Breathtaking and Breathgiving

My thought for the day:

Lord, May every breath You give me be taken away by the sight of your unparalleled mercy.

It's okay to pray for joy

Is it okay to pray for joy, or is that a selfish prayer?  Asking for God to make you happy, even happy in Him, seems sort of "off" somehow.  Though I freely label myself as a "Christian hedonist," it's still something I feel funny praying for sometimes.  But the Holy Spirit gave me a clear answer today when I was reading Psalm 85-86.  Here are 3 examples from the Psalms of praying for joy, all of them with God-centered motivation.

Psalm 51:12-- "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You."
Apparently there is a direct connection between deeply feeling the joy of knowing God's great salvation, and being a good evangelist.  Here, David's prayer for joy is directly connected to his desire that God's salvation would be felt more deeply by him and extended to others.

Psalm 85:6-7,9-- "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?  Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation... Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land."
The main connection to draw here is between "Your people rejoice in You" and "that glory may dwell in our land."  The glory of God is put on brightest display when His people rejoice, delight in, and treasure Him above all else.  Therefore, our desire for joy is (or should be) deeply caught up in our desire for God to be glorified, because those desires are biblically synonymous.

Psalm 86:4-5-- "Gladden the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.  For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You."
This has got to be one of the most overtly hedonistic prayers in the Bible.  "Gladden the soul of Your servant," the Psalmist prays.  In other words: "Make me happy, God!"  And the foundation for His prayer: the character of God.  God is good, forgiving, and loving-- and this is the ground for both the Psalmist's request and His expectation.  Because God is all of these things, there is hope and reason for joy, even in the darkest of times.

And finally, not needing any explanation, are the precious words of our Savior from John 16: "Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

A Prayer From This Christian Hedonist

Lord,

I grieve my hardness of heart,

the coldness of my love,

the brevity of my joy.

You have planted so much in my heart, and yet harvested so little.

And yet I know from Your Word that You are a God

who is gracious to the point of extravagance,

faithful to the point of death and beyond,

loving with an omnipotent, conquering love that has drawn and bound me to Yourself.

And so I come with reckless boldness to the throne of grace,

with empty hands pleading the blood of the Lamb.

And Lord,

I ask for more.

From You who gives grace upon grace, I ask for more mercy.

From You who are Love itself, I ask for a more tender heart.

From You who are a consuming fire, I ask for more holiness.

I want to know the love that surpasses knowledge.  I want all the fullness of God.  

I want a greater faith 

and greater wisdom 

and greater assurance

and greater joy 

and greater passion 

and greater love.

I ask for these things with a holy greed that I believe honors You.

For I want to serve You more,

bless You more,

glorify You more,

magnify You more,

give more people more reasons for more thankfulness and more praise.

If You leave me in my hardened, empty condition,

I will have nothing for Your people

and nothing for Your glory.

I want, I need Your fullness.  

I have nothing with which to overflow;

Send Your Spirit to cause rivers of living waters to flow in me.

Quench my thirst,

satisfy my heart with Your steadfast love,

and send me out in the strength of the Fountain

for a life of joyful service.

I pray this in the name of the Mediator,

clothed in the righteousness of the Mediator,

in the strength of the Mediator,

for the glory of the Mediator,

Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Inauguration

Regardless of how you feel about Obama, today is truly a historic day.  The inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, the first African-American President, is certainly one for the ages.

I have mixed feelings about the event.  Certainly, the fact that we have an African-American President is a testimony to how far our nation has come in overcoming the evils of racism, and I look forward to further healing of those old wounds under an Obama administration.  But the fact that Obama is an extreme pro-abortion President grieves me and makes me fear for the cause of life in this country.

