Monday, January 19, 2009

Asking for Wisdom

The following is an excerpt from A Faith That Is Real.

Asking for Wisdom
James 1:5-8

In verse 5 James says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." The Greek word translated ask in this verse implies that we are to keep on asking. Wisdom should be asked for on a regular basis. God doesn't tire, and neither should we. Asking for wisdom is a habit that is formed by constant use.

When you are in a trial, to whom do you go first-to a friend, to your family, to your coworkers? Remember, the trials James is speaking of here are not trials you have created, but trials that God has allowed to come into your life. God wants you to go to him first. He is waiting for you to open up your heart and listen.

The question is not about how great your desire is to know God's will, but how great your desire is to do it. Are you asking God to give you advice, or wisdom? Are you really saying, "God, tell me what you want me to do, and if I like it, I'll do it"? We have all become so used to making decisions based on our own preferences and opinions that we don't really seek God's wisdom and direction. Do we really want what God wants for us; do we really want God's will in our lives?

While I was doing ministry work in India, I heard a story told of Gandhi. One day someone came to Mahatma Gandhi and said, "I want to know God." Gandhi walked him over to the edge of the river and said, "Let's get into the water." Once they were in, Gandhi took the man's head and held it under water. Gandhi continued to hold on while he struggled, then, just as the man was about to give up, Gandhi lifted his head up out of the water and said, "When you want to know God as desperately as you wanted to breathe just now, then you will find him."

Do you desire God in your life? Do you desire his wisdom? Or do you already have your life planned out? Your heavenly Father is waiting for you-but do you really want him?

God bless you,

Dan

Order your copy of A Faith That Is Real and be challenged to embrace a more authentic faith.

Copyright 2009 Eternity Minded Ministries

Monday, January 12, 2009

Wisdom! Who Needs It?

The following is an excerpt from A Faith That Is Real.

Wisdom! Who Needs It?
James 1:5-8

A bride and groom have just returned from their honeymoon. The bride excitedly prepares her first meal for her husband, a beautiful candlelit dinner. She has informed him that there are two things she cooks very well-apple pie and vegetable lasagna. He takes a bite, chews thoughtfully, and asks, "Which is this?"

. . . Now we will look at the need for wisdom in going through these trials, and the need to understand our trials from God's perspective.

Wisdom in Trials
What is wisdom? Wisdom is the practical use of knowledge. It is not only having knowledge, but also knowing how to use it. Wisdom is an incredibly powerful force that helps us to make right decisions and keeps us from failures that would destroy us.

When do we need wisdom? James instructs us to ask God for wisdom when we are going through a trial. In the midst of a difficult situation, we can simply cry out to the Lord.

Wisdom is quite different from advice. When we ask for advice, we have usually already made up our minds and are just looking for someone to validate our decisions. If a person doesn't give the advice we are looking for, we just ignore it. In the same way, we rarely go to God and say, "Lord, I really don't care how this decision will affect me, or how much stress and suffering it may cause, I just want to do what you want me to do." Rather, we have usually already figured out in our heads what we are going to do, and what we are really thinking is, "God, here's the path I'm going to take. Will you bless my choice and help me as I go?

What God desires from us is that emptiness that genuinely seeks out his wisdom. We can read the Bible until we are blue in the face and memorize hundreds of verses, but unless we recognize the will of God and do it, it won't make us wise.

One time my dad said to me, "I wish all these books on raising kids had been around when I was raising you." True, there are more books today on raising children; however, reading a parenting book every day will not make us wise parents. We have to take knowledge and apply it to our situations. That is the kind of wisdom James is talking about-the wisdom that allows us to take information and process it in a way that is beneficial and useful.

Wisdom is taking knowledge and knowing how to apply it to our lives. The Bible commands us to pursue wisdom, to seek it out (see Proverbs 4:5-7). Each one of us needs wisdom. Wisdom centers our lives. That doesn't mean we are going to have all the answers, but it does allow us to focus on who God is and what he is doing in our lives-which is molding us into the people he wants us to be. . .

God bless you,

Dan

Order your copy of A Faith That Is Real and be challenged to embrace a more authentic faith.

Copyright 2009 Eternity Minded Ministries

Monday, January 5, 2009

What's Holding You Back?

The following is an excerpt from Sharing Christ When You Feel You Can't.

What's Holding You Back?

I remember one of the first times I shared my faith with someone. I was a fairly new Christian attending Liberty University, a Christian college in Virginia. As a member of the football team, I was required to go door to door witnessing (a prerequisite for anyone who wanted to play sports).

One Saturday I went door to door with Randy, a pastor's son and a junior in college who had done this sort of thing many times before. By the time we reached the fourth house Randy turned to me and said, "Okay Dan, the next one is yours."

I was so scared, I tried to refuse; but Randy insisted. We walked to the house and knocked on the door. When an elderly woman opened the door, I began my speech, telling her that we were going from house to house to talk to people about the Lord. When she heard that, to my surprise and fright, she invited us in, sat us down, and brought her husband to us.

To this day I don't know what I said. All I know is, when I finished I asked, "Would you like to open your heart to Christ?" To my shock, the elderly man said yes, so we prayed together.

As we were leaving, the woman pulled me aside, put her arm around me and said, "I've been praying for years for my husband to come to Jesus, but he's had no interest whatsoever. Today you came by and my husband to Christ. Thank you!"

I'll never forget that experience. Of course, Randy was a bit shocked and even impressed that the Lord used me, but no more than I was. If it hadn't been for Randy's persistence, I would have missed out on leading someone to the Lord-solely because of fear.

Afraid to Evangelize

Why is sharing our faith so difficult? What makes it so hard to give our testimony to somebody, to quote a few Bible verses to him or her?

What scares many people is the idea that we have to go down on the street corner, confront someone with the Gospel presentation, and keep prompting her until he or she prays the sinner's prayer.

Confrontation evangelism works for some people, but most of us are relational. That's why I like to do what I call conversational evangelism-establishing friendships, developing relationships with others, building bridges into other people's lives.

Still, we're all generally cowards when it comes to sharing our faith, even with those we know. I consider myself the Number One Chicken. Why are we afraid? Five reasons come to mind . . .

1. Fear of Failure
2. Fear of Rejection
3. Fear of Contamination
4. Lack of Skill
5. Not Seeing the Need

. . . Possibilities for building bridges exist all around us if we are willing to conquer our fears and allow a love for God and a love for people to flow through us . . .

* * * * *

Order your copy of Sharing Christ When You Feel You Can't and learn how to develop your own personal evangelism style.

Consider having Dan Owens come to your church or event for his seminar Building Bridges For Eternity. Call Eternity Minded Ministries at 805-460-0561 for more information or go to http://www.eternityminded.org/seminar.htm.

Copyright 2009 Eternity Minded Ministries