Dan Crawford's Posts (141)

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A Benediction for Today

According to Wikipedia, a benediction “is a short invocation for divine help, blessing, and guidance.” From the earliest, Christians adopted benedictions into their worship, particularly at the end of a service. Such benedictions have been regularly practiced ever since. Perhaps the best known biblical benediction is the one at the end of the tiny book of Jude, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25). Only three times in the New Testament is praise offered to God “who is able” - Romans 16:25, Ephesians 3:20, and here, where Jude offers praise to God who is able to “keep you from stumbling.” Further, Jude offers praise to God who can “present you faultless” before Him and finally, Jude gives praise to God who can present us “with exceeding joy.” Jude’s benediction offers divine help, blessing and guidance. Ernest Shurtleff was a student at Andover Seminary near Boston. He wrote a prayer to be sung at the conclusion of commencement, as fellow students promoted, moved on, commenced. The third verse seems especially appropriate for today - for divine help, blessing and guidance:
“Lead on, O King Eternal, we follow, not with fears;
For gladness breaks like morning where’er thy face appears;
Thy cross is lifted o’er us; we journey in its light:
The crown awaits the conquest; lead on, O God of might.”

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The Aftereffects of Sin

After he confessed a sin in which he had been caught, the student seated across my desk, shrugged his shoulders, and with a sigh, exclaimed, “Oh well, God has forgiven me!” While I could not disagree with him, in regard to the possibility of God’s forgiveness, I could assure him that, even though forgiven, he must now live with the consequences of the sin. I have a Bible Reading Group on Facebook with a little over three hundred members. We read one chapter in the Bible per week and comment with our thoughts, sometimes with our questions. (BTW, if you are interested in more information about the group, send me a private message on Facebook.) In the later part of this month, we are reading Hosea. In fact, we just read Hosea 3, a very short chapter of only five verses. Yet in those five verses sin and punishment is presented. In his book entitled, “Studies in Hosea,” Dr. K. Owen White, for many years Pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston, wrote, “To enjoy sin’s pleasures, is to know its penalties also.” Do not take sin lightly. Whereas God stands ready and willing to forgive, the aftereffects are devastating, sometimes to the point of deadly.

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Asking God to Hear Our Prayer

Do we have to ask God to hear our prayer, or does He automatically hear? When Nehemiah was preparing to go before the King to request permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city, he prayed, “O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant” (Nehemiah 1:11). Furthermore, Daniel prayed, “Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications” (Daniel 9:17). Finally, David prayed, “Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech” (Psalm 17:6). Unfortunately, most of us just begin our prayer as though God is already listening, with nothing else to do except wait for our communication. While God is eager to hear from us, He does have a few other things to do. I once heard a new believer begin his prayer, “God, this is John. Remember me? If so, please hear this.” I know what the Bible also says, for instance in 1 John 5:14: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” So maybe we don’t need to ask God to hear us. Perhaps to be heard by God, all we need is just to pray according to His will. How do you pray? Think about it.

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Most of my “Monday Morning Manna” columns are written on the weekend or week preceding their posting. Such is this one. If you read this on Monday, you will be reading it on the day of my ninth MOHS surgery for skin cancer. I once asked my surgeon why I had so many skin cancers. His reply was twofold: “You are fair-skinned and live in Texas.” I tried to blame my mother by asking the same Surgeon, “Is it because my mother kept sending me outside to play in the summer heat?” His reply got my mother off the hook: “If you drive to the mall, park, and go inside, between the time you get out of your car and get into the mall, you could develop another skin cancer.” Well, I’ve tried to avoid it. I gave up golf, stopped going to afternoon ballgames, stayed away from the beach, etc. I even stopped going to the mall. Still, I got another spot, this one on my forehead. So, I will undergo yet another surgery. If you read this in time you could pray for my surgeon and his assistant. Or you could just pray for my rapid and complete recovery. Then again, you could pray for my wife. Today is her birthday. I Know! But I didn’t have a choice of surgery dates. The Surgeon’s Receptionist makes that choice. If my bandage is not too ugly, I will take her to dinner tonight. Meanwhile, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed” (Jeremiah 17:14).

