Learning to Pray

God has called every Christian to make disciples.  Every day I try to think of ways I can be a better disciple-maker.  Lately God has shown me that I need to do more to help Christians strengthen the most fundamental parts of their relationship with Him.  One of the most foundational things we do as Christians is praying.  It is our lifeline to God.  It's been well-said, "no prayer, no power."  Through prayer we can experience God's power and grow in our relationship with him.

I'd like to give you an outline you can use when you spend your daily time of prayer with God.  I don't mean to suggest that you only need to pray one time a day.  In fact, the Apostle Paul instructed us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17).  It's a good idea to pray while you're driving, doing the dishes, taking out the trash, etc.  Anytime is a good time to pray!

Yet, we need to set aside time every day to spend in the presence of God.  Christians commonly refer to this as a "quiet time" - time spent in prayer and in the study of God's Word.  I recommend that you prioritize the same time each day to do this.  If we wake up and say, "I'll get to my prayer and Bible study later," the odds are it will never happen because we'll get too busy.  Morning, noon, or night - find the time that works for you.

If you're a rookie at prayer, don't worry.  The following outline has served many Christians well for lots of years:

• Praise & Thanksgiving
• Confession of Sins
• Intercession for Self & Others

The Bible says we should "enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4).  Begin your prayer time praising God for who He is and thanking Him for what He has done.  Next, confess your sins to God and ask Him to cleanse you and help you to repent.  An unwillingness to confront & confess our sins will hinder our prayer life.  The psalmist once said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psalm 66:18).

Praying for yourself and others is a great way to conclude your prayer time.  This is where it will be important to make a prayer list.  Personally, I pray for my wife, our kids, the church, its leaders, and our country when I have a quiet time.  But there will be many things that won't stay on your list for long.  Some things will only need attention for a few days or a week.  I recommend making a list that includes the elements I mentioned plus anything else God might lay on your heart.

The great Christian reformer Martin Luther once said, "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer."  Sometimes we think we're too busy to pray.  The truth is we're too busy NOT to pray.  If you're not in the habit of praying, start with one minute.  One minute will turn to five, then five to ten.  Soon your life will be transformed by the power of prayer.  Let's not put it off one more day.  Join me and let's begin a prayer revolution!

What Can I Say to My Lost Friends?

I was recently asked this question by a young Christian who is trying to reach his lost friends with the Gospel.  What you can read below was my answer.  It is divided into two parts.  The first section is for those who question the existence of God.  The second is for those who believe that God exists, but they question the validity of the Christian God.  I hope this helps.  Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Arguments for the Existence of God:

1.  Argument from Creation - It is impossible that everything just popped up out of nothing.  Natural matter can't produce itself - it can only reproduce itself.  The natural world (and everything in it) required a supernatural Creator.  That Creator (God) did not require a creation himself, because He is not natural - He is supernatural (not bound by the limits of space, time, and matter like we are).

2.  Argument from Design - The created order is very intricately designed.  The design of the universe implies the existence of a Designer.  That Designer is God.  Consider a wristwatch.  It is very intricately designed with springs, wheels, short/long hands, etc.  Did all those parts just come together by themselves?  Of course not.  The design of the watch requires the existence of a watchmaker.  So the very intricately designed universe requires the existence of a Designer (God).

3.  Argument from Human Morality - Many people believe in evolution.  The theory of evolution is based on the ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest.  If evolution would require that we eliminate the weakest members of our species, then it would make since to go ahead and kill the terminally-ill, the handicapped, the disabled, etc.  But for some reason humans go to great pains to save the lives of the weakest among us.  Why?  Because even our conscience understands that we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26).  That sense of morality comes from God no matter what the teachers of evolution may tell us (Rom. 2:14-15).

Arguments for the Christian God

1.  The Consistency of the Bible - The Bible includes the work of 40 different writers over a period of about 1500 years.  Yet the message of the Bible is consistent throughout - humans are sinners in need of a Savior.  God has made perfect provision for our salvation through the blood of His Son Jesus who died on the cross to set us free from our sins.  If we will simply place our faith in the finished work of Jesus (death, burial, and resurrection) we can be totally forgiven for our sins, experience an amazing life on this earth, and inherit an eternal home in heaven.

2.  The Accuracy of the Bible - The historical accuracy of the Bible is amazing.  Everything from the location of ancient cities and cultures, the reign of kings and their kingdoms, fulfilled prophecy - all of them point to an amazingly accurate Word of God.  The Bible is true in all that it affirms.

