “pray for those who spitefully use us.”  But we are not compelled to live like them or to sell our soul for their friendship and acceptance.  Now, more than ever, this slice of the world called the United States needs a bold, prophetic MINORITY who will stand up and stand out and be counted not matter what it costs us.

When my walk with Christ first began in the mid-70s, I was deeply influenced by a Brooklyn-born songwriter named Keith Green.  Keith didn’t just sing songs about standing up and standing out and being different.  He did these things.  He stood against the prevailing culture of the music industry that had sold its soul to Wall Street.  He refused to further that cause and started giving his albums away to those who couldn’t afford to purchase them.

My favorite album cover shows a man standing alone in a crowd that is bowing down before a powerful monarch.  The scene is drawn from behind so there are no faces seen.  That image has haunted me since that day.  As I look at it, I always wonder.  When the time comes to stand… will I?

We are coming close to the day when we are going to have to choose to bow to the world or to stand for Jesus.  And then, each of us will have to make our choice.   How shall we now live?

My prayer is that we will live… and stand… for Jesus.

FOR MEDITATION:  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  1 John 2:15

FOR REFLECTION:    In this troubling election season, believers must pray and seek to discern the voice and direction of God more than ever.  How shall we now live?  Let your answer be reflected in the decisions you make each day… as well as on Election Day.

Waiting a storm out is never easy. The “cone of uncertainty ” that we live with is frustrating at best and fear inducing at worst.

Yet we serve the Lord of all the earth who keeps those who serve Him in a “cone of certainty” that His hand will prevail even though the seas rage and the mountains fall. (Psalm 46)

In the midst of our uncertainty, we must focus our eyes on Him; our hearts and our minds must rest in Him. “Be still and know…” He is the Lord.

And whatever the storms of life bring we can have peace knowing that He controls every step. Every turn of the storm. Every drop of rain and every gust of wind.

In that we can know with certainty that whatever the “cone of uncertainty ” we call life brings…

He is in control!

FOR MEDITATION: Be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer and supplication make your requests known to God. Philippians 4:6-7

FOR REFLECTION: In the aftermath of this storm pray for those who have already experienced loss and for our role in helping them to rebuild.

During World War 2, the people of London lived with the constant threat of enemy bombardment and strafing of city streets. My father-in-law, Leonard Sloas, was in the Army Air Corps during those harrowing days when the Nazis were still trying to retain their hold over the city. V2 rockets would fly overhead, dropping their devastating payload on citizens and soldiers alike.

One day, it is told, a school girl was walking home from class when the wail of the air raid sirens pierced the air. As she had been taught, she dropped her books where she stood and ran home as quickly as she could as low-flying German aircraft flew overhead, engaged in battle with the Royal Air Force.

When she and her sister arrived home, their father quickly took them into the darkness and safety of the bomb shelter below their home. Once there and safe, she laid her head in tears on her father’s shoulder, and asked through her sobs a question: “Daddy, can we go someplace where there is no sky?”

We feel sometimes as though “the sky is falling” as our world rapidly changes with ISIS insurgency, the cultural and moral changes sweeping in around us, storms pounding nations to our south and earthquakes threatening our west coast. How much more can our “sky” endure? As I write this blog post, the National Hurricane Center has placed Jacksonville in their “cone of uncertainty” for a hit by Hurricane Matthew.

But the reality is, all of us live in a “cone of uncertainty” when it comes to this world and this life. And while the Bible does not offer false hope that things will get better and better, it does offer the ultimate hope for the believer-that one day the “eastern sky” will split as the King of Kings and Lord of Heaven’s armies returns. On that day, the sky will no longer bring a threat except to those who have refused to own Jesus as their Lord.

Until then, we wait. But we do not wait hopelessly… but hopeful for the day when the sky brings only eternal day. When the storm clouds have passed.

When the Kingdom comes and God’s will is fully done.

FOR MEDITATION: For you do not know the day or the hour when your Lord will come.   Matthew 24:42

FOR REFLECTION: The next time you are tempted to collapse in despair over the conditions and circumstances in our world, ask yourself one important question: Where does your hope ultimately lie?

What does prevailing prayer really look? Prevailing prayer can be defined as praying until an answer comes. But how long? It seems to have much to do with… confidence in faith.

An elderly, Jewish man named Honi was seen by many in the Holy City as a holy man; a man of prayer and faithfulness. Once, during a period of prolonged drought, the leaders of the community came to Honi asking him to pray for rain to end the drought that had plagued the city for months. The shofar blew daily calling the people to pray together to God to send rain.

Honi agreed to pray. He came to the city center and with all the eyes of the people on him he took a staff and drew a circle in the dry dirt. Then, he stood inside the circle. He said, “I will not leave this circle until God answers my prayer.” And he began praying and as he prayed, large drops of rain began to fall… some said they were the size of eggs!