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A Prayer that Hasn’t Changed

I have been compiling a collection of prayer quotes from lesser-known authors. As I was preparing to donate my collection of five hundred books on prayer to the Southwestern Baptist Seminary Library, I got to wondering who all these authors were. A few were recognizable, but most were unknown, at least to me. I decided to scan all the books before releasing them, to see what I, or some previous owner, had underlined or highlighted, thus my collection of quotes. One of my favorite quotes is from a book published in 1954 entitled, “The Practice and Power of Prayer” by John Sutherland Bonnell, whose name I did not immediately recognize. A bit of Google research reminded me that he was the twenty-six-year pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, whose Sunday sermons were regularly reported in the New York newspapers. The quote: “The secret of the victorious march of the Early Church across the Roman world is found in its belief in and practice of prayer . . . These early Christians were spiritual conductors, and God manifested himself mightily in their lives . . . The need of the hour in our churches is more prayer . . . that they may become a pulsating, dynamic, spiritual power.” The quote could have come from any pastor, of any church, in any denomination, in any location, in any day. The need of the hour in today’s churches is still “prayer, that produces a pulsating, dynamic spiritual power.” The need of the hour in our churches is still “more prayer . . . that they may become a pulsating, dynamic, spiritual power.” After all, “The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect” (James 5:16, HCSB).

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Just Listen

I know of people who don’t pray because they say they don’t know how. They fear saying the wrong things to God. While I do not have that specific problem in prayer, I do understand, and I have some advice. It comes from the minor prophet, Zephaniah. “Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; for the day of the Lord is at hand” (Zephaniah 1:7). Rather than say you can’t pray, why not simply acknowledge God’s presence and then listen. Admit that prayer is not just you talking to God, but rather it is a two-way communication. Don’t just take my word for it. Missionary Frank Laubach said, “Prayer at its highest is a two-way conversation. Then again, “For me the most important part is listening to God’s replies. . . The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says ‘Amen’ and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him our ideas.” Devotional writer Oswald Chambers asked, “Are you learning to say things after listening to God, or are you saying things and trying to make God’s word fit in?” Mother Teresa said, “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” So, with that biblical passage and these quotes, I rest my case. Prayer is two-way communication. If you think you can’t talk with God, just listen.

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Teaching from a Prayer Bench

I first saw one in a friend’s “Prayer Room” (a middle bedroom of his house), then I saw another one in a colleague’s office. How unique, I thought.  So, I searched until I found my own Prayer Bench and fit it into my Seminary office. I had long believed, and then taught, the discipline of place, in private prayer.  After all, Jesus repeatedly went to specific places to pray (Mark 1:35; Luke 22:39-40). Among other subjects, I kept my class seating charts on the bench, and knelt there to pray for my students before each class, firmly believing that it is best to talk to God about people before talking to people about God.  It was a private place that saw only private times of prayer - or so I thought.  I recently spoke in a church pastored by a former student and was amazed and touched to see him stand before his people and emotionally share what it had meant to him to know that one of his professors had a prayer bench on which he prayed for his students.  Then he told of making his own such prayer bench for his office.  I always expected to teach when standing in front of students in a classroom.  I had not thought about teaching through a simple prayer bench, placed in my office.  Be careful this week, for you know not when, where, or how you teach. 

 

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As I was reading through a stack of pastoral resumes at a church where I was Interim Pastor, I was reminded that Pastors do get tired, but often they are working so hard, they fail to realize it. So perhaps it is time to share a list of some collected ways to know how a pastor is tired. (Not sure where I got all of these. Some might even be original with me.) Pastor-types will recognize a few of these and might even add a few more. Non-pastors need to realize some of these, to help them better relate to their pastor. Pastors are tired when: 1) The threat of being fired sounds good; 2) When standing in a hospital room, envy for the patient sets in; 3) The goal for today is to get through it without serious damage; 4) While still basking in the glow of surviving last Sunday, it occurs that another Sunday is on its way and today is Wednesday; 5) People ask if a pastor has been sick and the reply is, “Not yet;” 6) A senior who adores the pastor runs by the office to bring a cherry pie and she is avoided; 7) The personnel committee offers a six-week sabbatical and it is turned down because a decision is too difficult to make on what to do with all that free time; 8) The words to ‘”Jesus Loves Me” don’t come so quickly anymore; 9) An extra effort is made to go to that denominational meeting because it will be so boring, some rest will be available; 10) The nighttime prayer has become, “Lord, I’m tired. Amen.” Note that pastors will not admit to most of these. Love them anyway, and by all means, pray for them, and remind them of Galatians 6:9, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

