January 5, 2013
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6: 8-13)
Make the observation with the help of the bold type that this disciple’s prayer/instruction teaches that we should begin our prayers with what we might call a ‘providential perspective.’
This is expressed in three petitions: Your name, Your kingdom and Your will. Before we get to “Give us” we are to bring into our perspective Who God is, as He is revealed in all His names. Then we are to focus on the fact that He is our King and we are His subjects.
When we understand that He is our King, we know His will must be done on earth through us even as it is done perfectly in heaven, all day long every day.
Many think prayer is coming into the presence of God with a shopping list and sending God on errands for us. But here Jesus is teaching that prayer is reporting for duty to our King that He might give us our orders for the day.
We are to end our prayers with a providential benediction. The essence of the providential benediction is that since the power to answer our prayers will always come from God, the glory and the result (the Kingdom) will always belong to God. James tells us we sometimes “pray amiss.” The difference between praying amiss and praying a hit can be this perspective on prayer.
3 Comments | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: christianity, Disciples Prayer, faith, how to pray?, Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:8-13, prayer, prayer of Jesus, presence of god, providential perspective, the Our Father, theology | 
Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
December 28, 2012
“Then He brought us out that He might bring us in…” (Deuteronomy 6:23)
Are you ready for a new thing? God often wants to do a new thing in our lives but He has three challenges. When He wants to bring us out of the old and into a new place He cannot get us out of the old because we are insecure and want to hold on to the old place. He then has to blast us out of the old. That’s why a call of God is often made up of a pull from the front and a boot from the rear.
His second challenge is that He has to pull us through the transition between the old place and the new. Transitions can last for years and they can be very painful. But He promises He can pull us through the worst of them.
His third challenge is to get us right so He can settle us into the new place. We should no more resist that work of God than a baby should resist being born and coming out into life.
Don’t give God a hard time when He wants to do a new thing in your life. We must believe that God is good all the time. If we trust His character we should cooperate with Him when He wants to make changes and do new things for us. A rut is a grave with both ends knocked out. Our loving heavenly father does not want to see His children in the living death of a rut.
Instead of giving Him a hard time, make it easy for Him as He brings you out of the old place and leads you into the new places He has for you in the New Year.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Call of God, Deuteronomy 6:23, faith, following Jesus, New Things, New Year's resolutions, religion, spirituality, Trusting God | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
December 25, 2012
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2: 11-14).
One of my very favorite Christmas Scriptures is here where the Apostle Paul wrote to Titus that the grace of God appeared on that first Christmas Eve when Christ was born. His Church should always be looking forward to what he calls “the blessed hope” which is the appearing of Christ in His Second Coming.
In these Christmas verses Paul writes that between these two appearances of Jesus Christ God wants to appear to this world through His special people by the way they adorn their doctrine with good works and godly living. The word “special” is sometimes translated “peculiar” or “unique.”
Great paintings are valuable because they are peculiar. If there is another painting exactly like a particular painting it loses its value. Paul counseled Titus that it is critical to have spiritual people in his church who will adorn their doctrine with good works and be peculiar people through whom God appears to this present age.
There is a Christmas that was when God first appeared to us. There is a Christmas that shall be when God appears through the return of Christ. And there is the Christmas that is as God appears through believers like you and me.
Are you willing to be the Christmas that is for those who know you today?
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Christmas, Christmas Scriptures, christmas verses, faith, Jesus Christ, religion, the Second Coming, the Word of God, theology, Titus 2:11-14 | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
December 20, 2012
“Around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
They were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
“Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
“This is heaven.” declared a small boy.
“We’re spending Christmas at God’s house!”
When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their Savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring.
Those children all flew into the arms of their King.
And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
“In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”
(This poem, written by Cameo Smith, honors the children killed last Friday at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.)
We read in the Gospel of Matthew: Then Herod… put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under…” (Matthew 2:16). Think of the children who stormed heaven’s gates shortly after the first Christmas.