But to their surprise, the people heard Honi say, “Not for this rain I have prayed.” And suddenly the skies turned ominous and thunder rumbled and a deluge of rain fell flooding the city street and streams and brooks with an onslaught of water. “Not for this rain I have prayed,” Honi prayed again, “but for your rain of mercy, of faithfulness and of gentleness.” And the rain suddenly grew quiet and a gentle dousing of rain began that continued for days until the drought was ended.

According to the historian Josephus, Honi the Elder became known as “The Circle Maker.” Where does your circle of prayer need to begin today?

FOR MEDITATION: This is the confidence we have, that when we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14-15

FOR REFLECTION: What area of your life does a circle need to be drawn around? Are you willing to be “the circle maker” in your family, your workplace, your world today?

We have now officially entered the most volatile, election season in my lifetime, if not our nation’s lifetime. Even the vitriolic and acerbic comments that flew back and forth from newspaper headlines to pulpits to public debates between candidates preceding the days of the Civil War are paling in comparison to what is happening today.

With the forward movement of social media, the commentary is not limited to TV ads or newspaper editorials or radio spots. It is now ever present with us; on our phones, and computer screens. It seems the onslaught is relentless and toxic.

In the midst of this, the Christian community has a role to play. We are to be Light. We are to be Salt. We are to be… different.

But are we? Can a lost world see the difference in what you are saying and how you are thinking about this election? Is it possible for you to disagree with another person without needing to destroy them because their opinion differed from yours?

Our country has seldom, if ever, been more divided than it is today. There are not clear and easy choices to be made. But there is one thing that is certain. Our witness… and our vote… matters. Our vote matters because we are citizens of America. We have an obligation to exercise, as the world watches, this amazing privilege we have of electing national leaders.

But our witness matters even more. We are people with “dual” citizenship. We have an obligation first of all, to another kingdom… one that Jesus said, “is not of this world.” And our testimony for that King… and that invisible Kingdom… must remain before us as our priority at all times.

Simply put: we dare not surrender our testimony as ” ambassadors for Christ who are to, by the mercies of God, appeal to all men to be reconciled to God” for the sake of forwarding our political agenda in a temporary world.

So before we press “send” on that next tweet or post a Facebook message designed to communicate a political message in a less than civil way, ask yourself one important question…
What will the King say?

FOR MEDITATION: We are therefore ambassadors for Christ….    2 Cor 5:20

FOR REFLECTION: How can you bear witness to the Heavenly Kingdom through the controversies of this election cycle? Can we let our light shine in the confusion of our day?

My early days as a new Christian were filled with the music of the infancy of the Jesus movement: Keith Green, Second Chapter of Acts, Barry McGuire, Phil Keaggy and Pat Terry albums filled the spindle of our stereo system.

Many of the songs were happy, melodic, and the foundation of modern worship music. Some were prophetic and some had social conscience. I was reminded the other day of a song written by Pat Terry. And as we have seen recent violence across our land, the song seemed very timely. It was called “In My Dream”

I saw it in a dream last night
The world was acting strangely right
Black and white, left and right
Living in perfect harmony

There was no violence in the streets
The smoke had cleared and the air smelled sweet
And drums of truth, beat loud and clear
The rhythm for our feet

In my dream

There was a policeman on the corner
Who had laid his badge aside
Because the law lived in the hearts of men
Instead of fear and pride

And the parents loved their children
And the husbands loved their wives
And the ones worn down, kicked around
Saw the value in their lives

In my dream

And the spires atop the churches
Shone like spaceships in the sun
With altars for their launch pads
And room for everyone

And the earth bowed down in unison
Christ was on His throne

In my dream…

As believers, we pray, we hope, we work towards a world where “the earth bows down in unison” to the King of Kings. Until then we endure racial violence, murders and warfare, injustice and suffering.

But the good news is, it isn’t a dream. The Kingdom is coming. Our despair will turn to hope.

And the dream will become reality!

FOR MEDITATION: And the wolf will lie down with the lamb… and a little child will lead them. Isaiah 11:6

FOR REFLECTION: A day of peace and racial harmony and reconciliation will come to earth, but until then we live in the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God. Though we are in that “pause” before the final consummation, we still must live to see a world where hatred does not win. How are you working and praying toward that end?

In his report to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention last week in Nashville, Dr. David Platt, President of the International Mission Board, shared a remarkable story with us. The story, relayed by several of our IMB missionaries working in a small village among unreached peoples in Southeast Asia, concerned the beginning of an outreach in that area resulting in numbers of the people bringing amulets and other magic objects to the center of the town to be burned. Without being told to do so, the villagers who had begun turning to Christ, brought their objects which connected them to the magic to the village center.