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Prayer Lacking? Try Listening

For the first ten years of my life, I was an only child. I guess my parents didn’t believe in baby-sitters or perhaps couldn’t afford them, I just remember accompanying my parents to a lot of adult events. At each, I was told to “be seen and not heard.” So, I grew up being rather quiet, and reserved. That lifestyle carried over into my prayer life. In fact, I remember wondering in church, why some people prayed such long, wordy prayers, and why in the worship service, we spent so much time talking and singing about God, and so little time listening to God. Much of my early instruction related to prayer dealt with speaking to God, rather than listening to God. Along the way, I was influenced by statements like that of American financier, statesman, and adviser to U.S. presidents, Bernard Baruch, who said, “Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking.” Someone had me memorize James 1:19, “brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak . . .” A famous poster said, “Listen and Silent have the same letters.” So, thanks to my parents and my culture, I spend a considerable amount of time listening to God and my prayers are usually brief, and to the point. Let me clarify, I don’t listen to God with my ears, nor does God speak to me with His mouth. But if I am still, and quiet, and meditative, I don’t need human ears or a divine mouth to hear from God. So, next time your prayer life is lacking, try listening.

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New Methods for New Circumstances

Times have changed. People are staying home from church services in record numbers – and blaming the COVID virus. History has shown when we are forced by circumstances to change, we eventually get comfortable with the change, and even prefer the new methods to the old. John Cage, an American composer, artist, and philosopher, confessed, “I can’t understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I’m frightened of old ones.” Most churches I know have recovered approximately half of their pre-pandemic attendance, while experiencing positive numbers of online viewers. The fear is that folks have become so comfortable worshipping at home, in their pajamas, seated in their recliner, sipping their coffee that they will not choose to return to personal worship attendance. If that happens, churches will need new ideas. Ralph Waldo Emerson, wrote, “Wise men put their trust in ideas and not in circumstances.” What will the post-pandemic church look like? Most will need to learn how to do online worship with greater excellence. We may need to train telephone and media counselors to deal with online responses during the worship service and especially during the response time. Some facilities may need to be reconfigured. More emphasis on home groups could be needed. A study of effective media ministry ideas could be time well spent. I once taught a Seminary course entitled, “The Use of Media in Evangelism,” but it was an elective course and few students saw the need to register for it. Seminaries and Bible Colleges may need to reinvent that course or one similar to it, perhaps make it a requirement. The future could be very different from the past. We’ll need to pray our way through it. Which reminds me that according to my research for America’s National Prayer Committee, approximately 95% of Seminaries and Bible Colleges do not have a separate course on prayer in their curriculum. It’s time to add such. Only then will we be able to understand Paul’s wish for young Timothy, “May the Lord give you understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7).

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A Prayer for COVID Thanksgiving

It's unclear if on that first Thanksgiving, the colonists and Native Americans ate turkey at their feast. More likely, they indulged in other interesting foods like lobster, and seal. What is certain is that a tradition developed that called for the U.S. President to declare Thanksgiving as a holiday anew each year, until Thomas Jefferson refused. He strongly believed in the separation of church and state. Thanksgiving involved prayer, and in his opinion, making it a holiday would violate the 1st Amendment. Fortunately, we no longer need a presidential announcement for Americans to observe Thanksgiving this year. It might well get lost in politics and pandemics. Hopefully, we will remember to pray a prayer of blessing, for even in these difficult times, we need to bless the Lord – for family, for food, for friends, for health, for memories. Thanks, and Thanksgiving go together. William Bradford, the first Governor of the Plymouth Colony, wrote of those first pilgrims, “Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean.” In the midst of yet another “furious” time, a COVID Thanksgiving, let us remember the words of the Psalmist, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:1-2).