There is much in this life that makes no sense until we have an upper story and an eternal dimension to what we believe. The eternal dimension is the most important dimension of our existence. It can make sense out of some of the inexplicable tragedy caused by evil.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Cameo Smith, faith, Faith in God, Heaven, Holy Innocents, Jesus & the little children, Jesus Christ, Newtown CT, religion, spirituality | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
December 12, 2012
“And every man stood in his place all around the camp (of the Midianites); and the whole army (of Midian) ran and cried out and fled.” (Judges 7:21)
One of the greatest victories described in the Old Testament is the victory of Gideon over the army of the Midianites. There were several hundred thousand Midianites and Gideon only had 300 soldiers. In the middle of the night, in pitch darkness, Gideon placed his 300 committed warriors in three strategic locations around the sleeping army of their enemy.
On signal from Gideon each group of 100 soldiers exposed 100 torches, blew 100 bugles, and then 100 men shouted: “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” This gave their enemy the impression they were surrounded by a powerful army. They completely panicked. In the darkness they began fighting each other and were soon conquered.
Although this was a great miracle it was a miracle that required a total commitment on the part of Gideon’s 300. That’s why he reduced his army down to less than one percent of what he started with. He had to know that his men were a one hundred percent committed minority rather than an apathetic majority.
This victory also teaches the critically important concept of teamwork. The work of God is a team sport and requires a team effort. The verse I quoted summarizes the key to this great victory. We read that every man of the 300 ‘stood in his place.’ If a percentage of them had been too frightened to execute this plan the event would have been a disaster.
Are you willing to find and stand in your place that together we might defeat all the powers of hell?
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: committed to God, faith, Gideon, Gideon & the Midianites, miracles of faith, Old Testament victories, religion, Strategic Faith, teamwork | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
December 8, 2012
“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
The Apostle Paul invested himself in a one on one relationship with a young man named Timothy. In the verse above he challenged Timothy to have that same kind of relationship with other men, who would then have that kind of relationship with other faithful men.
I had about seven years of classroom education for the ministry. I also had a handful of older men who mentored me personally in a relationship like Paul had with Timothy. A great pastor named Ray Stedman invested four hours every Thursday afternoon for a year with me in the Word of God. He challenged me to do the same with others.
As I have considered the impact of Doctor Stedman’s investment in me and my investment in others, I have come to the conclusion that this is the greatest teaching method in the world.
This method actually started for me when I was a small boy. I watched my father spend hours sitting in a rocking chair preparing his Sunday school lesson. Every now and then he would exclaim, “Oh this is wonderful!”
I realized there is wonderful truth in the Bible. When I was a late teenager I adopted that declared value of my father and have passed that value on to my son who is a pastor. I am greatly blessed to have had a father and a mother who taught me the Scriptures in a one on one relationship like Paul had with Timothy.
If you are a Timothy, do you have a Paul? If you are a Paul, do you have a Timothy?
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Christian discipleship, faith, Leadership, mentoring, Ray Stedman, religion, Saint Paul, spiritual mentorship, teaching the Bible, the Word of God, theology | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
December 4, 2012
“… who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this.” (1Timothy 6:5-11)
In this passage of Scripture Paul gives a profound prescription for contentment. It comes in the form of a warning about the wrong attitude toward riches.
He issues a strong warning to those who seek contentment through wealth accumulation. He is often misquoted when people say “Money is the root of all evil.” Paul actually wrote that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” He also warns that those who have a strong desire to be rich can fall into a trap that can ruin them and cause them to experience great grief and sorrow. Have you experienced grief and sorrow in your family because of money?
On the positive side Paul writes that godliness with contentment is great gain. He therefore challenges Timothy to pursue Godliness. If we attain godliness we can be content with as little as food and clothing. Are you a contented person? Work on your pursuit of godliness and your attitude toward riches.
I have a small plaque by the side of my bed that reads: “He who lives content with little possesses everything.”