Rejoicing in their genuine faith in Christ, the missionaries celebrated until news came that the village elder, who everyone held in fear and high regard, had suddenly died. The villagers took this as a sign that the forces which controlled the magic (and their lives) were displeased and had begun to take their wrath out on the village. Almost immediately the villagers returned and retrieved their discarded articles.

The missionaries were heartbroken over this turn. “God, here we are on the verge of revival and now this? How are we to turn their attention back to You now?” They banded together and decided to go and pay their respects to the family of the elder, whose body lay in state at the family home… customary in that culture. They pressed through the crowd of weeping people surrounding the house, entered and extended their sympathies to the family.

Asking for the privilege to pray with them, they joined together for a prayer of comfort for the family. While they were praying near the body of the elder, he coughed! Everyone suddenly stopped in silence. And he coughed again… then, he sat up! He was ALIVE! Everyone embraced with joy over this demonstration of power, and no one was more surprised than the missionaries themselves. And they took that opportunity to preach the Gospel of the resurrected Son of the Living God.

And suddenly, revival swept through with the power of the Holy Spirit. Did the prayer of these faithful servants really raise a man from the dead? Only God knows the answer. But what the missionaries knew was this: Their God is powerful… and prayer works!

Can we pray and see a dead person live? Obviously nothing is impossible with God. If God can resurrect a man from the dead, He can also resurrect a dead marriage, a dead relationship, a dead-end job, a dead hope. God can bring life where no life currently exists. He has done it over and over again.

And He can do it for you today!

FOR MEDITATION: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14

FOR REFLECTION: What is the dead situation in your life that you need to trust God to resurrect? Can you ask for it according to His will? Then pray with confidence! He who promised is faithful. And who knows? You may be surprised by a resurrection as well!

Did you know that the can opener was not invented until 1870, nearly a full century after canned food? And that the doorknob did not come into common usage until 1878, though doors have been around for centuries? So how did people get into their foods they had locked safely away in cans? (Remember, no electricity either!). And why did it take so long for someone to come up with the idea of how to open doors?

Now it can be argued here that one item inspired the other. Of course. But it is also an illustration of how we can get really important things out of order. Like prayer. How can we begin a project, a day, out of order in such a drastic way? To begin our day, our trip, our meal, our decision-making without prayer is like… having a can with no opener!

Jesus kept the priority of prayer in front of His disciples both by the things He taught them and by what He modeled. He would sometimes rise early in the day, before any of them were even thinking about being awake, to seek the Father in prayer. And He would take them away for a retreat for a few hours or a few days and go “to a solitary place” to set the priority of prayer in place.

I doubt the disciples ever did anything else without first asking, at least within themselves, “has this been adequately prayed about?” To start an important project or to face a significant decision without praying was like… having a great door but not having a handle to open it! I see praying as tithing our time. While we may not give ten percent of our time to prayer, we honor God by giving Him the ‘firstfruits’ of our day, of our season, of our decision-making.

The priority of seeking God first in prayer is a biblical one. While it isn’t wrong to pray DURING or AFTER an issue or a storm, it is better to set things in place from the beginning by giving it to God BEFORE it becomes a reality. If we say we want to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, how much better is it that we prove it through how we use our time… and pray.

And then, let’s see how easy that door opens!

FOR MEDITATION: O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee…. Psalm 63:1

FOR REFLECTION: Our heart’s desire is paid for by our investment of time. What we spend our time doing is a reflection of what our heart really wants. If you want more than anything to seek God and know Him greater, then the price tag for such seeking is time. What are the true priorities of your life if your watch and calendar are an indication of the truth?

“Men ought always to pray and not grow weary.” (Luke 18:1). Prevailing in prayer is key to success in prayer. There is nothing more important for believers to learn than the lesson of refusing to quit.

Anne Graham Lotz said that her mother, Ruth, taught her children the secret of “praying on the fly.” Prevailing prayer does not mean just that we should not miss our daily appointment with God in our prayer time. It means that, even as our “prayer time” ends, we continue in conversation with our Father.

“Pray without ceasing,” Paul said. It may press the point too far, but prayer is truly as essential to our spiritual life as breathing is to our physical well-being. We do not just stop for a few minutes in the morning, take a couple of deep breaths, and then hold our breath until tomorrow morning. We inhale and we exhale all day long.

Daniel was a prevailing, prayer warrior. He lived a prayer-saturated life and reflected his commitment by entering into a concentrated time of prayer three times a day. But I doubt that was the only time he thought about God or prayed about the culture he lived in and how to live his life in a foreign land.

We pray without ceasing. The key is that we dare not quit. It is our oxygen… our lifeline to Heaven, allowing us to breathe pure, eternal air, not the toxic air of this present world.

FOR MEDITATION: Never stop praying.   1 Thessalonians 5:17

FOR REFLECTION: Remain conscious of moments today when you need to breathe spiritually. Can you find a time, even in the midst of a heavy schedule, to express your heart in prayer? See what a difference it makes!