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Pastors and Gifts

This is Pastor Appreciation Month. I will take my Pastor to lunch this week. It is a small, but meaningful gift. We will talk as we eat – about the church, about sports, about theology, about families, about common friends (and a few uncommon friends). Mostly, I will come away from the time together with more specific ways to pray for him. It is the best gift I can offer to him during this pastor appreciation month. After Jesus ascended back to heaven, He gave spiritual gifts to the church. One of those gifts was the gift of pastor. Ephesians 4:11 states, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” My Pastor is a gift from God to my family, my church and my community. The best gift I can offer to him during this appreciation month, is “effective, fervent prayer” (James 5:16). Max Lucado wrote, “Prayer pushes us through life’s slumps, propels us over the humps, and pulls us out of the dumps.” As my Pastor and I have our table talk, I become aware of the specifics of his humps, slumps, and dumps, and I pray for him. How do you pray for your Pastor? This is a good time to intensify and clarify your gift of pastoral prayer support, but hurry – appreciation month is almost over.

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Praying in the Night Watches

I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I wake up in the night and am unable to get back to sleep. I’m sure it is partly due to the physical, since I am facing major surgery in the next few days. I am also sure it is partly spiritual, since this was happening, to a lesser extent, long before the need for surgery. Sometimes, when I wake up, I do so with scripture on my mind. Often the scripture comes in the form of a song or hymn. I remember many years ago, confessing this rather unusual habit to my mother, who replied, “My prayers have been answered. God has given you my song.” Then she confessed to likewise awakening with music on her mind. Both of us felt OK with this, since we were in good company – with each other, as well as with the Psalmist, who said, “My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word” (Psalm 119:148). Other times I awake with people on my mind. Since this is frequently former students or friends who are serving as missionaries on foreign fields, I assume they are in need of prayer in the middle of their day, even though it is the middle of my night. Even when the image is not of missionaries, I begin to pray for members of my family and then on to friends as they come to mind. Even though I eventually go back to sleep, I guess for a time, I become somewhat of a watchman of the night (Isaiah 21:11). I share this to challenge you – when you awake in the night, consider that it might be in order to pray for someone in need.

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A Prayer for Possessions

I went to an estate sale last week. I seldom attend one of these, except this one happened to be in the home of a long-time friend and colleague. I made it OK through the living room, even though I had to see the couch and chairs where my wife and I last visited with this couple, prior to his death. Then I safely navigated the den, kitchen, patio, dining room, bedrooms, even closets, until I found his office. That is where I lost it. There was so much in that room that reminded me of him, things that he treasured, and objects that he had kept. But none of it went with him when he died. I left thinking of my own offices – home and campus – books, file cabinets, pictures, collected stuff from years of global travel and ministry, only meaningful to me. When I am gone, it will all be separated and disbursed. Some will find its way into the possession of folks who will treasure it, other possessions will be discarded. Following my visit, I had two thoughts: (1) Possessions are only bad when they possess you, and (2) “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2). My friend was a perfect example of this balance. Join me in enjoying our possessions, while praying that our minds remained prioritized on things above.

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Praying Through Writer’s Block

In the midst of my third pandemic book, I developed writer’s block.  Wikipedia defines this as “a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown.” When we were first told to shelter in place, I was extremely frustrated so I asked God what I was supposed to do with my calling, since I couldn’t go anywhere.  When I said “Amen” and looked up, my eyes fell on some of the books I had previously authored, and it was as if God said, “You don’t have to go anywhere to write.”  So I wrote my first pandemic book, “Praying through the Beatitudes,” then I co-authored a second book, “Crisis Care Crisis Prayer” which is currently with the publisher.  In the midst of my third book, “Praying Through the Seven Churches and Beyond,” I hit the wall.  I developed writer’s block.  What does one do when he sits at the computer and the mind is as blank as the page in front, while the cursor mocks with its repeated blinking?  I sought out what other, writer’s said about writer’s block.  Charles Bukowski, a German--American poet, novelist, and short-story writer, said, “Writing about a writer's block is better than not writing at all.” Another writer said, “If you have writer’s block, write about having writer’s block, and you will no longer have it.” Those ideas, plus the words of another writer, the Apostle Paul, helped relieve my anxiety and get me back to writing.  Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” So, I prayed my way through my writer’s block, even as I wrote about it, and onward I went.  If you read my third pandemic book, look for the place where I suffered writer’s block, and how I prayed through it. It might even help you next time you suffer this condition.