In all, I would say that I am cautiously optimistic about Obama's presidency.  I follow all the economic and political issues closely, but I don't pretend to be well-versed enough to offer up any kind of intelligent thought on big government, federal spending, isolationism, and the like (for less-than-intelligent thought on those issues, there are plenty of other blogs out there).  But I believe that if Obama governs from the middle of the political spectrum, he has the opportunity to be a great leader in a difficult time.  So far, there are hopeful signs that he intends to aim for that kind of leadership.  For that reason, I am cautiously optimistic.

But perhaps more than ever, I realize the need for God's people to pray for our leaders.  It was easy under Bush to grow complacent and self-confident, knowing that we have "one of our guys" in the White House.  But the need for God's guiding hand is much clearer now.  We must intercede for Obama to the One in whose hand "the king's heart is a stream of water... He turns it wherever He will." (Proverbs 21:1).  God "changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." (Daniel 2:21)  This is the God to whom we appeal.  So please, pray for President Obama.

For some other thoughts on an Obama Presidency, see below:

My blog: "How Christians Should Respond to the Election"

John Piper: "Being Pro-Life Christians Under a Pro-Choice President"

Ron Jones: "An Open Letter To President-Elect Obama"

Al Mohler: "A Prayer For President Obama"

Valley of Vision prayer

In my devotions today, I read a Valley of Vision prayer titled "A Minister's Bible."  But it's certainly not just for ministers.  This is my prayer, and my hope is that this would be your prayer too.

O God of truth,

I thank Thee for the holy Scriptures,

their precepts, promises, directions, light.

In them may I learn more of Christ,

be enabled to retain His truth

and have grace to follow it.

Help me to lift up the gates of my soul

that He may come in

and show me Himself when I search

the Scriptures,

for I have no lines to fathom its depths,

no wings to soar to its heights.

By His aid may I be enabled to explore

all its truths,

love them with all my heart,

embrace them with all my power,

engraft them into my life.

Bless to my soul all grains of truth garnered

from Thy Word;

may they take deep root,

be refreshed by heavenly dew,

be ripened by heavenly rays,

be harvested to my joy and Thy praise.

Help me to gain profit by what I read,

as a treasure beyond all treasure,

a fountain which can replenish my dry heart,

its waters flowing through me as a perennial river

on-drawn by Thy Holy Spirit.

Enable me to distill from its pages faithful prayer

that grasps the arm of Thy omnipotence,

achieves wonders, obtains blessings,

and draws down streams of mercy.

From it show me how my words have often been

unfaithful to Thee,

injurious to my fellow-men,

empty of grace, full of folly,

dishonoring to my calling.

Then write Thy own words upon my heart

and inscribe them on my lips;

So shall all glory be to Thee

in my reading of Thy Word!

How Christians Should Respond to the Election

So how should Christians respond to the election of Barack Obama, the most extreme pro-abortion member of the Senate (and now the President-Elect), the liberal Democrat, and the first African-American President in history?  Here are 8 responses from Scripture that should be expected of God's people:

1) Pray for our President.  Pray for our new President-Elect.  Pray for our country and its new leaders.  Pray for the cessation of injustice, the freedom of the Church, and the advance of the Gospel.  "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."(2 Chron. 7:14)  And do not think that, because you do not support President Obama or his policies, that you should not pray for him.  "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matt. 5:44)  Pray especially that God will change his heart to save the lives of the millions of defenseless unborn who will otherwise die during his term.

2) Do not fear.  If the prospect of an Obama presidency scares you, you should take a good hard look at where you are placing your security.  We as Christians will almost certainly face more opposition in the next four years, and we will almost certainly face setbacks in the cause of justice.  But God is our security, heaven is our home, and we are not citizens of this world.  "He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'  So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me?'" (Heb. 13:5-6).

3) Respect our President.  Regardless of how you voted, you are commanded by the Word of God to respect your new President.  "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." (Rom. 13:1)  If Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, could write these words concerning the anti-Christian pagan emperor, how much more should Republicans submit to their Democratic leader!  Do not be like so many partisans who will drag the name of Christ through the mud tomorrow morning by the vindictive bitterness of their words.  Honor Christ in how you honor the President.