5 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: 1Timonthy 6:5, contentment, faith, religion, Saint Paul, stewardship, theology, Trusting God | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
November 16, 2012
“In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: surely God has appointed the one as well as the other” (Ecclesiastes7:14)
Many devout people are confused about prosperity. Some preach and teach a prosperity theology that is pure heresy. It could only receive a hearing in a place like America. It will not receive a hearing in places where devout people suffer poverty and persecution because they believe. Others believe we should feel guilty when we experience prosperity.
Solomon writes that in the day of prosperity we should rejoice and know that our God has given us all things richly to enjoy. And he informs us that in the day of adversity we should consider the profound reality that God has made the one as well as the other. A truth that means much to me is that God is our personal Mentor and He does His most effective mentoring when things are difficult for us.
Now that I am old I spend time looking back over a long life. As I reflect on my relationship with God over more than eight decades I realize that my times of spiritual growth have been times of adversity and my times of spiritual regression and stagnation have been times of prosperity.
Paul wrote that he knew how to be abased and he knew how to abound. He presented a challenge to us. That challenge is that it takes more grace and wisdom to know how to abound than it takes to know how to be abased.
If you are enjoying prosperity I hope you do not feel guilty but rejoice. If you are experiencing adversity let it be a time of effective mentoring from God and a time of growth for you.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Ecclesiastes 7:14, effective mentoring, faith, faith & prosperity, faith in adversity, faith in suffering, God's mentorship, Grace of God, religion, Saint Paul, spirituality, theology, wisdom of Solomon | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
November 9, 2012
“Where there is no vision the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)
When God wants to do a great work there must be a person with a vision. They must also have a plan because where there is no vision the people perish and where there is no plan the vision perishes. Since the vision and plan must be shared, that means there must be a vision caster. In response to the vision caster there must be keepers of the vision who will preserve and propagate that vision.
The greatest example of this in the Bible is Jesus Christ. He was the greatest vision caster this world has ever seen. He had a vision and a plan. In one of many places, He shared His vision and His plan when He gave His Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). His disciples were, and are, the keepers of His vision. They have preserved and proclaimed His vision for two thousand years. If you are an authentic disciple of His today you are commissioned to be a keeper of His vision.
The man who led me to Christ and mentored me in Christ and the ministry for thirty years had a tremendous vision for foreign missions. For most of the time he was mentoring me I had missions in my head but not in my heart. He once told me with tears that if he could take his heart out of his chest cavity and place it in mine if it would give me a heart for missions he would do it. I’m so grateful that before he went to be with the Lord in answer to his prayers he saw me become a keeper of that vision of Jesus Christ.
If you are His disciple are you a keeper of His vision?
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: christianity, faith, foreign missions, Jesus Christ, Proverbs 29:18, religion, The Great Commission, vision casters, vision of jesus | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
November 6, 2012
“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in meekness correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2Timothy2:24-26)
We might label these words Paul wrote to Timothy: “How to relate to a difficult person.” We all need this teaching because we must all deal with difficult people.
According to Paul the difficult person to whom we are relating has been taken captive by the evil one and we cannot free them. We can maintain three fruits of the Spirit (gentleness, meekness and patience), which keeps the door open for God. We then earn our hearing and place before them the Word of truth they need to hear. We must not quarrel because that opens the door for the evil one and closes the door for God.
When they acknowledge the truth of God’s Word they experience repentance, and escape from the captivity of the evil one. This is not a matter of teaching or preaching. It is not having the last word or winning the argument. This is becoming a conduit through which almighty God sets people free who were not free.
To repent means to think again or to have a change of mind, heart, will and direction. It is a work of God you cannot perform. Only God can use His Word and you His servant to make this happen. In an attitude of prayer and in dependence upon God and His Spirit are you willing to be a conduit of this miracle?
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: changing hearts, christianity, conduits of God, faith, Faith in action, faithfilled-relationships, fruits of the spirit, Love of God, repentance, Saint Paul, truth of God | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward
4SpiritualSecrets 