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Run to Win
How is the run of your life today? We are continually tempted to draw back, let up, and give in…
Maybe it seems easier to revert back to the old way of doing things – to figure out life on our own. Perhaps it seems as though God just hasn’t come through and life is only getting harder, not easier.
So how should we live in the face of doubts or the temptation to do life our way? How can you and I run faithfully for Christ?
The Christ-followers who received the epistle to the Hebrews in the first century A.D. were facing a very similar situation. The pressure to turn back from their profession of faith in Christ was very strong, and the social and economic rewards for caving in or giving up would have been tremendous. Life wasn’t easy being a follower of “the Way.” However, the book of Hebrews specifically addresses just what they – and we – are to do when faced with this kind of pressure, this kind of “wall” in the run of the Christian life. So let’s take a look at Hebrews 10:35 and the following context together.
Through these 3 short video devotionals we’ll discover how this passage will help answer our question of what we should do when we are faced with the temptation to fall back and or give into myriad temptations. Most importantly, we’ll learn how we can keep running faithfully for Christ in the run of our lives. Let’s jump into the study!
Part 1: The Run of Your Life ~ Run with Faith
Part 2: Run from Sin
Part 3: Run to Win
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Voice for the Voiceless
Millions of men, women, and children are voiceless. No one will come near them, hear them, or help them.
Abused.
Trafficked.
Neglected.
Voiceless.
As followers of Jesus, how will we reflect the Jesus we follow? This is my plea for the people of God to follow the mission of God into the darkest of nights:
Also available and shareable on Facebook HERE. <—- click
The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:33-34; NASB)
“The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)
At the conclusion of #Voiceless is my short-list of organizations who are a voice for the voiceless. I recommend you consider these ministries:
- Women at Risk [WAR]: www.warinternational.org | Uniting and educating to create circles of protection around those at risk through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects
- Compassion International: www.compassion.com | Child-advocacy ministry that pairs compassionate people with those who are suffering from poverty; releasing children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty
- Called to Peace: www.calledtopeace.org | Counseling and assistance for victims of domestic abuse
- Samaritan’s Purse: www.samaritanspurse.org | Providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world; meeting needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Please consider sharing #Voiceless through social media with your friends and family.
Love in Christ,
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Gospel to India 2017
Update! 3.31.2017
Tomorrow is launch day! God provided all the resources for our trip right at the allotted time and dozens upon dozens of gospel partners have joined with us in prayer. I’m deeply excited about what God is going to do during our 24 day journey around India!
I will be departing for India this Saturday evening, accompanied by my ministry comrades, Josh and Alejandra Guido. We’ll have a long series of flights before we arrive at our first destination (Silchar, Assam – INDIA).
Here are our specific prayer requests:
1. Please pray we’ll have safe, restful flights and God-arranged appointments to share the Gospel along the way.
2. Please pray for us as we prepare to teach, preach, and visit fellow believers across 4 different locations in NE, SE, and SW India. We’ll be visiting three orphanages, an AIDS home for children (under construction), a Christian hospital, a Bible College & Seminary, and several churches.
3. Please pray God will grant us good health as we travel to remote locations and the strength to endure a rigorous schedule of ministry.
4. Please pray God will work through His Word and the Spirit to encourage and strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters in India as we preach and serve.
5. Please pray for my wife and three young children to have peace and provision from God while I’m away from them for 24 days.
Here are two images that show our main destinations and the various ministry locations:
2.2.2017
Dear Family and Friends,
In Paul’s letter to the young pastor Timothy, he gave clear instructions on how he should invest his time in other young men:
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2)
Today, I’m thrilled to tell you that God has given me the opportunity to be involved in this very same discipleship process of teaching future pastors and leaders, who will be able to teach others also… in the nation of India.
Here’s a fun video I put together with my lovely daughter, Everlynn, in which we share all the details:
Dr. Ishak Ahmed, president of Northeast India Baptist Bible College and Seminary, has invited me to teach at a Bible conference at NEIBBC and also serve as the preacher for their graduation ceremony this April (the 3rd – 7th). After much prayer and discussion with my wife, I have accepted his invitation. I’m so thankful to God and overwhelmed with excitement at the prospect of communicating God’s message of grace and truth to hundreds of students training for ministry in India. Upon graduation, these students will return to villages and cities all across their homeland to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I will also minister to good friends at the nearby Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital in Silchar and, Lord willing, visit my long-time ministry friends and mentors in Visakhapatnam. This will be my third trip to India and my wife and I are praising God for this new opportunity.
