Author: John Page 74 of 172

Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God?  Or do I seek to please men?  For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

Ephesians 6:6-7 “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”

Colossians 3:23 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

II Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

The members of the United States Air Force Honor Guard are the ceremonial experts of the Air Force. They perform at some of the most high visibility and honorable venues, and are characterized by always standing sharp, crisp, and motionless.  Their demeanor and professionalism fill their onlookers with a huge dose of pride and patriotism.

A part of the Honor Guard Creed reads as follows: “Never will I allow my performance to be dictated by the type of ceremony, severity of the temperature, or size of the crowd.” Indeed, they live up to that statement. I have seen them perform the same on the fourth event of a hot August day to a tiny crowd as I have seen them perform in front of world leaders on the biggest stages.  They are equally professional regardless of the circumstances, obstacles, and visibility.

There is great leadership and spiritual truth in that same statement.  We are to serve faithfully regardless of the circumstances, obstacles, and visibility of our tasks.  It doesn’t matter if our role is to be behind the pulpit or a vacuum cleaner, in front of a big crowd or a tiny congregation, or leading a great choir or a small team. We are to heartily please God through our life of service.  We are not menpleasers, but the servants of Christ.  We are to serve the same regardless of whether we are in season or out of season.

PLEASE PRAY FOR PASSIONATE CHRISTIAN SERVICE AT ALL TIMES AND IN ALL CONTEXTS.  Never should we allow our performance to be dictated by the type of ceremony, severity of the temperature, or size of the crowd.

Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

Luke 6:12 “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continue all night in prayer to God.”

Acts 6:4 “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

Christian leader and author J. Oswald Sanders gives amazing advice to spiritual leaders throughout his work Spiritual Leadership.  Some of the best quotes from this classic leadership work include:

• “If you want to maintain an image of infallibility, find something else to do besides leading people”
• “The leader should read to have fellowship with great minds”
• “More failure comes from an excess of caution than from bold experiments with new ideas”

Each of these thoughts are challenging and thought-provoking.  Yet, there is one thought that may be more convicting than all the rest:  “the spiritual leader should outpace the rest of the church, above all, in prayer.” Wow!

Whether we are a leader OF the church or a leader IN the church, a fervent prayer life is the key to success.  It applies to our leadership roles WITHIN the church and OUTSIDE the church.  It is the benchmark of faithfulness and the gold standard of preparedness.  It is the pathway by which a Christian receives wisdom, power, and motivation. It eclipses all other elements of our development because it connects us to God Himself.

Jesus prioritized prayer! The disciples prioritized prayer! So must we!

PLEASE PRIORITIZE PRAYER AS THE KEY TO AN IMPACTFUL LIFE.  To be successful and effective, it is something we must do above all.

I Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:  and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”

Titus 2:7-8 “In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works:  in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.”

I Peter 2:12 “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles:  that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Famous baseball player Joe DiMagio was once asked why he played so hard every game.  His answer was simple but powerful:  “There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time.  I owe him my best.”

People were watching DiMagio every game, and people are watching you every moment.  They are watching, they are listening, they are learning, and they are judging.  What they see and hear may very well shape their entire opinion of the Christian faith and of the power of Christ.  Your witness may form their first impression or their last impression of the validity of the gospel.

They need us to give an attractive and compelling answer through our words and our deeds.  They need us to live such that they have no valid evil they could claim against us.  They need us to live in a way that causes them to recognize the need to glorify God.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR DAILY TESTIMONY WOULD PROMPT OTHERS TO BE DRAWN TO CHRIST.  We owe them our best!

Hebrews 11:33-34 “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edges of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Esther 4:14 “For if thou altoghether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed:  and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

The history of our forefathers-in-faith is amazing and impactful.  We can marvel today at the faithfulness of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rehab, Gideon, David, and others.  They made and shaped history as they served in their place at their time … in their kingdom for such a time as theirs.

What are we doing today to live up to that amazing legacy?  How are the great cloud of witnesses judging our service and sacrifice? They lived in their own kingdoms at their own times, but they aren’t here today.  We are!  This is our kingdom and our time.  God placed us here for today.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD SERVE FULLY AND FAITHFULLY IN A WAY THAT LIVES UP TO AN AMAZING LEGACY OF FAITH.  It’s time to make history today!

Ephesians 5:15-16 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Psalm 144:4 “Man is like to vanity:  his days are as a shadow that passeth away.”

James 4:14, 17 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away…Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

II Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

It is a trick of the devil to convince us that urgency is not needed as we serve God.  Satan would have us wait until tomorrow.  He would have us to forget that we are to redeem the time.  He would have us to neglect the truth that our days vanisheth and passeth away more quickly than we would imagine.  He would certainly have us skip over James 4:17 and its poignant reminder that neglecting to do the good we know we should do, even if it is because time runs out on us, is not just unfortunate … it is actually sin.

The urgent determination modeled to us (as described in the prior post: https://prayatlunch.us/while-it-is-day/) by Jesus, Paul, and Esther are critical to our effectiveness as Christians.  This characteristic is also vital because time is slipping away faster than we recognize.  The days are evil.  Our days are as a shadow that passes away before we know it.  Our life is like a vapor that appears only for a little time before it vanishes away.

When we fail to finish our course because of a lack of urgency, we are yielding ground to godlessness and tarnishing our testimony.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AN URGENCY TO FINISH OUR COURSE, RECOGNIZING THAT OPPORTUNITIES TOMORROW ARE NEVER GUARANTEED.  Redeem the time today!