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Pandemic Prayer

In the early days of the Coronavirus quarantine, I was extremely restless and frustrated. Even in retirement, I’ve been running close to full speed. Sitting in my den recliner I was reading my Bible, and praying, and asking God what I was to “do” since my travel was now limited and cancellations had caused more Liquid Paper than ink on my calendar. Having just read James 1:22, “Be doers of the word,” I looked up and saw on the fireplace mantle, my wife’s display of all the books I had written, and it was as if God spoke audibly, although I heard no sound. “You don’t have to travel to write another book, so do it.” Thus, was born my most recent book. It took a few weeks to write, and a few more weeks to publish, but last week, “Praying through the Beatitudes” was released – an answer to my pandemic prayer. As a big fan of twentieth century Methodist missionary, E. Stanley Jones, I have long had one of his quotes in my notes. “Prayer is commission. Out of the quietness with God, power is generated that turns the spiritual machinery of the world. When you pray, you begin to feel the sense of being sent, that the divine compulsion is upon you.” Sitting in my den, I definitely felt commissioned, even compelled to write. Prayer commissioned. Prayer driven. Prayer answered. By the way, should you want a copy, it can be ordered by title, on amazon. And what has God directed you to “do” during the pandemic?

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Keeping the Temple Cleansed

A long-time friend asked me recently, “Do you suppose that in our life-cycle the call to take care of one’s health becomes one of the highest callings God makes to an individual?” I have thought much about his question, especially as I am asked to “shelter in place,” wear a mask, and keep a social distance away from everyone. All this is contrary to how I have been fulfilling my calling for all of my adult life. I am called to ministry, and ministry is relational. However, this much I know, just as Jesus cleansed the physical Temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:12-13), in order to return it to its God-created purpose, He desires that we keep our spiritual temples cleansed (“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19), that we might fulfill our God-created purpose. Among other things, that means taking care of ourselves, refraining from decisions and actions that are contrary to God’s purpose. My friend went on to add, “That we are breathing is testimony both to our ignorance and God’s goodness. Our lives have presented a thousand ways to die, yet we live.” Indeed!

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Hearing from God in Transition

Do you remember the cell phone commercial where the guy kept asking, “Can you hear me now?” as he moved from unique location to unique location, attempting to prove that his cell phone company could provide transmission from anywhere? Reminds me of what God may be asking today, although it is not God who is moving, it is we who are on the move. Thanks to COVID-19 regulations, we’ve moved home. We are not in our usual places of work, school, leisure, etc. We’ve even moved from church on Sunday to somewhere in front of a computer, worshipping online. We are a people in transition and God is asking if we can still hear? God’s Old Testament people were in transition – displaced from home – in Babylonian captivity. God was continually trying to communicate with them. It was as if He was asking, “Can you hear me now?” “I have plans for you” God said (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV). In the midst of all of today’s transitions, God is asking, can you hear me now? Because I’ve been listening more intently, God’s “plan” for me, in the midst of this transition has become clearer. How about you?

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Just Be Quiet

It had been one of those long, sleepless nights – the kind where you keep waking up and talking to God.  The issue causing my insomnia, was troubling, and I kept thinking, that I just needed to keep talking with God about it.  After all, I had spent a career teaching and preaching that God wanted to hear from us.  It was still dark when I finally gave up, and got up.  I got dressed and got in the car to look for a place to eat breakfast, still talking with God.  As the car engine came on, the Sirius radio began to play – SXM Channel 65, enLigthen. It was Sheri Easter, singing, “I'll be quiet so You can hear my heart.” Half way to breakfast, it hit me.  God had heard all of my words that He needed to hear.   I just needed to be quiet and let God hear my heart.  Reflecting on the words of the song, my mind transferred to Psalm 46:10, “Be still, (cease striving, NASB; calm down, Contemporary English Version) and know that I am God.” Then my mind switched to Habakkuk 2:20, “The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” or better yet, the paraphrase of The Message, “Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!” Sometimes we need to talk with God.  Sometimes we need to just be quiet.

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How to Pray in a Crisis

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