Two ways you can partner with us in this gospel-centered ministry:
- PRAY: Please pray for me as I prepare to share and declare the Word of God. Pray that the many national pastors and future pastors will be strengthened and encouraged through the conference and graduation ceremony at NEIBBC, and that God will develop further unity and vibrancy among the region’s many Bible-believing churches.
- GIVE: Consider financially partnering with me to share the grace and truth of God in India. Our brothers and sisters in India are unable to provide any funding for my trip and my own finances are currently quite limited. Therefore, they (and I) are praying many others will step forward to financially partner with us. I will need $1600 by February 28th and the total amount of $2500 by March 25th. To enter my YouCaring donation page for the secure online donation portal and up-to-date announcements about the trip simply click HERE or go to: https://www.youcaring.com/GospeltoIndia. Gifts of $10, $25, and $50 will all go a long way toward meeting our goal.
Thank you and may God bless you with abundant hope and peace!
In Christ Alone,
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A Letter from the Breznau Clan
Dear Family and Friends,
We pray you enter this New Year with peace in your hearts and renewed strength by the Spirit and the Word.
We are so grateful to God for all of you. As many of you know, we recently took a step of faith into a new, exciting direction of ministry. From our limited point-of-view, there are uncertainties concerning the future. Yet God is continually proving Himself faithful and powerful to meet our needs. Your prayers, love, and encouragement have been an immense source of sustaining grace over the past year.
So we’d like to share a little bit more with you about all that God wrapped up into 2016 and what we’re up to right now, along with some pictures, kid jokes, and more. Click HERE to view our Christmas and New Year’s 2016 Newsletter (the link should immediately open up to a PDF document hosted here on our website).
We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and are praying your 2017 is filled with blessing and joy to the praise of God’s glorious grace.
And here’s another video-devotional I put together on 7 lessons God taught us in 2016:
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The Perfect Gift
My wife, Stephanie, is a fantastic, deal-finding Christmas shopper extraordinaire. Several days ago she announced to me that all our Christmas gifts were purchased. . . except for just two items. Apparently a couple people we deeply love seem to have most everything they want and need, which, of course makes them nearly impossible to “gift” at Christmastide.
Not to let snow gather under her toes, Stephanie feverishly searched for “the perfect gift” for these two unintentional curmudgeons of Christmas cheer. Just in case you’re wondering, they’ll never be told they were difficult to shop for. Ho ho!
With a furrowed brow, she asked, “Michael, what do they need? What do you think they might possibly want?”
I replied with a dismal shrug, “I’m just not sure, Honey. I simply don’t know what gifts we could buy for these people, who don’t seem to really have any needs or wants.”
So on she continued in search of the perfect gift.
But God knows exactly what every man, woman, and child needs. He knows we don’t need merely another teacher, benefactor, builder, baker, or candlestick maker . . . we need a Savior.
God knows exactly what we need most: new, eternal life through the gift of His Son, Jesus the Christ.
We are all born unholy and separate from a loving, communal relationship with God. But God in His pursuing, unstoppable love sent His Son as the ultimate gift. Here’s how the apostle Paul was inspired to declare this message:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Paul shouted out with gladness greater than glee, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). How shall we begin to define and delineate all the depths of the wisdom, mercy, and power wrapped up in God’s gift?!
Why did God the Father send His perfect Son? So that you and I could be brought back to God. Separation is overturned in God’s act of restoration. This truth is precisely what we find in Peter’s first letter:
“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18a)
Have you received the gift of God’s Son? God is inviting you. He is calling you to turn from your way of trying to earn His love and instead receive His love in the Son. We can’t erase our sins to live in communion with a sinless God. Only Christ could do this for us. And He has done it. We need only to turn to Him in full faith . . . and receive The Perfect Gift.
To all those who have received new, eternal life in the Son, let’s shout out with glee a song of thanksgiving for God’s indescribable gift. Let’s declare, in our words and actions this Christmas, what the celebration is about: Christ the Savior of the world.
