In 1 Timothy 2:1-8 Paul begins by saying, “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone…” and concludes this thought with, “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.” (HCSB)
It is obvious that we should consider prayer our most important activity, as Christians. If we are to have an impact on our world, if we are going to see lives changed, we must pray for people and for that change. Paul urges us to use every kind of prayer we know to pray for every person we know and those whose positions affect our lives.
We are to pray with “holy hands” lifted up. As I thought about this I realized that there are several reasons that we lift our hands that apply directly to prayer.
First, we lift our hands in surrender. That is what makes them holy. When we surrender ourselves to God our hands become His instruments, separated to do His work. Raising your hands is a universal sign of surrender. We cannot serve God unless we belong to Him and when we surrender to Him He becomes our owner, our Lord.
Second, we lift our hands to welcome. Waving to someone is a warm way to say hello or goodbye. It is a sign of affection. We open our arms to greet and embrace people we care about. We reach out our hands to shake the hand of another in a sign of acceptance. When we pray we must pray with affection toward God and toward those for whom we pray.
Third, we lift our hands to draw attention to ourselves. We raise our hand when we know the answer. We know that the answer to every question of our heart is Jesus. We raise our hand to acknowledge that we personally know the answer.
Finally, we raise our hands to celebrate. As I watched the Olympics this week I saw many winners raise their hands in victory as they crossed the finish line or completed a successful program. I remembered my training in high school gymnastics when I raised my hands at the end of the routine to show that I had stuck the landing and that I deserved a high score.
In prayer, we do not raise our hands for points. We raise our hands in prayer because we are celebrating in confidence that the God who made the universe has heard us. “And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.” (1 John 5:15, HCSB)
Robin Cowin
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Harvest Heart
We are all different. We come from different backgrounds and experiences in our lives. As a result, these experiences affect our hearts and also affect the way we receive God’s Word.
In the parable of the sower, (Matthew 13:1-23), Jesus uses the field to describe four different kinds of heart conditions and how that changes the way we receive God’s Word. In this parable we can also see what kinds of changes God makes in our heart in order for us to participate in His Kingdom.
The parable of the sower is taken out of the common experiences of Jesus and His listeners. Everyone who lives in a small agricultural community sees how the farmer works and usually has a hand in helping their neighbors with the field work.
As a young pastor in my first full-time church I learned quickly that when it was harvest time everyone was in the field. Our church was in a small town in Oklahoma wheat country. One day a farmer came by my office and asked me if I could drive a wheat truck and work for him during harvest. He said it was expected that I work for someone and that all our church was in the field anyway. That is how I learned about farming. I was no farmer but farming quickly became a common experience for me with that church.
Jesus no doubt had a similar experience as a boy. He grew up in a small town in an agricultural community. Tradition has long held that His family was carpenters. However, there are no major parables from the carpenter’s shop, but there are many from the field.
These parables describe for us spiritual truths about the Kingdom of God in language we can understand. The parable of the sower is important to our understanding of what kind of heart is necessary for us to receive the word of God and begin our relationship with God and His Kingdom. Here is a brief summary of the Parable of the Sower. (I will go into more detail later.)
The Calloused heart is the path that goes through the field. As the farmer sows the grain he carries a bag of seed and throws it out on the tilled soil. Where he walks creates a path. So, since the tilled ground is so important the farmer will always follow the same path so that he does not disturb any more soil than necessary.
The path is easy. The path is the place that has the appearance of being close to the farmer. However, it is too well traveled to take root in the soil.
The path is exposed to the enemy. Since the seed lands on the top of the hard path the birds can see it and take it for food. This soil of the path is not simply shallow. This represents a belief that is disconnected from the tilled soil. It is a faith that is held in the hand, not in the heart. That is where you want your things, not your faith.
The Castaway heart is the pile of rocks around the outside edge of the field. Faith in the rocks is shallow. Desperate people fall prey to shallow emotionalism. DL Moody noticed that people in poverty responded favorably to a message of God’s love. In God’s love there is hope. Emotions are essential to religious experience but cannot be the basis for your religion.
Faith in the rocks is faith on the rocks. Without depth we cannot withstand the storms that follow us in life.
The Cluttered heart is the place along the fence where the weeds grow. Clutter is distracting. You can get lost in the weeds. Clutter is restricting. You can get stuck in the weeds.
The Cultivated Heart is the Christ Centered heart. The cultivated heart is open to receive God’s word the way tilled ground accepts the seeds. The cultivated heart activates growth.
Robin Cowin
In the parable of the sower, (Matthew 13:1-23), Jesus uses the field to describe four different kinds of heart conditions and how that changes the way we receive God’s Word. In this parable we can also see what kinds of changes God makes in our heart in order for us to participate in His Kingdom.