3.  The Changed Lives of God's People - Every believer in Christ has a story to share.  Paul shared his story with King Agrippa in Acts 26 - what his life was like before Christ, what happened when he trusted the Lord, and what God did with his life following his conversion.  So moved was Agrippa that he said, "you almost persuade me to become a Christian" (Acts 26:28).  I'm sure the pagan king never thought he'd hear those words come off his own lips.  No one can deny the work of transformation that Jesus has done in our lives.

Do You Want to Be Made Well?

This is the question Jesus asked a man laying at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:6).  The Bible says that the man had been suffering with "an infirmity" for 38 years.  God's Word does not tell us exactly what the man's infirmity was, but it probably had something to do with his legs because he needed someone to carry him to Bethesda's healing waters.  Whatever his disease, it's clear that the man was not able to get to the waters of Bethesda fast enough to be healed (John 5:7).

When Jesus passed by, He knew the man had been handicapped for 38 years - "(Jesus) knew that he already had been in that condition a long time" (John 5:6).  So then, it seems almost ludicrous that Jesus would ask the man if he wanted to be healed.  Of course he wanted to be healed...right?

Can I suggest that not everyone really wants to be made well.  There are all kinds of sickness - physical, emotional, mental, etc.  I'm not really talking about those.  My focus is on the spiritual.  Think about it - many people are "sin sick" because they've never trusted Christ as their Savior.  Jesus still asks billions of people all over the world, "Do you want to be made well?"  The only way any of us can be delivered from our sin sickness is through faith in Jesus.

Even among those who are saved, there is still a great deal of sickness.  Many Christians are diseased with "besetting sins" - evil thoughts, words, or deeds that harm our relationship with God.  God has the power to deliver all His children from the sins that trip them up, but we've got to want to be made well.  Wellness comes in the form of daily prayer, Bible reading, and obedience to His commands.

This sin sickness is not just limited to individuals.  Many local churches are diseased and in need of Christ's healing touch.  God has all the power to revitalize diseased churches, but they've got to want to be made well.  The sad fact is that many churches would rather die than to be healed, because healing requires change.  Change is something that too many of our churches are not interested in.  An unbiblical commitment to tradition has left many churches laying at the pool of Bethesda.

So what about you?  Do you want to be made well?  I suggest you follow the example of Bethesda's suffering man - listen to the voice of Jesus, place your faith in Him, obey His commands, and tell the world that Christ has set you free.  "If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

Is Assisted Suicide OK?

Perhaps you've familiarized yourself with the story of Brittany Maynard.  She's a 29 year-old Portland, Oregon woman who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  Even more tragically, she's only been married to her husband for about 2 years and was attempting to have children.  We always cringe and grieve when we hear of these tragedies affecting the youngest among us.

Brittany is now a volunteer advocate for Compassion and Choices - one of the nation's leading end-of-life choice organizations, or as it has now been called "death with dignity."  Isn't it interesting how our culture renames things over time?  What we used to call assisted suicide (remember Dr. Kevorkian - "Dr. Death") we now call death with dignity.  This renaming has become common in our post-Christian culture.  What was once "gay marriage" has now been re-branded "marriage equality."  What was called "the taking of an innocent human life" has now been renamed "a woman's right to choose."  The new terminology makes our sins sound so much better.

There are two major problems with assisted suicide, among many others.  First, assisted suicide rejects the sovereignty of God.  Only God has the right to end our lives.  He alone is the Giver of life and He alone is to be the Taker.  Bible-believing Christians affirm life from conception all the way to natural death.  That's not to say that there is anything wrong with artificial life-saving methods (ventilators, etc.).  But we should ask ourselves why a Christian would want to go to great lengths to extend his/her life when the Apostle Paul has said "to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phi. 1:21).

Further, assisted suicide doubts God's power to heal, or at least it denies Him the opportunity to do so.  Remember, there have been a number of people that doctors and nurses have given up on, only for God to step in and heal.  The Bible is filled with examples.  How about the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34)?  She "had a flow of blood for twelve years and had suffered many things from the physicians."  Yet with one touch of the hem of Jesus' garment, she was totally set free.  Or how about the man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9)?  For thirty-eight years he had suffered with an infirmity, but after Jesus told him to "rise, take up your bed and walk," his life was never the same.  Or how about the man at the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3:1-10)?  He was lame from birth and was carried to the gate by his friends every day to come and beg.  The apostles didn't have any silver and gold, but what they have they gave - healing in Jesus' name!  He went "walking, and leaping, and praising God" (v. 8).  And these biblical examples don't even include the countless other stories that could be told by many of you.  Assisted suicide doubts that God is able to do even the miraculous.

Some may say I don't know what I'm talking about because I've never experienced Mrs. Maynard's kind of suffering.  If I had, then I would have a much different perspective.  What those people may not know is that I watched my dad suffer with prostate and bone cancer for several years prior to his death.  I watched him throw up as a result of chemotherapy.  I watched him burn up as a result of radiation.  I watched him moan & groan and plead for relief.  On one occasion, I even caught him as he fainted at the bathroom door.