Watch my short video-devotional for today The Perfect Gift:
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New Paint
“Papa, I just can’t get the f-word out of my head! Ahh!!” cried my seven-year-old son, Hudson.
His frustration was mounting. I could see anxiety rising in his young heart. His bright eyes were now clouded with fear. A tear trickled down his warm cheek.
He reached out and placed his small hand on my shoulder, and whimpered, “I don’t know what to do… please, Papa. Help me.”
Rolling back the camera about four weeks…
Hudson was at a small neighborhood playground with some friends. Amid all his energetic scrambling, he became acquainted with a young girl somewhere between the slides and swings.
For some peculiar reason, Hudson’s new found friend emphatically pointed out a word painted on the underbelly of the slide. With great enthusiasm, Hudson proudly displayed his super reading skills by perfectly sounding out the word… nice and loud: “F***!” He then repeated it several times to make sure he got it just right.
Oy vey.
His young friend apparently hit the panic button and shouted Hudson down, “No, no! Stop! That’s a very, very, very bad word! You’re not supposed to say that word!”
Hudson raced back to our sweet friends who were watching him that afternoon. His questions collided together as he anxiously asked them about the “very, very, very bad word.”
Within a few short moments, his sensitive mind starting spinning in a ferocious cycle of fear.
Now twenty–eight days later, Hudson was still trying to wrestle that nasty word out of his mind and vocabulary. Every so often, our wonderful son’s hyperactive and compulsive tendencies scarf away the best of him. He’ll slip down a maddening whirlpool of emotions, thoughts, and words.[1]
Because he had become so fixated on how “very, very, bad” those four little letters could be sitting next to each other, he began saying the word out loud – too many times to count.
“I can’t stop it, Papa. I keep saying it!” Hudson gasped again.
My heart hurt for Hudson. But even though I’ve received a rather large amount of biblical and theological training, I wasn’t really sure what to say.
I quickly pleaded with God for wisdom and laid my head down next to Hudson’s. We looked around his small room for a moment as I tried to veer his attention toward Legos, cars, Star Wars – anything but that “very, very, very bad word.”
Just then, God gave me a thought.
“Hey, Hudson. Do you remember what color your bedroom was before we painted it last year?” I asked.
“Uhhh… no, Papa. You ask silly questions,” Hudson replied.
“No really, Hudson, do you remember what color your walls were before we painted in here?” I questioned him again.
“No, Papa. I have no idea…were they blue? Brown? Purple?” Hudson remarked with an impish grin.
“Well, honestly I don’t remember either, buddy. Now that it’s been over a year since we painted, I can’t really think of what color it was. Right now you’ve got the f-word painted on the walls of your brain. You see it all the time, don’t you?”
“Yes, Papa. I can’t get it out of there.” Hudson said quietly.
“Son,” I continued, “What you need to do is put some new, good paint on those walls. Sometimes I get stuck thinking about things that aren’t good, too. But if we paint over the bad words or pictures by thinking about good words and nice things, pretty soon we barely remember the bad words or pictures.”
“Just like you and I can’t recall what color used to be on these walls, the longer we continue thinking about new, good, beautiful words and ideas, the less we’ll remember the old, bad stuff. It won’t make us afraid or control us anymore.”
“Hmmm… but can you help me put new paint on my walls?” Hudson asked.
I answered with a smile, “That’s just what God talks about in Philippians 4:8, buddy. Do you know that verse?”
I could see the fear melting away from his eyes and the anxiety began to lift from his heart as we read this passage together:
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute [commendable], if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell [think] on these things.” (Phil 4:8)
This command to continually ruminate on the beautiful and good and true is woven between two promises – promises of peace that Hudson (and I) desperately needed to hear:
“By prayer and supplication…let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6b-7)
“The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9)
Peace of mind and heart is sourced in God and received from God as we proactively dwell on what God calls good. God alone provides the way to true, lasting peace.
We are continually inundated with voices, words, and images that are conformed to the way of the cosmos rather than the way of Christ. So again Paul wrote to another group of believers in Rome:
“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2b)
Time for New Paint
So what’s on your walls? Is it time for some new paint? Are you struggling with fear or anxiety over words or ideas or images that seem indelibly plastered on the walls of your mind?
Take a small step. Think on something good. Reflect on a lovely thought. Ponder excellent ideas. Remember what is true – about you, about God, and about how He thinks about you.