The parable of the sower is taken out of the common experiences of Jesus and His listeners. Everyone who lives in a small agricultural community sees how the farmer works and usually has a hand in helping their neighbors with the field work.
As a young pastor in my first full-time church I learned quickly that when it was harvest time everyone was in the field. Our church was in a small town in Oklahoma wheat country. One day a farmer came by my office and asked me if I could drive a wheat truck and work for him during harvest. He said it was expected that I work for someone and that all our church was in the field anyway. That is how I learned about farming. I was no farmer but farming quickly became a common experience for me with that church.
Jesus no doubt had a similar experience as a boy. He grew up in a small town in an agricultural community. Tradition has long held that His family was carpenters. However, there are no major parables from the carpenter’s shop, but there are many from the field.
These parables describe for us spiritual truths about the Kingdom of God in language we can understand. The parable of the sower is important to our understanding of what kind of heart is necessary for us to receive the word of God and begin our relationship with God and His Kingdom. Here is a brief summary of the Parable of the Sower. (I will go into more detail later.)
The Calloused heart is the path that goes through the field. As the farmer sows the grain he carries a bag of seed and throws it out on the tilled soil. Where he walks creates a path. So, since the tilled ground is so important the farmer will always follow the same path so that he does not disturb any more soil than necessary.
The path is easy. The path is the place that has the appearance of being close to the farmer. However, it is too well traveled to take root in the soil.
The path is exposed to the enemy. Since the seed lands on the top of the hard path the birds can see it and take it for food. This soil of the path is not simply shallow. This represents a belief that is disconnected from the tilled soil. It is a faith that is held in the hand, not in the heart. That is where you want your things, not your faith.
The Castaway heart is the pile of rocks around the outside edge of the field. Faith in the rocks is shallow. Desperate people fall prey to shallow emotionalism. DL Moody noticed that people in poverty responded favorably to a message of God’s love. In God’s love there is hope. Emotions are essential to religious experience but cannot be the basis for your religion.
Faith in the rocks is faith on the rocks. Without depth we cannot withstand the storms that follow us in life.
The Cluttered heart is the place along the fence where the weeds grow. Clutter is distracting. You can get lost in the weeds. Clutter is restricting. You can get stuck in the weeds.
The Cultivated Heart is the Christ Centered heart. The cultivated heart is open to receive God’s word the way tilled ground accepts the seeds. The cultivated heart activates growth.
Robin Cowin
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
GPS
I drove my grandsons to school one day this week. I know where the school is but just for fun I brought along my GPS. GPS stands for “Global Positioning System,” and it looks like a miniature TV that mounts to the windshield just above the dash. I can put in an address and it will give me directions in a kind but robotic female voice that we have nicknamed “Carmen.”
The boys, Nick and Ben ages eight and Xander almost five, were fascinated by Carmen. I was equally fascinated by the conversation coming from the back seat.
“Poppa, what is that? Is that your coffee? Why does it look like a sippy cup?”
“Why are we going this way? Remember last year in Colorado when the GPS got us lost?”
I reassured them that it would not get us lost. Then, when we had one more right turn before we could see the school, I heard Carmen say, “Now turn left…”
“No Poppa. Turn right, our school is right there. See? The GPS is wrong!” I heard, with much laughter in their voices. I knew the way and they were right. Carmen was wrong.
On the way home, after dropping off the boys, I thought about all the directions we hear in our lives from many different voices. They do not all take us where we want to go. Some will even get us lost. We need to know the way.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” (hcsv)
God’s Word, the Bible, is the only sure road map we have. His directions will get us through life and take us all the way to Him. God has a different GPS called God’s Plan for Sharing, (through His Son, Jesus). Sometimes we need to pull over, stop, and look at the map. Then we can start again in the right direction toward the summit of God’s plan for your life.
Bro. Robin
The boys, Nick and Ben ages eight and Xander almost five, were fascinated by Carmen. I was equally fascinated by the conversation coming from the back seat.
“Poppa, what is that? Is that your coffee? Why does it look like a sippy cup?”
“Why are we going this way? Remember last year in Colorado when the GPS got us lost?”
I reassured them that it would not get us lost. Then, when we had one more right turn before we could see the school, I heard Carmen say, “Now turn left…”
“No Poppa. Turn right, our school is right there. See? The GPS is wrong!” I heard, with much laughter in their voices. I knew the way and they were right. Carmen was wrong.
On the way home, after dropping off the boys, I thought about all the directions we hear in our lives from many different voices. They do not all take us where we want to go. Some will even get us lost. We need to know the way.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” (hcsv)
God’s Word, the Bible, is the only sure road map we have. His directions will get us through life and take us all the way to Him. God has a different GPS called God’s Plan for Sharing, (through His Son, Jesus). Sometimes we need to pull over, stop, and look at the map. Then we can start again in the right direction toward the summit of God’s plan for your life.
Bro. Robin
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