Yet never once did my dad curse the Lord.  Never did he get mad at God and ask "Why me?".  In fact, he became an even greater soul-winner after his sickness.  And he certainly never considered or mentioned the taking of his own life.  Why?  Because he trusted that the God who gave him his life was more than capable or taking it in His time.  My mom, brother, and myself were standing right there with dad in the Hospice care facility when God did exactly that.

I truly sympathize with the Brittany Maynards of the world because I have witnessed their suffering up close & personal.  But no amount of suffering gives us the right to make decisions that are reserved for God alone.  We should all pray that God will relieve Brittany's suffering and that He will give her the courage to leave her life in God's hands rather than taking it into her own.

So Now My Fast Food Has to be Gay?

I'm sure we're all keenly aware that we live in a world of ridiculous headlines.  The stories have gotten so bizarre, I'll have to confess that I've become somewhat desensitized to much of the craziness in our culture.  But then there's that headline that just can't be ignored...something so ludicrous that it makes you wonder if we've reached yet another all-time low.

Check out this story.  Apparently even our fast food must now be gay, or at least gay-friendly.  In honor of Gay Pride month, Burger King announced that it would be selling a gay whopper - "The Proud Whopper."  Wrapped in a rainbow, this flame-kissed sandwich is more about an ungodly agenda than satisfying hunger.  Really?  Has our culture become so perverse that now even our hamburgers have to be homosexual?

This should only remind us that the assault on our Christian faith will only get worse.  Those who do not believe in God or respect His Word will continue to level their assaults against the Lord and His truth.  We would all do well to ask ourselves, "Am I totally surrendered to Christ?"  You may be willing to live for Him, but are you willing to die for the Savior?  We're tempted to think that things will never get that bad.  Living in America, some of us might think that we'll never be forced to choose between our life and our faith.

Think again.  Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33).  Paul told young Timothy, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12).  The same Paul also said, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).  Millions of Christians across our world are already being physically assaulted for their faith - some even killed.

If you are forced to choose between Jesus and your life, what will you choose?  Consider the words of our Savior:  "What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26)  In a world of homosexual hamburgers and collapsing convictions, will you live for Jesus?  Choose wisely, for your eternity destiny (and that of many others) depends on your answer to that question.

Should Christian Business Owners Be Forced to Provide Goods and Services to Everyone?

A strange thing happened to me last night.  I was driving home and listening to what was supposed to be sports talk radio.  But almost as soon as the discussion came on, the conversation turned to whether or not Christian business owners should be forced to provide goods and services to homosexuals.  I'm not sure what sparked such a discussion on a sports talk show, but it might have had something to do with Jayson Collins becoming the first openly gay player in the NBA.  In fact, his jersey has become the top-seller on NBA.com.

While I don't know what prompted the conversation, it immediately caught my attention.  Caller after caller said it is reprehensible that a homosexual would be denied service for any reason.  One brave soul dared to call in with a different perspective and he was laughed off the air.  The hosts routinely compared the "homosexual struggle" to that of blacks during the civil rights movement.  The logic:  Just as service should have never been denied to blacks, neither should it be denied to homosexuals.  That is clearly an apples and oranges comparison, but that's a blog for another day.

There is currently a bill in the Arizona legislature that would protect the freedom of Christian business owners from providing goods and services to anyone (not just homosexuals) for religious reasons.  The governor is receiving heavy pressure to veto the measure so that Christian business owners would be forced to serve all comers, including homosexuals.  The bill was introduced in Arizona because some Christian business owners have refused to provide their services (wedding cakes, photography, flowers, etc.) to homosexual customers.

It begs the question:  Should Christian business owners be forced to provide goods and services to everyone, even if they have a religious objection?  We need to ask ourselves why some business owners have refused to offer their services to homosexual customers.  In most cases, it's because those owners have been asked to provide their services for gay weddings.  If we were talking about selling a cup of coffee to a homosexual, that would be one thing.  But we're not talking about a cup of coffee and a piece of pie - we're talking about goods and services being used for homosexual weddings & receptions.

Why would a Christian business owner object to that?  Because Christians believe that marriage was an institution created by God in the garden of Eden.  Jesus said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh" (Matt. 19:5).  Christians have always believed that marriage was a joining of one man and one woman for life.  Anything beyond the union of one man and one woman is classified as sin throughout both testaments of Scripture.