Roll some new paint onto those old walls. Put some beautiful color on that plaster. Let the peace of God rush in and fill your soul as you dwell on what He calls good.
Fast forward to yesterday, on the way home from school Hudson suddenly piped up, “Uhh…. Papa, I just said the f-word again. Ahh!”
“Hey, buddy, we already put new paint on that wall, didn’t we? Good words and God-pleasing ideas, right?” I replied.
“Mmmm….Yeah, Papa. I did. I think I’m okay now.” Hudson calmly replied.
“I love you, Hudson.”
“I love you, too, Papa.”
WATCH the short story retelling here:
_______________________
[1] Dr. Mike Emlet, a faculty member at CCEF, provides helpful teaching and resources for those struggling with what is known as Religious OCD and Scrupulosity. See https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/religious-ocd and https://www.ccef.org/topic/obsessive-compulsive-disorder. See also Dr. Lori Riddle-Walker’s article, in which she recommends Emlet’s work: http://lrwalker.net/article_whatisscrup.htm
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Steps of Faith
I’m not sure there is anything quite as delightful as watching a little munchkin take their first steps. Here’s a short clip of our little man, Hudson:
Hudson’s First Steps Movie from Michael Breznau on Vimeo.
Did you notice how Hudson is looking toward his mommy’s face and listening to her voice? With deep love for him and joy in each movement, my wife Stephanie (and the rest of the family) cheered on, “Take that step, you can do it! Great job, Hudson!”
God calls us to take steps of faith – even when we’re scared to take the steps. He beckons us forward when we don’t know where we’re going and sometimes everything inside us screams, “No! I can’t do this!”
Yet we must look toward His face and listen to His voice. But how does God call us to take steps of faith?
God calls us to take steps of faith …often contrary to human wisdom, often contrary to human obligations, often contrary to where we would choose to go on our own.
Dear North Park Family,
When God called Abraham to step forward in faith, he didn’t give all the specifics about the destination. He said:
“Go forth from your country… to the land which I will show you” (Gen. 12:1).
The writer of Hebrews recorded the example of Abraham’s faith with the same truth,
“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 1:8).
As I said in my very first message to you three years ago, “God often takes us where we would never choose to go in order to produce in us what we could never achieve on our own” (Paul Tripp). I also believe he leads us where we would not choose to go in order to open our eyes to what we could never see on our own. And why?? So ultimately that His glory will be known and His power will be shown in and through our lives… to the praise of His grace in Jesus Christ. Over the past 6 months and especially in the last 6 weeks, Stephanie and I have been gripped by God’s Spirit on how He is calling us to directly apply this truth to our lives.
Reflecting on the Past…
We don’t doubt for one second that God called us to the North Park family three years ago. My heart is filled with deeply fond memories of God’s work among us. I’m filled with praise and thanks when I think about the many baptisms of men, women, and children we’ve witnessed, the joys of officiating Pastor Tom and Connie’s wedding, holding the microphone as our dear brother Gordy sang “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” being sent out on a mission team to India with such vibrant support, celebrating each Christmas Eve and Resurrection Sunday, sending the Shepherd family out as full-time missionaries, watching the church grow by new conversions but also through new births… there are adorable infants everywhere! From the sheer delight of preaching the good news of God each week to such a responsive, attentive congregation, to quietly walking with you as loved ones passed on into the presence of the Savior – these are moments I will never forget.
Stephanie, Hudson, Everlynn, our soon-coming little boy, and I feel so blessed to be loved by you. We are so thankful to God for the opportunity to do life together with you. We also love the incredibly beautiful community of Grand Rapids. The tapestry of culture, parks, hills, shops (esp. Baker Book House), schools, gardens, and events is a rare combination.
Taking the Step…
However, we have been unable to wrangle free from the difficult yet sweet conviction of the Spirit – that God is calling us to go… to leave for a place, in which only God knows the outcome.
Through seeking God’s direction in prayer, counsel, His Word, and observing remarkably arranged circumstances, Stephanie and I have a resolute, abiding peace about our decision to take this step of faith.