4) Rejoice at the demise of racism.  The election of the first African-American President, regardless of his political views, is a thrilling moment in American history, a decisive blow in the ages-long battle against bigotry, racism, and hatred.  Christians everywhere should rejoice in this triumph of justice-- justice that for centuries was denied to people created in the image of God for His glory.  Pray that God will use Barack Obama's presidency to further heal the divides of racism that still exist in this country.

5) Defend the defenseless.  With pro-choice Democrats now in control of the White House and Congress, the people of God must speak out with one voice against the horrific evil of abortion.  Pray earnestly, desperately, and faithfully that God will deliver us from this judgment and will renew this country's love for the sanctity of life.  "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.  If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay each man according to his work?" (Prov. 24:11-12)

6) Trust in God's sovereignty.  We must never let election outcomes cloud our view of God's sovereignty as revealed in Scripture.  "He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings." (Daniel 2:20-21)  "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'" (Daniel 4:34-35)  God is sovereign, and the outcome of this election was always in His hands.  If He has chosen to lose the restraints on evil and "give us over" to the fruition of abortion and homosexuality, His judgment is just.  Continue to pray for mercy for our nation and boldness for His people, but never cease to trust His unswerving allegiance to His Church and to His glory.

7) Thank God for His mercy.  Though God has "given us over" to a liberal, pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality President, in His great mercy He has not given us the leaders we deserve.  In our sin, we deserve anarchy and dictatorship and violent oppression, yet God in His goodness has seen it fit to preserve our political freedom.  This is the fruit of the Gospel; God continues to defend His church and extend incredible patience to rebels.

8) Remember our freedom.  Many Republicans will say that a liberal President means the end of liberty.  I disagree.  It may be true that Constitutional protections will be rolled back or ignored; it may be true that Big Government may take away economic and social and educational and familial choices that once were ours.  But President Obama cannot take away our freedom, for our freedom is found in Christ.  "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)Do not put too much stock in political freedom; after all, this world and everything in it is quickly passing away.  Christians in North Korea today are just as free before God as Christians in the USA.  Remember the benefits of the Gospel bought and applied to you by the Holy Spirit: you are free, forgiven, reconciled, a citizen of heaven, and no human government can take that away.

The Throne

"The Valley of Vision" is a collection of Puritan prayers that I've been reading daily for the last couple months, and it is, simply put, incredible.  These people knew their Bible, knew their hearts, knew their God so much better than we do.  It's really humbling; I want to pray like this.  So today I want to share one of the prayers I read this morning, entitled, "The Throne."

O God of my delight,

Thy throne of grace

is the pleasure ground of my soul.

Here I obtain mercy in time of need,

here see the smile of thy reconciled face,

 here joy pleads the name of Jesus,

here I sharpen the sword of the Spirit

anoint the shield of faith,

put on the helmet of salvation

gather manna from thy Word,

  am strengthened for each conflict,

  nerved for the upward race,

  empowered to conquer every foe;

Help me to come to Christ

as the fountain head of descending blessings,

as a wide open flood-gate of mercy.

I marvel at my insensate folly, that

with such enriching favours within my reach

I am slow to extend the hand to take them.

Have mercy upon my deadness for thy Name's sake.

Quicken me, stir me, fill me with holy zeal.

Strengthen me that I may cling to thee

and not let thee go.

May thy Spirit within me draw all blessings

from thy hand.

When I advance not, I backslide.

Let me walk humbly because of good omitted

and evil done.

Impress on my mind the shortness of time,

the work to be engaged in,

the account to be rendered,

the nearness of eternity,

the fearful sin of despising thy Spirit.

May I never forget that

thy eye always sees

thy ear always hears,

thy recording hand always writes.

May I never give thee rest until Christ is

the pulse of my heart,

the spokesman of my lips,

the lamp of my feet.