Clearly, Christian business owners would not want their services being used to celebrate that which God has condemned.  For that reason, some have lovingly refused to do business with homosexual customers.  Should they be forced to violate their deeply-held convictions?  Absolutely not, and all those who support religious freedom should stand and support their "right to refuse."  If the government can force business owners to do business with those who violate their convictions, what will they force them to do next?  This is still "the land of the free and the home of the brave."  Let's encourage our lawmakers to keep it that way.

In Memory of Larry Stinnett (1946-2012)

It's been a year since I last posted an entry on this blog.  I guess there are a variety of reasons for my absence, but none of them would be more prominent than the homegoing of my dad.

Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007.  Dad had a PSA test that had come back somewhat elevated.  The urologist was so concerned about it that he ordered 12 biopsies to be done.  When all 12 biopsies came back positive for cancer, the urologist moved hastily to remove dad's prostate.

I'll never forget the day we discovered the terminal nature of dad's diagnosis.  The urologist took dad back for surgery and we were told that it shouldn't take long to remove the prostate.  The doctor planned to do the surgery laproscopically - as minimally invasive as possible.  After only an hour in the surgery room, the urologist came back out and gave us the bad news - he was unable to remove the prostate.  When mom asked what that meant, the doctor replied, "It means your husband probably has 1-10 years to live."

Those words were like a punch in the stomach.  We thought dad was going to have a simple procedure, recover at the hospital for a day or two, then be on his way.  Clearly things didn't turn out that way.  The doctor's words were prophetic - dad ended up with five years following his terminal diagnosis.  I wish I could say those five years were always filled with joy, but they were not.  Dad suffered many things before he went on to this eternal reward.  He endured chemo, radiation, hormone shots, and even a an experimental treatment called Provenge.  I'm sure those treatments prolonged life, but none of them could remove the inevitable.

Dad had a great deal of pain he tried to manage everyday, and the pain grew much worse the closer he drew to heaven.  Prostate cancer loves to spread to the bone, and that's exactly what happened to dad.  But there's one thing I can say:  Dad kept a positive attitude all the way unto his death.  He never lost his hope in God or his joy in the Lord.  He rarely ever spoke of his impending death.  He was and is an inspiration to us all.

So dad has been gone for a year.  It's been a hard year.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him.  Thousands of things he said still run through my mind.  They even replay in his voice.  So many times I've wanted to pick up the phone and call him and get his advice.  It's been well-said that you don't know how much you love someone and need someone until they're gone.  Dad was my example.  He was a constant source of wisdom and information.  Now that he's no longer here, there's a void in my life that no one else can replace.

One year after his death, I've decided that it's time for me to memorialize him by letting you know who he was to me.  A blog post is not enough space to tell it all, but I want to give you just a taste of the man he was in my life.

Dad was my provider.  Quite simply, he was one of the hardest working men I ever met.  He would rise early and he would often stay up late.  Short of sin, there's nothing he wouldn't do to make sure his family's needs were met.  I especially began to appreciate dad's work ethic when he and mom started their own business in the early 90s - just as I was beginning high school.  Dad's first work vehicle was an old Subaru hatchback.  His first office was his bedroom and he slowly graduated out to the screen-in porch.  One time he took me to work with him just outside of Nashville.  We worked from sun up to way past sun down for two days.  I didn't have any trouble sleeping when the work was done, and to his credit dad never had any trouble sleeping either.

Dad was my protector.  Not only was he my protector, but he protected my mom and my brother as well.  I'll never forget a beach vacation our family took one summer.  My brother (Brad) got on a float and began to ride out over the ocean waves.  Brad lost track of how far he was from the shoreline - he was too far out to swim back.  When dad noticed the dilemma my brother was in, he took off, swam out to my brother, and brought him back to shore.  He was a man's man for sure.

Dad was my coach.  My dad loved sports, played sports, and taught us to love and play them as well.  He was a baseball coach - from T-ball all the way through little league.  He was also a basketball coach.  My brother and I both played church league basketball during each of our 13 school years.  I can't remember one of those 13 years that dad wasn't coaching me or my brother or both of us.  He even coached RA basketball for Oakwood Baptist Church before I was born.  He was also a softball coach.  He coached the men of Wallace Memorial to a city championship and on to state competition.

There's so much more I could say about dad.  He was my teacher, in every area of life.  My dad even taught me and my brother all about "the birds and the bees."  True story - he checked out an anatomy book from the library and used it to explain to me and my brother what distinguishes a man from a woman.  How many dads would bother to have that discussion with their boys anymore?  Dad taught me how to love my wife and my children though the way he loved my mom and us.  Most important, he taught me to love God, to love His Word, to love His church, and to love the lost.

Dad was truly my example, my friend, and now more than ever he is my hero.  Dad never said this to me or my brother, but he surely could have: "Imitate me, even as I also imitate Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).  He may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.  I look forward to seeing him again "soon and very soon."