What plans do we know? Well, over the past 10 years, numerous friends, teachers, and mentors have encouraged me to consider both church-planting and doctoral studies. With this in view, God has opened our eyes to the possibility of both entering a church-planting residency and pursuing entrance into a Ph.D. program in the north metro area of Raleigh, North Carolina. However, we also remain open to God leading us in a new direction of pastoral ministry that we may not currently see. Stephanie’s parents have offered a place for us in their home during the immediate time of transition. This season of change will also grant us some focused time as a couple and as parents to continue progressing in what we learned during our time at the Alongside Counseling Retreat.
Please know that I have not been asked to resign nor do I feel pressured by anyone to do so. Our decision is with the mutual agreement and blessing of our team of pastors and deacons. They have lovingly expressed their care for us in this transition to a new ministry role.
Would you please pray for our house to sell, for Hudson to be accepted into a good school in N.C., and for our baby boy to be delivered safely? Thank you.
The Timeline
We deeply love all of you. Our hearts feel so closely knit to yours. In collaboration with the other pastors and deacons, we plan to stay among you until our baby boy is born. God has also laid on my heart five more messages from His Word to deliver to you. So although our time with you is coming to a close, it is not yet quite finished. Our hope is also for our friendships with you to continue for many, many years to come.
Hope
My fervent prayer is that your faith will be strengthened, not fractured; that your hope will be deepened, not disappointed; and that your love will increase all the more as we together behold the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ, the Chief and all-wise Shepherd for all His sheep. Because of who Jesus is, I’m filled with anticipation about what He will do through you as you look to Him. He is your compass, your Guide, and your Savior.
Therefore, lean into Him. Take risky, bold steps of faith. Believe God for the impossible. Walk by faith in the faithful God.
As I am learning, faithfulness to Jesus isn’t determined by location but by obedience. So no matter your age, your schooling, your job, or your location, you can be faithful as you obey all that Jesus has commanded us. And, behold, He is with us always, even to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)
Our hearts are overflowing with care for each one of you. We are grateful for each memory. And one day we will worship together around the throne of the Lamb in endless hallelujahs to the King.
In God’s Vineyard,
Pastor Michael, Stephanie, Hudson, Everlynn, and Baby Boy
Listen to the full audio sermon entitled “Steps of Faith” (Genesis 11:27-12:4) by simply clicking HERE or by going to grandrapids.church/steps-of-faith/
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Caught in the Cycle
Does your life resemble the spinning cycle of a washing machine right now? Are you weary, busy, or worried today? Perhaps you’ve had a tension headache this week about a job situation or family crisis? Maybe you’re chewing off your finger nails while you survey the latest piece of national chaos?
When the people of Judah were tempted to make an alliance with Egypt to ward off the growing threat of an Assyrian invasion, they were obviously nervous and afraid. In their state of anxiety, they refused to solely trust in the only One who could deliver them. Listen to these words of promise and comfort:
“For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15a)
But they did not listen.
“But you were not willing, and you said, ‘No, for we will flee on horses,’ (Isaiah 30:15b-16a)
Caught in the Cycle
We get caught in the same sort of cycle; don’t we? No, we don’t hop on a horse and ride out of Dodge. But we flee to fear-driven methods for rescue. We walk around like a nervous wreck with no relief. We refuse to turn back to the Sovereign One and quietly rest.
Yet all the while, God is with us. He sees it all and knows it all. And He is saying:
“Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” (Isaiah 30:18)
Repentance. Rest. Quietness. Trust.
Those are words that characterize the person who longs for God and has full faith in God. Notice how there is a longing that goes both ways in verse 18 above. Our loving, pursuing God longs to pour out grace on us and those who long for Him receive His genuine peace… blessing.
So in the middle of our mess or nervousness (I have a few concerns swirling around right now, too), let’s remember:
He is good. He is sovereign. We can trust Him today.
In God’s Vineyard,
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He Knows
God’s Word brings comfort, peace, and joy today. No matter our circumstances, location, or challenge…God knows it all and He is with us in it all. King David took hope and lifted up praise by reflecting on God’s omniscience in these beautiful lines of Psalm 139:
“O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (Psalm 139:1-6)
Our God sees each smile and tear. He hears each laugh, sigh, and cry. He knows every thought, intent, motive, and desire. Yet He does not stand aloof from our circumstances, for His total knowledge is always accompanied by His total presence. He enters into the mountaintops and shadows of our lives, lovingly guiding the steps of His children. His omniscience is joined with omnipresence. So David sings:
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me and Your right hand will lay hold of me.” (Psalm 139:7-1)
My lovely parents, Charles and Diane Breznau.
When I was a young boy, my dad would often gently place his hand on my shoulder for a number of reasons: to guide me in the right direction, express love, and show how proud he was of me. Even now, he will sometimes put his hand on my shoulder, look into my eyes, and ask me how I’m really doing, as only a father can do. When my dad is at my side, it seems I find new strength, courage, and peace.
Don’t miss how this psalm paints a similar vivid picture in two separate lines (v. 5 – “You…laid Your hand upon me” and v. 10 – “…and Your right hand will lay hold of me.”). Our powerful heavenly Father, who loves us even overwhelmingly more than our earthly fathers is right now looking into our eyes, knowing our thoughts, and guiding us with His hand. He is at your side and watching the path.
So what are you facing today?
Perhaps you have a schedule of swimming and fun in the sun? You can rejoice even more deeply in the grace of God’s creation, knowing He is smiling with you in that joy.
On the flip-side, has the past week left you a little frazzled? Has a circumstance crushed your soul? Maybe a phone call, family situation, or job crisis took a turn for the worst? In the center of our messes, God offers us renewed hope and courage because He is present in our struggles. Always.
He is near to those who call upon His name.
He will never leave us defenseless.
He knows every terrible thing about all of us, yet He loves all of us more than we could ever imagine in a thousand years.
His hand is on your shoulder today. Let’s not forget He is there and here and everywhere…. with us, His redeemed children.
In Christ Alone,
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Am I Still Sleeping?
On the eve of Christ’s crucifixion, the Savior gathered the eleven disciples in the quiet Garden of Gethsemane to watch and pray:
“And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’ And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘So you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:39-41)
As the story unfolds, we find the disciples continuing to doze off, “Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. . . . Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?” (v. 43, 45)
This motley crew was obviously worn out from the day.
These true-to-life details in the Bible always make me smile. Not only do we discover the disciples were just regular humans like you and I, but also that they received gracious prompting and guidance from the loving Messiah… in the midst of their tiredness and ignorance.
So, conversely, these details prick my heart. I know I’m just as prone to doze off, wander from the path, and be rather ho-hum about watching and praying. And the words of the Savior ring in my ears. Am I still sleeping and resting? Am I drowsy at the wheel?
Right Now
As the velocity of immorality continues to pick up speed in our culture, as the bitterness of rage, envy, and racism soaks across our country, and as the allure of materialism, entertainment, and greed pull at us from all directions, we must watch and pray. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Dallas protest area prior to the shooting on July 7, 2016, which killed 5 police officers and wounded 6 others
A torrent of anger and violence is splintering our society. The shrapnel of hate is exploding into the air and lodging into hearts young and old. A vortex of sexual deception is dragging in dozens by the minute.
And are we still sleeping?
Today, we are not watching for the moment of Christ’s death but for Christ’s return. And how we view the future will change how we live in the present. The apostle Paul pivots on this truth with another call to be awake:
“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed [the final step of salvation, i.e. glorification at the return of Christ]. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:11-14)
Let’s not hurry over those inspired words. Take a moment to read over that passage again, perhaps a little more slowly this time. Christ’s return is imminent, which means He may come back at any moment.
And yet we know the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. But again, how we view the future changes how we live in the present. Therefore, we must watch and pray with full vigor and fervency. The temptations, distractions, and challenges are wearying, tiring.
So we must…
…Watch with eyes wide open.
…Pray with a heart that is broken (see Psalm 51:17).
Will you join with me in prayer for one hour? Each Wednesday, from 7-8pm we gather at Mayfair Bible Church to watch and pray. I hope you can join us. If you are unable to do so or are a part of another church or geographical location, perhaps you might also watch and pray this evening wherever you may be from 7-8pm, in collaboration with God’s people here on the sunrise-side of Michigan.
- Here’s a truth-saturated, richly beautiful song of watching and waiting from our friends Dave and Licia, The Gray Havens – Shadows of the Dawn:
(P.S. I love the build at 3:00min)
- Prayer: Check out our Prayer Page to submit prayer requests, learn about prayer, discover some key prayer areas for North Park and more! Click HERE
